System Changer Interview: Diarra Smith
Creating systemic change in the Venture Capital and tech industries.
Diarra Smith is Head of Portfolio and Brand at Ada Ventures, a London-based pre-seed and seed stage VC finding and funding extraordinary talent building breakthrough ideas for the hardest problems we face.
I’ve been so fortunate to coach Diarra for the last two and a half years, getting a front row seat to all the amazing work he and his colleagues do to invest in early stage tech companies with an inclusive lens. Clearly, every VC fund is in the business of creating systemic change, not least as they fund early technologies and innovation that challenge the status quo, disrupt industries and start new ones, contributing significantly to job creation and economic development in the process. Most of the game-changing innovations we’ve benefitted from in our lifetime wouldn’t exist without Venture Capital. But few VCs think about creating systemic change in the way that Ada does, in ways that challenge the deeply entrenched biases within the VC industry which limit who gets to build these breakthrough businesses, and who gets to reap their financial rewards. Ada’s approach, which they call Inclusive Alpha, ensures that an inclusive lens is prioritised in every part of the investment process, from the investment team structure, to the investment strategy, to sourcing, selection and portfolio support. All of this is done to drive investment performance alongside positive impact, sacrificing neither. Their work is widely recognised as some of the boldest and most innovative in the VC industry, and they’re only just getting started.
Diarra and I talked about the systems that have influenced him the most, his journey to this work, his superpowers, and what the world looks like in ten years if he’s been wildly successful in this mission. I really hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!
Please share any comments or questions for either of us below.
Can you describe the system change you’re working on, and what’s important about that change for you?
I’m one of many fighting to make the Venture Capital industry more accessible at the Limited Partner (LP), General Partner (GP) and founder level.
In 2024, TechTalent Charter reported that only 9% of the tech workforce come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds; in 2023 Extend Ventures reported that non-White founders raise less frequently and raised lower value rounds; Ada Ventures own report in 2023 found all-men-owned management companies raised around 8 times more funds, and around 10.3 times more capital between 2017 and 2023 compared to all-women-owned. We also found that only 17.7 percent of women (23) have significant ownership in management companies that raised a fund between 2017 – 2023.
This is problematic for a number of reasons, not least because technology is changing the world and Venture Capital has an oversized influence on tech. If tech is only accessible to a small, privileged group of people, the products and services will entrench the bias, and racism we still see in society and further alienate those in the UK who are historically excluded. Limiting their opportunity to apply their talents to build global businesses, create value and ultimately secure and pass down their wealth to future generations.
Ultimately what’s most important to me within VC is the generation of best-in-class returns alongside meaningful positive impact. At Ada, we believe that talent is evenly distributed but, at present, opportunity is not. Ada is all about opening access to Venture Capital so that every founder, no matter who they are, or where they come from, gets an equal opportunity to apply for and receive funding for their business.
This is an incredibly complex problem to solve, I’ve only just started to scratch the surface.
Tell us about the systems that have influenced you the most
I grew up in a small archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, with around 60,000 residents, mainly descendants of African slaves, British slave owners, and more recent waves of emigration including expats, a type of immigrant who only temporarily lives in a version of paradise. Bermuda was settled in the 17th century and is deeply rooted to its colonial status (past and present) and involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. Its history, and the desegregation movement that came out of the 20th century, had an immense impact on who I am.
I attended The Berkeley Institute, an integrated school in Bermuda where for the first time black students could get a world class secondary education. The founding of Berkeley in the 19th century was a key moment in the island's history. My journey into Berkeley began a journey of discovery of Bermuda’s inequitable past and why a school like ours needed to exist. The school had a massive impact on the island through the stories and success of its alumni; nearly 50% of Bermuda’s Premiers (the Head of the Government) have gone through its halls.
It was my first lesson that systems change is a long term play. The vision of the school's founding fathers and the resilience shown to build an institution that outlasted them, is a reminder to recognise positive change when we achieve it. No victory is too small. I couldn't have asked for a greater lesson in what it means to build and secure lasting change.
Tell us about your journey to this work
After graduating with a degree in philosophy in 2006, I ticked off an item on my bucket list and worked for a political party in Bermuda as part of their election campaign team. Reporting into a chairperson and campaign director of a political party so early in my career, I quickly understood the importance of power, how it is obtained and wielded. I loved the responsibility. Boldly offering my speech writing skills to the Premier, discussing constituency tactics with the Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, it was a masterclass in operational excellence. Oh by the way, we won, securing an 8 seat majority and 52.25% of the popular vote.
I then emigrated to the UK in 2008 and spent over a decade working to support startups in various different roles and capacities. I led a business that educated founders on how to navigate the new alternative funding products coming out of the 2008 financial crisis, and connected high growth startups to providers of finance. In 2016, I launched and grew a white label platform that supported over 3,000 startups by working with large corporations to share their insight across product, brand and operations.
Increasingly, I became curious if there might be a place for me within VC, and in 2019, I started to scout deals for a London based early stage VC fund. I enjoyed the connection to a community of brillant operators, investors and community leaders who are now industry leaders and shit disturbers in their own right.
In 2021 I worked as the Venture Lead for a venture builder that incubated and launched social ventures here in the UK. I learned the power of a committed group of mission and impact focused individuals, to this day they are some of the most resilient founders I've had the pleasure to support.
The reason I joined Ada was simple: when I scanned the market in 2019, it was the only fund that resonated. It had something to say and it was something to believe in.
Alongside work, especially my first 10 years in London, I’ve been feeding my love affair for music and dance. The UK’s club and dance culture has given me joy ‘on demand’. I’m intrigued about how people access joy, do they care about it, do they optimise for it. What role does it play in their day to day life? I’m obsessed.
Tell us about the work you do at Ada Ventures
Ada Ventures is an inclusive venture firm. We find and fund extraordinary talent building breakthrough ideas for the hardest problems we face.
We invest in UK companies out of our second fund, investing between £250,000 - £1.5m in technology companies across our investment themes of climate equity, economic empowerment and healthy ageing.
As Head of Portfolio and Brand, my job internally is to be the voice of our customer (founders), lead the founder experience across all our touch points, help the firm build products and services that support founders as they scale, and be the guardian of our brand.
Ultimately my role is to ensure the firm has an opportunity to consider allocating capital to as many relevant venture backable founders as possible. Lately, I'm working more closely with LPs as part of our investor relations function.
I work with a brilliant, values-aligned, ambitious and kind team motivated by a movement we call Inclusive Alpha®.
What are your superpowers?
I learned a lot about power dynamics and collaboration during my brief stint in politics.
I ask great questions and I’m a good listener. This helps me negotiate, collaborate and ultimately work together within a high performing team.
I had training in deductive reasoning whilst studying philosophy at university and this is a gift that keeps on giving. I can think my way through most problems and opportunities.
I believe in kindness (not niceness) as a superpower and I reject the scarcity-driven competitive mindset. I don’t want to live in a world where for me to win, everyone else has to lose.
What successes have you had in this work?
I’m most proud of our Diverse Emerging Fund Managers & LP dinner series, which connects LPs from Ada’s network with diverse emerging fund managers. And supporting the firm to become the first European VC to offer childcare support to its portfolio, designed to support working parents of high growth companies.
As an introvert, it’s not the public-facing wins that drive me most. I want to be intentional with the knowledge and power I’m accumulating, opening doors for others to enter venture capital and tech, sharing what and who I know with people who might not otherwise get a shot. Supporting other people’s success gives me lots of joy.
What are the two hardest things about the work that you do?
Working to create systemic change is fundamentally hard and long-term. It can be difficult to stay motivated and optimistic when things seem to be stagnating or getting worse. The two hardest things about the work I do are:
Purpose driven businesses and initiatives can demand a lot from those willing to fight the good fight.
On the individual level, understanding what ‘putting your oxygen mask on first’ looks like is often opaque within the “hustle and grind” culture so prevalent and celebrated within our finance, disruptive and entrepreneurial bubbles.
Tell us about some work in your field that excites or inspires you
The Yale Investments Prospect Fellowship has opened its application to a eight-week remote program supporting emerging fund managers with unique perspectives. Yale Investments will lend its aspiring fund managers up to $2 million in working capital to assist in building up the new organisations. The endowment will also provide seed funding to fellows; a minimum investment of $25 million will be provided, with another $25 million as a follow-on investment.
Recently, Pear VC announced an emerging managers in residence program to help emerging venture funds follow in the fund’s footsteps.
Work from organisations who seek to look behind them and develop ways they could lift others up is incredibly exciting for me. Understanding my power, and the power of Ada, and our responsibility to catalyse the VC industry to become more inclusive sits at the centre of our mission.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned working on this mission?
Place self-care above and before everything you do.
What does the world look like in ten years’ time if your work has been wildly successful?
If we’ve been wildly successful, we’ll have contributed significantly to an industry that demonstrates how opportunity and capital can be equitably distributed.
Every founder, no matter who they are, or where they come from, will have equal opportunity to apply for and receive funding for their business.
The Venture Capital industry will be generating returns for a diverse group of Limited and General Partners.
The tech and venture capital industries will have stopped perpetuating bias and racism in society and anyone will be able to access ample opportunities for wealth generation.
I wish I could believe in this vision at all times, but we’re working against powerful forces. Systems protect systems. Transformational change necessitates acknowledging the difficulty and long term nature of the work and road ahead. What I do hope to see between now and then is a proliferation of those who are willing to take up the baton and create change within venture. This cannot be a niche mission if we’re to succeed.
For those who care about impact within Venture Capital, in ten years’ time it’s well understood that ‘impact’ within VC cannot exist without equity, ignoring equity is rejecting the desire for any real or systemic change.
In ten years time, I want the conversation to have moved on from a depressing recollection of stats. I want our industry to universally recognise that exceptional talent is equally distributed, and to understand that it's our job to find it and fund it.
If you could ask readers to do one thing to support your mission, what would it be?
Learn about and share the work of Gurpreet Manku, Erika Brodnock MBE, Check Warner MBE and Michael Lints. These are all incredible leaders who have been fighting this battle for much longer than me.
To those in VC and tech, or those considering entering either industry, I will leave you with this inspiration and cautionary tale by Octavia E. Butler in ‘Parable of the Talents’:
“Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought.
To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.
To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen.
To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies.
To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery.”
Thanks so much for reading. If you’ve enjoyed this interview, please click the 🧡 below and share with someone who might be interested.
For anyone new to my writing, System Changers explores how the path to creating great change starts within. Here you’ll find stories of agency, creativity and optimism that will inspire you to take action on your own ideas for change. It’s written by me, Genevieve Nathwani, a Co-Active and Climate Change Coaches certified coach supporting people who lead systemic change. You can learn more about my coaching practice here.