Christina Lewis, founder of All Star Code, with Chris Lyons, leader of Andreessen Horowitz's Cultural Leadership Fund. Partner Chris Lyons already knew who should rep the launch: Marshawn Lynch, an Oakland resident known for riding his bike around town and now a backer of Lyons’ Cultural Leadership Fund. Celebrity connections are one thing, but it’s the investment—and how the fund plans to give back to nonprofits—that makes the Cultural Leadership Fund different from most other Silicon Valley-Hollywood connections. Black cultural icons from Shonda Rhimes to Kevin Durant to Quincy Jones have pooled nearly $18 million to invest in Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund. While there are venture funds dedicated to investing in startups founded by people of color or women, the Cultural Leadership Fund decided not to focus on investing in minority groups.

Source: Forbes October 11, 2019 16:00 UTC