Lisha Bell: Pioneering Venture Capital for Women

Who is Lisha Bell?

About Me

Hi! I'm Lisha Bell, a passionate venture capitalist with a strong focus on angel investing, racial equity, and empowering women in finance. Based in Oakland, CA, I work for PayPal Ventures and am dedicated to creating opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs.

What I Do

💸 Angel Investing: Supporting early-stage startups with capital and strategic guidance.
🚀 Venture Capital: Driving innovation and growth through strategic investments at PayPal Ventures.
✊🏾 Racial Equity: Advocating for and investing in initiatives that promote racial justice and equity.
👩🏽‍💼 Women in Investing: Educating and empowering women to become savvy investors and financial leaders.

My Mission

To create a more inclusive and equitable financial landscape by supporting diverse founders and empowering women through education and investment opportunities.

Awards

Bay Area Iconic Women Awards 2024

2023 Black Trojan 20 Award (BT20)

USC Widney Alumni House Award

Amplify Internal Equity Service Award

Distinguished Service Award, Berkeley Columbia

JFF Changemaker

USC Widney Outstanding Alumna

2013 Berkeley Columbia Distinguished Service Award

Speaker

Watch my Ted Talk (Video here)

Berkeley Haas Executive MBA commencement

RiseUp Summit (Cairo, Egypt)

Women in Product, PayPal Presents The Courage to Leap into the Unknown and Succeed Women In Product Conference 2020

► Visit my speaker page here

🎤 full list of speaking engagements here

✅ my Speaker Reviews

Course

Angel Investing Masterclass

Venture Capital Course, Pledge LA

Angel Investing Course, Leading women defined

Featured Articles

Michigan Chronicle, Empowering the Future of Black Women Entrepreneurs in Venture Capital

Forbes, Two More Major Banks Pledge To Make Equal Pay A Reality On Wall Street

Huffpost, This '90s Dance Group Blazed A Trail For USC's First Black Majorette Team

Huffpost, USC's First All-Black Majorette Dance Team Doesn't Care About The Outrage

Cheddar TV

Black Enterprise, Here’s How Women of Color Can Become Business Angel Investors

Newsroom, PayPal Celebrates Black History Month

Carta, How to build lasting LP relationships: Insights for emerging fund managers

Tech Career

Lisha Bell has over 20 years of experience in technology innovation, particularly focused on digital money movement solutions. She has held roles at PayPal Ventures, where she currently leads the Economic Opportunity Fund, a $100 million investment into diverse emerging fund managers. Prior to PayPal, Lisha worked at Wells Fargo, Kohl’s, and Feedzai, contributing to the development of digital financial products like online banking, bill pay, and digital wallets.

Philanthropy

Lisha is the co-founder of BLXVC, an angel syndicate of moms that funds Black and Brown founders. She was the prior deal flow lead for Pipeline Angels, an impact investor group focused on women and femmes, building a portfolio of over $7 million. Lisha serves as the board chair for Black Girl Ventures, further supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Delta Sigma Theta funds endowment for Black women

Volunteer Service

Board Chair, Black Girl Ventures

Global Black ERG Pillar Co-Lead , Amplify Pay Pal

Deal Flow Lead, Pipeline Angels

Lead Mentor, Pharrel's Black ambition

Passions

Podcast Sisters with Ventures

As the host of the “Sisters with Ventures” podcast, Lisha amplifies the voices and stories of BIPOC angel investors, limited partners, and allocators. Her podcast encourages women from diverse backgrounds to pursue venture capitalism as a means of creating positive change.

Sisters with Ventures Podcast Kit

BLX VC

Merch

Merchandise required for capital disruption . Visit our shop online or in person 933 Broadway st. Oakland, CA.

Education

Lisha holds a BSc in Business Administration, Information Systems from USC. She also earned MBAs from UC Berkeley and Columbia Business Schools. Lisha was recognized as the USC Widney Outstanding Alumna and received the 2013 Berkeley Columbia Distinguished Service Award. She established the first-ever Black-led endowment at the University of Southern California to support Black women.