These Two Under 30s Got Personal With Their Venture Capital Journey

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In a time of uncertainty, distress and isolation, there was a silver lining: opportunity. For these two Under 30 alumni, the Covid-19 pandemic lent the missing piece– whether it be time, inspiration or market volatility– to jump into their dream gig head first.

For Nicole DeTomasso, a Senior Associate at the diversity-focused early stage venture fund Harlem Capital and Forbes Under 30 2023 Venture Capital lister, the journey into venture capital wasn’t linear. She worked in investment banking before deciding she wanted to be more fulfilled in her work, while also bringing her business brain to the table. A LinkedIn search in the early days of the pandemic led her to Harlem Capital. The $134 million fund is focused on changing the face of entrepreneurship by investing in women and people of color.

“It was like an epiphany moment for me,” said DeTomasso, 28. “I simultaneously learned about Harlem Capital and venture capital in one and fell in love with the mission.” That summer, she landed a part-time internship with Harlem and worked with them through the end of that year– all while continuing to work full-time in her investment banking role. “It was like a perfect storm and timing was on my side since I could work from home,” says DeTomasso. Eventually, she turned to the Harlem Capital team with a 10-page deck on why they should hire her, and the pitch worked.

Her grit aligns with Harlem’s thesis. “The independent mind piece is that you know what you are trying to achieve and you know that there will be people that have things to say about it or will disagree with you; people that will think you're aiming too high,” says DeTomasso. “And it's sort of this idea that if you’re strong in yourself and your judgment, you will be able to succeed, right? Regardless of the noise that's around you.”

“That's always what we're looking for in our founders– resilience; being able to keep spirits up not only for themselves but their teams in hard times, particularly like right now,” she says.

Maya Bakhai, the founder and sole general partner of Spice Capital and fellow Forbes Under 30 2023 Venture Capital lister, got her start in venture capital at Kevin Durant’s fund, 35 Ventures. During the pandemic, she began dabbling in the angel investment scene on the side. “I think because of Covid, the rules had been lifted. There was this trend of everyone starting to participate in their private markets.” Inspired by the independence of angel portfolios, Bakhai began building her own.

How, you ask? By investing in a personal interest.

“I was obsessed with the company Crocs. I put a lot of my money into Crocs. During Covid, I thought it was really undervalued, and that paid off,” said Bakhai, 28. “So I used those profits to side hustle and become an angel investor and then built out my portfolio.” Her thesis rests on the idea that if you can accumulate an angel-style approach to venture capital, you can participate in the best companies yourself without having to work for a large firm.

“I’m looking at the mainstream use case for some of these super technical innovations that are really powerful,” says Bakhai. “But I think my edge is that Silicon Valley may design them in a really business-to-business way. I'm focused on the business-to-consumer way.”

Spice has invested in almost 30 companies to date, 15 of which are core positions where Bakhai owns between 1 and 5% of the company. Working at the intersections of technology and culture, Bakhai is always on the lookout for what is next to enter the cultural zeitgeist. For her, acute cultural shifts and freshly-brimming products are where her opportunities lie as an independent angel investor.

“I think what the real opportunity is though is as a young person, as a Gen Z person, you can actually invest your time as well into areas that you're really passionate about,” says Bakhai.

Who Decides How Woke Corporations Should Be?

Georgia Stewart, in 2017 a final-year student at Cambridge University, campaigned to have the endowment sell off its fossil fuel stocks. That didn’t get far. “When I was there they divested from tar sands,” she says dismissively. Anyway, she goes on, “divestment is not necessarily the best outcome. You just end up with shareholders who don’t care.”

Out of those sour grapes came a business idea. Stewart, 27, is the chief executive of Tumelo, a five-year-old Bristol, England, firm that gives investors a platform through which to express their views in proxy contests. “We want more transparency and accountability,” she says. With 57 employees and $22 million in venture capital, Tumelo is not yet in the black but is positioned to get there.

5 Minutes With…Nicole DeTommaso, Senior Associate at Harlem Capital

Every week, we’ll be sitting down with a different Under 30 lister to get down to the details. Up this week: Nicole DeTommaso, a Senior Associate at Harlem Capital, an early-stage fund focused on women and people of color. Nicole was featured on our Forbes Under 30 2023 Venture Capital list.

Favorite app?

The Infatuation! My guide for all things food in different cities

A staple of your morning routine?

Reading! I try to pick up my book before my phone in the mornings now

Overrated?

The desire to be right all the time

Underrated?

Expressing vulnerability

What would you tell your 21-year-old self?

You can be authentically you in the workplace and still succeed

Someone you look up to in VC?

Honestly, my colleague Gabby Cazeau. She has been a mentor for me in so many ways and has helped me grow within HCP as well as within the VC ecosystem. She's someone I go to for almost anything related to VC.

On Our Radars

• Will you be tuning in to the Superbowl this weekend? If so, here are the numbers you need to know, from Patrick Mahomes’ $50 million season to $5,500 “cheap seats.” (Forbes)
• The Securities and Exchange Commission and VCs have traditionally lived in two different worlds– but if a new rule from the regulatory agency advances, VCs could find their sphere under increased scrutiny. (Crunchbase)
• In another small win towards a circular battery supply chain, Redwood Materials, the battery recycling and components maker created by Tesla cofounder JB Straubel, has been awarded a $2 billion federal loan to help build up a U.S. supply base for essential components needed to make batteries for electric vehicles that are currently imported almost entirely from Asia. (Forbes)
• Apparently, Bing, the previously-overlooked default search engine on your old PC, is back with an AI-driven vengeance– and it’s actually good. (Wall Street Journal)

And finally, I’d like to invite all of our women readers to join Forbes at our upcoming Forbes 30/50 Summit, returning to Abu Dhabi in celebration of International Women's Day in March 2023! Join women from the Forbes Under 30 and Forbes 50 Over 50 communities, along with other top women leaders, to forge new bonds, learn about innovation and leadership and network with some of the brightest and most influential women from around the world.

Share the room with some amazing voices, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, Gloria Steinem, Ayesha Curry, Misty Copeland and so many more!

Register to attend by visiting this link.

Have some news for us? Send any updates to 30under30tipline@forbes.com.