VC Include

Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson, the firm's founder and CEO, leads all platform-level decisions, including manager selection and LP partner relationships. VC Include does not make direct investment decisions on behalf of LPs — it curates a pipeline of emerging fund managers whom institutional allocators then evaluate independently. Robinson's background spans venture capital, diplomatic service, and impact-investing advisory, which informs the platform's dual focus on fiduciary standards and diversity-driven capital access.

VC Include sources managers through an open application process for its fellowship program, referrals from its alumni network and institutional LP partners, and proactive scouting by its New York-based team. The firm prioritizes GPs who already have demonstrable domain expertise, a track record of sourcing deals in their target sectors, and early LP commitments, but who lack access to the endowments and pension funds that allocate at scale. Robinson has stated publicly that the fellowship selection process mirrors institutional due-diligence, not a generic accelerator application.

VC Include is neither. It operates as a platform that prepares emerging diverse fund managers for institutional capital raises and then facilitates introductions to LPs who participate in its manager showcase events. The firm does not pool LP capital into a commingled vehicle and does not take a standard placement-agent success fee for closed commitments. Its revenue model is structured as a platform-service arrangement with LP partners and participating managers, reflecting its public-benefit designation.

The managers in VC Include's pipeline target early-stage and growth-equity investments, with check sizes varying by fund strategy. Sector coverage spans climate technology, digital health, fintech, enterprise software, and the energy transition. The firm's 2023 expansion into direct co-investment introductions means that some LPs now access later-stage company opportunities sourced through the manager network alongside traditional fund commitments.

Yes. VC Include has cultivated a network of over 100 institutional allocators including endowments, foundations, pension funds, and family offices. Publicly named participants in its LP community have included the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. The firm structures these relationships around recurring manager showcase events and ongoing portfolio-intelligence sharing, positioning itself as a persistent conduit rather than a one-time introduction service.

VC Include embeds post-raise performance tracking into its platform model — it monitors the operational and financial performance of managers who complete its fellowship program and shares aggregated, anonymized intelligence with LP partners. This ongoing embedded relationship differentiates it from a typical accelerator, where the relationship ends after a demo day. Robinson has framed this accountability loop as essential to building LP confidence in diverse-manager asset-class performance.

VC Include is structured as a public-benefit entity, which legally commits it to pursuing a defined social purpose — expanding capital access for underrepresented fund managers — alongside its commercial operations. This structure means the firm can prioritize mission-aligned LP partnerships and long-term platform reinvestment over short-term revenue maximization. The designation also signals to institutional allocators that the firm's diversity-lens intermediation is core to its governance, not a side initiative.