Firm overview
New Age Capital is a thesis-driven seed-stage venture capital firm investing in technology and tech-enabled companies founded and led by Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. Co-founding managing partners Ivan Alo and LaDante McMillon met as students at Boston College, where they discovered a shared passion for entrepreneurship. They reached an inflection point in 2013, when their exposure to technology entrepreneurship led them to support nascent founders; they started a fintech company in 2014. At that time, they saw—and experienced—a severe lack of capital going to Black and Latinx founders at the earliest, most critical stages.
In 2016, Ivan and LaDante decided to do something about the inequity they saw and started New Age Capital to invest in these founders. While they each had a wealth of experience, they had no investment track record. They began by methodically building a network of established, top-tier investors and developed a close relationship with Lightspeed Venture Partners (LSVP), who tapped them to be investment scouts for the LSVP Scout Program. As scouts, Ivan and LaDante not only grew their investment track record, but also built out their own path within the program that laid the foundation for future scouts to break into venture—all while maintaining full-time jobs outside venture. Their mission for New Age Capital is “to create and support a world where people of all races, ethnicities, cultures, lifestyles, and environments are exposed to new ideas, democratized information, and boundless opportunities through the use of technology.”
Firm strategy
New Age Capital aims to work with the best Black and Latinx entrepreneurs in the U.S. across all industries and sectors. They look to invest in companies with a product already in the market, with at least six months of traction and revenue. Their investment strategy is guided by their core beliefs: that multiculturalism is eating the world, that technology will continue to democratize access to information and opportunity, and that entrepreneurship and economic growth will accelerate among underrepresented groups. Combining those core beliefs with an ethos of authenticity, empathy, and transparency orients their investment strategy around founders at the seed-stage who are executing at a high level with few resources or funding.
In the course of getting to know New Age Capital, we found that one of the unique things about the firm is a consistent focus on brand as a lever to attract founders. Through their approachable and engaging video podcast CHOP’N IT UP, their website, and their blog Keep It 100, Ivan and LaDante spotlight their values and create channels to reach new entrepreneurs. We love their dynamic and rigorous approach to brand strategy.
Why we invested
We value investors who think deeply about the impact they intend to have on the world. Ivan and LaDante have achieved an incredible amount since they launched New Age Capital. They were 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees, a recognition of their important work. We’ve been most impressed by their unconventional approach to starting a venture capital fund, combining their brand, their network, and their experiences to create value for founders and other first-time investors. It is very rare for new fund managers to make such meaningful contributions to the venture ecosystem, and we’re excited to see how this values-driven investment team continues to make an impact.