This Club Of Black Women, With $2.1B In Collective Capital Raised, Is Disrupting Silicon Valley
Starting as a listserv, Visible Figures has grown into a support network for Black women in tech. The group’s name is a play off the book and movie Hidden Figures about three Black women — two mathematicians and an engineer — working at NASA in the 1960s.
Visible Figures, which has $2.1B in collective capital raised, was formed in 2017 by Stephanie VanPutten, who raised $2million for her own startup.
It was launched in response to a report that found only 12 Black women in the world had raised $1M+ in venture capital.
In 2016, digitalundivided, a nonprofit that supports Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs, estimated that startups with a Black woman founder had, on average, only raised $36,000.
By contrast, CB Insights’ market research firm found that the average failed startup has raised around $1.3 million.
These figures frustrated VanPutten, and in December 2016, she started inviting Black woman founders of tech and tech-enabled startups to a private listserv.
They shared tips for securing funding, hiring, and accessing events and organizations typically dominated by non-Black tech entrepreneurs, and they leveraged their experience and relationships to help each other.
Years later, this has turned into private events, promotions, and more. In the past, VanPutten said members have nominated each other for awards, given feedback on potential investors, recommended accelerator programs, and shared press opportunities.
VanPutten is also working on a directory that potential investors can browse, like Crunchbase or AngelList, but for Black women.
Although it was started years ago, VanPutten has been cooking up a few things, as she announced on Linkedin: “It’s Official! I’m happy to share: Visible Figures emerges after 5 years in stealth as the largest network of venture-backed Black women founders and VCs in the world ($2.1B in collective capital raised)!!”
VanPutten then added: “More to come.”
She also published an official picture of some of the women involved in the network, including Morgan Debaun, the CEO of Blavity and Afrotech.
We’ll be looking out to see what opportunities lie ahead for women seeking advice and funding from this group of ladies, who are passionate about uplifting Black women.
Who is Stephanie VanPutten
She is the founder of Blendoor, a venture-backed, diversity rating and hiring SaaS powering the environmental, social, and governance of impact funds and publicly traded companies.
“We do the heavy lifting so companies can focus on building a more sustainable future. We’ve raised over $2M, employed 21 people across 5 countries, served over 1.1M professionals and 279 companies in the US and Canada,” she said on LinkedIn.
She is also a board member of Fair Pay Workplace.
