‘Smith Gave Me the Tools to Be a Leader’

As founder and managing partner of New York City-based StarVest Partners, one of the largest majority women–owned venture capital firms in the United States, Deborah Farrington ’72 is a major player in a field where fewer than 10% of partners in venture capital firms are women. In 2000, she led a $20 million round of investments in a then little-known company called NetSuite. Seven years later, she made headlines when the company went public at a value of $1.8 billion, scoring the second-largest public offering of a tech company since Google. Farrington has appeared numerous times on Forbes magazine’s Midas 100 list of top venture capitalists, and was the top woman on the list in 2008 and 2011. In 2018, she was awarded The Foreign Policy Association Centennial Medal for Achievement in Financial Services. Farrington is deeply committed to providing opportunities for women interested in pursuing careers in business and finance and has endowed a fellowship for women entrepreneurs at Harvard Business School, where she earned an M.B.A., in addition to a fund at Smith. She has also shared her expertise on the boards of various organizations, including Smith College, where she was chair of the Smith College Investment Committee and, with Melissa Parker Draper ’77 and her husband, Tim Draper, helped launch the Draper Competition for Collegiate Women Entrepreneurs.

Here, Farrington shares the lessons she learned at Smith, why women’s colleges remain relevant, and her reaction to receiving the Smith Medal.

What is your proudest accomplishment?
“My proudest accomplishment is co-founding StarVest Partners in 1998, a woman-majority owned (three women, one man) venture capital firm, one of the few, which shows we need more women in venture capital. StarVest enabled us to create a work environment of equal partners based on respect for others, dedicated to producing the best results for our investors and, therefore, our firm, partners, and employees. Managing a firm with like-minded individuals enabled us to focus on results and accomplish things in a less political, less stressful environment than I experienced on Wall Street. I have also been able to further my personal mission of contributing to the advancement of women in venture capital, on boards of directors, in philanthropy, as well as in business and society. It has enabled me to run my life on my own terms in pursuit of the ideals I value.”

What Smith lesson continues to impact your life today?
“I am a product of women’s education: first a girls’ high school and then Smith. Those were the best options for women’s education in 1968 when I began college. The late ’60s saw the transformation of society through the Vietnam war, civil rights, the abolishment of many rules at Smith (from parietals on down) and the feeling that the sky was the limit for women. We were free to question authority and chart our own course with many options ahead of us. It was a brave new world! At Smith, I took a sociology course sophomore year on women leaders and decided that is what I wanted to be. And I was given every opportunity at Smith to be a leader and a change maker. Smith produces women leaders who make a difference, and I was determined to be one of them. I still feel that way. I would like to see more women choose women’s colleges today.”

What advice do you have for seniors graduating this year?
“This is the time of your life when you can take a risk, try new things, and explore new directions. Follow something you love, a direction you believe in, or something that fascinates you. Be brave, set high goals. Remember: “If not you, then who?” Smith gave me the tools to be a leader and a pioneer. I felt it was my obligation to make a difference. And that has been my mantra: “If not you, then who?” That is what I have always asked myself. I still do. I hope today’s Smith grads will, too. Another thing I would say to Smithies is to consider spending part of your time or career living or working abroad to experience other societies, and see how they do things. I found the time I spent in the ’80s and ’90s working and living in Hong Kong and Tokyo invaluable. And finally, don’t forget to cultivate something that is different from your main pursuit. To add some fun and balance to your life. For me it has been a lifelong interest in the history of art, inspired by the Art 100 course I took at Smith.”

What was post-graduation like for you?
“When I was a senior at Smith, many companies of all types came to Smith to recruit. Many were financial institutions, where there were few women in the field, and many of us went into finance in New York City together, able to provide encouragement and sisterhood. We supported each other. We all experienced setbacks and challenges but remembered: If it does not work, get back up, brush yourself off, restart, and use the opportunity to begin a new direction.”

Do you have any special memories of Rally Day at Smith?
“Going to John M. Greene Hall, sitting in the audience and being in awe of the Smith Medal recipients! How did they do all that? They were role models to aspire to—if only I could achieve something as important and worthy of celebrating.”

What does being honored with the Smith Medal mean to you?
“It is a circle completed. Seeing those Smithies on the stage at Rally Day all those years ago and realizing that I am now joining them—extraordinary! It means I achieved many of the things I set out to do with little idea of how to do them but knowing I wanted to be a leader and a pioneer for women when I graduated from Smith 53 years ago. Smith gave me the tools and confidence to do that!”

Rally Day is a celebration of the many ways Smithies have changed the world. What do you see as major issues today that you would like to see Smithies tackle?
“We have seen the cost, especially lately, of divisiveness in our society. Working on ways to bring our country together is something I would like to see Smithies tackle. Think of going into government service for a portion of your career so you can effect the change you want to see. Inequality is still an issue as well, of course. Ensuring in your work and personal life that you provide opportunities for those less fortunate than yourself is of critical importance. Setting an example is also key: I was elected chair of the Harvard Business School Club of New York in 2022 and was shocked to learn that I was the first woman to serve in that position! I made sure a woman succeeded me. There are still barriers to be broken. It is up to us to keep breaking them.”

Why is it critical to support Smith philanthropically?
“As one of the largest women’s colleges with a proud history, we must provide the funds for Smith to continue to deliver the outstanding educational and professional experiences that produce women leaders. We need to ensure that the most qualified young women are attracted to Smith and can attend Smith despite financial need. Students must be offered the opportunity to work in or have internships based on their interests and passions, whether it is in the arts, education, history, medicine, economics, or government. That is why I endowed a fund at Smith and recently pledged to add more.”

Do you see social entrepreneurism gaining traction or losing steam in the next five years?
“I see social entrepreneurism continuing to gain traction and strengthening in the next five years. But the rate of progress will be dependent on focus and measuring and communicating what has been accomplished. This is where I think much more can be done. Smith students can play a part. Those in for-profit entrepreneurship should consider spending some of their time in social entrepreneurship. I became involved with two organizations, Opportunity International and Educate! The first, Opportunity International, focuses on microfinance, providing women in Africa and Central America with microloans to start businesses in areas where there are few job opportunities. The second, Educate!, focuses on ‘teaching the teachers’ of high school students in Uganda to be entrepreneurs because that is a way to create jobs there. I have taught classes in entrepreneurship and the fundamentals of starting a small business for those organizations in both Africa and Nicaragua. It has been a privilege to use my experience and skills in business to actively support organizations that will change people’s lives, especially women’s, for the better. And, to introduce young people to do the same. There are few things that could be more rewarding.”

You began your career when women were breaking a lot of barriers. Are you hopeful or discouraged in 2025?
“I remain hopeful. I have always felt it was incumbent upon us as well-educated women to effect change. Smith instilled in me the desire to be a pioneer. Being a pioneer, breaking barriers, can be challenging, but it is also exciting, rewarding, and a force for positive change. Following the road less traveled, doing things that have not been done before, setting an example; for me, it was 90% fun and rewarding, not 100%, and sometimes difficult, but still a pretty great percentage! There is still much to do. I am confident that institutions such as Smith that have produced great women will continue to do so. And that is why I am hopeful.”