Today we’d like to introduce you to Ilse Calderon.
Ilse, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Although I was born in the United States, I was born to Mexican parents and raised across different Mexican cities until I was eight years old. When I was eight, my parents made the ultimate sacrifice to move to Houston, Texas so that my sisters and I would be able to have a better life and pursue higher education in the U.S. They left everything that was familiar to them and moved to Spring, Texas without knowing a single person. Their ultimate goal for us was to enroll in an American university. Growing up, I was always a very entrepreneurial person. Even in middle school, I, alongside my two sisters, would make artisan marshmallows and sell them to neighbors for hours on end on weekends.
In high school, I sourced a bunch of bracelets from China and sold them every weekend outside Texans and Dynamos games. I even ended up starting a children’s inflatables business with my sisters. In high school, I started a volunteering club in association with the Rotary International organization, which I think ultimately helped me get into Stanford University. It was at Stanford that I was exposed to the start-up ecosystem and venture capital world. While I was a student, my first venture was a social gathering start-up backed by angel investors alongside a few peers. After 1 year, that idea went nowhere but it did teach me a lot of firsts as it relates to the start-up world. When I graduated from Stanford in 2016, I knew I wanted to be intimately involved with entrepreneurship. Thus, I worked in Silicon Valley in venture debt for almost a year before joining OVO Fund, a pre-seed stage fund backing the earliest of founders mostly based in the Bay Area, CA. I was the first hire at OVO and now, 2.5 years later, I am helping source and diligence investments in founders that inspire me everyday.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not being a smooth ride. In the world of venture capital, less than 1% of investors are Hispanic. An even smaller amount is Hispanic AND female. I’ve first hand experience the challenges of being a Latina in a predominantly white men world. But, I also think that’s why I love helping others enter the venture world (specially others that look like me). I would love to see the venture industry be more representative of the U.S. population.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about OVO Fund – what should we know?
OVO Fund invests in the first round of institutional capital that a company raises. I’m normally based in the Bay Area, but, with quarantine and family in The Woodlands, I’ve been working from here since mid March. We invest $250k to $500k in that first round. A lot of the time, that means investing in pre-product, pre-revenue, and pre-launch companies. Therefore, we place a big emphasis on the founder(s) and the founder-market fit. We are a generalist fund so we invest across most capital-efficient industries. About 1/3 of the investments in our portfolio are consumer/ecommerce, while the other 2/3 are smart enterprise businesses. As a company, I’m most proud of our commitment to investing in founders from all walks of life. For example, I actually think there’s a huge opportunity for new start-ups to target the U.S. Hispanic segment. I have an investment thesis on it here.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I actually think having high EQ (emotional intelligence) helps make me a better investor. Being able to evaluate the emotional state of founders, co-investors, advisors, potential customers, and industry experts gives me an edge.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ovofund.com
- Email: ilse@ovofund.com
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