At Serent, we believe in giving back and empowering the communities we serve – from the customers of our portfolio companies to the portfolio companies’ teams to the Serent team.

Those communities are full of people from all walks of life – each who has a unique background, perspective, and experience. We believe that diversity is a vital part of all communities, including our own.

That is why we have undertaken a number of new initiatives over the last few months to ensure that we’re putting our communities first and supporting a more equitable future for all.

Building Partnerships

Over the last year, we have built partnerships with several organizations to create opportunities for underrepresented groups.

• SEO, an organization that offers fellowships focused on increasing the representation of historically underrepresented groups in alternative investments and leadership roles, is working with Serent as a sponsor for their April 2021 annual Alternative Investments Conference.
• Stanford’s SEED Program, a program that partners with entrepreneurs in emerging markets to build thriving enterprises that transform lives, partnered with mentors from the Serent team to provide insight and feedback on how to scale their businesses.
• Synergist, a network that seeks to provide women in the first decade of their investing careers with the tools for long-term success, has partnered with several members of the Serent team as mentors.
• The Stanford Women on Boards Initiative has partnered with Serent to support identifying, recruiting, and hiring exceptional board candidates for our portfolio companies.

Giving Back to Our Communities

We are also working together with members of the Serent team to support charitable organizations through our new Serent Giving Program.

• Build, a program that helps underserved high school students build entrepreneurship skills
• Reach Out and Reach, a nonprofit that integrates education about the positive effects of reading daily into routine pediatric checkups
• Khan Academy, a nonprofit with the mission to provide free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere
• Charity Water, an organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries

Throughout the last year, we have been proud to see the way our portfolio companies have partnered with local charitable organizations to give back to their communities.

• Avionté supported a wide range of philanthropic efforts in the Twin Cities area through the Avionté Hope Foundation, from food pantry and school supply donations to participating in Red Nose Day to end child poverty.
• Compeat employees donated time and resources over the course of the last year to a number of charities, including the Ronald McDonald House Charities Austin, Keep Austin Beautiful, and No Kid Hungry.
• Knowland is giving back to the community with donations to Feeding America, the AHLA Foundation, and Unicef.
• Motility supported sick children and their families by organizing a company-wide Give Back for the Ronald McDonald House. Employees collected over 80 care packages to help families feel at home during long hospital stays.
• Safety Services supported the treatment and research of pediatric cancer by participating in the annual Sky High for Kids.

Embracing and Promoting Diversity and Inclusion

To demonstrate our commitment to a diverse and inclusive community, Serent has created a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion Team. Our D&I team is responsible for continuously incorporating the latest training and best practices throughout our teams and processes.

Recently, the entire Firm completed extensive unconscious bias training to improve our own hiring best practices and working relationships, led by Quinetta Roberson.

Our portfolio companies are also focusing on diversity and inclusion efforts. For example, when Quorum noticed the lack of free diversity and inclusion resources for small businesses, they launched their Path for Progress pledge. Businesses who sign the pledge gain access to free resources, events, and mentorship opportunities designed to help them prioritize diversity and inclusion in a meaningful way.

We are thrilled to support the 35+ companies in our portfolio as they continue to support inclusive workplaces and opportunities for their employees and communities.

We continue to seek new ways to promote diversity and inclusion and support philanthropic efforts. At Serent, we are committed to driving change through our companies, our communities, and our Serent team.