"Success comes when DEI is treated as an integral part of company culture and leadership." - Zuzana Zamborska, Lumus Investment

Zuzana Zamborska is the CEO & Co-founder of the Dive-In Platform, the Co-owner of BE-DNA and a Co-founder of Lumus Investment. What connects all Zuzana’s projects is her desire to bring more balance, empathy and inclusion into the world. 

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Given the current socio-economic context, she thinks that creating DEI platforms and solutions to support women is urgent and exhausting.

“There’s a real need for safe, inclusive spaces and tools that challenge the status quo — but at the same time, the backlash is louder. The rise in anti-DEI rhetoric means you’re often defending the very existence of your work before even getting to the impact.

What’s frustrating is that DEI — in some form — has always been part of society. Communities have long practiced inclusion, care, and equity in informal ways. It’s not a new concept, and yet, we’re still having to “justify” it in public discourse. That alone shows how deep some of the resistance runs.

The same goes for women and their financial wellbeing — it’s a topic that affects half the population, and yet, for historical and cultural reasons, it’s still rarely discussed openly or taken seriously. Financial agency is such a key part of equality, and we’re only just starting to name it, let alone normalize it.”

The opportunity, she adds, lies in how many people are actually actively interested in change. Making a change requires a lot of energy and hope, so the challenge, she thinks is to be able to mitigate the risk of getting burnout, “especially when progress is slow or met with resistance from institutions or gatekeepers.”

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For companies looking to implement DEI projects, there are several mindsets and strategies that can set those companies either for success or for failure.

“Success comes when DEI is not treated as a checkbox or a PR exercise, but as an integral part of company culture and leadership. When decision-makers are held accountable, when real resources are allocated, and when marginalized voices are centered — not just consulted at the end.

A strong foundation is when a company starts internally — not by asking “how are we different,” but “what connects us,” and builds from there. When the organization first works through the topic internally, brings people onto the same page, and then goes external, the change is more authentic and sustainable.

Failure, on the other hand, happens when DEI is treated as a side project or project of HR or when a company gets scared of internal discomfort. One common pitfall is checking the box with a single workshop — especially when it's not connected to any mapping or audit. Research shows that DEI trainings that aren't grounded in current, company-specific data don’t work — they create the illusion of progress, but not real change.”

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Over the past 3 years, DIVE-IN grew from a one-off game into a platform that provides companies with the tools and insights needed to create inclusive workplaces. They are currently integrating analytics and developing a new module for HR professionals, to support upskilling and reskilling in the area of employee experience (EX), with a strong DEI focus.

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Contemplating her work at Lumus, Zuzana says that what keeps her going really are the stories that come to them and the way they are able to help the community. 

Lumus was founded together with Lucia Cherchlan, in San Francisco, seeing the need for more women to get on the cap table, especially in CEE. They brought 2 more co-founders on board and now, 5 years later, Lumus has +500 members, out of which 92% are women, and the network invested in 15 companies. Lumus helps democratizing angel investing, making it possible for women to incest in fast-growing tech companies.

The Lumus network is a mix of successful female entrepreneurs, women in top management positions, as well as founders. Diversity brings strength and opportunities for learning and support.

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To see more female investors, Zuzana says, we need to change  the committees and decision-makers who select startups, otherwise we won’t see more female founders.

“Women often don’t find understanding or resonance with male investors, especially when it comes to products built for women. We’ve seen this firsthand at Lumus — female founders reach out to us after being dismissed or misunderstood. 

One founder, for example, pitched a second-hand clothing marketplace and was told during a competition that “people buy one pair of jeans every four years”. That kind of feedback clearly shows a gap in perspective.

The need for change — and for recognizing unconscious bias — isn’t new. In fact, orchestras in Boston figured it out back in the 1930s. Through blind auditions, where musicians performed behind a curtain and even barefoot, the percentage of women in orchestras increased from around 5% to 30%. All it took was acknowledging the bias and creating space to level the playing field.

At Lumus, we’re actively working to break this cycle. We're not focused solely on female founders, but we deeply believe that more female funders will lead to more female-led startups and more products serving female markets.

Because behind every successful woman, there will be another... and another... and another.”

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Thank you, Zuzana Zamborska!