This week on Techish, Michael and Abadesi dive into the economy—tariffs, trade wars, and how it’s all hitting small businesses. They chat about globalization, the mind games behind trade deals, and who really wins or loses. Plus, they touch on corporate accountability, the rise of Black-owned brands, and how culture shapes our views on economic fairness. Chapters 00:34 Trump’s Tariffs: The Winners and Losers13:16 Why Is Trump Getting Away With Everything?19:58 Fraudster Founders Are Getting Let Off The Hook?29:41 Topicals Founder Acquires Bread Beauty Supply Listen to the episode You
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is facing a $2.4 billion lawsuit over allegations that its platform contributed to ethnic violence in Ethiopia. A Kenyan high court has ruled that the case, brought by two Ethiopian nationals and a Kenyan NGO, can proceed. Hateful content contributing to real-word harm The lawsuit was filed by two Ethopians, Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, and The Katiba Institute, a Kenya-based NGO. They argue that Facebook’s algorithms amplified hate speech and inciteful content, fueling violence during the country’s civil war. They claim
Pre-seed venture capital firm Symphonic Capital has announced the launch of its inaugural fund of $13.5 million to invest in early-stage companies. Symphonic Capital focuses on founders who are closing critical access gaps within healthcare and financial services.”That’s because we believe everyone should have access to reliable healthcare and financial freedom, regardless of their race, gender or ethnicity,” Founder Sydney Thomas and partner Shruti Shah said in a press statement. The fund is led by experienced pre-seed investors and operators and backed by leading institutions, such as Known, Candide, Illumen
The Global Gaming League (GGL) has raised $10 million for its Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) round, led by Solyco Capital. The GGL is a multi-title gaming league with celebrity-owned teams made up of four players, each including high-profile influencers, actors, athletes, artists, and casual and professional gamers. These players compete in live events in games ranging from first-person shooters to sports titles and fighting games to the latest releases and retro favorites. The company was founded by Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum music producer and entrepreneur Clinton Sparks in partnership with T-Pain and tech entrepreneur Jeff
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) has announced the launch of the Innovation Leader Scholarship, as stated in a press release. This unique initiative aims to support upcoming diverse leaders in engineering and computer science and inspire them to influence the future of technology. The Innovation Leader Scholarship will financially support five outstanding rising sophomore, junior, and senior students undertaking engineering or computer science degrees. The Innovation Leader Scholarship Recipients must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA and be enrolled at an ABET-accredited engineering college that is part of the
OneUnited Bank, one of the nation’s largest Black-owned banks, is partnering with the credit-building platform Esusu to change the path to homeownership for renters during Financial Literacy Month. Esusu uses data to help improve users’ credit scores, allowing people to make it easier to get onto the housing ladder. “This alliance is all about empowering renters with the financial tools they need to turn their homeownership dreams into reality,” Teri Williams, President & COO of OneUnited Bank, said in a press release. OneUnited Bank’s collaboration with Esusu By reporting on-time rental payments, this
Spill is inviting its members to become investors. The social media platform announced that it is launching an equity crowdfunding round, allowing users to invest in the company as it grows. The crowdfunding round opened on March 10. “While we’ve been successful in raising venture capital for SPILL, we are a community driven product and believe strongly that the community that helps us grow in the early stage should have the opportunity to benefit as well,” it said in a press release. Spill’s crowdfunding round Spill is inviting users to
The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation donated $2 million to The Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE) to further the organization’s mission to expand, scale, and develop Black entrepreneurs across Atlanta and beyond. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s $2M Donation The announcement was made during a fireside chat held at RICE, which featured Jay Bailey, President & CEO of RICE; Fay Twersky, President of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation; and Kacey Venning, a RICE stakeholder and nonprofit leader. “The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s belief in our mission
Growth Warrior Capital recently raised $26 million for its first fund from investors like Bank of America, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, and Pivotal Ventures, the investment firm founded by Melinda French Gates. Promise Phelon launched Growth Warrior in 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina to support underrepresented and overlooked entrepreneurs. Since then, the firm has written checks up to $3 million and has a portfolio of 11 companies. These include Capitan, an AI insurance claim platform that raised $104 million, and ForceMetrics, an AI platform for first responders. Supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs Growth
Yale juniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow have raised $3.1 million in pre-seed funding for their social network platform, Series, which helps users connect with others who offer mutual value. Series, still just a few months old, secured the funding in only 14 days after a trailer posted by Johnson on LinkedIn went viral in the college entrepreneurial community. The buzz attracted strong investor interest, including from former a16z investor Anne Lee Skates, who went on to lead the pre-seed round through her venture fund Parable. Changing the way we
