Oregon tech leader setting bar for how we invest in minority entrepreneurs across the country

Jennifer Cloer talks to Cara Turano about how Oregon can lead other states in more deeply supporting minority entrepreneurs

Q: Tell us about the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) and your role. What’s your vision as its new Executive Director?

Cara: The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) is a 32-year old organization that helps entrepreneurs of all kinds in Oregon and SW Washington find both the financial and social capital they need to develop their businesses. I joined OEN as the President and Executive Director last September and want to see the organization modernize, stabilize and grow. The mission of OEN deeply resonates with me in that entrepreneurship offers freedom, empowerment and autonomy at the same time it builds community, connectivity, and interdependence. I believe that statement to be true and to make it a reality we need to challenge the current models around investment and growth for startups. I see OEN being an organization that can support any founder on the entrepreneurial journey that makes sense for them.

Q: How can organizations like this elevate and support minority founders, especially women?

Cara: The first thing that organizations like OEN can do to support minority founders is be honest about the challenges they face. The stats are pretty glaring that only 2 percent of venture capital is invested in women founders. Organizations like OEN can support the women that want to pursue venture capital by preparing them for the types of investors they will encounter and how to navigate that world. We can also recognize that giving up equity or high growth may not be a path everyone wants to take and provide resources and support that include non-dilutive funding, grants, creative financing options and the partners to enable those approaches.

Cara Turano

Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge today for female founders and how can we begin to overcome it?

Cara: I was in a room two weeks ago and a young female founder was pitching a tech product for personal safety to a group made up entirely of men plus me. Her product is for personal safety, and it resonated with me because there are situations every day where I don’t feel safe. When I asked the men in the room when the last time was they didn’t feel safe, the answer was maybe once or twice EVER in their lives. And it just struck me AGAIN that female founders need more females in the room making the decisions on who gets the money because there are products that are disruptive and highly scalable that many men might not see or understand (hello Stitch Fix). I would love to see more community investing or options where females do not have to overcome the barrier of being an accredited investor to do what women do best…pool resources for the greater good.

“And it just struck me AGAIN that female founders need more females in the room making the decisions on who gets the money because there are products that are disruptive and highly scalable that many men might not see or understand.”

Q: What gives you hope or inspiration about the progress being made to increase the number of female VCs and founders we’re seeing across states and sectors?

Cara: My answer is so darn personal and it goes back to OEN’s Entrepreneurship Awards last year. We give out 6 awards annually and this year 50 percent of the nominees identified as female and 5 of the 6 award winners were female or non-binary. That gave me so much hope on the founder's side of the equation. There are so many great programs in the state for women investors like the Women’s Innovation Network at the University of Oregon or Rogue Ventures Women’s Fund. The BFM Fund focuses on Black founders AND is committed to gender equity in their investments, so 50 percent of the investments are made to male founders and 50 percent to female founders.

Q: What kind of culture do you want to help build in the startup community? How does the work you do at OEN influence or impact the culture of the startup community? 

Cara: I want to build a culture that is welcoming, inclusive and really helpful. I lived under this false narrative that most entrepreneurs are looking for money, and I think I am concluding that many of them are looking to save time. Having a central resource repository is sort of how OEN functions, and I’d love to make that more robust and be the first place an entrepreneur comes. Then, if OEN isn’t the right organization for a founder's journey, the organization CAN be the facilitator to the right group. When businesses thrive in Oregon, the entire community thrives and grows and I want to be a part of that growth making this an amazing place to live.

“I lived under this false narrative that most entrepreneurs are looking for money and I think I am concluding that many of them are looking to save time.”

Q: How can OEN be a beacon for other states who want to increase business innovation through diversity in founders and drive economic growth for their regions?

Cara: OEN is so unique in terms of what it does as an organization - we literally raise investment funds as a nonprofit organization, distribute small non-dilutive grants and serve as a hub for entrepreneurs. We can do a much better job of being inclusive outside of the Portland Metro area BUT I don’t see other nonprofits in different states doing this scope of work. Plus, OEN works with the state and various cities and counties so we have the foundation to do a lot of good private/public collaboration as an economic development engine. Most states have that work being done as government entities. I think what OEN does as a non-profit is really special.

Q: We know you’re an avid reader and we host a popular Book Club that just announced its first book selection of 2023. What are you reading? 

Cara: I love this question - I am finishing up Andy Borowitz’s “Profiles in Ignorance,” which is about the dumbing down of American politics. I also just started re-reading Steve Case’s “The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places Are Building the New American Dream.” It is so relevant to my job!