Confido has raised $20 million in total funding across its Seed and Series A rounds. Footwork led the rounds with participation from Watchfire Ventures, Y Combinator, Boulder Food Group II, Fintech Fund, Barrel Ventures, and a group of strategic angels. The startup, founded in 2022 by Justin Hunter and Kara Holinski, began by automating Cash Application and Deductions Management. Over the past year, it expanded into Trade Promotion Management and Sales Forecasting, with the mission of giving accounting, finance, and sales teams a single platform to plan, execute, and analyze
Seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster is making a comeback under the leadership of CEO Damola Adamolekun. The 36-year-old, who took the helm as Red Lobster emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, is leaning on two simple strategies: listen to customers and make the restaurants worth returning to. Red Lobster’s bankruptcy Founded in 1968, Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2024, closing more than 100 of its nearly 650 restaurants. Decades of rising labor and lease costs were compounded by the infamous endless shrimp fiasco, which turned
Black-owned whiskey brand Uncle Nearest has been hit with a $100 million lawsuit for allegedly not paying back its loans, as stated by court documents. Nearest Green Distillery, which sells Uncle Nearest premium whiskey across the US, has been accused of breaching loan agreements with its lender, according to a suit obtained by WSMV. The lawsuit has been filed by Louisville-based Farm Credit Mid-America, which accuses the company’s founders, Fawn Weaver and her husband, Keith Weaver, of breach of contract, stating that they defaulted on multiple loans, totaling $108 million, including interest. It also alleges
Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish This week, Techish host Michael Berhane teams up with TechCrunch reporter Dominic-Madori Davis to break down why Silicon Valley is leaning into the intense 996 work culture. They also dive into Black beauty brands like Ami Colé struggling to stay afloat. Flo’s privacy trial, and Mira Murati’s $2 billion seed round. And for the Patreon subscribers: why the Tea app is in hot water and the dark side of tech’s H-1B visas. Chapters 00:43 Silicon Valley Embraces Controversial 996 Workweek07:11 Black-Owned
Ami Colé, a Black-owned beauty line founded by Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye, will shut down in September. N’Diaye-Mbaye, who is one of the few Black women to raise more than $1 million in venture capital, wrote about her decision in The Cut, explaining that maintaining the business in this current market wasn’t sustainable. “We made operational decisions that felt necessary at the time — like scaling up production to meet potential demand — without truly knowing how the market would respond,” N’Diaye-Mbaye said. Ami Colé’s history The brand, which launched in 2021,
Black Leaders Detroit has announced the fifth annual Ride for Equity—an ambitious 1,645-mile cycling journey from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to New York City. The multi-state event pays tribute to the legacy of historic Black business districts and will also raise funds to support Black entrepreneurs, BridgeDetroit reports. “We’re riding from Black Wall Street in honor of the legacy of Greenwood,” Dwan Dandridge, founder and CEO of Black Leaders Detroit, told BridgeDetroit. “And we’re going to Wall Street because it’s another place where Black people had a huge hand in creating the
Costo is standing firm on its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments despite activist investors pushing for the company to make changes in line with those seen at Walmart, John Deere, and McDonald’s. Activist investors target DEI efforts Forbes reported that a proposal from a shareholder, put forward by a conservative think tank, challenged Costco to evaluate and openly share the harm linked with its DEI policies and goals. The proposal states that the firm DEI’s plans present financial, reputational, and litigation threats that could negatively affect shareholders. In the
This year, we’ve witnessed the ripple effects of the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action in college admissions with mounting conservative pressure against DEI initiatives across industries—from retail and banking to venture capital and nonprofits. Amid these challenges, the stories that resonated most with you this year were those of resistance and resilience: stories about Black women securing capital, launching funds, and building unicorn companies. You loved the stories about employees holding their employers to account—in words and deeds—and the investors, influencers, and innovators raising the bar in their respective
In 2024, Black-owned businesses faced significant challenges, from rising costs and gentrification to limited access to funding. Amid these obstacles, communities around the world rallied to provide crucial support. Through flash mobs, crowdfunding, and organized shopping events, they helped Black-owned businesses weather financial hardships and highlighted the power of collective action. Here are four examples of communities stepping up to make a difference. The Sistah Shop – Atlanta Facing potential closure due to financial difficulties, The Sistah Shop, a retail space showcasing over 100 Black women-owned brands, received a lifeline from
Carlos Watson, the founder of Ozy Media, was sentenced on Monday to 116 months in prison for defrauding investors and misrepresenting the company’s finances. The decision comes after Watson’s conviction in July for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that included falsifying contracts and fabricating deals to gain investor trust, according to Reuters. Fraudulent Deals And Fabricated Contracts The sentencing, delivered by US District Judge Eric Komitee in Brooklyn federal court, marks the culmination of a high-profile case. Prosecutors accused Watson and his now-defunct media startup of inflating revenue projections and audience
