If ever there were a need for leadership advice on being resilient and letting nothing stand in your way, it’s now. And who better to offer it than homeless-entrepreneur-turned-venture-capital-investor Arlan Hamilton.
Hamilton’s new book It’s About Damn Time, drops May 4 and is chock-full of advice, inspiration and stories of overcoming adversity.
It’s About Damn Time tells the journey of a black, gay woman who went from living on food stamps and sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco Airport, to starting her own venture capital firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities by investing in people of colour, women and LGBTQ entrepreneurs.
In 2015 Hamilton hid from airport security in order to use the airport’s free wifi to check email, and took meetings in hotels she couldn’t afford to stay in.
With no contacts, no network, no background in finance and no college degree, Hamilton’s entry into the Valley was born from her fascination in why celebrities she admired were all investing in technology companies.
As she looked into the world of investing she found venture capital and as she learned more about it, she couldn’t understand why so many funded entrepreneurs and investors were all white men. With fierce determination, Hamilton set out to invest in ideas and people who didn’t conform to the image of how a founder is supposed to look.
“We still live in a world where being underrepresented often means being underestimated,” Hamilton says in the book. “Even if you have to work twice as hard to get to the starting line, once you are on a level playing field, you will sprint ahead.”
Today Hamilton is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital who has invested $10 million into more than 130 startups led by underestimated founders.
She has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, Inc., `Entrepreneur, and Quartz and made history by being the first non-celebrity Black woman to make the cover of Fast Company.
In her new book, Hamilton demonstrates that you don’t need a privileged background or an influential network to succeed. It’s About Damn Time shares lessons like “The Best Music Comes from the Worst Breakups,” “Let Someone Shorter Stand in Front of You,” “The Dangers of Hustle Porn,” and “Don’t Let Anyone Drink Your Diet Coke.”
Part memoir and part how-to, Hamilton’s book inspires throughout and urges her readers to defy other people’s expectations and to become the role models we’ve been looking for.
Listen to a sample of the book:
The hardcover, e-book and audiobook can be purchased online at itsaboutdamntime.com.
