Launch With GS is Goldman Sachs’ $500 million investment strategy grounded in our belief that diverse teams drive strong returns. Through Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs aims to increase access to capital and facilitate connections for women, Black, Latinx and other diverse entrepreneurs and investors.
Companies led by diverse management teams leverage a range of perspectives to better compete in a globalized economy. Companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity are 33% more likely to have industry-leading profitability, and those in the top quartile for gender diversity are 21% more likely to outperform1. Diverse-owned funds are overrepresented in the top quartile of private equity funds2.
However, just under 3% of venture capital in the United States goes to women-led teams3 and only 1% goes to Black and Latinx founders4, 0.32% to Latinx women, and 0.0006% goes to Black women5. Across venture capital and private equity more broadly, of the $69 trillion of global financial assets under management across, less than 1.3% is managed by women and people of color6.
This market imbalance, coupled with our belief that diverse teams outperform, is the catalyst behind Launch With GS.
through Goldman Sachs’ principal investing businesses
to back investment managers with at least one diverse GP across venture capital, growth equity and private equity strategies
of entrepreneurs, investors and other business leaders to facilitate actionable connections and grow the pipeline of future investment opportunities
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A series featuring insights and advice from founders and Goldman Sachs investors on entrepreneurship and building businesses
Board meetings are serious business, but that doesn’t mean the only way to run them is by going through twenty-five slides of charts and spreadsheets. Unlocking the creativity and camaraderie of your board can go a long way in helping your business distinguish itself over time.
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A board of directors is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Companies benefit from different sets of expertise at different stages in their growth, and it’s natural for board composition to evolve as companies mature. Having diverse perspectives around the table can help fill knowledge and skill gaps as the company evolves.
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Often, the best advice comes from people who have been there before. At Goldman Sachs’ Private Internet Company Conference, we asked seven entrepreneurs to share the advice they have for fellow founders on everything from hiring to fundraising to leadership and scaling a successful company.
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“In Asia, many healthcare, technology and consumer companies are increasingly catering to female consumers. Portfolio companies with a diverse leadership team at the helm have a clear competitive advantage since they are better positioned to understand the true needs of their customers.”
Stephanie Hui
Managing Director
Head of Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking in Asia and Co-head of GS Growth
“The bottom line is this makes sense for our business – because investing and helping companies grow is our business. We also hope it makes a difference for entrepreneurs who have big ideas but find themselves cut out of the funding ecosystem.”
Stephanie Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
Goldman Sachs
“Entrepreneurs think differently than everyone else – otherwise their idea would already exist. If you’re looking for entrepreneurs in the same place over and over again, you’ll get the same ideas, over and over again.”
Jade Mandel
Vice President
GS Growth
“When we invest in growth companies, amongst other things we are really backing management teams. We look for resilience, passion, and a demonstrated track record of making good decisions. And we believe that diverse teams make better decisions.”
Nishi Somaiya
Managing Director
Global Chief Operating Officer of GS Growth
“We want to work with entrepreneurs who are humble and willing to do the work with us, because in the end they care about creating a great business that lasts. There’s a vision component to investing – what are you trying to build? And a values component – how are you going to build it?”
Darren Cohen
Managing Director
Co-head of GS Growth
“Having worked in the industry for close to a decade, I’ve seen the investing gap firsthand. There’s a real economic benefit to having more diversity on boards and investment committees.”
Olga Kaplan
Vice President
GS Growth
“We believe that having a diverse team makes investors better at understanding risk. The investing industry as a whole has a long way to go when it comes to gender diversity. We can accept that as the way it is, or we can try to change it.”
Julian Salisbury
Managing Director
Global Co-head of Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking
“We believe in the power of community in growing businesses, and that having a diverse network can make the difference in getting to that next level, whether you’re an entrepreneur or an investor. That’s what we’re building with Launch With GS.”
Jemma Wolfe
Vice President
Head of Launch With GS
“We’ll measure our success through our investment returns. We want to prove that investing in diverse management teams is not a trend – it’s good economics. That’s important.”
Rana Yared
Managing Director
GS Growth
“A successful investment firm requires a special combination of great investment thinking and great business building. We’ve found that the most thoughtful firms recognize these two skill sets are really distinct. The best managers work hard to build teams with a range of talents that complement, where the whole is truly greater than the sum of the parts.”
Chris Kojima
Managing Director
Alternative Investments & Manager Selection
Year in Review - Launch With GS' Jemma Wolfe discusses the initiative’s success in its first 18 months and the business case for investing in diverse teams on Yahoo Finance. Read Article
Q&A with Kirsten Green, Founding Partner at Forerunner Ventures - In this Q&A with Launch With GS, Kirsten Green talks about about getting started, partnering with entrepreneurs, and driving culture at her firm. Read Article
New Report - All In: Women in the VC Ecosystem - Goldman Sachs teamed up with PitchBook, All Raise and Microsoft for Startups to dive into the latest data around women-led businesses in North America, and the findings are in a new report titled, All In: Women in the VC Ecosystem. Read Report
The Future of Consumer Healthcare - Launch With GS recently hosted an event in New York at Luminary, a women-led co-working space, where we brought together entrepreneurs, investors and corporate executives in the consumer healthcare space for a conversation with Mindy Grossman, CEO of WW, and Brent Saunders, CEO of Allergan. Read Article
Q&A with Hollie Haynes, Founder and Managing Partner of Luminate Capital Partners - In this Q&A with Launch With GS, Hollie Haynes talks about venturing out on her own, what she looks for in an investment, and why entrepreneurs are actually risk-averse. Read Article
Kirsten Green: Founding Partner of Forerunner Ventures
In this Talks at GS session, Kirsten Green discusses the investing approach that has guided her success as a venture capital investor in fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands, as well as her views on the constantly-shifting consumer landscape. Watch Video
Julia Hartz: Co-Founder and CEO of Eventbrite
In this Talks at GS session, Julia Hartz discusses merging a digital platform with live experiences, reflections on becoming a public company, and why the company’s culture has been key to its success. Watch Video
Rebecca Minkoff: Fashion Designer
Rebecca Minkoff discusses building her eponymous fashion brand, how technology and social media are driving the fashion industry and her efforts to support women-led businesses through the Female Founder Collective. Watch Video
Stacey Cunningham: President of the NYSE Group
In this Talks at GS session, Stacey Cunningham discusses her journey at the NYSE from one-time intern to its first female president and her efforts to bring innovation and efficiency to the NYSE during a time of evolution in the marketplace. Watch Video
Womenomics 5.0: Twenty Years On
In 1999, Goldman Sachs Research Strategist Kathy Matsui published a seminal research report on “Womenomics,” exploring how much Japan’s GDP could grow if more women were in the labor force. Matsui reflects on the progress we’ve seen and where challenges remain. Watch Video
