Shelly Kapoor Collins

Shelly Kapoor Collins is a venture capitalist and technology entrepreneur with a focus on gender equity in the innovation economy. Kapoor Collins works at the intersection of technology, innovation, and policy, investing in female-led and female-founded technology startups in sectors such as cybersecurity, fintech, edtech, and digital health. With experience in raising and deploying more than $100 million across early-stage technology companies, Kapoor Collins transitioned from entrepreneur to venture capitalist to support female founders in becoming full participants in the innovation economy.

After founding and managing her own companies, Kapoor Collins launched the Shatter Fund to expand opportunities for female entrepreneurs. She is the founder of Shatter Fund and a managing director at Sway, where she leads investments in high-growth startups across healthtech, fintech, and ecommerce. Through Shatter Fund II, Kapoor Collins invests in transformative technologies at the intersection of health, wellness, and artificial intelligence. Notable investments include female-led companies such as GlamSquad, UrbanSitter, HelloAlice, Hint Water, On Second Thought, The Riveter, and Storm Sensor. Research indicates that when women are involved in investment decision-making, female entrepreneurs are significantly more likely to raise capital, highlighting the importance of Kapoor Collins's mission.

Kapoor Collins has developed technology products including Root Square, a social media fundraising platform for nonprofits and political campaigns; the Gender Watch App, a tool for women to document incidents of gender bias in the workforce; and Shatter Capital, a crowdfunding platform connecting female entrepreneurs with resources. She hosted the first virtual Shatter Summit, which brought together more than 600 global guests, including female founders, venture capitalists, and executives. At this event, Kapoor Collins announced the launch of the Shatter Foundation, a nonprofit supported by global asset manager Franklin Templeton, providing entrepreneurial education tools to underserved girls. She has continued to host Shatter Summits both online and in person at the U.S. State Department, featuring speakers such as former Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, and MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski.

With more than 20 years of experience in technology, policy, and investing, Kapoor Collins has advised U.S. presidents and presidential candidates and served as a member of California Governor Gavin Newsom's Entrepreneurship Task Force. She was appointed to the National Women's Business Council by the Obama administration and served as vice chair of the Women in Public Service Project started by Secretary Hillary Clinton at the State Department. Kapoor Collins was also a member of the Harris Victory Fund's National Finance Committee, contributed to the transition team for then-Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, and acted as a national co-chair for technology for Barack Obama's presidential re-election campaign.

Kapoor Collins holds both a BS and MS in management information systems from the University of Maryland. She has been recognized by Forbes in its "40 Women to Watch Over 40" list and by The Economic Times as one of the Top 20 Influential Indian Women. She was honored at the 100 Global Women Icons Awards Gala & Economic Development Summit in Washington, D.C. Her insights have been featured by media outlets, and she has appeared as a thought leader on networks such as MSNBC and Forbes. Kapoor Collins is a keynote speaker, sharing leadership lessons on risk-taking and breaking into male-dominated industries, from corporate technology to politics and venture capital, to support and fund female entrepreneurs.