Barbara Clarke

Founding Member

Astia Angels

Barbara Clarke is an economist and investor in early stage, high growth companies. She believes that women need to use their talents and capital to create the world we need. She holds a personal portfolio of over 50 companies.  She is a founding member of Astia Angels and an alumna of Pipeline Angels. Barbara serves on the investment committee of several funds that seek to disrupt venture capital such as Portfolia’s Rising Tide, Consumer, Enterprise and FirstStep funds. She invests across the United States and in Europe. She serves as a Deal Lead for Rising Tide Europe, a program for women to invest in startups across Europe.  Barbara serves on the board of directors of Portfolia Inc., the parent company of the Portfolia Funds. She serves on the board for Founders First Capital Partners, an innovative funder for growing small businesses.  Barbara also serves on the board or as an advisor to numerous startups including Cocomama.  Barbara serves on the Leadership Development Council for Digitalundivided, the leading incubator and ecosystem for black and Latinx women entrepreneurs. Barbara holds an MA in international economics and finance from Brandeis University and a BA in Quantitative Economics from Tufts University.  She lives in Boston but is often hard to spot there.