Himalaya Rao-Potlapally is the Managing Director of The BFM Fund, a VC fund focused on the decentralization of wealth across Black families and communities of color. Prior to becoming a GP, Himalaya got an MBA and specialized training in Venture Finance and worked in seven different firms as an Associate, Deal Lead, and eventually Fund Manager.
She is also currently the Executive Director of Venture Partners, a non-profit aimed at training people at the intersection of culture and class; helping them break into venture capital to facilitate more diverse capital allocators. This non-profit was launched in partnership with NVCA’s VC University.
Through her work in creating equity within venture capital, she has been recognized as a Rising Stars in Venture Capital and a Distinguished Alumni by Venture Forward, a Forty under 40 recipient, and was invited into VC Include, Recast, and Catalyze fellowships. She and The BFM Fund were recently selected as one of the six funds nationally to receive IIE.VC funding. As a national leader in demographic-based investing, she was invited by Senator Wyden to present expert witness testimony in front of the United States Senate Finance Committee on her work with BIPOC founders.