Access and Opportunity

Welcome back for Season 3 of Access & Opportunity. This season, we're exploring how influential investors from across various pools of capital are helping women and multicultural-led businesses to gain access to capital. In this first episode of the season, we sit down with Jenny Abramson, the founder and managing partner of Rethink Impact, a venture capital firm that invests in female leaders who are using technology to solve the world's biggest problems. Jenny and her partners launched Rethink in 2015 specifically to help women entrepreneurs and other diverse company founders obtain equitable access to capital.

Jenny offers us strategic advice on how we can work to increase the number of women and people of color receiving investment capital. We also consider how recent changes in the funding landscape have opened up opportunities and where additional improvements can be made to even out the distribution of capital to women and multicultural entrepreneurs.

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2019 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

Welcome back to Access & Opportunity! We are excited to be back for another season to talk about the extraordinary commercial opportunity that exists when investing in women and multicultural-led businesses. For our third season, we are exploring how influential investors from across various pools of capital are bridging the gap to ensure women and multicultural-led businesses have access to the capital they need to grow. 

For our listeners who may not be as familiar with the investing landscape, this episode will highlight and give some context for a few of the terms that you’ll hear this season. For those of you who are already well versed, feel free to jump ahead and start the season!

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2019 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

Welcome back for Season 3 of Access & Opportunity! This season Carla and her slate of incredible guests explore how influential investors from across various pools of capital, including private equity and venture capital, are working to provide women and multicultural-led businesses with the capital they need to grow and expand. Episode 1 Launching June 26th!

“I’ve always been a voracious learner,” says James Rhee, Chairman and CEO of Ashley Stewart and the Founder of FirePine Group. James Rhee may be a surprising CEO of a company whose core clientele are plus-sized women of color, but Rhee sees his mother and a greater humanity in the Ashley Stewart brand.

As a child of Korean immigrant parents, Rhee attributes much of his success to his drive to evolve, transform, and adapt. It’s also how he developed his career from high school teacher to lawyer to institutional investor to successful corporate CEO. These experiences may seem unconnected, but for Rhee, his path has helped him see potential where others have not.

When Ashley Stewart was twice near bankruptcy, Rhee saw an opportunity and a responsibility where others did not. Within a few years, the struggling plus-size women’s retail company has earned a powerful voice in retail, and made inroads into technology and media. He attributes the accomplishment not just to strategy or marketing, but to something far more valuable: math and kindness. Listening and empathy, and ultimately advocacy, he says, is how you lead and lift others along.

But that’s just the beginning. For Rhee, entrepreneurship isn’t about making money. “I am an entrepreneur in life,” says Rhee. In this episode of Access & Opportunity, Carla Harris speaks to Rhee about how he transforms businesses and people, the intersection between social good and commercial success, and most importantly, how entrepreneurship is really a frame of mind.

DRAFT DISCLAIMER TEXT ONLY

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2018 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

Walker & Company’s CEO Tristan knows a thing or two about making the cut. Born in South Jamaica, Queens, Walker rose through the ranks, achieving success at influential startups like Foursquare and Twitter, and companies like Andreessen Horowitz and The Boston Consulting Group. He’s also made top lists such as USA Today’s Person of the Year in 2014 and Fortune Magazine's 40 Under 40 in 2017. But it wasn’t always this way.

“The minute I started hearing ‘no’ I knew I was onto something very special,” says Walker. At first, investors balked at his Bevel Shave System, which uses a single safety blade razor to give people with coarse or curly hair a flawless shave. Yet, he knew his innovative product was going to change lives because Bevel changed the lives of other people of color around him.

Once celebrities and investors such as Magic Johnson and John Legend saw his massive potential, Walker grew his company to new heights and his product now reaches thousands of people across the country. In this episode of Access & Opportunity, Carla Harris speaks to Walker about his path to success and how his technology is transforming the beauty and care industry

DRAFT DISCLAIMER TEXT ONLY

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2018 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

“We have to think about how to move forward and how to create a better future for food,” says Julia Collins, co-founder of Zume, a technology-enabled food company with a mission to make healthy food fast and accessible.

Founded in May 2016, Zume grew from a workforce of three people to over 150. In that time, Collins has closed on nearly half a billion dollars of investment capital, a true feat for a multicultural founder. This isn’t the first time Julia has launched an incredible business, and it won’t be her last. After a career in hospitality, from Danny Meyers Union Square Hospitality Group to Murray’s Cheese, Julia went out on her own to start Mexicue and Zume. Her strategy? Deliver healthy, delicious food faster than anyone else.

In this episode of Access & Opportunity, Carla Harris talks with Collins about how she’s disrupting the food and restaurant industry. Whether by considering how to solve world hunger or how to leverage automation to improve the quality of human lives, Julia will teach us how she used her experience to help make change.

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2018 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

After selling her first company at the age of 27, Rose Wang went on to found four other companies, pioneering ideas in technology and government. By 2013, she was one of Fortune Magazine’s ‘Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs.’ Today, she’s the founder and strategic advisor of The Binary Group and a thought leader, paving the way in Washington D.C.’s small business and government markets. She sits down with Carla Harris on this episode of Access and Opportunity.

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2018 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

Nely Galan is the definition of self-made. She began her career selling Avon to her friends at age 13 and became the first Latina president of entertainment for the television network Telemundo. She's also an Emmy Award winning producer of over 700 episodes of television in Spanish and English, including the Fox hit reality series The Swan. On top of her TV successes, she's a real estate powerhouse, a Doctor of Clinical Psychology, a serial entrepreneur and a New York Times best-selling author.

In this episode of Access and Opportunity, Carla Harris sits down with Ms. Galan to discuss how she made a name for herself in media among industry titans and became a media mogul in her own right, and where she learned her most valuable lessons including how to find your niche in the business world.

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2018 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

“If you connect the right people with the dollars, great things can happen.” Neville Rhone, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Arc Capital Partners, talks about seeing beyond inherent bias while assessing investment decisions. His tip for other entrepreneurs: put in the time to learn the market and build relationships on the ground.

Rhone is the first guest for the second season of the Access & Opportunity podcast with Carla Harris. In season one, we spoke with entrepreneurs, investors, and developers about how and why multicultural and women-owned businesses are overlooked as viable investment opportunities. In this new season, Carla is shifting the spotlight to focus on entrepreneurs. Rhone takes us through his journey to co-founding Arc Capital Partners and what he’s doing to create opportunity in diverse neighborhoods today.

Back with playbook points and engaging stories, Carla’s guests in season two share their experiences and advice on how to connect capital and communities. For Neville Rhone the question has been, how does an investor identify untapped potential in the world of real estate, especially in demographically diverse areas? Leading the charge at Arc, Rhone and his partner focus on investing in undervalued and underutilized properties to revitalize diverse neighborhoods. From downtown Austin, Texas, to Chapman Plaza in Koreatown, Los Angeles, Rhone shares his experience transitioning into entrepreneurship and why urban communities and inclusive investments are the future of real estate.

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2018 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.

“Most people in the Silicon Valley tech ecosystem… believe that institutions are meritocracies,” says Freada Kapor Klein, a founding partner of Kapor Capital. “If you believe that self-serving nonsense then you believe that if there's no diversity in your circles, it's because whoever's outside isn't good enough, and it's an incredibly dangerous and inaccurate belief system.” 

In the season 1 finale of the Access & Opportunity podcast, Carla Harris talks to Kapor Klein about how her Oakland-based venture capital firm, which she co-founded with her husband, the computer visionary Mitchell Kapor, is breaking down the investment barriers for startups run by women and multicultural entrepreneurs. To date, 56% of Kapor Capital’s investments have gone to startups with a founder who is a woman or a person of color from an underrepresented background. “We’re often the first money in, and our investment has signaling value—that we believe in this entrepreneur, in this business model, and we’re going to help them succeed,” says Kapor Klein.

Taking it a step further, Kapor Capital has also invested in startups with a social justice angle that look to help underserved communities. One such venture—Pigeonly—helps families find affordable ways to keep in touch with incarcerated relatives. It’s all part of Kapor Klein’s evolving approach “to both identify leaks in the pipeline and to plug them.”

The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and figures contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast.

This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

© 2018 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC.