Black Girls CODE board member Heather Hiles is breaking their silence regarding allegations made against them from Black Girls CODE founder Kimberly Bryant. Hiles’ comments are the latest in a still developing fight between Black Girls CODE’s board and the nonprofit’s recently ousted founder Kimberly Bryant. Earlier this month, Black Girls CODE announced that they have officially removed Bryant from the organization. The announcement follows Bryant’s own move to take ownership of the narrative. The Business Insider reports that Bryant has filed a suit in federal court against Black Girls CODE, alleging that she was
Black Business Month isn’t over just yet! Amazon has announced that they are testing a new badge that aims to help boost the exposure of Black-owned businesses that buy and sell products through its online store. The initiative, which comes just after the anniversary of the app’s first Black Business Accelerator program, will highlight to customers when a Black-owned business sells a featured offer product. That way, customers can discover, shop, buy and support Black-owned businesses, ultimately helping small business owners expand their clientele and reach a broader demographic. “As part of
Angeles Investors have announced the winners of this year’s Estrellas award. The line-up features a collection of the top 40 funders and venture capital firms investing in Hispanic and Latinx startups. This year’s cohort exemplifies leadership in investing in top startups and Hispanic and Latinx founders, among the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy. Â Â “It’s exciting to see the number of top funders and venture capital groups investing in Latino startups grow,” said Adele Cepeda, Angeles Investors Board Chair and Director at BMO Financial Corporation. “In 2020, we started
Black-owned venture capital firm Brown Venture Group announced that it had received a $1.5 million investment from the Bush Foundation. Brown Venture Group, co-founded in 2018 by Dr. Paul Campbell and Dr. Chris Brooks, is an investment firm committed to investing in BIPOC tech startups and founders. The firm aims to help all startups in its portfolio grow as a brand through investment capital, training, and professional networks. By focusing on excelling in tech entrepreneurship, Brown Venture Group hopes its investments will help bypass many of the racial biases that
Many startup cofounders have exciting stories to share about how they met. From bonding as college roommates or former colleagues to surprise encounters leading to entrepreneurial adventures but for some, that perfect cofounder is found through a match-making platform. Damilare Ogunleye is the co-founder and CEO of FoodLama. He runs the Google-backed startup with his cofounder – 18-year-old Santiago Schmitt. But how does the startup work? FoodLama is a free-to-install-and-use browser extension that simplifies online grocery shopping with preferences. By taking into account your household’s individual allergies, preferences, and needs,
Black-owned real estate tech startup, Rhove, has announced its new partnership with housing changemakers in New Orleans to promote economic inclusion. The partnership, which includes Forward Together New Orleans, The Mayor’s Fund, and The Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA), will provide a grant to fund credit to help 2,000 residents invest in commercial real estate using the Rhove app. Rhove, founded by Calvin Cooper, is a fintech company designed to empower everyone to invest in and own real estate. The company, located in Ohio, is on a mission to
Incredible Health, an award-winning job-matching platform for nurses, has closed an $80 million Series B funding round. The latest funding round was led by Base10 Partners, including investors Andreessen Horowitz and Obvious Ventures. To date, the digital marketplace has hit a staggering $1.65 billion valuation, making its founder, Dr Iman Abuzeid, one of the very few Black female founders spearheading a unicorn company. Abuzeid founded the nurse-hiring startup in 2017 to act as the bridge between healthcare workers and industry hires, matching “the right nurse with the right role at
Tech startup ImIn has further closed $1 million in seed funding to expand its employee scheduling app. Black-led venture capital firm Collab Capital led the funding round. ImIn, founded by Chime Solutions exec Lauren Wilson, is a staffing software platform aimed at helping the call center industry. After seven years of working at her father’s high-volume call center business, Wilson came up with the idea to launch her app after identifying the missed opportunities both companies faced because of a familiar yet widely accepted industry challenge: absenteeism. According to a 2017 US Department
Kimberly Bryant, the co-founder and former CEO of Black Girls CODE, has spoken up after officially being removed from her leadership position. Bryant founded Black Girls CODE in 2011 to introduce young girls of color to computer science and increase the number of women of color in the digital technology space. Today, the nonprofit is a household name with chapters across the US and other countries. However, Bryant reported waking up last December to discover that she could no longer access her work email. She soon received a letter informing
Black-owned digital app, ShearShare, has raised $2.3M in a seed funding round led by Fearless Fund. The round also included Level Up Ventures, New York Ventures, Gaingels, Chloe Capital, Portfolia, Pipline Angels, Bacon Family Trust, and ACV Auctions co-founder Jack Greco. The additional funding brings ShearShare’s total funding amount to $6.2M. Known to many as the “HairBnB,” ShearShare has created an easily accessible mobile app that provides licensed beauty and barbering professionals with flexible and affordable spaces to rent. In addition, entrepreneurs can use these spaces with no-term leases or commission fees.
