Sydney Sykes is a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners who co-founded BLCK VC, a nonprofit focused on doubling the number of Black investors in venture capital, and has built a nationwide community that she calls her secret sauce for deal flow and relationships. She invests with a people and behavior lens rooted in psychology and economics, actively looks for grit and problem-solving skills that come from navigating adversity, and uses her platform to educate founders and emerging investors about how venture capital really works. Sydney Sykes is a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners who co-founded BLCK VC, a nonprofit focused on doubling the number of Black investors in venture capital, and has built a nationwide community that she calls her secret sauce for deal flow and relationships. She invests with a people and behavior lens rooted in psychology and economics, actively looks for grit and problem-solving skills that come from navigating adversity, and uses her platform to educate founders and emerging investors about how venture capital really works.