According to a 2018 study by Equity Ventures, just 3% of Venture Capitalists are Black. This presents a problem because venture capitalists tend to fund people that look like them. The current demographics of most venture-backed startups should therefore be of no surprise. Exacerbating the problem, minority founders consistently lack access to capital. The average Black entrepreneur starts a business with around $35,205 in the capital [white entrepreneur receives $106,720 in comparison] Driving change To grow a more equitable and diverse ecosystem, Black/minority-led venture capitalist firms have launched to exclusively target traditionally underfunded entrepreneurs. We’re
What You Will Learn in This Post I will share hard numbers, actual decisions, and strategic reasoning with you so you can learn from what my cofounders and I did and see that it is OK to take risks where you don’t know for sure if something is going to work out. I will not discuss the unique operating decisions or industry dynamics because they are not important to embrace the spirit of our experience so that you may be encouraged to go boldly to build your vision. You will
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss the brilliance of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) using Twitch to encourage young people to vote in the upcoming U.S. Election. (21:45) They also break down: Expensify CEO email (1:32) 20 Cent and capitalism (3:18) RIP Quibi (9:29) Snap’s comeback (14:53) Ryan Hoover steps down from Product Hunt (18:40) Google vs DOJ (23:58) This episode is sponsored by Notion Get your Notion account here. Notion is hiring! Check out their open positions Extras: Techish on Patreon:Advertise with Techish:Please rate and review the Techish podcast Subscribe To The
As a Black man in venture capital, the last few months have been eye-opening. The national conversations about social justice led to an increased awareness of the challenges faced by underrepresented founders and funders in our industry. People and organizations have since stepped up to create pathways to invest in more founders from underrepresented backgrounds. And I couldn’t be happier to see this happen. But I’ve noticed something else taking place on the sidelines. Many onlookers view investing with a representation lens as a constraint, rather than a thoughtful investment
Black journalism has shaped the way we look at the technology industry. Get to know the writers and storytellers amplifying Black stories and speaking up across matters as varied as race, artificial intelligence, venture capital, diversity, and other issues affecting communities of color. Sidney Fussell, Senior Staff Writer for WIRED Sidney is a Senior Staff writer based in San Francisco covering technology for WIRED, writing compelling features about surveillance, health, spending data, and Silicon Valley’s social and political impact. Sidney was previously a technology writer with The Atlantic but has also
Techish · #EndSars! PayStack's $200 million exit, Horrible Board Members, Ice Cube + Diddy Techish is back with another episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss the large scale social movement against police brutality in Nigeria (#ENDSARS) (00:40) They also break down: PayStack $200 million exits to Stripe (5:30) The lack of IPO’s (11:02) Are Black celebs trying to lead the revolution? (21:08) The CircleUp Board Member email (26:05) Extras: Techish on Patreon:Advertise with Techish:Please rate and review the Techish podcast Subscribe To The Techish Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other Platforms.
Last week, Stripe announced it had purchased the Nigerian startup, Paystack for an estimated 200 million dollars. Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, Paystack is a platform designed to deliver a safe, convenient, and modern payment experience for customers and merchants in Africa. Background The idea for Paystack was born when Akinlade built a simple way of integrating a card transaction into a website. It was the simplicity of how it worked that propelled him and Olubi to think about developing it into a platform for others.
In honor of October being Black History Month in the UK, we highlight ten influential Black British women who code and break down barriers. For more Black British Tech stories, see our BHM feature on UK founders from 2017. Charlene Hunter – Lead Software Engineer at Made Tech, Founder Coding Black Females Charlene is the founder of Coding Black Females one of the largest platforms for Black female coders in the UK. Charlene wrote her first line of code at the age of 10 and went on to earn a
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss how Black Linkedin users who post in forceful tones about racial issues and injustices say they feel the platform has silenced them (13:21). They also break down: The Clubhouse app controversy (00:40) A new dating app for short kings? (05:40) Are Chief Diversity Officers necessary? (17:13) The death of cinema (22:04) Extras: Techish on Patreon:Advertise with Techish:Please rate and review the Techish podcast Subscribe To The Techish Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other Platforms. Main image by Benjamin Norman via NYT of Aaisha Joseph, a diversity consultant, who had
The other day, I posted a poll on what post I should write next, and 57.1% voted for a “founders resource guide.” And because I’m working on a first-time founders course, I thought I’d focus the guide on first-time founders. Here we go… In this post, you’ll find: Founder Basics A Note for Underestimated Founders Resources And although the concepts that I share in the Founder Basics are simple, in the +1,000 startups I’ve reviewed for investment, I’ve seen first-time founders skip these foundational blocks, spend a lot of time and money, and
