Arlan Was Here Productions
Arlan Was Here Productions is a company.
Active
Updated: ·
Financial History
Total Raised
N/A
Valuation
N/A
Leadership Team
Key people at Arlan Was Here Productions.
Arlan Was Here Productions is a company.
Key people at Arlan Was Here Productions.
Arlan Was Here Productions is not a standalone company or investment firm but an early personal blog and production entity created by Arlan Hamilton, a prominent venture capitalist, author, and entrepreneur.[6] It emerged as part of her pre-venture capital career, where she built a digital presence through blogging before founding Backstage Capital in 2015, a VC firm that has raised around $30 million and invested in over 200 startups led by underrepresented founders—people of color, women, and/or LGBTQ+ individuals.[1][4][5] Hamilton's broader mission emphasizes equity in entrepreneurship, extending to co-founding the women's basketball league 3XBA, entrepreneur communities like Arlan’s All-Access, and scholarship programs for Black students and innovators.[1] This production arm reflects her initial foray into content creation, humanizing her shift from music tours and indie publishing to disrupting VC by backing underestimated founders across sectors like fintech (e.g., CapWay), tech platforms (e.g., Hello Alice), and transportation (e.g., Dollaride).[2]
Arlan Hamilton, born in 1980, launched Arlan Was Here Productions as her personal blog following her notoriety on "Your Daily Lesbian Moment," a platform connecting women for platonic and romantic relationships.[3][6] This came after her work in the music industry as a tour manager for artists like Janine, Toni Braxton, and CeeLo Green, and founding the indie magazine *Interlude*.[3] Inspired by her mother Earline Sims' suggestion to "help founders backstage" like she did artists, Hamilton pivoted to VC in 2015, starting Backstage Capital from homelessness with no industry connections—securing an early $1 million from Mark Cuban.[4][5] Pivotal moments include raising initial funds via crowdfunding, announcing a $36 million fund for Black female founders in 2018, and publishing *It's About Damn Time* in 2020, blending memoir with advice for the underestimated.[1][3] Her blogging through Arlan Was Here Productions laid the groundwork for her voice as a culture-shifter.
Arlan Was Here Productions marks the digital origin of Hamilton's influence in amplifying underrepresented voices, fueling her VC disruption amid funding disparities—where women and people of color receive under 2% of VC dollars. It rides the wave of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) trends in tech, accelerated by post-2020 social movements, with timing amplified by remote tools enabling bootstrapped starts like hers from homelessness.[4][5] Market forces like institutional LPs seeking impact investments and regulatory shifts (e.g., Jobs Act) favor her model, influencing the ecosystem by proving underrepresented founders yield strong returns via exits, IPOs, or acquisitions—normalizing "underestimated" as a competitive edge and inspiring copycat funds.[2][4]
Hamilton aims to scale Backstage to $200M AUM in five years through LP expansion, marketing, and personal investment, potentially via larger funds or sports/media synergies.[2] Trends like AI democratization (echoing early portfolio bets) and equity-focused crowdfunding will propel her, evolving her influence toward legacy-building via books like *Your First Million* and scholarships. From a humble blog production to VC trailblazer, Arlan Was Here Productions symbolizes betting on the underestimated—positioning her to redefine access in tech's next decade.[1][5]
Key people at Arlan Was Here Productions.
