UrbanGeekz 50 2024 : Venture Capital

Aaron Holiday: Co-Founder and Managing Partner at 645 Ventures

Aaron Holiday is a well-respected figure in venture. He co-founded 645 Ventures in 2014 and now serves as Managing Partner. Holiday has been instrumental in shaping the firm’s investment strategy, guiding early-stage companies to remarkable success. His portfolio boasts several standout companies, including Goldbelly, Iterable, and FiscalNote—businesses that have grown into industry leaders with significant market impact.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Holiday’s passion for math and science was evident from a young age, steering him toward a career in computer science. He honed his technical expertise at Goldman Sachs and GFI Group, where he developed advanced trading software and derivatives systems. This technical foundation became the bedrock of his venture capitalist approach, combining deep financial acumen with a keen eye for innovative technology.
Holiday’s entrepreneurial journey took a pivotal turn at Cornell Tech, where he served as the first Managing Entrepreneurial Officer. There, he collaborated with Greg Pass, former CTO of Twitter, to design a pioneering Studio culture that bridged academia and real-world startup ecosystems. His work at Cornell Tech cemented his role as a mentor and guide for budding entrepreneurs, helping to launch successful startups like Nanit.
In addition to his role at 645 Ventures, Holiday is an active member of Cornell Tech’s governing board and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). His leadership and vision have earned him a spot on Forbes’ Midas Brink List, recognizing him as one of the most promising up-and-comers in venture capital.

Arlan Hamilton: Founder and Managing Partner, Backstage Capital

With no college degree or connections in Silicon Valley, Arlan Hamilton founded Backstage Capital, a seed investment fund that backs overachieving, underrepresented startup founders. An outspoken voice in the venture, Hamilton is now one of the highest-paid and most requested public speakers in the States.
Backstage Capital’s active portfolio of close to 150 investments is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by backing people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. It has raised nearly $30 million since 2015, and its latest investments include Shop Latinx and Currents.fm.

The author of ‘It’s About Damn Time: How To Turn Being Underestimated Into Your Greatest Advantage.’ Hamilton released her latest book, ‘Your First Million: Why You Don’t Have To Be Born Into A Legacy of Wealth To Leave One Behind.’ Hamilton is determined to create 1,000 more millionaires in the next decade. “We’re surrounded by gatekeepers, people who are protecting themselves from us or protecting some entity or institution from the crowd and keeping people at bay for information or resources,” says Hamilton. “And information is the biggest resource we have…  I believe there’s more than enough for everyone.”

Brian Dixon: Managing Partner at Kapor Capital

Brian Dixon is one of the first and youngest Black American Managing Partners at a Silicon Valley VC firm. He is committed to ensuring entrepreneurs of all backgrounds have access to capital to help their businesses scale. Dixon worked his way up from intern to Partner at Kapor Capital, a pioneering seed-stage venture capital firm based in Oakland, CA. Since 2012, the firm has invested in over 175 tech startups, creating new economic opportunities and confronting inequalities across every sector, including education, work, finance, justice, food, and health. During his debut as Managing Partner at Kapor Capital, Brian raised a historic $126M, creating one of the largest VC funds ever led by Black fund managers.

Brian serves on the Board of Directors for the NAACP, The Joint Center, and Jobs for the Future (JFF). He is also a Kauffman Fellow, Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) Fellow, and two-time tech startup founder. Brian has an MBA from F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Science from Northeastern University.

Brian has shared his investment knowledge on over 100 stages, including TechCrunch Disrupt, SXSW, and SOCAP. He has also been featured in NPR and Bloomberg and has earned several recognitions, including being named one of Business Insider’s 46 Most Important African Americans in Technology.

Candice Matthews Brackeen: CEO, Lightship Foundation

Candice Matthews Brackeen is a dynamic economic development organization founder/CEO and venture capital investor. She began inspiring change when she was just one of 88 black women in the country to be CEO of a VC firm. Through her leadership at Lightship Foundation and Lightship Capital, Candice has guided hundreds of growth-stage tech startups led by women, entrepreneurs of color, LBGTQ+, and disabled founders to more than one hundred fifty million dollars in funding.
Lightship is an idea that streaked out of a play date gone bad eight years ago and is now a company that has mentored, connected, and helped grow about 3,000 minority-owned tech businesses while supporting and raising $225 million. Her commitment to advancement and inclusion has most recently been recognized by organizations such as the Cincinnati Bengals (2022 Inspire Change Changemaker Award) and Doritos and Pepsi Co. (2023 Doritos Change Maker).
Matthews Brackeen is such a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals that, while being a prime mover in the tech business world, she decompresses by going to games at Paycor Stadium. Candice also serves on the Cincinnati Innovation District Advisory Council and the Endeavor Northwest Arkansas Board of Directors and is a University of Cincinnati Kautz Uible Fellow.

Stacy Brown-Philpot: Co-Founder, CherryRock Capital

Best known as the former CEO of TaskRabbit, Stacy Brown-Philpot led the transformation of the fast-growing startup into a global business with local operations in more than 70 major markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, and Spain.
After just three years at TaskRabbit, a company that provides short-term freelance labor, Brown-Philpot rose to its top job. As CEO, she oversaw its successful acquisition by the IKEA group. In 2015, she was made a director on the HP board; in 2017, she was appointed to the board of luxury retail giant Nordstrom.
Before TaskRabbit, Brown-Philpot had spent nearly a decade heading global operations for some of Google’s most widely used services, including Google search, spending time in India as head of online sales and operations for Google India.
Business Insider ranked Brown-Philpot as one of the 46 Most Important Blacks in Technology. She founded the Black Google Network and is a founding member of the SoftBank Opportunity Fund, a $100 million fund established to invest in Black, Latinx, and Native American founders. In addition to HP and Nordstrom, she is on the board of directors for Noom, StockX, Joy, and Black Girls Code. She was named a 2016 Henry Crown Fellow with the Aspen Institute and one of Fortune’s 2015 40 Under 40.*

Maria Toler: Founder and Managing Partner, SteelSky Ventures

Maria Toler is the Founding and Managing Partner of SteelSky Ventures, a $73 million VC fund focused on women’s healthcare. Backed by Eli Lilly and JP Morgan, SteelSky has become a leading player in the industry. A recognized luminary in a burgeoning investment category, Maria is a sought-after speaker at prestigious forums such as the Milken Institute, the Aspen Institute, and the American Hospital Association. This year, she was tapped to work with the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, traveling with the First Lady of the United States to announce the new $100M program.
She was recently invited to join the UNFPA Leadership Council, where she will carry the UN torch to promote women’s health globally. Maria’s accolades include being named a 2022 USA Justice Fellow by Eisenhower Fellowships, receiving the 2023 Atlanta Women of Influence Award, and earning a spot on the Forbes list of top VCs to watch. Her journey has been showcased on ABC News and The Today Show, and she was honored with the 2020 NYU Stern Alumni Changemaker Award. Business Insider has also recognized Maria on its Rising Stars in Venture Capital list.