Keynote Topics
Arlan Hamilton is a remarkable entrepreneur who built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She 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 LGBT. Started in 2015, […]
Arlan Hamilton is a remarkable entrepreneur who built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She 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 LGBT.
Started in 2015, Backstage has now invested over $15M into 175 startups led by underestimated founders and has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, Inc., Entrepreneur, and Quartz.
Arlan made history by making the cover of Fast Company as the first Black woman non-celebrity to do so, and her book “It’s About Damn Time” is out on Penguin Random House’s business imprint Currency. She and Backstage Studio were also the subjects of Season 7 of the popular Gimlet Media podcast, StartUp. Arlan now hosts Your First Million, a weekly podcast featuring in-depth conversations with how the world’s most successful people finessed their first million dollars, customers, or downloads.
Arlan Hamilton entered the venture investing world from an unconventional path. 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. She has written for AOL, SuicideGirls, and Curve Magazine, and founded and published the internationally distributed indie magazine Interlude. Arlan Hamilton was also a live music production professional, having served as a tour coordinator to numerous international artists including Toni Braxton, and Jason Derulo. Most recently she worked with Atlantic Records recording artist Janine.
In 2018, 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.
Also in 2018, Backstage Studio announced the launch of four accelerator programs, in Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, and London, UK. Called the Backstage Accelerator, this three-month program is designed to give founders the support they need to reach their next critical milestone, through mentorship, investment capital, and access to resources and networks.
Arlan Hamilton was recently named on Fortune magazine’s 40 under 40 list, as well as,Vanity Fair magazine’s The 2018 New Establishment List.
In 2019, Arlan and her mother, Mrs. Earline Butler-Sims, announced their new scholarship program, which kicked off with Oxford University’s first-ever undergraduate scholarship for a Black student, as well as a full-ride scholarship for a Psychology student at Mrs. Sims’ alma mater, HBCU Dillard University.
Arlan’s company, Backstage Capital, produced and released ‘jOURney’, a documentary celebrating the five year anniversary of the firm, highlighting the people and companies who made it what it is today and released an impact report highlighting the strides Backstage has made in changing the venture capital scene. They also launched Backstage Crowd, a funding platform giving access to the best diverse deal flow in VC. Backstage ended 2020 having made over 30 investments in underestimated founders.
To cap the year, Arlan Hamilton Academy was launched. Arlan recruited experts from across the tech universe to teach and give insight into what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Now anyone can learn what was only available to those ‘in-the-know’ in Silicon Valley.
Contact us at Speakers Inc and subscribe to our YouTube channel
This PowerPoint slide above is designed for meeting planners.
Register for FREE and simply click the URL link for automatic download of the PPTX slide.
We have created a simple “ABOUT” single slide which you can instantly insert into your pitch deck when submitting speaker proposals.
Features:
Bruce Fordyce is a well known name in Athletics after his record run in the Comrades Marathon over the years. In 1977, when Fordyce ran his first Comrades Marathon, he placed 43rd out of 1,678 entries. He placed 14th in 1978, 3rd in 1979, 2nd in 1980, and he was the winner for an unprecedented eight […]
Ntsiki Mkhize is a dynamic keynote speaker with a passion for empowering individuals and teams to discover their purpose and achieve both personal and business success. As a highly sought-after expert in employee engagement, motivation, and empowerment, Ntsiki blends her knowledge, charisma, and practical strategies to create impactful and transformational experiences. Her presentations inspire action, […]
Zoleka Mandela is fully committed to her role as a mother; breast cancer survivor and road safety activists. Zoleka Mandela’s life is a story she believes will change many lives. The unexpected and tragic loss of two of her children; Zenani Mandela (June 11th 2010) and Zenawe Mandela (June 23rd 2011) surpassed her early […]
Tramayne Monaghan helps his teammates grow by keeping them accountable and by connecting them to the best people, the most challenging questions and the highest synergy collaborations at the very best time. I am a Dynamic, Cross-Functional, and Result-Driven Chief Operations Officer who is always looking to be challenged and to challenge others. Thinking outside […]
Over the past 3 years, Kali Ilunga has worked with 150 start-ups. As co-founder of Silicon Valley in Your Pocket, he has bridged entrepreneurs with a network of 300+ angel investors once they were investor-ready. As co-founder of Viable, he has assembled 50 world-class coaches from companies such as Netflix, Google, and Square, as well […]
Stephen Grootes is an Award-winning journalist and political commentator, is the host of the Afternoon Drive show and former host of the Midday Report. Stephen Grootes is also a regular contributor to Daily Maverick, is very active on Twitter and has published a book, S.A. Politics Unspun which offers a roadmap to guide the reader through […]
Phumzile Chifunyise stands at the forefront of a transformative movement in Africa’s business landscape. As the Founder of The Crop Box and CEO of GreenNatives Pty Ltd, she is a visionary leader with a passion for fostering inclusive growth and empowerment. With a mission to break barriers and create opportunities for marginalized groups, Phumzile’s work […]
Andy Hadfield is a digital native – he can’t really remember life without the internet. He is fascinated with the impact it is having on our lives, as well as our businesses. Andy is a Business Speaker on IT Trends for the future. With an entertaining and compelling personality, he speaks with authority and insight […]
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Speakers Inc.
All talent fees exclude VAT, travel and accommodation where required.
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Designed using Voxel
