How Women Inspire: Invest, Lead, Give

The Power of Storytelling in Venture Capital with Gayle Jennings O'Byrne

May 01, 2024 How Women Lead Season 1 Episode 114
The Power of Storytelling in Venture Capital with Gayle Jennings O'Byrne
How Women Inspire: Invest, Lead, Give
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How Women Inspire: Invest, Lead, Give
The Power of Storytelling in Venture Capital with Gayle Jennings O'Byrne
May 01, 2024 Season 1 Episode 114
How Women Lead

Venture capital has a reputation for only funding certain demographics of entrepreneurs, particularly white men. As both entrepreneurs seeking funding and investors looking to support them become more diverse, we don’t necessarily see that trend change. Gayle Jennings O’Byrne is here today to talk about the power of storytelling in venture capital and how it can help build trust, break down barriers, and get capital into the hands of those who need it, especially women entrepreneurs. This week’s episode 114 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about the power of storytelling in venture capital! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Gayle Jennings O'Byrne is sharing the importance of diverse teams in the venture capital space and actionable steps you can take right now to break down barriers through storytelling. 

Gayle Jennings O'Byrne is the CEO of Wocstar Capital, and Co-Founder and General Partner of the Wocstar Fund, an early-stage venture fund that invests in the future of consumption and innovation using a female arbitrage strategy — women of color tech entrepreneurs (“WOCstars”). Gayle was named one of "10 Women Changing the Landscape of Leadership'' by the New York Times, March 2021, one of the top Black venture capitalists, Business Insider, February 2024, and one of the top “10 Women of Influence” by Venture Capital Journal, July 2022. She is an instructor at Wocstar Academy and co-founder of the Ally Capital Collab, an initiative aimed at tackling systemic underinvestment in women of color fund managers. 

Some of the talking points Julie and Gayle go over in this episode include:

  • Gayle’s story and why she started Wocstar Capital to support women entrepreneurs.
  • Women’s role in making consumer decisions and therefore the market in general.
  • Raising capital by using storytelling to break down barriers.
  • The importance of mentorship and leadership development for women in the tech industry.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

Learn more about How Women Inspire at https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast 


CONNECT WITH GAYLE JENINGS O’BYRNE:

Wocstar

LinkedIn


CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL



Join us for Get On Board Week from October 16-20, 2023. Registration is now open at https://www.howwomenlead.com/getonboard  

Show Notes Chapter Markers

Venture capital has a reputation for only funding certain demographics of entrepreneurs, particularly white men. As both entrepreneurs seeking funding and investors looking to support them become more diverse, we don’t necessarily see that trend change. Gayle Jennings O’Byrne is here today to talk about the power of storytelling in venture capital and how it can help build trust, break down barriers, and get capital into the hands of those who need it, especially women entrepreneurs. This week’s episode 114 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about the power of storytelling in venture capital! 

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Gayle Jennings O'Byrne is sharing the importance of diverse teams in the venture capital space and actionable steps you can take right now to break down barriers through storytelling. 

Gayle Jennings O'Byrne is the CEO of Wocstar Capital, and Co-Founder and General Partner of the Wocstar Fund, an early-stage venture fund that invests in the future of consumption and innovation using a female arbitrage strategy — women of color tech entrepreneurs (“WOCstars”). Gayle was named one of "10 Women Changing the Landscape of Leadership'' by the New York Times, March 2021, one of the top Black venture capitalists, Business Insider, February 2024, and one of the top “10 Women of Influence” by Venture Capital Journal, July 2022. She is an instructor at Wocstar Academy and co-founder of the Ally Capital Collab, an initiative aimed at tackling systemic underinvestment in women of color fund managers. 

Some of the talking points Julie and Gayle go over in this episode include:

  • Gayle’s story and why she started Wocstar Capital to support women entrepreneurs.
  • Women’s role in making consumer decisions and therefore the market in general.
  • Raising capital by using storytelling to break down barriers.
  • The importance of mentorship and leadership development for women in the tech industry.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

Learn more about How Women Inspire at https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast 


CONNECT WITH GAYLE JENINGS O’BYRNE:

Wocstar

LinkedIn


CONNECT WITH JULIE CASTRO ABRAMS:

LinkedIn - Julie

How Women Lead

How Women Invest

How Women Give

Instagram - HWL

LinkedIn - HWL

Facebook - HWL



Join us for Get On Board Week from October 16-20, 2023. Registration is now open at https://www.howwomenlead.com/getonboard  

The Power of Storytelling in Venture Capital with Gayle Jennings O'Byrne
How Gayle started Wocstar.
Investing in and supporting WOC entrepreneurs.
The importance of diverse teams in the marketplace.
Training and education options for women entrepreneurs.
Promoting diversity and inclusion in media and investment through powerful storytelling.
The importance of mentorship and leadership development for women in the tech industry.