One day after the launch of her book "It's About Damn Time", Arlan Hamilton will join Derek Andersen for a conversation about creativity, solutions and hope. They'll cover productivity, engagement, and pivoting business in this new world. Tune in for a humble and honest conversation between two individuals who have creating community, helping others, and making things happen at their core.
Backstage Capital
Founder + Partner
Arlan Hamilton built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a fund that is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT.
Arlan Hamilton built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a fund that is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now raised more than $10 million and invested in more than 130 startup companies led by underestimated founders. In 2018 Arlan co-founded Backstage Studio which launched four accelerator programs for underestimated founders in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London. Arlan was featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine in October 2018 as the first Black woman non-celebrity to do so, and her new book "It's About Damn Time" comes out on Penguin Random House's business imprint Currency on May 5, 2020.
Bevy / Startup Grind
Co-Founder + CEO
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Derek Andersen is the co-founder and CEO of Bevy, a SaaS product that helps companies build community in real life. Bevy powers event communities for Salesforce, Atlassian, Asana, Duolingo, and others. Derek co-founded Startup Grind, a community of over 600 Chapters in 120 countries designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. Since 2012 Startup Grind has hosted 7,000 events for more than 250,000 people. In 2010 he co-founded Commonred which was acquired by Income.com. Derek also previously worked at Electronic Arts on games like Burnout and The Sims 3. Derek lives in Palo Alto CA with his wife and four children.
Chapter Director
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Media & Partnerships
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Startup Grind
Hollywood Chapter Director
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