Trina Van Pelt is vice-president and managing director of semiconductor manufacturer Intel’s corporate venturing unit, where she leads the internet-of-things and automated driving groups and co-leads the $125m Intel Capital Diversity Fund. She spoke to features editor Nicole Idar Lee about inclusion, encouraging portfolio companies to diversify their management teams and the satisfaction of helping others fulfil their potential
The diversity fund was launched in June 2015 to invest in tech startups led by women and underrepresented ethnic minorities, and as of last October the focus was broadened to include entrepreneurs living with disabilities, US military veterans and US-based members of the LGBTQ community. Could you tell me more about this change?
What fund co-lead Christine Herron and I looked to do is align our diversity and inclusion efforts across Intel. Our supplier organisation, Intel, had a diversity effort as well, and we discovered that they included military veterans and people with disabilities, and we thought LGBTQ needs to be in this too. It is a forward-looking approach.
What has been the effect of broadening the original focus?
We are starting to see more military veterans come up – it is opening up the pipeline to us, because people see that diversity is an area that we are very interested in. As another example, we have a company in our pipeline led by a CEO who has come out to the company as transgender.
What is really important to us is not just diversity, but diversity and inclusion. I would say diversity is being invited to the party, and inclusion is being invited to dance – meaning you are actively engaged, your opinions are actively sought out, your views are heard.
One thing I like to say too is in situations where there are eight women in the room and two men, the men in that situation are the minority and we need to be inclusive of their opinions as well. My view is that we want to make sure we are listening to everyone in a cross-business group discussion – this should not be tied to gender, colour, disability, background, political views – we need to be inclusive of everybody’s opinions.
Are there any other diversity fund initiatives you can share?
One change that Christine and I implemented is not just focusing on the new dollars that we want to invest. We are looking at existing portfolio companies – if those companies grow and have new management team members come in, encouraging those companies to include diverse people in their candidate pool makes a difference. If on an annual basis 5% of our nearly 400 portfolio companies end up with management teams and boards of directors that are more diverse, that is a bigger win from an impact perspective. After all, you can only invest in four or five new deals, maximum, in a year.
Our overall goal is to influence the tech startup community, and we are addressing that in several ways – first, new investment in companies that are diverse, and second, influencing companies that are already growing and continuing to progress. If, early on, the startup has a focus on diversity and inclusion, it has a much better chance of continuing to do that as it moves to series C and D rounds and beyond.
How much capital have you put to work so far, and how difficult has it been to source investments for the fund?
In total, we have about $111m invested in diverse teams, of which $49.4m is out of the diversity fund. From a sourcing perspective, there is no shortage of investment opportunities. With [crowdfunding platform] Kickstarter, and all the different accelerators that are focused on minority-led businesses, there are more and more opportunities, and I only see that continuing to expand.
Tell us how the fund team makes investments – is the selection process any different from the way Intel Capital selects portfolio companies?
There is not a separate decision-making process – it is the exact same process that every investment goes through. The fund does not have a direct set of investment managers that focus solely on diversity investments. All Intel Capital investment managers are responsible for diversity investing, and responsible for trying to influence their existing portfolio companies.
There is no different bar, no special treatment that companies led by diverse teams get. The business, whether it is data centre or internet of things, new devices or new technologies, it still needs to be one that Intel would invest in, either aligned with our strategic objectives or aligned to the pathfinding investments that we might want to pursue. We want to be able to say: “Hey, this is a great company, it is strategically relevant, and it is diverse.”
For Intel, what are some of the benefits of managing a diversity fund?
Since we invest in so many technologies – data centre, internet of things, cloud, new technologies, sport, health – we touch on so many different aspects of technology that, depending on those interests, they give us a better chance of accessing diverse companies.
And, in turn, with our strong corporate organisation push for diversity and inclusion – Intel’s goal is to have full representation of women and minorities in the workforce by 2020 – we have a strong pool of connections for [businesses led by diverse teams].
What tips or lessons can you share with corporate venturers considering whether to set up a diversity fund of their own?
First, I would say stay true to your corporate mission objectives, and look for how you as a corporate can add value to a portfolio company beyond investment dollars. In the internet-of-things sector, when investments come through, we see there are so many opportunities Intel has to help grow that business. We are going to measure that deal not just by its financial success, but by whether the [Intel] business unit did what they said they would do to help the company. So stay aligned with the deal thesis – you have a better chance of success.
Second, do not set a different bar for investments – keep standards just as high. Third, diversity and inclusion should not just be considered at the start of an investment – you have to keep the focus all the way through. This is why we look at our existing portfolio companies. We do not push diversity on them, we have companies that really want to be diverse. One company has a workforce that is 40% diverse, but the management is not, so we do not count that. Our view is that diversity has to start at the top, and it will work its way down.
Tell us about your own personal interest in the diversity fund – why does this issue matter to you?
We all have our own perspectives on diversity. I am a white female who has worked in so many male-dominated environments that there have been times I stopped noticing it, but I still remember when I was first out of college and working in investment banking, and I go into a room for a client meeting where out of 25 people I am the only woman, and the client looked at me and said: “Can I get a cup of coffee?”
I looked at him and said: “You should ask an assistant to get you a cup of coffee. I am part of the banking team.” I like challenges, and I feel like I have had my own challenges, growing up on a farm, not having any family members apart from my older brothers, going to college, putting myself through undergrad. So now I think, how else can I help other people fulfil the potential they have?