Venture Capitalist Jesse Draper Is Betting Big With Female-Led Companies

I know what you’re thinking, what does venture capitalism and business have to do with Hollywood? Well once you hear Jesse Draper’s passion and story you will understand.

Jesse has made it her life’s work to change the gender ratio at the CEO level through her new venture capital fund: Halogen Ventures. In this role, Jesse spearheads early stage seed investing in female founded consumer technology startups. Some of her portfolio companies include: Laurel & Wolf, Eloquii, The Flex Company, Carbon38, Hop Skip Drive & Sugarfina, along with many parent-related startups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a background in media and investing, Jesse has been named one of Variety’s “Hollywood’s New Leaders,” Marie Claire’s “50 Most Connected Women in America,” Refinery29’s “30 Under 30 Rising Stars,” and one of Mashable’s “44 Female Founders Every Entrepreneaur Should Know.”  As an speaker and moderator- Jesse has appeared at conferences and events all over the world.  She even holds the title of Emmy nominee, through her television series “The Valley Girl Show” where she produced and distributed over 300 interviews with some of the greatest minds in business, entertainment, and technology including: Ted Turner, Mark Cuban, Sheryl Sandberg, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Jessica Alba, MC Hammer and Eric Schmidt.

In this episode we talk about her frustration with the current state of digital media and content distribution online. There are a lot of changes that need to be made and she has some expert advice on what can be done having navigated it herself. We also talk about what she looks for in a investment opportunities. As you can imagine she gets pitches every day from people trying to get their business off the ground. She has to say no a lot but there is a solid foundation behind each yes and no.

I was fascinated to learn more about the business side of Hollywood and technology. Jesse is a wealth of inspiration and information for those looking to launch a business. To hear more of our interview listen to this episode on iTunes or the podcast player of your choice.

You can follow Jesse Draper and her business ventures at halogenvc.com