Monique Woodard

Monique has a BA in Political Science from the University of Miami.

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Monique grew up in rural Florida, but now lives in San Francisco. Her hobbies include traveling, collecting vintage clothing, and checking out the contemporary art scene in cities near and far.

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She regularly invests, speaks, writes, and advises on areas of consumer technology, emerging demographics, and diversity. She has been interviewed around entrepreneurship and investing for USA Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Buzzfeed, NPR, CNBC, and Essence Magazine.

Monique is the Founder and Managing Partner of Cake Ventures. She invests in areas where she sees the future of technology being driven by major demographic trends.

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Monique started her career in venture as Venture Partner at 500 Startups where she invested in early stage companies in the US and sub-Saharan Africa. Following her time at 500 Startups, Monique became a Venture Scout at Lightspeed Venture Partners and a trusted advisor to foundations and venture capital firms like SoftBank, where she continues to advise on the Vision Fund’s Emerge program.

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Before moving onto the investor side of the table, Monique spent 15+ years in the tech industry and she has been a startup founder, product-focused operator, and the founder of a national community of tech entrepreneurs.

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Monique has been an advisor to private companies and technology-focused organizations including Women 2.0, Hackers/Founders, and Startup Policy Lab.

As a member of Class 26, Monique is serving her fellowship at Cake Ventures under the mentorship of Kate Mitchell.