Lolita Taub

Lolita Taub is a GP at Ganas Ventures, where she invests in pre-seed and seed community-driven companies in the US and Latin America. With 15+ years working within the Silicon Valley ecosystem, she has accomplished more than $70 million in sales and made more than 90 investments as an angel investor, Scout at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and VC at Backstage Capital and The Community Fund. Lolita is also a co-founder of the proprietary matching tool Startup-Investor Matching Tool that serves her growing community of 76K+ underestimated founders, funders, and ecosystem friends. Forbes, Nasdaq, and Inc Magazine have featured her as a woman promoting investment among underestimated founders and funders. Lolita has also been featured in “Better Ventures: Improving Diversity, Innovation & Profitably in VC & startups”.

Taub’s roots are in South Central Los Angeles, thanks to Mexican parents who immigrated to the United States with no money and no family to turn to for support. Her father worked on farms as a migrant farmworker, made doors in a factory, and drove a truck for moving companies. Her mother babysat and cleaned houses. "We grew up poor," Taub says. "People used to tell me that I’d be a high school dropout and go on welfare." At age 34, she had a bachelor’s degree, an MBA, and 13 years of experience working in the tech industry—including high-profile positions at venture funds built on investing in women, people of color, and the LBGTQ+ community.

Lolita Taub is a woman of color with 13 years in tech. She is an investor, influencer, international keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, Televisa Technolochica, Bloomberg New Voices speaker in their newsroom, and part of LinkedIn’s Creator program. Lolita has been recognized for her work in venture capital and tech on Forbes, Inc.com, The Huffington Post, and Entrepreneur.com, among other publications. She has spoken for countless organizations and events but most notably at Lions Cannes, Sony, Zoom, Univision, Inspirefest, EO Ecuador, Startup Grind Mexico, and Meta. Prior to her venture career, Lolita spent nearly a decade in B2B tech, consulting and selling solutions to enterprises across industries at IBM, Cisco Systems, Silicon Valley, and NYC startups. She has a BA from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the IE Business School. Most importantly, she is a dog mom to the cutest Dachshund mix, Choco.

The Future is Multi-Hyphenated in the Era of Community

Jay Z said it best: I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man. The multi-hyphenation of individuals is the future. It will be the norm for people to have a portfolio of companies and employment, thanks to market shifts in employment (The Great Resignation, COVID catalyzed), lack of life satisfaction in status quo work environments, and the need to generate revenue to stay afloat and make ends meet. 

In her talk, Lolita Taub explains why the future is multi-hyphenated in the era of community and how organizations can leverage this new market shift in creating or maintaining their edge.

Speaking Topics:

Latinx Allyship, Power, and Belonging

A leadership + motivational fireside chat.

Host a candid leadership and motivational 1-hour fireside-chat about Latinx allyship, power, and belonging, that goes beyond generic Latinx discussion, brings awareness and understanding of the complexity of the Latinx experience in the workplace, tech, finance, and U.S. The chat will provide employees with differentiated content around real matters or themes that affect the Latinx community and our Allies. 

Topics:

1. Power and allyship: Underrepresentation can make it difficult for Latinx to achieve their goals and aspirations. And even when companies understand the benefits of greater diversity and inclusion, there is a perception that it will take a long time for change to occur. We can change that with the power of allyship.

2. Belonging and allyship: Identity is complex and not binary — people can (and do) associate to multiple identities on a spectrum based on gender, race, orientation, etc. This intersectionality is important to recognize not only for those in the Latinx community but for Allies. 

Audience take-away: Latinx members can walk away with a strategy or tactic to have conversations with their peers regarding their identity and/or advancing their careers.

Who this is for: Professionals, allies, and companies that welcome individuals and support the attraction, engagement, and growth of their Latinx talent while celebrating the diverse cultures within this community.

What people are saying: “I enjoyed hearing your story today. I am a Latinx ally who is looking for ways to support this awesome community in and outside of work. I really loved your spirit, zeal and candor today. Thank you for spending time with us and helping people like myself learn about your culture, how to help and what to be aware of. You rock!” – LK

Raising Inclusive AI: How to Keep Bias Out

A disruption and innovation workshop.

In this 1-hour workshop and Q&A session, we create an opportunity for individuals to widen their perspective on bias in artificial intelligence (AI). Often the concept of AI gets watered down to the ideology that it is neutral and therefore does not include discussions of race, class, sex, etc. Through this workshop, Lolita discusses the various ways in which AI can both address and amplify bias, using historical and contemporary examples. 

Topics:

1. AI overview

2. AI disruption and innovation: We discuss the impact of AI on our personal and professional lives.

3. Interactive AI and bias group and individual exercise: Through a couple of exercises we witness first-hand how AI can both amplify and address bias

4. Ensuring inclusive AI: We go over how techie and non-techie people can address and keep bias out.

Audience take-away: Audience members, both technical and non-technical, can walk away curious, with a clear understanding of AI basics, its implications, and tactics to combat bias in AI in and out of work.

Who this is for: Students, employees, and organizations that want to expand their community’s understanding of bleeding-edge technologies, their implications on humanity, and what we can do to make sure tech is inclusive.

What people are saying: “It was great hearing you speak, and briefly meeting you today. Thank you again for sharing your story, your passion, and your leadership counsel. As I’ve said to many who couldn’t join today, you were truly remarkable. Keep serving your passion – you’re having an impact!” – MM

Building a More Inclusive Tech Ecosystem

Discussing strategies for creating a more diverse and inclusive technology industry.

From Poverty to Prosperity: Lessons from a Latina VC on Overcoming Adversity

Sharing personal experiences and lessons learned from growing up in poverty and building a successful career in venture capital.

The Power of Community: Building and Investing in Community-Driven Businesses

Discussing the benefits of building and investing in businesses that serve and support communities.

The Business Case for Investing in Latino and Women-Owned Companies

Examining the economic benefits of supporting Latino and women-owned businesses.

Navigating Intersectionality: Empowering Latino Women in the Business World

Exploring the unique challenges and opportunities faced by Latina women in the business world.

Lessons from the Frontlines of Venture Capital: Strategies for Success in a Diverse World

Sharing insights and lessons learned from a career in venture capital, with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

Living a Purpose-Driven Life: Insights from a Latina Venture Capitalist

Discussing the importance of aligning personal values with professional goals and the role of purpose in driving success and fulfillment.

In addition to the above topics and formats, Lolita Taub keynotes on the topics of Diversity in Tech, Future of Work, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Venture Capital.