22-year-old raises $1.6M venture capital fund

A newly graduated computer science major from San Diego State University has raised $1.6 million — largely through her Twitter following — to invest in startups founded by diverse people underrepresented in the entrepreneurial world.

Paige Finn Doherty, 22, collected the money from angel investors who follow her investing advice on social media. She co-founded Behind Genius Ventures, what she calls a "Gen Z fund," and invested in four startups.

Unlike many students who never work real jobs until graduating, Doherty began working at Northrop Grumman when she was 17, first as an intern and later as a full-time employee. She worked in various roles from project management to technical writing to training groups of interns.

But she decided to switch gears from the technical to the entrepreneurial. She joined the university’s Venture Capital Investment Competition with a team of her peers.

Her team won the competition, and that experience vaulted Doherty into studying venture investing. She was scooped up by one of San Diego’s biggest tech venture capital funds to work as an intern.

Throughout this experience, Doherty was building a following on Twitter. She asked her audience what they wanted to learn about investing, and put together educational content. She now has more than 14,000 followers.

It was from this pool of people that Doherty got connected with investors who wrote checks for her first fund through Behind Genius Ventures. The fund has invested in startups in wellness tech and software development tools, among other areas. Doherty declined to disclose the company names.

Doherty said Behind Genius Ventures defines underrepresented founders as women, people of color, immigrants, LGTBQ+, and founders in secondary markets such as noncoastal cities.