monique woodard

Monique Woodard is a seasoned venture capitalist and former operator at the intersection of technology and newly powerful consumer groups.

In 2021, Monique founded Cake Ventures and serves as Managing Director. Cake Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm with a specific focus on investing in the future of technology being driven by major demographic changes including: aging and longevity, the increased spending power of women, and the shift to majority-minority. Monique invests in companies with global ambitions that are creating technology products that meet the needs of tomorrow’s internet users.

Before starting Cake Ventures, Monique was an angel investor backing companies like Mented Cosmetics, and a venture investor investing in the startup ecosystems across the U.S. and Africa. As Venture Partner at 500 Global (a venture capital firm with $2.7B AUM), she invested in early stage companies like Silvernest and Blavity between 2016 to 2018. She also led 500’s investing and deal flow pipeline in sub-Saharan Africa and led a group of investors, tech executives, and founders on Geeks on a Plane, a tour of Africa’s most thriving startup ecosystems.

Following her time at 500 Startups, Monique continued her investing as a Venture Scout at Lightspeed Venture Partners. She also became a trusted advisor to foundations interested in increasing capital allocation to diverse fund managers and entrepreneurs; as well as venture capital firms like SoftBank where she is an Advisor on Emerge, its early stage pipeline program focused on companies led by underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Before moving to the investor side of the table, Monique spent 15+ years in the tech industry and she has been an entrepreneur, product-focused operator, the founder of a national community of tech entrepreneurs, and advisor to cities on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Monique is a Kauffman Fellow (KF26) and has been an advisor to private companies and technology-focused organizations including Women 2.0, Hackers/Founders, and Startup Policy Lab. She invests, speaks, writes, and advises on areas of consumer technology and emerging demographics and has been interviewed on entrepreneurship and investing for CNBC, NPR, CNN, New York Times, Wired Magazine, and CNBC Africa.

Monique has a BA in Political Science from the University of Miami. Monique grew up in rural Florida and now lives in San Francisco.