Opening the Door Wider: Cindy Padnos, Founder & Managing Partner of Illuminate Ventures

Host Neha Sampat, CEO of Contentstack, and Cindy Padnos, founder and Managing Partner of Illuminate Ventures, get together over a glass of wine and discuss the realities of capital raising and how to increase access to funds for underrepresented populations.

Illuminate Ventures is a seed and early stage venture capital firm that invests exclusively in enterprise/B2B software companies. Cindy has been working with enterprise tech startups for more than 25 years - as a founder/CEO of a VC-backed company, a startup operating executive, and more recently as an investor. She is also the author of 3 research-based, widely-cited white papers addressing gender diversity in the tech sector.

Neha and Cindy discuss:

• How venture capital works
• What investors look for in a startup
• How to make your startup stand out from the rest
• The importance of a strong network
• Why startups fail

The Dreammakers enjoyed a glass of wine while they talked: Jean-Paul Droin Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru 2018. It's a Chablis from northern Burgundy, France. It’s floral and mineral with flavors of citrus, green apple, green olive and toast. It’s medium-bodied with sharp acidity.

Other show notes:

• You Are My Sunshine is Cindy’s wake up song
• 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus is Cindy’s book recommendation for her 19-year-old-self
• Vin Perdu is Cindy’s wine recommendation

Follow Host Neha Sampat on LinkedIn and @nehasf

Follow Guest Cindy Padnos on LinkedIn and @IlluminateVC

Follow @Contentstack