Building Your Muscle of Advocacy: Enhancing Equitable Investing with Sydney Thomas

You can't be a black woman making the investment world better and equitable without being an advocate. Whether you are speaking up and taking action to support marginalized voices, fair investment opportunities, and promoting equity, your role as an advocate becomes even more significant as a black woman. To build your muscle of advocacy, you must be willing to step to the forefront to challenge the status quo and amplify underrepresented voices. This can be particularly demanding when navigating the venture capital landscape as a solo GP, as you have to wear many hats. However, by embracing your learning and growth journey, you can contribute to building a more inclusive and equitable venture capital ecosystem. 

In this episode, we are joined by Sydney Thomas to share her profound knowledge of venture capital funds, operating as a solo GP, and cultivating your advocacy muscle to foster more equitable investing practices. Sydney is a Venture Capitalist and the driving force behind Symphonic Capital Fund. Her unwavering commitment lies in empowering others, recognizing that her own power is intertwined with their capabilities. With a wealth of experience, Sydney takes her role seriously, collaborating closely with Pre-Seed founders to ensure they can successfully realize their ambitions.  She has honed this skill by working alongside founders for almost a decade and operating in diverse roles across industries for almost 15 years. 

Tune in!

Key Highlights from the Show

[00:01] Episode intro and a quick bio of the guests; Sydney Thomas

[01:31] Sydney's origin story and how she got to where she is today

[03:35] How Sydney became a VC and was first exposed to the ecosystem 

[06:10] Sydney's first career and what inspired her to go out on her own 

[09:04] Symphonic Capital investment and what they are building 

[11:21] Sydney’s Symphonic Capital fund's main focus 

[13:48] Sydney’s fund size as a solo black woman GP

[16:06] The correlation between being a fund manager and a good steward of finances

[18:08] The difference between Sydney's old fund and her new fund as a solo GP 

[20:50] Wearing many hats as a GP and embracing your learning journey  

[21:52] Sydney's message to her younger self

[22:51] How to reach out and connect with Sydney

[23:10] Wrap-up and end of the show

Notable Quotes 

• You can't be a black woman VC without being an advocate.

• When you have the best parts together, you make the best company.

• As a GP, you have to wear many hats and get on an aggressive learning journey with a tight timeline, but it’s a beautiful opportunity to see what you are made of.

Let’s Connect

Sydney Thomas

Website: https://www.symphonic.vc/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneypthomas/

Lisha Bell

Website: https://www.lishabell.com/

Angel Syndicate Website: www.blxvc.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootedcali/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/belllism

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