Success Insider

Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor’s work began as it has continued—trying to level the corporate playing field. In the early 1980s, Mitch founded Lotus Development, and later brought in Freada to make the company “the most progressive employer in the U.S.,” as he says in today’s episode. Both of them had a personal interest in closing these gaps—Growing up, Mitch was not terribly well socialized and often did not fit in, something which became a large part of his identity. As an entrepreneur, he saw an opportunity to create a workplace culture where everybody would have the chance to be accepted for who they were. Freada, on the other hand, had family history, experience as an activist and an in-progress Ph.D. in social policy and research behind her interest in changing the corporate setting. Now, the pair serve as founding partners of Kapor Capital and have recently published a book, Closing the Equity Gap, discussing the changes that need to be made to the standard investment model. Freada, Mitch and Bril