VC Spotlight: Jillian Williams of Anthemis

In honor of Black History Month, BLCK VC is launching a series of articles highlighting some of the amazing Black talent in Venture Capital (VC) today. For our first spotlight we spoke with Jillian Williams who is a Principal at Anthemis in New York City, an early-stage fintech-focused fund.

So, let’s start from the beginning, before entering venture capital where were you working? What were your experiences?

After college I was in investment banking, at Barclays. My group started thinking about the future of fintech and I raised my hand to be part of that initiative.. I was constantly getting in touch with people who were smart about fintech and trying to understand where the future was [in the space]. Through that, I was introduced to Amy at Anthemis. It happened to be good timing, as Amy was, at that time, moving back to the US to open the US office of Anthemis, and I ended up getting a role [in the new office].

What compelled you to make the jump to venture capital?

One of the things that I glorified in my mind, is the IPO process of the investment bank. Being a part of the IPO was such an amazing time for the CEO or founder. For one of our IPO’s, I spent a decent amount of time with a founder of the company and hearing and seeing the road show was very interesting to me to hear the journey and the story behind how the company got to where it is today. However, in Investment Banking it was extremely transactional, that was one thing in my mind that I did not love.

The other thing was as I was digging around and learning about ‘what was fintech?’ I was constantly learning and speaking to people about what was broken across different industries and businesses and that was really fascinating to me.

I Thought it was a way more interesting information way to learn — but did not necessarily equate that to — I want to be in early-stage VC. It was not until I was talking to Amy and what they were doing and their interactions with founders that it clicked in my mind: that is what I like — I get to work really closely with founders and learn about what they are building. So many times, I will meet a company and learn about a problem I did not know existed, and that was really exciting to me.

How did you prepare for the recruitment process? Looking back would you change anything — knowing what you know now?

How I prepared was a lot trying to deeply understand the industry and what was happening in fintech. I read every blog and website that talked about fintech news. I probably thought it was going to be more quantitative than it is, so I was also making sure I could do Cap Table math and [similar analyses]. I also had developed a thesis on what I thought was interesting in the fintech space and some of the interesting opportunity areas that had not been touched as much yet.

Something that I would do differently, and this is something I tell everyone I talk to about getting into venture, is that you also want to have ideas of companies that you would like to invest in and start acting like an investor before you even become one. So even if you are not an investor yet, you should start to think about which company you would want to invest in and why. I think it’s also crucial to think about why your network and deal flow that you can attract.

For individuals recruiting now in VC and forming theses — what makes a certain space compelling or more interesting than others?

First, I just want you to be genuinely excited about an area. Having 2–3 areas where you are showing you have interest; you have done the work to identify what is happening in [the space] and understand it…It shows that you have a genuine excitement about it, and you want to learn more about it. That is so much of the job — speaking to people and understanding where the opportunities are and why these trends are happening. It also shows that you understand what we do as investors, and how we evaluate a company. We are not expecting you to pick the most interesting company that we are going to back tomorrow. It is more of a chance for us to see your analytical rigor and writing skills.

Is there anything that you think has changed in pursuing a role in venture capital today? I recognize, you started Anthemis in 2016 — so in the past 5 years.

I think one thing is that there are other ecosystems outside of San Francisco growing a lot. Seeing how much NYC and LA have grown in the past 5 years, has been very impressive. You no longer need to be in one city to get into the job — it is spreading out a little bit more.

This is a highlight for Black History Month, I want to turn now to the events last summer and being Black in VC. How do you think the landscape is changing and how (if at all) did you think the movements this past summer have had an impact on the industry? Do you think they will be material and lasting?

I think that it is still too early to see if it will have a lasting effect, but I definitely had more funds looking to hire, reach out for me to post [jobs] in BLCK VC, and say that they were trying to diversify their pipeline as much as possible. I think that this goes hand-in-hand with COVID, as well as, the Black Lives Matter Movement, but I have had a lot of portfolio companies [reaching out saying] that they are ‘continuing to try to diversify [their] employee base and how can [they] do that?’. For some of them, it helped that they could hire remotely, and open up their hubs in more diverse areas.

I think we are still in the super early innings and I do not necessarily think it will be a linear trajectory. If you look at 2 years ago [for example] the funding that women get saw an uptick, but unfortunately this year we saw a down tick, as well. But I think people are now more conscious of it and it is on their radar more. Not being able to ignore it as much is important, but I do think that everything comes from the top. So [at] BLCK VC the point of it is to double the number of black investors in venture, and part of that is if you have more diverse venture firms, hopefully the portfolio companies that they are investing in will be more diverse. I think some of that also comes from the LPs [to put] pressure to diversify investors as well.

Lastly, if you could give one piece of advice, now that you are in VC, to those that are looking to enter the industry, what would it be?

Start thinking and acting as if you are already a VC. So, look at companies and find companies you think are interesting and would invest into. I think that is impactful. Venture is a very network-driven industry, so when you get in touch with someone, ask them if there is someone else you should speak to. Grow your network in the industries and sectors you are interested in, by doing that. People are constantly trying to grow their own network, and I think that people generally do want to be helpful. So, if they can point you to someone else who will expand your knowledge, people are willing to do that.