WSJ: UC grad among top-10 women venture capitalists

The Wall Street Journal named a University of Cincinnati graduate to its top-10 list of women venture capitalists for 2020.

Candice Matthews Brackeen, an economics graduate and Hewitt-Kautz fellow, is a general partner at Lightship Capital, a Cincinnati venture capitalist company dedicated to backing underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Brackeen founded and serves as chief executive officer of Hillman, an entrepreneur education program where she has worked with partners such as Procter & Gamble Co., Kroger and Chase. Hillman recently relocated to the University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub, becoming the second startup-related business to relocate its headquarters there. 1819 is strategically located in the heart of Cincinnati’s developing innovation district, a mixed-use development supporting medical, research and innovation industries.

Brackeen started the Cincinnati chapter of the Black Founders Network, which aims to increase diversity and inclusion efforts among entrepreneurs. Previously, she co-founded Hello Parent, which worked with the Brady Campaign to Reduce Gun Violence and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

She was named catalyst of the year by VentureOhio. The Cincinnati Business Courier named her to its list of Women Who Mean Business awards.

See the rest of the Top-10 list.

Featured image at top: Candice Matthews Brackeen. Photo/Aaron M. Conway