Richard Kerby co-founded Equal Ventures after investing at Venrock and IVP, and is widely recognized for his original research quantifying racial and gender diversity in venture capital that has been cited across the industry to frame representation as a measurable issue. He regularly shares detailed investment memos and market theses publicly, giving founders and emerging investors an unusually transparent view into his evaluation process while actively working to make the venture capital industry more accessible through educational content and mentorship.

• Prioritizes vertical software that directly replaces manual services rather than simply enabling workers. Actively seeks out founders who understand how to target massive labor budgets instead of standard IT spend. Pitching a product that eliminates paper forms and inefficient workflows in antiquated industries while directly tying the business model to the delivered value will strongly align with this investment thesis.
• Values deep collaboration within the early stage venture ecosystem and consistently champions other emerging managers. Regularly platforms peer investors through a dedicated podcast, recently highlighting conversations with firms focused on early stage healthcare investing. Founders can build rapport by showing an awareness of the broader venture community or noting shared connections among these frequently praised peer funds.
• Follows the New York Knicks closely and enjoys attending games at Madison Square Garden. Mentioning the team or recent basketball events offers a very natural and relaxed icebreaker to open a conversation before jumping into startup metrics.