Raise Venture Capital from Founder-Friendly, DEI-Committed Investors.

Sunlight is rebuilding the venture capital fundraising process, with diversity, equity and inclusion put first. It is time to fix the diversity problem in venture capital, once and for all.

Join Waitlist
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To join Sunlight, all founders and investors must sign the Sunlight Diversity and Inclusion Pledge (DIP): a commitment to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures at the organisations they lead, work for and invest in.

Hang On, There's A Diversity Problem?

Uh, hell yeah! Actually, it's no secret that there's a diversity problem in venture capital.

Women and underrepresented minority (URM) founders aren't getting funded, women and URM investors aren't getting hired by venture capital firms, and the lack of diversity is lowering returns for the venture capital asset class as a whole.

One thing is clear: the asset class that loves disrupting inefficient industries is in desperate need of disruption itself.

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2.5%
The overall percentage of VC dollars received by female founders over the past decade.
Source: Table Stakes (#Angels and Carta)

That's awful, What can we do?

It's time for a fresh start. Sunlight is rebuilding the venture capital fundraising process with diversity, equity and inclusion put first.

On Sunlight, there are no gatekeepers and no barriers to entry for less-connected teams. As long as there is an investment criteria match, any startup can contact any VC (and vice versa).

Sunlight will give every founder and investor an equal chance of success , no matter their gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, ability identity or socio-economic status.

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3.3x
Median multiple on acquisitions & IPOs generated by diverse founders (white founders: 2.5x).
Source: Deconstructing the Pipeline Myth, Kauffman Fellows and MaC Venture Capital

Sounds great, how does Sunlight work?

At its core, Sunlight is a searchable database of venture capital firm and startup profiles. Once you've created your company's profile, you're ready to start pitching. But be warned, to join Sunlight you must follow a few simple diversity-based Rules and, of course, do the DIP.

For Startups
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1Create your profile: Showcase your company for VCs: profiles are designed to include everything an investor would want to know about your company, with advanced privacy settings allowing you to hide sensitive information and grant individual access to VCs on request.
2Find investors: Search for investors based on their investment criteria, team diversity and more, read verified reviews from named (not anonymous) founders and manage your fundraise with custom software designed specifically for the VC fundraising process.
3Connect: Introduce yourself to VCs with one-click, no need for long emails and endless back-and-forth to provide more info. Everything they want to know is on your profile, so you can get back to what's important... building your startup!
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The Rules
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To join Sunlight, all startups and venture capital firms must:

1Accept – and respond to – all cold introductions: On Sunlight there are no gatekeepers or barriers to entry for less-connected teams. As long as there is an investment criteria match, any startup can contact any VC (and vice versa).
2Disclose diversity data on a semi-annual basis (lines, not dots): Sunlight will use transparency and data to usher in a new era of diversity in venture capital teams & portfolios.
3Sign the Sunlight DIP (Diversity & Inclusion Pledge): The Sunlight DIP will be written by a collective of founders, VCs and thought-leaders with a long track record of fighting for increased diversity in the tech industry.
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For Investors
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1Create your profile: Showcase your mission, team and portfolio for startups. Sunlight's VC profiles will help you reach a global audience of actively fundraising founders and measure the effectiveness of inclusivity initiatives with your custom diversity data dashboard.
2Research startups: Whether you're assessing inbound pitches or searching for startups that match your investment criteria, Sunlight startup profiles contain everything you need to know to be able to assess fit and decide whether or not to initiate contact.
3Supercharge dealflow: Combining detailed startup profiles with advanced dealflow management software enables you to accept more pitches, review them efficiently and provide timely responses. All without opening Gmail.
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OK, enough talk...
it's time for action!

We can only fix the diversity problem in VC if we do it together, and we need your help. Please show your support by joining our waitlist, following us on Twitter, filling out our Investor and Founder surveys, and spreading the word. And please feel free to email us with any suggestions, feedback or just to say hi. We would love to hear from you!

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