Arlan Hamilton, aka @ArlanWasHere, is an entrepreneur. She founded Backstage Capital, a venture capital fund investing in founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Her mission extends to Twitter where she shares her thoughts on diversity and how we can cut those disparities, with honesty, and outspokenness.
Interview published on August 1, 2019
Q. What was most difficult while searching for your first investment and what kept you trying?
A. Actually, searching for the investment was one of the easiest parts because there were so many companies that I was working with and looking at, and many of them were viable investments. So, really, the hardest part was finding the right partners to invest in me, so that I can invest in those companies. What kept me going was that the sheer quality of the companies that I was looking at, even early on, made me know that this fund needed to exist.
Q. Some people can affiliate themselves to Backstage Capital as a way to improve their image. How do you make the difference between people coming with good intentions and the others?
A. Over time, I have developed a keen instinct to when it comes to what people's intentions are. I don't always get it right because I'm human, and I ultimately want to expect and see the best in everyone, and give people the benefit of the doubt to start with. So sometimes, I've been burned, and sometimes, I've been disappointed. But as time goes by, with those disappointments, there's a lot of learnings, a lot of data points, and so it's easier and easier to understand what people's intentions are. And I try to distance myself from people who are only around me or the company for their own reasons, for their own agenda.
Q. You used to be a music tour manager. Do you notice differences between the music industry and venture capital in their way of dealing with diversity?
A. They're very similar actually. I don't know the inside out of the music industry today, the touring industry, because I don't work in it anymore. But I do think that both industries have very few women of color and people of color who are at the highest ranks. It has always been difficult for women to break out into major roles in touring on the road, and the same goes for venture capital. But I'm hopeful that things have gotten better since I was around, and I know that there are a lot of people in touring who want it to change, and want that to change for the better.
Q. I've seen in your posts that you're personally thanking service industry workers like hotel maids. It's a conscious act to thank the invisible force behind the efficiency that it comforts the end consumer. Do you worry that this kind of empathy will disappear in the gig economy?
A. Well, I think that the same people who do give that courtesy, and make that conscious decision and act today, without the gig economy, will continue to do so in the future. I think it's something that's innate. For me, it's something that's part of my DNA; it's ingrained in my thinking. If I don't say thank you to someone who is serving me food, or holding the door for me, or is assisting me in customer service and being helpful, then I have failed that day. I definitely have a high standard for customer service because I used to work in retail and customer service, so I definitely do have a standard. But I, to this day, will leave a tip for a housekeeper at a hotel with a thank you note so that they know it's for them. I'm hopeful that the new generation and new wave in the gig economy will hold onto a lot of that, and I think it's up to us to really keep it in mind and not let everything become automated. We can't let our emotions, our gratitude, and our interactions become automated along with the world.
Q. Can you tell us about a startup that, according to you, will have a positive impact on diversity?
A. I think Blendoor is a wonderful example. Blendoor is a company that we invested in years ago and then I doubled down on this year. They are an app that lets companies hire blindly so that they're only looking at a person's merits when making the hiring decisions. They're not looking at a photograph, a name, etc. So I think that's a very direct company that makes that their intention every single day, and I'm very excited to see what happens as that company starts to expand in the B2B space, the SaaS space, and looking further and further into AI, what it can do in the future. I also think that many in the majority of the companies that we've invested in will have a positive impact on diversity simply by their existence, and simply by doing well while being in their bodies.
Q. Why do you choose to write a thread instead of a blog post, for example?
A. I like to write a thread if it's not super long - like if it's longer than a thought - rather than a blog post because it can be shared easily around the world quickly - immediately. Also, people can take certain points that they like and not have to take the entire kitchen with them. So there may be something, one or two sentences, that resonates with someone, that they can share with someone else, and so you're able to really exploit the assets of one thought and repurpose them and reframe them in many ways. I just think it's a great tool for dispersing information and thought.
Q. What Twitter accounts do you recommend to follow?
A. I love Aaron Levie at Box (@levie). I think that he uses Twitter really well. He's very thoughtful. He's extra in a good way, but he trims the fat - there is no unnecessary tweet. I also like Cristela Alonzo (@cristela9). I think she's hilarious and you can hear her voice when she writes. It's almost like an exercise -she can do that punchline with only a certain number of characters. She makes me cry laughing when I see her perform live, or if I see her on a TV show, and she does the same thing on Twitter. And I think Sahil Lavingia (@shl) at Gumroad is really great too.
Q. What's your favorite citation?
A. "Be yourself so that the people who are looking for you can find you." (@arlanwashere).
Learn more about Backstage Capital here and find Arlan’s threads here.
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