Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne understands the importance of finance for women-owned small businesses.

Her three decades of experience include stints on Wall Street, in technology, philanthropy and professional speaking. Prior to her latest venture as CEO of Wocstar Capital — an initiative dedicated to empowering women of color (WOC) business owners — Jennings-O’Byrne spent several years at JPMorgan Chase as a mergers and acquisitions banker.

Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne is CEO of Wocstar Capital, and co-founder of the Wocstar Fund, an early-stage venture fund that invests in the future of consumption and innovation using a female arbitrage strategy — we are a fund that invests in the future of consumption and innovation using a female arbitrage strategy — women of color tech entrepreneurs (“WOCstars”). Gayle (pronounced: Gay-lä) was named “10 Women Changing the Landscape of Leadership” by the New York Times, March 2021. She is the host of “VCs off the Record”, and instructor at Wocstar Academy. Gayle co-founded Ally Capital Collab, an initiative with women of color fund managers to address systemic capital-raising challenges.

Studies say there are still big differences between men and women when it comes to pay.

WPIX-11 talked with Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne, CEO of Wocstar about how women can ensure their financial security.

Jenning-O’Byrne explains women need more negotiating skills and to tap into their network for support as well as working in better benefits.

Empowering Change: How Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne and Wocstar Are Elevating Women of Color in Business

Wocstar are excited to bring Wocstar Academy to North Carolina entrepreneurs and were proud to stand by VP Kamala Harris, as she announced federal funding for small businesses in Durham.

What sets our work apart is that we are female forward in everything we do and we are unapologetic about rewriting the narrative about women. We’re disrupting the status quo by investing, training, and showcasing women rockstars, or as we call them, Wocstars: women of color stars.

Four venture capital funds founded by women of color in the United States are banding together under an umbrella called The Ally Capital Collab to get an edge on fundraising and investments.