Serial Entrepreneur and Founder of Backstage Capital & Runner
Arlan Hamilton: Biography at a Glance
- Arlan Hamilton is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBTQ.
- Backstage has raised nearly $30 million, invested in 200 startups led by underestimated founders, and has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, Inc., Entrepreneur, and Quartz.
- She also founded Runner, a talent operations startup that connects outstanding operations talent with inclusive companies.
- Arlan published It’s About Damn Time, detailing her journey from homelessness to venture capital. Her latest book, Your First Million: Why You Don’t Have To Be Born Into A Legacy Of Wealth To Leave One Behind shows how anyone—no matter what they look like or how much money they have—can tap into the tools they already have at their disposal to get their million-dollar idea off the ground.
- Before launching Backstage Capital, she authored the groundbreaking blog “Your Daily Lesbian Moment”, which she grew to a monthly readership of 50,000 fans worldwide.
- Arlan co-founded, along with Investment Partner Christie Pitts, Backstage Studio, a new venture studio designed to build products, services, and initiatives that serve the mission of eliminating underrepresentation in tech by empowering founders and their teams to succeed.
- Arlan and her mother, Mrs. Earline Butler-Sims, have also established scholarship programs for Black students at Oxford University, HBCU Dillard University, and Harvard Law.
Media
Book: Your First MillionBook: It's About Damn TimeInc.: How This Woman Went From Homelessness to Running a Multimillion-Dollar Ven...Arlan Hamilton: Answering Top Questions on EntrepreneurshipForbes: Why Arlan Hamilton Created A $36M Fund For Black WomenArlan Hamilton's Backstage Capital: Championing Underrepresented Start-Up Founde...
Videos
Biography
Arlan Hamilton, founder of Backstage Capital and Runner, is a serial entrepreneur, author, and master multi-tasker.
Hamilton founded Backstage Capital to invest in founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBTQ. Since its founding, Backstage has raised nearly $30 million and invested in 200 startups led by underestimated founders.
Hamilton founded talent operations startup Runner to connect outstanding operations talent with inclusive companies. Runner has already raised $2 million from investors like Precursor Ventures, Lunar Startups, Kapor Capital, and others. That same year, Backstage Capital saw one of its first true exits when ice cream startup Coolhaus sold to The Urgent Company.
Arlan had an untraditional path into tech. Prior to starting Backstage Capital and Runner, Arlan authored the blog “Your Daily Lesbian Moment,” which she grew to a monthly readership of 50,000 fans worldwide. She also worked in the music industry as a tour coordinator for artists like Toni Braxton and Jason Derulo. Since entering the tech industry, Arlan has received a number of accolades in media publications like Fortune, Vanity Fair, and Fast Company.
Arlan published her book, It’s About Damn Time, detailing her journey from homelessness to venture capital. Arlan’s latest book, Your First Million: Why You Don’t Have To Be Born Into A Legacy Of Wealth To Leave One Behind shows how anyone—no matter what they look like or how much money they have—can tap into the tools they already have at their disposal to get their million-dollar idea off the ground. Arlan also hosts podcasts Your First Million and Demystifying Faith and is the executive producer on The Valley, a daily soap opera that is described as General Hospital for the tech industry.
Hamilton differentiates herself from others in the tech industry by not being afraid to go against the grain. Case in point: Backstage Capital, under Hamilton’s leadership, raised nearly $5 million in one week through an equity crowdfunding campaign. The historic campaign created an opportunity for everyday people to invest in Backstage’s operations and benefit from Backstage’s future success. In doing so, Hamilton has also created a blueprint for other underestimated fund managers.
Arlan is a proponent of paying it forward and supporting other underestimated people in the tech industry and beyond. She’s a limited partner in funds at Collab Capital, Ganas Ventures, Lightship Capital, RareBreed Ventures, and several others. Meanwhile, Arlan and her mother, Mrs. Earline Butler-Sims, have established scholarship programs for Black students at Oxford University, HBCU Dillard University, and Harvard Law.
Topics
Your First Million: Start Leaving Your Legacy Today
Whether you are trying to reach your first million dollars, downloads, customers, or otherwise, Arlan Hamilton is here to help you. Having lived nearly her entire life below the poverty line before going on to attain wealth and success as an entrepreneur and investor, Arlan is proof that you don’t have to be born into a legacy to leave one behind.
In this part-inspirational, part-instructional conversation, Arlan shows audiences that no matter what they look like or how much money they have, they can tap into the tools they already have at their disposal to get their million-dollar idea off the ground. Through examples from her personal journey, Arlan shares how to push doubt and imposter syndrome aside to go after your dreams. In this playbook for entrepreneurs, she covers everything from raising money to choosing the right collaborators and leaves audiences empowered to take that next step - or first step - toward leaving their own legacy.
It's About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated into Your Greatest Advantage
As a Black, gay woman who broke into the boys’ club of Silicon Valley, Arlan Hamilton understands that being underrepresented often means being underestimated. Before finding success, Arlan was on food stamps and sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco airport with no contacts in Silicon Valley and no background in finance—not even a college degree. What she did have was fierce determination and the will to succeed.
Despite what society would have you believe, Arlan shows audiences that a privileged background, an influential network, and a fancy college degree are not prerequisites for success. Sharing the hard-won wisdom she has picked up on her remarkable journey, Arlan details how to turn being underestimated into your greatest advantage. Through these powerful lessons, Arlon leaves audiences inspired to defy expectations and become the role models they were looking for.
Diversity in Tech
Bootstrapping a Venture Capital Fund
Breaking Rules While Breaking Ground
Garnering Attention in a Crowded Landscape
