#Bevy company software#
#Bevy company code#

The commitment to diversity has been worth it. (Andersen says the company previously had employees of Asian and Latino descent and that Bevy is committed to growing a diverse team of people from all backgrounds.) One year later, Bevy has gone from no Black people to more than a dozen. Together, Andersen says they approached their diversity goals by being “intentional.” He personally reached out to people on LinkedIn and Valence, Fuller’s social network, connected with potential candidates, and asked people to share opportunities with their networks to reach an even larger hiring pool. “I couldn’t find anybody that really aligned with what we were trying to do except Arlene,” Andersen says. He looked at more than 100 résumés and talked to more than 30 candidates before he decided to bring on Arlene Cook, a Black woman, as Bevy’s head of people.

#Bevy company software#

When he couldn’t find software to power the community virtually, he decided to create his own and started Bevy as a separate company.Īs Bevy raised its Series C, Andersen also worked on changing the makeup of his company. The idea grew out of Startup Grind, a community Andersen founded that now has chapters around the world connecting local startup ecosystems. The company was fortunate to have a pandemic-proof model that allowed it to host virtual and hybrid events. The pandemic pushed Bevy into hyper-growth mode. For us to move this quickly and have 20-some investors who are Black, I said, ‘This could be a model.’” “I have been doing studies on the Silicon Valley experience and what we can do to accelerate Black participation in the technology industry,” Lowry says.

When Fuller called him last year and said Bevy wanted to raise a round from a diverse new group of investors, Lowry says he wanted to be a part of it and was ready to help recruit people. Fifteen percent of its employees are Black, and the company is working toward a goal of at least 20%. As the demand skyrocketed for online events, Bevy was also able to grow to more than 100 employees.

Of the 40 investors, more than 60% are Black and most are first-time investors in Bevy. Last month, Bevy announced a $40 million fundraising round at a $325 million valuation. One year later, Bevy has the results to show for its commitment. “That’s how I feel about this issue of diversity and lack of representation from certain groups, and Derek approached this at that level of seriousness.” They prioritize fixing that immediately because it could result in a broken user experience,” Fuller says.

People are doing a really good job if they see something broken on their website or their overall architecture.

#Bevy company code#

“If you lack diversity across all facets in your company, it’s the same as if there was something fundamentally broken in your underlying code base. Fuller, who is Black, was one of Bevy’s earliest investors. He turned to Kobie Fuller, general partner and investor at Upfront Ventures who also runs Valence, a networking community for Black professionals.