Ever wondered what it really takes to break into the world of venture capital, especially as an underrepresented entrepreneur or an emerging fund manager? In our milestone 100th episode, host Marcia Dawood sits down with Catherine Gray, the visionary Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary *Show Her the Money,* to demystify this complex space. The film shines a light on the staggering statistics around the lack of funding for female entrepreneurs but goes beyond the numbers with powerful storytelling and remarkable profiles of women founders making a difference. Catherine Gray, the force behind the Invest in Her podcast, She Angels Investors, and She Angels Foundation, is a trailblazer in using media for social change. Her previous work, including the impactful documentary I Can’t Marry You, has consistently driven cultural shifts. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the potential of venture capital as a tool for societal impact. Marcia and Catherine discuss the need for greater education and awareness in this field, emphasizing the unique challenges and opportunities for women investors. They also explore the transformative impact of investing in women-founded funds and the ripple effects this can have on economic and social progress. Don't miss this insightful conversation that uncovers the power of venture capital to foster meaningful change.
Ever wondered what it really takes to break into the world of venture capital, especially as an underrepresented entrepreneur or an emerging fund manager? In our milestone 100th episode, host Marcia Dawood sits down with Catherine Gray, the visionary Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary *Show Her the Money,* to demystify this complex space. The film shines a light on the staggering statistics around the lack of funding for female entrepreneurs but goes beyond the numbers with powerful storytelling and remarkable profiles of women founders making a difference.
Catherine Gray, the force behind the Invest in Her podcast, She Angels Investors, and She Angels Foundation, is a trailblazer in using media for social change. Her previous work, including the impactful documentary I Can’t Marry You, has consistently driven cultural shifts.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the potential of venture capital as a tool for societal impact. Marcia and Catherine discuss the need for greater education and awareness in this field, emphasizing the unique challenges and opportunities for women investors. They also explore the transformative impact of investing in women-founded funds and the ripple effects this can have on economic and social progress. Don't miss this insightful conversation that uncovers the power of venture capital to foster meaningful change.
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Marcia Dawood
In today's episode of the Angel Next Door, I'm talking with Catherine Gray. We are going to talk everything about the show her the Money movie, what's happening, what's been happening in 2024 with the 100 city tour and then also what's to come in 2025, not only with the film itself and the movie Mint, but also with the book, the possible docuseries, and everything else that we can do in order to get more people investing in the venture capital space. Enjoy the show.
Marcia Dawood
Well, Catherine Gray, welcome to the angel next door podcast 100th episode. I am so excited to have you here.
Catherine Gray
So excited to be here. What a celebration it is.
Marcia Dawood
And we are doing the very first TV episode of the podcast. So very exciting.
Catherine Gray
Super excited.
Marcia Dawood
And we're going to be talking a lot about show her the Money. So I'm really excited to talk to you more about that and learn all about kind of how it came about and all of the good things. So why don't you just start out, tell our listeners a little bit about your background and how you came about all of this.
Catherine Gray
Well, and first, I just want to say this is your hundredth episode and we just celebrated the movie's 100th city tour location and we'd had a finale in West Hollywood to celebrate that. We've been screening in over 100 cities. So the word for the week is 100.
Marcia Dawood
Yay.
Catherine Gray
Yay. So I'm so proud of you. This podcast is so meaningful to so many people. I hear people all the time tell me how valuable it is. I find it very valuable. So I'm honored to be on here for your hundred episode talking about our movie show her the Money because you are absolutely one of our associate producers and one of the key people that helped make it possible. You brought in other producers and so just so excited to be celebrating all of our wins.
Marcia Dawood
Yes. And we were just named onto the U.S. news & World Report list of the top. There were 11 films named as the top financial films to watch of the.
Catherine Gray
Last, last decade of the decade. You're on there with like Crazy Rich Asians and the Big Short. It's like, it's kind of like surreal to us that show her the Money is on the top list at U.S. world and News Report as the most significant films of the decade. It's mind blowing and exciting and we are so appreciative. So I know you asked me about my background. It's very varied. But one thing I've always done is been a big advocate that it is film and television that helps change culture because films bring awareness and awareness creates change.
Catherine Gray
Right. So that's why we created show her the Money. And I have done other films in the past. Another one that was of significant impact was I can't marry you which was about same sex marriage and the thousand rights and benefits and protections, federal rights and benefits and protections that come with the marriage. And you know, people thought I was crazy back then making a film about that. I had my own gay constituents tell me you're crazy. That'll never happen. But it did happen.
Catherine Gray
And I do believe it happened because of film and television. Well, just as crazy is that women get only 2% of venture capital, as you know. And a lot of people don't know that. And that's why we made a film about it. We needed to raise awareness because it will probably never change unless we. We raise the awareness of why it is that we only get 2% and the fact that we only get 2%. So it seems like most people don't really know what venture capital is. There was a time I didn't.
Catherine Gray
That you didn't. That our viewers may not even know about now. So this was an opportunity, in a engaging storytelling kind of way to tell people what is venture capital, how important it is to the future, what a great asset class it is to invest in and why that is. And of course, the reason is because it gives women who are investing in this asset class a chance to have an impact on what are the future products and services that will be coming into future generations. And so we want to say so in that, right?
Marcia Dawood
Yes. And so many people think it's just for the rich, the well connected, you know, how can we get it known that you really don't have to be super wealthy. You can make an impact with just your time too. Helping these companies to grow, using your expertise, your network. It's incredible. So I totally agree with you that film and television definitely helps to bring more awareness. And that's our precious problem. Awareness.
Catherine Gray
Absolutely. And you know, show her the money is shedding that light. And it is an important vehicle to allow people to understand you don't have to be a multimillionaire to be investing in venture capital. I think of it kind of like Pocket said in the movie, more like a mutual fund where people are pooling their money and allowing the top general partners, who have an expertise in this to find the deal flow, vet the deal flow for you so that you don't have to do that. And I know you and I both started in angel investing.
Marcia Dawood
That's right.
Catherine Gray
And we both agree that maybe because it seems easier to jump into that, people do that first. But really venture capital would make more sense because it's more like a mutual fund where you're pooling your money with other people and you have smart experts at the top, the general partners, you know, deciding which investments are going to be money behind them in that fund. So, you know, they'll deploy that capital to 20 or 30 different entities. So you'll have a part, a portfolio that's very robust and you really need that to minimize your risk. Right. And that's why you and I are big fans of. Big fan of funds, venture capital, especially women founded funds. Because there's more than ever in history now.
Marcia Dawood
Yes.
Catherine Gray
And we should be getting behind them because for the most part, they are investing in women and bipoc and lgbtq, all the overlooked communities that have so much brilliance and innovation that why wouldn't we invest in them? Their track records are great for even making money go further and better profits and earlier exits. Why wouldn't we invest in those sectors?
Marcia Dawood
Absolutely.
Catherine Gray
The people that do are really going to benefit from that in so many ways financially. And leaving a legacy and an impact on the world.
Marcia Dawood
Yes. I love that. And we've had people on the podcast in the past who talked about women's health, for example, and that's just something that's so overlooked. You know, women are not little men. So we need to have our own specific type of healthcare. We need innovation, innovation in the healthcare space. And that's just not happening. That's just one example.
Marcia Dawood
So if you think about, are the majority of the things that are being invented and innovated in the world, are they just for white men? No, I mean, there's just such a diverse group of people on the planet and all of the things that we need to do in order to try to help them. And I think at the end, you know, in the movie they even say, look, we're gonna look like the geniuses at the end. Right?
Catherine Gray
Yeah.
Marcia Dawood
Because it's really about how do get to back these innovations so that they can get out into the world. And that's where the money's going to be made.
Catherine Gray
Absolutely. And like you've said before, you know, a lot of people think that there's a barrier to entry, but there's a lot of women in this country and men earning 200k plus that make them an accredited investor, at least 10% of the population. And this is an asset class that a lot of people don't know about. And they don't know that a lot of the profits are made before it ever hits this public market where most people buy their stock. And so it's a very exciting place to step into. You meet the most brilliant people on the planet. They're innovating the coming products and services of the future, and you get to be a part of that. And, you know, when you buy a public stock, you're probably never going to meet the founder, but in venture capital, you often get to meet the founder, even help them.
Catherine Gray
If you can help them open doors or help them with your services, like, you can actually help your investment be successful. And it's a very exciting world to step into. The movie tried to demystify the barrier to entry by letting people know there are funds out there that you could start with an investment of 25,000 and that might even be paid in increments and it could be used from your IRA fund, your pension fund. And so that's a very exciting thing that we're educating people about, you know.
Marcia Dawood
Yes.
Catherine Gray
Pulling back the curtain and saying, you can be a part of this incredible, exciting world. Yeah.
Marcia Dawood
There's so many people I would talk to and they would say, oh, that's really cool that you're doing these different investments and you're getting to meet all these entrepreneurs. And they would ask me, oh, who did you get to meet this week or this month? And I would say, well, you know, you can be involved in this too. And they would say, me, how can I get involved? It wasn't that they didn't want to. They didn't even know it was accessible to them.
Catherine Gray
Exactly. And, you know, that's what I love about your book, do good by Doing well. It's a wonderful book for people getting started. You actually, I know, share your journey. And I think there's. The best way to get started is to listen to someone else's journey. The other way to get started is to do it to write the check. You know, if we're ever going to move the 2%, we absolutely have to have more women getting involved in venture capital.
Catherine Gray
And with women coming into trillions of dollars in the coming decade, more than Ever in history. We have to educate them about venture capital and how important it is to women, to future generations, to building wealth, to making sure there's a level playing field for women entrepreneurs. And so this is a way for people to use their money for the greater good. It's not just through charity. It is through investment. You can actually make money and make a difference at the same time. That's what your book is about, doing good by doing well. And I love that concept.
Marcia Dawood
Yeah, I love it. And you know, one of the things I have found is that people are a little bit apprehensive when it comes to, well, I don't really know how to evaluate something or where do I get started, where do I even learn about this? And, you know, there's innovation happening in every city, in every town. And I just tell people, hey, go out and just like, do an online search, like, what's happening in, you know, fill in your town, startup, you know, community. And they'll find different pitch events which will basically showcase entrepreneurs talking about their company, all of the types of things that are happening. And you know what, it can be in the middle of the country. It doesn't have to be in Silicon Valley. It doesn't have to be in Boston or New York. You know, it can really be anywhere.
Marcia Dawood
And so I think that's one thing that I love so much about the movie. It's bringing awareness. And that with the 100 plus city tour that the movie was just on, every city that we went to, people said, oh my gosh, I love this. I love this concept. I mean, it wasn't like one or two cities. People were excited. No, they were excited in every city, right?
Catherine Gray
Yes. You know, it was like we went around the world into each city and lit a fire. And people are like, what? Venture capital? Oh my gosh, I didn't know this was accessible to me as an investor, as a founder. You know, it is a total excitement. And we also want young women to know this is also a career path. Like, women can go and work at venture capital firms. Right now it's about, I think, 8 or 10%. It could be so much higher.
Catherine Gray
So that's why we're working on starting an educational program to go into high schools, colleges, universities. We want them to know at that age, what is venture capital? Why is it important to the future of the world? How could I be a part of this exciting and amazing arena? And we're excited about that.
Marcia Dawood
I love that because I think to myself, well, what would have happened if I Got to know about this when I was in high school and college. What if my 25 year old self could go back and invest in some really interesting innovations in the world? I mean, we hear about some of these guys from the 90s and even the early 2000s who invested in the early Facebooks and Googles and made like all kinds of money. You know, that's just a little tiny segment. There's so much more going on now. So if we can educate our youth and really get people to learn about this at an early stage and then as they come into their own wealth and income levels, you know, increasing, I think we're going to see so much happening and so, so many ways that now people can just say, you know what, I want to be involved in this too and I want to be able to make some of the choices on what's going to happen and what type of innovation we're going to see in the world.
Catherine Gray
Yeah. And you know, more and more campuses are starting their own venture funds. There's a woman, Isabella, over at Harvard, that just started Girls in bc. She started it one day and overnight it grew to thousands of women on campuses wanting to know about venture capital. So the young people are very astute about this venture world, but we want to educate more of them about how to enter that arena because it's important to their future.
Marcia Dawood
Absolutely. And I think also it comes down to how much are we talking to them about money. You know, sometimes I really think that girls, especially as they're growing up, know they're taught to not talk about money. It's not in good taste to be talking about it, but that's not true. Like we need to have more conversations, not just at the dinner table, although we definitely need to start there. But we need to be having more conversations about what we can do with our money, how do we use it. Even where we shop, where we bank, all of these things matter, right?
Catherine Gray
Speaking of where we shop, women impact 80% of the buying decisions. Why aren't we impacting at least 50% of the investment decisions? That's a powerful combination. Imagine investing and buying having that power, power in a positive way to perpetuate underserved communities so that it helps the entire economy, it helps the entire planet. You know, if we don't have people's innovations that are going to help with the environment or women's health care or various, you know, other aspects, we're missing out on a lot of ideas and innovations that will impact the planet in a positive way. Why would we Want to miss out on that? We don't. Exactly.
Marcia Dawood
We don't.
Catherine Gray
Yeah.
Marcia Dawood
No. And you've been so amazing about. Like, you have a podcast. Invest in Her. You have she Angels investors, the she Angels Foundation. Like, tell us, how did you get started with all of that and then kind of grow it into the movie?
Catherine Gray
I think my entire life, Marcia, I've always been for the underdog. And when I found out we only got 2% of venture capital, I'm like, wait a minute. We get 2% and men get 98%. This is deplorable. This is crazy. And really got myself learning about venture capital. I think you learn by doing so. You know, started investing first in angel investing, then in venture capital, because I realized how important venture capital was and that most really smart, accomplished people did not know what venture capital was.
Catherine Gray
I even had a friend that worked on Wall street for 20 years, and he's like, gosh, Catherine, I didn't know that the disparity was that big. And I really, even though I'm in the stock market, I really don't know a lot about venture capital. Even the colleges and universities have come to us and said, you know, we have entrepreneurial programs, but we don't have much about venture capital. Can we show our students your film? And could you build a curriculum to go with it? And that's what we're in the midst of doing, because we think it is important to educate the young people about this for their future. This is a very progressive younger generation. They're very socially conscious. They're very much aware of how their future can be impacted by the decisions they make, from voting to spending their money to investing their money. Smart, smart generation.
Catherine Gray
I have a lot of faith in them, and I think, should we be able to educate them at these young ages, they are going to be impressively powerful in a good way.
Marcia Dawood
Yes. And I love how the angel world and the venture capital world have kind of started to come together more. Before, if you didn't have a quarter of a million, a half a million, even a million dollars, you couldn't invest in a venture capital fund. Right. You. I mean, back in the day, you had to have a lot of money, right?
Catherine Gray
Yes.
Marcia Dawood
And then angels, I love that because they're investing out of their own checkbook and they're doing, you know, what they need to do in order to try to help their community and help with the innovation they want to see. But now it's becoming so much more accessible. Like, to your point, about a $25,000 check that could go into a fund that is a venture capital fund or sometimes I even call them angel funds because they happen to be in the with an angel group. Or maybe some of the people who are running the fund had been angel investors before. But even like just the overall investment strategy of being able to get somebody to know that this is something that they can do and that they can be a part of it and you don't have to be the super wealthy to do it.
Catherine Gray
Yes. And that's what I love about your book, do good by doing well because I think it's a great starter plan. Speaking of that, we have a book coming out. Yes, it's probably out now during the show. It's called show her the Money and it features stories of all the women involved in the movie and the men involved in the movie in some capacity, whether they're in the cast or they've invested in the movie and their producers. So your story's in there. My story's in there. And all the people that helped make that film possible decided to do that because every single person involved in that film is so unbelievable and extraordinary in their own right that I knew people would enjoy reading their stories.
Catherine Gray
So Sharon Gless, Emmy award winning actress of Cagney and Lacey, is doing our Audible and also she did our foreword. So we're so honored for that. We had some wonderful endorsements. Rosie O'Donnell, Arlen Hamilton and other amazing famous people in that book. Susan Anton, you know, it really got a lot of great endorsements. So we're super excited about the book coming out to complement the movie which has been on fire. We've been in over 100 cities around the world and like you said, every single city has been super excited about the movie. And then I was so excited when the US world and news report came out saying the top financial films of the decade listed us, you know, along with crazy rich Asians and the big short.
Catherine Gray
And you know, we were like, what? This is amazing. Like we can't even believe how powerful the movie is. The responses have been incredible and we are just so grateful to be making an impact in this arena because we are going to move that 2% needle. It has to happen.
Marcia Dawood
Yes. And it started to move at angel level.
Catherine Gray
Yes.
Marcia Dawood
We just haven't seen it move enough in the venture capital world.
Catherine Gray
And I think it's because people don't know what venture is or how to get into it. And hopefully our movie starts to solve that issue. And we do on our website actually have a resources page because they didn't want people to watch a movie and then say, well, what could I do? What could I do about this problem? Because so often we do see documentaries. They'll present a problem, but no way for us to take part in, you know, creating a solution. Right? But us, we've created a movie and a movement. We call it a moviement. And we want everyone to join our moviement@showherthemoneymovie.com and on that website. You can sign up to ScreenIt.
Catherine Gray
You can sign up to Screen it live or virtually. We want corporations and large groups to virtually screen it. We're doing that for the first time this year after the Hundred City tour. We decided to stream it in those cases. And then also we have these other projects coming out. The educational series, working on a docu series, spin off of the movie. So lots of exciting things on the horizon because we think we've only just started. There's a lot of work to be done.
Catherine Gray
But on our resources page, podcasts like this one mine, which is called Invest in Her and others, there are books like both of ours and other books that are really powerful as well. I know Sarah Dusek's Thinking Bigger is amazing also.
Marcia Dawood
She's been a guest on the podcast before.
Catherine Gray
Yeah, we have books and podcast, excuse me, workshops by Andrea Quinn called the Quinn Essentials. A workshop I think every entrepreneur should take because it helps them with their money mindset, which is a lot of the issues that women have are about asking and receiving, and she helps them to change that. So we just have a wealth of information and every day we're adding more resources. And we also have the funds listed there so people can check out and see if the funds that are affiliated with the movie or other funds align with their thesis, meaning what they want to be investing in, whether it's the environment or women's health or whatever that is. I know. You know, we have with John Majeska, who invested in the film I'm working with him on, and as well as you are on a new fund called Silicon Valley Women Founders Fund, and that is going to be really specifically funding women in tech and AI. We think this is a crucial sector for the future. And women in tech are very underfunded and it's crazy.
Catherine Gray
They have the money. Most brilliant innovations that are game changers. And it's going to be very exciting to create $100 million fund to invest in those. And there's so many funds popping up as a result of this movie. And of course, the ones in the film. Also listed on our resources, Sogal Ventures, Emileen Ventures, Alternative Wealth Partners, Kelly Winget. So all of these funds are accessible for people to learn. And on our resources page, we have free workshop.
Catherine Gray
Learn about venture capital investing. Learn about angel investing. We want to help you learn. We want to bring you into this very exciting, fascinating world of investing that can be not only very lucrative, but also very impactful.
Marcia Dawood
Yes. And, you know, I've had people ask me about the film. They're like, how come we can't just watch it on Netflix? And I think it was brilliant how you had the strategy of 2024 being the year of the actual grassroots. Let's take it out there, let's get it into theaters. Let's get people seeing it together and talking about it together. Every, I think almost every single screening. Right. Had a panel afterward where people would talk about it.
Marcia Dawood
We'd make sure entrepreneurs were there.
Catherine Gray
Absolutely.
Marcia Dawood
Sometimes we would showcase the entrepreneurs in their city. I just thought it was genius. And now moving into 2025, that'll be more of a streaming platform and getting people to talk about it that way. And also having panels.
Catherine Gray
Right.
Marcia Dawood
And doing that. So talk. Talk a little bit more about that.
Catherine Gray
Sure. So our strategy is, you know, often when you just put a film on one of those networks or streaming networks, it doesn't create a grassroots campaign because you'll watch it in the privacy of your home by yourself, and you go, oh, that's too bad. There's a problem. Right. The way we've done it to do over 100 cities, actually, like 200 screenings in a hundred cities. Because we've been back to some of them several times.
Marcia Dawood
That's right.
Catherine Gray
Yeah. Is there's a magic in the room, there's an electricity. People get excited. Being together, watching it together on the big screen, and then being able to talk about it and ask questions, that creates a grassroots movement. And that's what we wanted to do. We want to move the needle. We want women to take action. And we felt that was the best way to accomplish that.
Catherine Gray
As we move into 2025, we're changing that just a bit in that we will still do live and in person for those that want to, because they real the magic of that. But also for corporations and for large groups, we will be streaming to their members or their employees, and that opportunity is so that we can reach millions. But at the end of that screening, there still will be a virtual panel that we could not do on a network. And that virtual panel will allow people to meet People in the movie are affiliated with the movie, have a conversation about this because people get so much emotional about this film and have a conversation with solutions and contacts and connections and discussions and of course, Q and A. And we think that's invaluable. So right now that is our formula. We may at some point distribute on a network when we feel the time is right and if it's the right fit. So we're taking it one day at a time.
Catherine Gray
And just what we feel is the mode of delivery that people seem to want. And yeah, it's been super exciting. We were just celebrating our hundred cities in West Hollywood and the energy was off the roof. Literally. People were dancing and screaming before the event even started. That's true, yes. And then very enthusiastic through the whole event. We had an international panel as well, because we had shown the film in all over Europe and New Zealand and Australia.
Catherine Gray
So some of the ladies that organized those came in. So now we have over 100 organizers all over the world that we're making a cohort so we can keep the momentum and the discussion going. Because no one's coming to save us. We have to save ourselves. In other words, women have to fix this problem. We want the support of men. Don't think we don't for sure. I just always say, how's that been working for us? We have to get women investing in women in women founded funds.
Catherine Gray
And that's how we're going to change this. The men will follow. They'll see it's lucrative, they'll see it's impactful. The most of the men that have come to the events have said we want to invest in this because we want a better future for our daughters. So great dads out there that want to see change. And you know, I've really known noticed a big change in culture also with in the last decade, more men are leaving their businesses and their wealth to their daughters that two decades ago they weren't doing. And that's a wonderful shift. So it's hopefully going in the right direction and lots of good things on the horizon.
Marcia Dawood
Oh, this is only the beginning. Yes.
Catherine Gray
Yeah.
Marcia Dawood
Well, Katherine, you are just so amazing. You've done so many incredible things already and I can't even wait for all the great things we're going to be able to do together in the future. So thank you so much for being on the podcast today and sharing all of this with us.
Catherine Gray
Thank you. It's my honor to be here. You know I adore you and yes, I'm looking forward to what magic we're going to make in the future with our listeners and everybody that's behind us on this journey and this movement.
Marcia Dawood
Yes, love the movement. Thank you.
Catherine Gray
Thank thank you