Breaking Barriers in Venture Capital: Austin Clements on Building Slauson & Co. and Funding the Future
When Austin Clements co-founded Slauson & Co., he wasn’t just launching another venture capital firm. He was rewriting the narrative of who gets funded, who gets a seat at the table, and how inclusive wealth creation can reshape innovation in America.
On the Build Tech Stack Equity, Austin sat down with Darius Gant to discuss his path from South Los Angeles to becoming one of the most thoughtful emerging managers in venture capital. What followed was an honest, behind-the-scenes look at the business of funding innovation, the importance of timing, and how AI is reshaping the world founders now build in.
From Gardena to Growth: The Making of a Venture Capitalist
Austin’s story begins in South Los Angeles, where curiosity about technology met a desire to understand wealth. After studying at Morehouse College, he returned home to work in finance, learning what separates those who build wealth from those who maintain it. But technology was always calling.
In the late 1990s, long before the world saw the power of e-commerce, Austin built websites for small businesses. “I was explaining to people why they needed a website when most didn’t think they’d ever want one,” he recalled. The experience taught him the power of technology to expand opportunity and visibility for underserved entrepreneurs.
Eventually, Austin discovered venture capital while studying for his CFA. Drawn by the mix of finance and innovation, he immersed himself in the writings of investors like Fred Wilson, Brad Feld, and Mark Suster, who became informal mentors through their blogs. The more he read, the clearer his path became.
“I realized that venture capital was exactly where I belonged,” he said. “It combined the parts of investing I loved with the future-building side of technology.”
After earning his MBA from NYU, Clements joined TenOneTen Ventures, where he learned the craft of early-stage investing. Those years gave him the foundation for something bigger.
Founding Slauson & Co.: Optimism, Naivety, and the Power of Timing
Austin teamed up with longtime friend Ajay “AJ” Thomas, who had helped build Queensbridge Venture Partners with Nas. Both had made their way into venture capital independently, but they shared one vision: to create a firm that reflected the communities they came from and the founders they wanted to serve.
Launching a venture fund wasn’t easy. “Like most entrepreneurial journeys, it started with optimism and naivete,” Austin laughed. “We thought everyone would line up to give us money.”
Instead, fundraising proved brutal. After leaving his job, Austin had a year’s worth of savings to make it work. He spent it cold-calling over 300 potential limited partners (LPs), often hearing polite rejections. Just as the savings were running out, 2020 changed everything.
The dual shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests reshaped the conversation around inclusion in finance. Suddenly, investors were looking for credible, diverse fund managers who could bring new perspectives. “We didn’t change our story, but the world finally started listening,” Austin said.
The firm’s first fund ballooned from an initial $15 million target to $75 million, backed in part by legendary investor Ron Conway. The lesson, Austin noted, was simple: “Timing is everything. Sometimes you just have to stay in the game long enough to get lucky.”
A New Kind of Investment Thesis
Slauson & Co. focuses on pre-seed and seed investments across both B2B and consumer technology. On the B2B side, the firm targets tools that empower the next generation of small business owners. On the consumer side, they invest in what Austin calls “architects of the human experience” founders who deeply understand cultural and behavioral shifts shaping society.
“We look for lived experience as a competitive advantage,” he explained. “That means we’re backing people who understand the world they’re building for because they’ve lived it.”
Slauson’s checks typically range from $1 to $3 million, often as the first institutional capital into a company. Austin looks for founders who can identify macro shifts and align them with unique insights a framework he credits to the book Pattern Breakers by Mike Maples Jr.
“Your idea might pivot,” he said, “but your insight should stay constant. That’s what separates great founders from the rest.”
The Power of Storytelling in the Startup Era
Austin believes one of the biggest shifts in entrepreneurship is how founders connect with their audiences. “A few years ago, everyone thought tech platforms should be neutral. Now, people want authenticity,” he said.
He encouraged founders to embrace vulnerability and purpose in their messaging. “Your story matters. People want to know who you are, what you stand for, and why you built what you built.”
From Tesla to ChatGPT, Austin noted that public perception of leaders now directly impacts business performance. “It’s not enough to say your product speaks for itself,” he said. “If you don’t get your story right, it’s hard to build a billion-dollar company.”
Investing in AI: Finding Opportunity Beyond the Hype
When the conversation turned to artificial intelligence, Austin was clear: while the LLM race may be over for new entrants, opportunity still exists at the application layer.
He pointed to Abby, an AI-powered therapy app in Slauson’s portfolio. The platform is designed specifically for mental health, addressing issues that general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT cannot. “Abby is built with the guardrails, empathy, and research that a therapy-focused product needs,” he said.
Austin believes the next wave of AI innovation will come from specialized, purpose-built systems that solve real problems rather than chasing massive infrastructure models. “Find your lane and own it,” he advised founders. “You don’t have to compete with OpenAI to build something transformative.”
Redefining Access: The Friends & Family Accelerator
For founders without the privilege of early funding networks, Slauson & Co. launched the Friends & Family Accelerator. The program invests $300,000 into early-stage startups and provides six months of mentorship, exposure, and resources.
“Our goal is to support founders who might not have a friend or family member who can write a five-figure check,” Austin said. “We want to close that access gap.”
The accelerator helps participants refine their ideas, connect with seasoned founders, and prepare for seed-stage investment. “Sometimes all a founder needs is a little capital and a strong network to change their trajectory,” he added.
Looking Ahead: Where Venture and AI Collide
Austin sees the future of venture capital and AI converging around human insight. As automation scales, creativity, lived experience, and emotional intelligence will become defining factors in successful entrepreneurship.
“The founders who thrive in this era are those who combine technology with humanity,” he said. “We invest in people who not only see the shift coming but know how to shape it.”
Slauson & Co. isn’t just betting on ideas—it’s betting on the next generation of innovators who reflect the diversity, resilience, and creativity of the world they serve.
To hear her full, inspiring journey and learn more about her advice for non-technical founders, listen to the complete conversation on the Build Tech Stack Equity Podcast. Follow us for more stories of the incredible entrepreneurs and investors shaping the future of technology.
