I’m proud to continue our unwavering commitment by welcoming our newest member to the “In Residence” program now at MaC: Nuria Santamaria Wolfe, co-founder of Encantos, the award-winning company building direct-to-consumer edutainment family brands. Given the lack of Latinx diversity in tech, in the founder ecosystem, and in the venture capital world, we’re excited to welcome Nuria, a successful Latinx entrepreneur with 15 years of experience in the tech industry.
We are strong believers that diversity at the decision-making table will lead to better business outcomes.
Nuria joins us as the fifth participant of the program, which is designed to provide the opportunity to learn the business of venture capital investing and add significant value to our portfolio companies, all while building the skill set and experience needed to become a partner candidate at other venture firms.
Nuria began her career as a technology consultant at Accenture, followed by her work at Consorte Media, (a Hispanic-focused ad tech start-up acquired by AudienceScience), and EQAL (a digital media startup acquired by Everyday Health). Before launching Encantos, Nuria served as Head of Multicultural Strategy at Twitter, helping the company understand its multicultural audience and supporting Fortune 500 brands connect with these valuable consumers.
Now as the co-founder of Encantos, she’s been focused on using the power of entertainment and technology to re-image education through direct-to-consumer brands. The first Encantos brand is Canticos, the Emmy-nominated bilingual preschool brand with partnerships with Nickelodeon and Amazon, among others. Nuria has also spent significant time mentoring and advocating for Latino entrepreneurs through programs at Stanford University, The Aspen Institute, and others.
Latinx VCs account for only 1% of all VCs and only 0.4% of venture dollars go to Latinx female founders. These numbers are in stark contrast to the current demographic reality of our nation today. The Latinx market accounts for 18% of the U.S. population (driving 52% of the population growth over the past decade) and represents $1.7 trillion in buying power that is often overlooked. If the Latinx community were its own country, it would represent the 9th largest economy in the world. Latinx entrepreneurship also outpaces investing. Today in the U.S., 24% of new businesses are started by a Latinx founder.
It is our mission to invest in technology companies that benefit from the shifts in cultural trends and behaviors in our increasingly diverse global marketplace, and it is also our commitment to support investors who can help us identify those opportunities with a unique lens that gives us a competitive edge.
We encourage our peers in the venture community to join our efforts, to get involved with groups like Latinx VCs and to make formal commitments through initiatives like Los Angeles’ PledgeLA.
We’re excited to welcome Nuria to the MaC Venture Capital team.