History Page Header Image
Our History
A timeline of SomosVC's major milestones.
June 2019
A group of nine Latino/a professionals in venture capital came together as they shared similar observations on the current state of the industry and ideas on how they could change the next generation of VCs to make significant progress in Latino/a representation
Founding Board members
July 2019
The initial group of nine hosted 30+ Latino/a VCs in the industry for a large group brainstorming session in which the community discussed the core priorities for the organization and self-organized into the groups of the areas they would volunteer to lead.
LatinxVC team photo
November 2019
Hosted the first Social Happy Hour that included SomosVC members from across the U.S.
Latinos in a Social Happy Hour
Fall 2020
Hosted educational virtual programming events, such as “Paths into Venture Capital” and industry-specific educational panels, a well as an event for Latino/a emerging managers to share best fundraising practices.
2021
SomosVC officially incorporated with the support of Fenwick & West LLP and re-launched in partnership with founding sponsor, Silicon Valley Bank, in order to significantly grow the scale and impact of its efforts to help increase diversity in the venture capital industry.
SVB and Fenwick Logos
January 2021
Created a newsletter and Slack groups focused on informing professionals about job opportunities in venture capital and other professional development opportunities, with a focus on Latino/a professionals and allies.
April 2021
Started the Fellowship Program, which supports early career professionals aiming to break into VC, with an inaugural class of 22 Fellows.
Inaugural Fellowship Program
July 2021
Launched the inaugural Mentorship Program cohort to connect junior Latino/a venture professionals with senior venture professionals.
November 2021
Hosted the first Emerging Manager Showcase for founding GPs to showcase their firms to the community and build relationships with LPs.
Emerging Manager Showcase
March 2022
SomosVC officially received its 501(c)(3) designation.
July 2022
Welcomed its Executive Director, Mariela Salas, to the team.
November 2022
Hosted the inaugural Annual Summit, the first gathering of its kind.
Attendees at the 2022 Summit
June 2023
Welcomed its Director of Program Operations & Marketing, Mitzi Benavides, to the team.

Hosted the inaugural Avanza Summit, an educational and professional development event for pre-partner VCs.
Avanza Summit
October 2023
The organization changed its name from LatinxVC to SomosVC.
All news

SomosVC Seeks To Boost Latine VCs With The Help Of Silicon Valley Bank

Nonprofit LatinxVC released a recent report finding that only 2 percent of partner-level investment professionals are Latino or Latina although 19 percent of the U.S. population is Hispanic, as reported by the Pew Research Center. And 86 percent of institutional VCs have zero Latinx investment team members.

Read more

SomosVC Announces Silicon Valley Bank Sponsorship to Double the Number of Latine Professionals Working in Venture Capital

New Report Finds Latinx Investment Professionals Make Up Only 2% of the Venture Capital Industry Workforce While Latinx Individuals Comprise 19% of the U.S. Population.

Read more

State of Latino/a VCs: First Annual Report

LatinxVC, a non-profit organization focused on increasing the number of Latino and Latina (“Latinx”) venture capital investment professionals and supporting Latinx venture capital investors, today issued its first annual State of Latinx VCs Report.

Read more

SomosVC Appoints New Executive Director to Support the Latine Venture Capital Ecosystem

LatinxVC, a non-profit focused on growing and supporting the Latinx venture capital ecosystem, today announced it has appointed Mariela Salas to the position of Executive Director.

Read more
GET THE LATEST NEWS
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Contact Us
hello@somos.vc
Social Icon
Join Us
By joining the SomosVC community, you'll receive emails with the latest updates and opportunities.