KATE: Her name is Arlan Hamilton and her story will astound you.

ARLAN HAMILTON: If I were afraid of being embarrassed, I wouldn't be able to tell half of my life.

KATE: A dreamer, a visionary, an entrepreneur with the odds stacked against her.

Who, while homeless, learned to become a venture capitalist.

ARLAN: Four years ago, I was on food stamps.

Three years ago, I was homeless and today, I run a $4.5 million venture capital fund.

[roaring applause] I thought, "Well, I could either leave it for the rich guys to just get richer, or I could do some research and figure out what they're talking about."

KATE: Her VC fund, Backstage Capital, has now funded more than 200 companies in five years.

Putting more than $20 million in the hands of underrepresented founders.

Less than one percent of funding goes to people of color.

Is that correct?

ARLAN: Yeah, yeah.

KATE: And that is just stunning.

ARLAN: It's stunning.

If there's a potential here that people are not really seeing the value in me, that means I can, I can catch them off-guard.

That means I can go faster, further, better, and they won't see me coming.

KATE: Today, Arlan is taking me on a trip down memory lane, to her favorite restaurant.

She's sharing the full story of how she shook up the industry without any formal education or experience.

And how she turned being underestimated into a superpower and how you can, too.

ARLAN: I'm becoming the person I was looking for.

♪ KATE: What's better in life than a bottle of wine, great food and an amazing conversation?

My name is Kate Sullivan and I am the host of To Dine For .

I'm a journalist, a foodie, a traveler, with an appetite for the stories of people who are hungry for more.

Dreamers.

Visionaries.

Artists.

Those who hustle hard in the direction they love.

I travel with them to their favorite restaurant, to hear how they did it.

This show is a toast to them and their American dream.

KATE: To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... ♪ ANNOUNCER: There are people in your life who count on you for what matters most.

American National agents are close to home and committed to our communities.

They'll help you find the right coverage for you, your family, even your farm and business.

You can learn more at americannational.com.

KATE SULLIVAN: Hello, everyone.

Today I'm in Hollywood, California on my way to a place called The Hotel Café.

It's a musical venue for up-and-coming artists, but it's the person that chose this as their absolute favorite spot, that I can't wait for you to meet.

Her name is Arlan Hamilton.

Arlan, how are you?

(Arlan laughs) KATE: It's so nice to meet you.

ARLAN HAMILTON: You too, you too.

KATE: Thank you for doing this.

ARLAN HAMILTON: Yeah.

Thanks for having me.

KATE: It looks like we're outside of the backstage entrance to a club, but it's a place with a very special meaning for Arlan.

This is your old stomping grounds, right?

ARLAN: Oh, man.

This is... yeah.

It's truly, it's like...

I feel a certain way when I walk up to it.

KATE: Hollywood, Tinseltown.

It is the city of big aspirations.

One of those places where people leave their hometowns, put it all on the line and hope to turn their dreams into a reality.

It's the kind of place where you can make it and right in the middle of this town of dreams, off a nondescript alley, sits The Hotel Café.

It is a quaint live music venue that keeps that Hollywood dream alive.

KATE: The Hotel Café is one of those places that's filled with regulars like Arlan Hamilton.

What began as a coffee shop in 2000 has shifted into a full-on music venue that serves as a launching pad for some really big names.

GIA HUGHES: Many artists have gotten their start here.

We had early shows from artists like Adele, Ed Sheeran, you know, Mumford & Sons, Hyim, Katy Perry, Sara Bareilles.

So many people.

KATE: There are two stages that run simultaneously.

Showcasing anywhere from 5 to 10 artists every night.

GIA HUGHES: The vibe is very fun and very exciting.

KATE: Today, we're switching things up a little.

Arlan picked The Hotel Café as her favorite spot.

So I had to check it out.

For our meal, we're bringing things back how it used to be, back when they served food here.

We're ordering in empanadas and quesadillas and other finger foods.

Just like it was when Arlan was a regular.

KATE: There's a lot of places you could've taken me in L.A., which is where you live now.

Why did you choose Hotel Café?

ARLAN: It feels like home to me.

I know that sounds corny, but it does.

It- Uh, walking up to it, I had that overwhelming feeling again.

Uh, I spent a lot of years coming here, you know, like, whether I was living in San Diego at the time or living here or even not having a place to live.

Um, I would find my way back here.

KATE: Your first love is music.

ARLAN: It is, yeah.

KATE: And you were a tour manager for many years?

ARLAN: Mm-hmm.

KATE: You came here why?

You came here to scout talent?

Or were you here to manage some of the acts?

ARLAN: Oh, this was earl- you know, early on.

Like, two or three years into them opening and I came here just to enjoy the music.

KATE: Really?

ARLAN: Because two words ca- uh, were on their website that I loved "listening room."

[chuckles] I'm like, "Oh, I wanna go to a place in L.A. where I can actually hear the music being played."

KATE: So not a nightclub, not a scene, not a, like, see-and-be-seen, but really a place that you can truly enjoy music.

ARLAN: Yes.

KATE: I love that this is a place that takes you back because I think, to fully understand your story, you have to begin at the beginning.

You are from Dallas, Texas.

Can you tell me a little bit about what it was like growing up in Dallas with your mom and your brother, right?

ARLAN: That's right.

Yeah.

I grew up with my mom.

My brother's four years younger than I am.

There was a lot of laughter in our house, a lot of love.

Any time we see each other today, the first thing we're doing is cracking jokes and kinda bringing that back.

But we moved around a lot and we didn't have much.

And so I remember, kind of, two worlds at the same time.

A lot of laughter and kind of keeping things light, and then this very serious, poverty that we were in and watching my mom figure out ways to keep head above water and juggle things.

And that would follow me straight through high school.

KATE: You, did you know you were in that kind of poverty?

Because a lot of people who grow up, they don't quite know it as a child.

ARLAN: You know, I've heard that before (laughs).

I've heard people say, "You know, I didn't know until someone told me."

Oh, I knew.

We knew.

KATE: You knew.

And how did that shape how you saw the world, in the sense of what was possible for you?

ARLAN: It would make a great movie, but you know, it was, like- I remember thinking, like, you know, that's...

This isn't forever.

That was kinda the first way my mind let me do that, calculate that.

And I remember thinking, I...

I would be very wealthy, because I needed to be.

KATE: You envisioned that for your future?

ARLAN: Yes.

KATE: You definitely had a clear vision that you would be wealthy ARLAN: Yes, Since very young.

I remember having this thought of, like, when I was really young, thinking,... Before I knew what the world meant.

What that meant, the world.

Like, everybody in the world will know me.

It's kinda weird, (laughs) but I remember thinking, not like I'm gonna be famous or I'm this or that.

It's more like, my voice is gonna be heard by everyone.

If I walk down the street, people will know me.

KATE: Interesting.

That's like an inner-knowing, a prophecy- ARLAN: Yeah.

KATE: A concept of what your life might be.

ARLAN: Yeah.

KATE: When you were a tour manager and you were coming here, and you were enjoying music and then you were, um, representing acts.

What was... Oh, a little snack.

(Arlan laughs).

KATE: Thank you.

ARLAN: Yes, thank you.

KATE: Thank you very much.

Some chips and guac, fantastic.

ARLAN: Awesome.

KATE: Arlan wasn't just a fan of music, she started her career in the music industry, managing tours for various artists.

It was one of those early jobs, where the long hours and intense work ethic were building a foundation and connections for what was to come.

ARLAN: Well, I got into music by asking 100 people if I could, if I could work for them.

And only one said, ended up saying yes and that's all I needed.

KATE: You only need that one yes.

ARLAN: Yeah, Lady Gaga was right.

KATE: (laughs) You only need that one yes.

What did you learn from that experience as a tour manager, that you think you use now?

ARLAN: Anytime, since I was 15, that I was working, I never just took the paycheck.

Or thought of the job as just a job.

I always thought of it as a learning experience.

Like an education, even if it was terrible.

And on the job of, you know, being a tour manager and being a production assistant and different things like that, I would listen in on conversations.

And the conversations were with the artists, with millionaire artists or with their millionaire, um, managers.

Oftentimes, went to Silicon Valley, this mystical place.

And the more... you know, the second time I heard it, the first time I might've skipped it, but the second time I heard it, I paid attention.

And, I thought, "Well, you know, I could either leave it for the rich guys to just get richer or I could do some research and figure out what they're talking about."

So I just started doing research and the more I researched, the more I realized, "Oh, I...

This is me."

KATE: Here Arlan was, without a college degree or any formal education or experience in investing and she wanted a spot in the game.

Her plan?

To start a tech company and become the CEO and founder.

So she did her research.

Massive amounts of research.

And what she found changed her course.

ARLAN: That's when I came across this- this statistic: about 90% of venture capital and angel investing going to white men in a country where they make up a third of the population.

So I stopped in my tracks and I said, okay, well...

I was kinda going along, I was gonna be on the road, I was gonna have this company, but this seems bigger than all of that.

If I can somehow crack this, then it's not just about my journey to raising capital and maybe I win, maybe I don't.

It's more about, can we open this up to a just a bigger swath of people, overall.

KATE: Less than 1% of funding goes to people of color, is that correct?

ARLAN: Yeah, yeah.

KATE: And that is just stunning.

ARLAN: It's stunning, it's insulting.

KATE: It's insulting.

Of all the venture capital money that's available for founders, less than 1% goes to people of color.

Was it that fact, alone, that said, "I gotta get in the game."

ARLAN: Yes.

When I heard that 90 versus 10, I'm thinking of all the women in the country, we're sharing less than 10%.

Of all the Black people in the country, we're sharing less than 10%.

And, you know, when you combine everything and all of those things are, they were describing me.

KATE: Yeah.

ARLAN: It's wrong and it's not a good feeling, but there's also great opportunity here.

KATE: So she started from scratch.

In 2015, Arlan became the founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in underestimated founders.

People of color, women, LGBTQ.

KATE: You were learning it from the beginning and that's what I think is so amazing and fascinating.

How do you begin?

ARLAN: Truly...

I don't know if I've said this before, but with...

I got flash cards.

(laughs) Like, index cards.

KATE: Did you- ARLAN: Blank ones and I went through different magazines and books and online videos and I just started writing out key people and key words and quizzing myself.

That's how I start at the very beginning and then I just started reading everything I could get my hands on and watching everything I could get in front of.

And asking people questions.

Like, I was just so insatiably curious that, if 20 people said, "Get outta here, I don't wanna talk to you."

(laughs) I didn't mind, you know?

Oh, I'm just looking for that one to talk to me.

KATE: So, really, even at the beginning, the rejection didn't bother you?

ARLAN: No.

KATE: It didn't?

ARLAN: No and I don't quite know where it... that comes from, but it... it didn't really, um, it didn't bother me.

KATE: I always say, being an entrepreneur is like taking two wet sticks, rubbing them together and trying to start a fire- ARLAN: Yeah, yeah.

KATE: -because it's that hard.

What is your first yes?

ARLAN: I think the biggest one, that made the definite difference, was a woman named Susan Kimberlin.

She's an angel investor, still is, with a great portfolio.

And I met her in Silicon Valley, actually.

She was early in her investing career.

She had worked at a major tech company and was able to retire pretty early because she did so well there.

And we met each other, we talked, we got each other and she didn't know that I was living at the airport at the time.

KATE: The San Francisco airport?

ARLAN: Yeah, yeah.

Like, people in my class that I was taking, this two-week bootcamp, they were staying at the Four Seasons.

(laughs) ARLAN: And I was going back to the- KATE: And you were sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco airport.

ARLAN: Yeah.

KATE: 'Cause you had nowhere to go.

ARLAN: Yeah.

KATE: And you didn't have the funds to... A hotel, was that- ARLAN: No.

KATE: B- beyond your means?

ARLAN: No.

I stayed at a Airbnb for a few days and then that ran out.

That capital ran out.

KATE: Susan Kimberlin's $25,000 check was a game-changer for Arlan.

It was the spark she needed.

The only problem: She was so new to the game, she didn't even have a bank account to deposit the check.

KATE: Here you are, someone who's visualized being a part of the world of venture capital.

Taught yourself pretty much everything you know.

And then actively tried to find your first investor in your fund and here it is, the yes.

What was that like?

ARLAN: It was confirmation and it was...

I said to myself, "Never going backwards from this point on.

I'll never be here again."

I was in the parking lot of a grocery store when I got the news.

I had my luggage with me and my backpack and I got the news and I had been using that park... like the grocery store little food area as my office (laughs) the past few days.

So I just, I sauntered in there and I got me the grocery store sushi and a cupcake-had my little celebration and I was like, peace (laughs), I'm outta here.

And I was, like, you know, talking to the- to everybody who was there.

I was like, "I'm out."

But then- KATE: And that first check was $25,000?

ARLAN: The very first one was 25.

She ended up coming back with another 25, because she understood, 25 needs to go to a company and then 25 is to set up shop.

So, just a few days later- KATE: She believed in you.

ARLAN: She believed in me.

[Together] Yeah.

ARLAN: And she's like...

So, Susan is like, I'll send over 25K.

Send me your wire information."

And I sent her my mom's personal bank account (laughs) information.

Because I'm like, "That's what I'm gonna have...

I'm gonna get it out there and I'm gonna do what I gotta do."

KATE: And what'd she say?

ARLAN: She's like, "Mm, no, no."

(laughs) No.

KATE: You need a real bank account.

ARLAN: Yeah.

KATE: This is so incredible.

I mean, you realize how people are gonna say, "Wow, she didn't even have a bank account and someone was willing to give her $25,000.

ARLAN: Yes.

KATE: To invest in."

ARLAN: And when I think about it now, of course, I think it's...

If somebody came to me and wanted me to invest $25,000, I would be, I would say the same thing to them, "No, but, if you can do these things, we can get you there."

Sometimes you're just not taught certain things.

If the rest of your life is about surviving.

Sometimes you don't learn the etiquette and I'm not gonna stop somebody at the door because they don't know the etiquette.

KATE: Talk to me about the big, audacious goal that you made when you created Backstage Capital.

ARLAN: Yeah.

A few years into it, before I had the first check, I said, "I'm going to invest in 100 companies led by underrepresented founders by 2020."

So it was 2014 I was saying this.

And the reason I said it was because so many investors that I had talked to along the way, their pushback was, "I don't think there are enough women starting companies that are viable for VC."

KATE: Wow.

ARLAN: Or, "I don't think there are enough... making companies.'

And I- I'm like, I'm surrounded by them, but also they have to start somewhere too, right?

So, shouldn't we be seeding that ecosystem?

KATE: Yes.

ARLAN: So I said, to myself, I didn't even make this proclamation publicly for a long time.

I said, "I'm going to... Not only am I going to find them, but I'm going to invest in 100 of them.

Which means I'll have to see thousands."

KATE: Not only did Backstage Capital meet their goal, they surpassed it.

By 2018, more than a year ahead of schedule, Arlan and her team had invested in 100 start-up companies.

Today, they've hit 200.

They've raised more than $20 million and invested in everything from online beauty retailers, to satellite internet companies, sticking to their plan to focus on underestimated entrepreneurs.

KATE: What do you tell founders who are going into these big pitches, knowing how many times you've been in the shoes, in order to bring their best self?

ARLAN: I tell them to bring their true self, because their true self is their best self.

And, I think we all believe, and I think we're all taught this somewhere along the line, that we have to put our best foot forward, we have to know everything, we have to project that we're gonna be a billion dollar company by three days from now.

(laughs) You know.

All those things and the truth is, I've seen more than 10,000 companies now and so I've seen some things and I know that it's, years and years of sacrifice and of things not going your way and things not making sense and some things coming together and making sense.

And so, if you come into, you know, come to me for money and you're like, "Got it all figured out."

I say, "Well, I- I can't do anything for you, then.

If you have it all figured out, how can I be helpful?"

KATE: So you almost like to see the warts and all of someone.

You like to see that they have places to grow and needs.

ARLAN: I like that because it's real.

So that tells me, if they're willing to be vulnerable and tell me, "I don't have it all figured out, but that's what I'm going to do.

That is what I'm here for."

It tells me that they're going to be honest in other ways, too.

KATE: When it comes to raising venture capital, one of the things that you say is that, "When you don't have money, you have to be the money."

ARLAN: Mm-hmm.

KATE: What does that mean?

ARLAN: Well, we know that money attracts money.

At least, I've learned that over time.

People say it and it's true and if you don't have it, how do you attract it?

KATE: Right.

ARLAN: Well, you become it.

You become the asset.

So, even- uh, if you go back to Susan's story of investing $25,000.

I mean, I'm adorable, but that's not why she invested $25,000.

(laughs) ARLAN: She invested $25,000, I believe, because when we would have conversations.

Even though I was at the airport, sleeping on rolled-up jeans, I had so much I had learned in those past three, three and a half years, that she didn't know that money couldn't buy her that information instantly.

KATE: Mm-hmm.

ARLAN: So, by being around me, and being able to ask me questions and kind of learn and learn things that she didn't even know to ask.

That's valuable to her.

So she wants to be around that, so she wants to catalyze that.

KATE: Fascinating.

So, knowledge is power and the more you know about something allows you to be the commodity, that that person then wants to learn from you.

ARLAN: Yes.

KATE: So, even if you have no money- ARLAN: Yes.

KATE: If you have the knowledge, the right person's gonna wanna get in front of you.

ARLAN: Absolutely.

KATE: That's called being the money.

ARLAN: That's it, that's being the money.

(Woman cheering wildly) KATE: What's it like to be someone's first yes?

ARLAN: Yes.

I try to emulate Susan's, catalyzing every day of my life.

It's amazing.

It's like the best thing I can do.

Because you can do it over and over again, you know.

You're that person and you can go to the next person.

I'm becoming the person I was looking for.

So it's definitely powerful and it's humbling and it's emotional to do so.

MAN: And then we met her and I think within the first 30 minutes, she's like, "Yep.

I'm investing."

WOMAN: Not only was our- was she our first yes, she said yes on the spot.

MAN: Right.

KATE: Arlan hasn't only focused on Backstage Capital, she's also shared her personal journey and lessons in her book, It's About Damn Time.

And through her podcast, Your First Million.

And others have taken notice.

In 2018, Arlan was the first black non-celebrity woman featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine following Oprah, Beyonce and Serena Williams.

Not to mention her public speaking gigs, where each speech earns her five times more than she made in the entire year, just five years ago.

KATE: One of the things that you say is that you want people to show up as themselves so that other people who need to find them can find them.

ARLAN: Right.

KATE: I'm paraphrasing...but I'm close, right?

ARLAN: Yeah.

KATE: Yeah, what do you mean by that?

ARLAN: I said, "Be yourself so that the people looking for you can find you."

And I mean that so many of us try to be... kinda fit in and be what they think you're supposed to be, in that moment.

And there are other people who are not even as brave as you are and they're sort of watching from a distance.

And if you're acting like everybody else, they don't know that you have certain opinions or certain values or certain talents or any of that to recognize you.

You know, they may have an insecurity that you have, but if you don't show that and share that, they don't know to come to you and say, "Hey, I have that too.

Let's figure out how to overcome that together.

How did you overcome it?"

KATE: And some people will see something, an insecurity they have, and they use that as a reason they can't do something.

ARLAN: Yes.

KATE: Like, they don't have a checking account, so how could they even dream of being a venture capitalist?

But when you're vulnerable enough to tell that story- ARLAN: Over and over- KATE: Over and over again.

ARLAN: I mean, to say it... KATE: It's, uh, it is amazing.

ARLAN: It's out loud.

And it's funny, right.

So, a lotta times we get stuck too, because we're afraid of being embarrassed.

And if I were afraid of being embarrassed, I wouldn't be able to tell half of my life.

KATE: Yeah.

ARLAN: So I just remember what I know I am.

I remember what's true and then I also say, "Well, every day, did I catalyze someone?"

That's my key word.

Did I catalyze someone today?

And if I did that, I'm good.

KATE: And when you say, "Did I catalyze someone?"

What do you mean by that?

ARLAN: Did I catalyze their forward motion?

Did I make it possible for someone, by maybe picking up the phone and making a connection for them?

Or, uh, yes investing in them, or giving them an idea that they didn't have before.

Did I make it possible for them to move forward?

Simple as that.

KATE: I love that.

That's so beautiful.

On Instagram, your handle is Arlan was here.

ARLAN: Yes.

KATE: When people think of the name Arlan Hamilton, what do you want them to think?

ARLAN: Heck of a shoe collection.

(Kate laughs) All purple, by the way.

(Kate laughs) And that... that I care.

Like, ultimately, that I care and that I changed the game for, I don't know how many, thousands, maybe more, entrepreneurs and investors.

KATE: This has been awesome, thank you so much.

ARLAN: Thank you.

Thanks for bringing me back here.

This is, this is the best that I could've hoped for.

KATE: I just loved my time with Arlan Hamilton.

Five years ago, she didn't even have a bank account, but she had vision.

Even on the floor of the San Francisco airport, she could see what others could not.

That believing in people no one else did would pay dividends.

That talent and intelligence knows no color or gender.

And so, less than 1% of funding to a certain group of people makes no sense.

That's leaving money on the table.

What made sense for Arlan was betting on herself and the thousands of founders like her, who are turning being underestimated into an advantage.

We all deserve a seat at the table, but what's amazing about Arlan Hamilton is that she's actually building a longer table.

And for those who don't see a chair, she's pulling up a few of her own.

KATE: If you would like to know more about the guests, the restaurants, and the inspiring stories of success, please visit todinefortv.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram at To Dine For TV.

We also have a podcast, To Dine For the podcast is available on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... ANNOUNCER: There are people in your life who count on you for what matters most.

American National agents are close to home and committed to our communities.

They'll help you find the right coverage for you, your family, even your farm and business.

You can learn more at americannational.com.

♪