Firm overview
VamosVentures is an early-stage venture fund based in Los Angeles and focused on investing in the next generation of Latinx and other diverse entrepreneurs. Managing partner Marcos Gonzalez, the firm’s founder and leader, brings an impressive mix of experience. He founded an e-commerce business that he scaled and sold during the first wave of the internet in the 1990s; later, he became a private equity, venture, and angel investor. Marcos brings with him a team of investment professionals and partners from institutions such as NEA, Google, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Firm strategy
As the son of two Mexican immigrants, Marcos saw firsthand the challenges Latinx people face in America. As he entered the world of finance and technology, he saw that, while 60 million Latinx people account for $2.3 trillion of economic activity and the number of Latinx business owners grew by 34% last year, Latinx founders and GPs represent less than 2% of venture-led companies and venture capitalists.
Seeing this as an opportunity to focus on a substantial and growing economic group, Marcos started VamosVentures. His goal: to empower and accelerate diverse teams tackling persistent challenges in communities across the United States. Marcos didn’t stop with founders, though; he’s also aiming to tackle the lack of Latinx and other diverse check writers in venture through the VamosVentures Scout Program. Aiming to help the next generation of venture investors build a track record, the program accepted 12 scouts in February 2021 and equipped them with capital.
Why we invested
At the core of VamosVentures’ strategy and identity are economic advancement, wealth creation, and social mobility. These are all goals we value at Carta, where our mission is to create more owners and allow more people to benefit from the wealth creation often attached to equity. VamosVentures is an ideal steward for these goals. They have an experienced and impressive team with operational and investing experience, and they’re focused on several powerful and growing demographics that have long been overlooked by the venture industry. We’re excited to be on a journey with Marcos and his team, and look forward to seeing what they accomplish.