Diva Tech Talk interviewed Noramay Cadena, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at MiLA (Make in LA) Capital, an early stage venture fund, in Los Angeles. Launched in 2015, it is a “high touch” VC, founded on two major beliefs: hardware technology can be brought to market more frugally; and LA is an ideal place to do it.
Born in Colima, Mexico, Noramay emigrated to California’s San Fernando Valley. “My parents worked in factories,” she said. “I didn’t quite know where I wanted to be, or what I could be” until “I was tapped on the shoulder by a returning high school alumnus.” He inspired Noramay to matriculate to MIT to earn her BS in Mechanical Engineering. Later, as she worked at The Boeing Company, she obtained her MIT MS in Systems Engineering, and MBA in Business. “It not only changed my life but changed the course for my parents and my siblings.”
“When I got to college, I met lots of other women, like me, who had been tapped on the shoulder,” Noramay shared. Further inspired, she co-created The Latinas in STEM Foundation. “It is still active, inspiring and empowering young (Latina) women,” supplying programs, scholarships, bilingual content and role models for them, their parents and communities.
At the end of her Boeing tenure, Noramay “realized there were forces that I couldn’t control, and I was not going to grow any further” there. Fortunately,“the experience of Latinas in STEM, scaling, and building community,” instigated co-founding MiLA which finds “smart people around the world; invests in them; and builds community around them to make them successful.” Since it launched, MiLA has invested in 19 companies; sponsored five accelerator cohorts; and is raising its second capital investment fund. Looking forward, MiLA is exploring its ability to help supply chains networks become more efficient. The fund is very “hands-on” working daily with prospective founders to overcome challenges. Noramay is proud that over 33% of MiLA’s companies have female CEOs and is focused on high opportunity verticals including mobility, health, food tech, and “manufacturing 4.0.” A key value of MiLA is to help with “de-risking the solution and building a capital-efficient corporation to enable the team to attract investment.” Noramay has high expectations. “I want our fund to be seen as the primary source of deal flow for Series A investors,” over the next 3 years.
“I have been on the receiving end of incredible mentorship.” When Noramay was offered her MIT scholarship, a woman at Boeing read about it, and extended an internship at the company. “She became my mentor throughout my full 10-year tenure at Boeing.” Another mentor of hers (“a geek”) advised her to examine her career inflection point “as a system” noting when “the inputs no longer affect the outputs.”
Noramay ‘s personal strength emanates from circles, friends, and family. As the new mother of two-year old “I really rely on groups like ‘Moms In Tech’ for support, and my ‘WhatsApp’ chat strings with my girlfriends.” Noramay’s first daughter is a rising senior in college, and her mother said “it’s about resilience, character and grit. I see it in her. She has an incredible compassion and sense of service for others.”
Noramay’s key advice for other women is: “Clear your closets.” Divest “the baggage” that does not contribute to positive momentum (“the experiences of parents, or past relationships”). “It’s important that we power through and clear what we are carrying so that we’re not unconsciously perpetuating” unproductive behavior. “Recognize there might be something in your past that makes you more vulnerable” to being manipulated; face it and get rid of it.
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