Last month, our Westbound community gathered in Healdsburg, California for Summit 2024  – our annual gathering providing Westbound-backed founders with connectivity and exposure to some of the technology industry’s most impactful individuals and ideas. 

In addition to our firm focusing efforts on closing the funding gap, we also prioritize addressing the gaps in social capital. Our Advisors and LPs, collectively known as the Westbound Network, commit their social capital and expertise to our founders at every stage of the company-building process. In turn, our founders provide insight, inspiration, and learning & impact opportunities to our Network members. It’s our virtuous cycle in action.

At the Summit, we witness the magic of this exchange of social capital in real life. Through fireside chats, breakout sessions, and shared meals, existing relationships are deepened, new connections are made, and knowledge is shared. And our community of founders, impact leaders, investors, and industry leaders are all better for it. Attendees leave the Summit feeling reenergized, recharged, and better equipped to lead their organizations. Simply put, our founders feel seen.

This year’s Summit featured some of our earliest backers and advisors, along with new friends leading some of the tech industry’s most important conversations in the age of AI:

• Jeff Weiner shared lessons grounded from his experiences as LinkedIn’s CEO, including how to manage compassionately and how to maintain company culture and values through periods of hypergrowth. 
• Dr. Joy Buolamwini, a leading expert in reducing bias and harm in AI, discussed how we can “transform a system so that we get to enjoy and experience the promises of what AI can be.”
• Alan Waxman and Andre Iguodala reminded us of a winner’s mindset: having a prepared mind, taking the shot, and putting in the work when no one else is watching.
• Peter Walker, Carta’s Head of Insights, shared the latest trends from the startup ecosystem. 

We also connected in smaller breakout sessions over a range of topics from fundraising to nailing product-market fit to how to unlock support and seize the moment as leaders. We’re grateful to the members of the Westbound Network who facilitated these roundtable discussions: Brian Rumao, Charles Hudson, Collin Wallace, Dan Bomze, David Stiepleman, Fern Mandelbaum, Ivy McGregor, Meg Garlinghouse, Mike Smith, Monique Woodard, Peter Walker, and Richard Smith.

And finally, thank you to our amazing event partners: Carta, SVB, Cleary, JP Morgan, Cooley, AWS, Gunder, Metlife – for their collaboration and presence during our special two days together.

The Summit is one of the many levers we pull in achieving our vision of investing financial and social capital into exceptional ventures led by, solving for, or built with underrepresented people of color. We look forward to next year!

Will