Martin University, Indiana’s only historically Black university, will close permanently after its Board of Trustees voted to cease operations, citing unsustainable finances. The shutdown shows how access-oriented colleges without endowments become structurally dependent on volatile public funding, philanthropy, and enrollment volume. When any one of those inputs weakens, accreditation and creditor obligations can force liquidation, shifting educational infrastructure toward larger institutions with stronger balance sheets. Endowment scarcity turns budget shocks into existential threats. According to The EDU Ledger, Martin’s trustees concluded that the school’s long-standing financial model could not support
Skinbrand Topicals has added WNBA star Angel Reese and Nigerian artist Rema as investors in an undisclosed funding round, as the skincare brand navigates a pullback in institutional capital for consumer startups The round reflects a broader shift in how Black-founded consumer brands are financing growth in a more restrictive venture environment. As traditional investors grow more conservative, founders are increasingly treating distribution, cultural reach, and audience trust as strategic inputs alongside cash. Capital, Control, and the Cost of Growth Since launching in 2020, Topicals has raised more than $22.6
Terra Industries, a Nigeria-based defense technology company, raised an $11.75 million in funding led by Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC [Lonsdale is also co-founder of companies including Palantir Technologies, Addepar, and OpenGov], as it emerged from stealth, according to TechCrunch. The round included Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, and Nova Global. Terra previously raised an $800,000 pre-seed round. The company said African investors in the round included Tofino Capital, Kaleo Ventures, and DFS Lab. Terra, founded by CEO Nathan Nwachuku, 22, and CTO Maxwell Maduka, 24, builds autonomous systems to
Google’s Year in Search 2025 data confirms a long-standing reality in the digital economy. Black American culture serves as the primary engine for what the U.S. clicks, buys, and watches. This annual roundup highlights the questions that shaped the cultural zeitgeist, and 2025’s results are characterized by Black-led moments across every major category. Culture The rise of the Philadelphia-rooted “67” phrase—popularized by rapper Skrilla’s track “Doot Doot (6 7)”—highlights how regional Black slang quickly becomes the default language of the internet. Dictionary.com even named “67” its Word of the Year
2025 made one thing clear: progress is rarely linear. Against a backdrop of DEI rollbacks and an especially challenging job market, the year revealed how quickly gains can be challenged. Still, the pieces you returned to most weren’t just about what was taken away. They were about creativity, accountability, and agency. You showed up for stories of builders forging new paths, consumers demanding better from corporations, and individuals exposing systems that weren’t built with them in mind. So, as the year winds down, here’s a look back at the ten most-read
Sponsored by Microsoft for Startups On October 28, POCIT hosted Breaking Bread, an intimate dinner in Houston, Texas, designed to bring together early-stage founders for an evening of conversation, connection, and community. The dinner gathered seed-stage and Series A founders alongside a select group of venture capitalists, including Nasir Qadree (Founder & Managing Partner, Zeal Capital Partners) and Richard Odior (Head of Pre-Seed Investments, Zeal Capital Partners). Breaking Bread with Founders The gathering created a rare, intentional space for founders to slow down, exchange lessons, and build genuine relationships. Hosted
Last year, POCIT launched its first-ever Innovators Index, recognizing the changemakers among us who are driving change in tech and beyond. Now in its second year, the Index returns with an extraordinary cohort of founders, investors, engineers, and storytellers reshaping what’s possible across tech and beyond. This year’s honorees are closing wealth gaps, exposing discrimination, advancing life-saving science, rethinking education, and building more sustainable systems, from fashion and beauty to climate and community. Tade Oyerinde Revolutionizing college education Tade Oyerinde is the founder and chancellor of Campus, a community college
Crystal Brown has no background in biology. She studied political science and women’s studies at the University of Michigan. Yet she has raised $3.3 million for CircNova, her AI-powered biotechnology company developing new therapies using circular RNA. Since securing the seed funding earlier this year, the Detroit entrepreneur has split her time between Michigan and Boston, building partnerships with biotech heavyweights as she scales the company. An Unlikely Journey To Biotech Brown’s path to biotech began in Michigan’s automotive industry, where she was climbing toward an executive role. A friend’s introduction to a life
Emma Grede, founding partner of $5 billion shapewear brand SKIMS, has said workers have “no choice but to AI-proof our careers” at Axios’s BFD dealmaking summit in New York last week. The British-born entrepreneur has an estimated net worth of $405 million and has been recognized by Forbes as one of America’s richest self-made women for four years running. AI: It’s Do Or Die Grede, who also serves as SKIMs’ chief product officer and is the CEO and co-founder of Good American, says she sets aside time in her schedule to focus on AI. “I have what
Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett’s company Steven.com, which houses his creator media assets and ventures, has closed an eight-figure funding round to build the “Disney of the creator economy.” The round, reportedly the largest of its kind for a creator holding company in Europe, was led by Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group and puts his company’s valuation at $425 million. Bartlett, best known as the host of The Diary of a CEO podcast and a former Dragons’ Den investor, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter). Building the Platform for the Next Creator Era Founded
