The Cannabis industry is booming but rife with inequities and discrimination. American marijuana businesses are projected to have between $106 billion and $130 billion by 2024 on the US economy. Often referred to as the ‘Green Rush’, hundreds of lucrative weed businesses have popped up all over the US where weed is now legal. The problem? These businesses are predominately white-owned. A 10+ billion dollar industry, and we own less than 1% of it. The big cannabis players, most of them white-owned and backed by lucrative venture capital, don’t face
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss how white celebs are getting rich off a new cannabis narrative, yet POC still are still paying the price. (21:25) They also break down: The end of Indie.VC but their legacy carries on (00:10) Brandwatch’s impressive $450M exit! (11:10) Paying for Twitter? Twitter’s new super follow option (16:30) This Episode Is Sponsored By Notion Get your Notion account here. Notion is hiring! Check out their open positions Extras Techish on PatreonAdvertise with TechishPlease rate and review the Techish podcast Subscribe To The Techish Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other Platforms.
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss Donald Glover’s new creative partnership with Amazon to create his own curated content channel, and how this might affect how we stream. (23:41) They also break down: Coinbase and Stripe make $100 billion valuations (00:10) Digital ownership of memes with NFT (aka Non-Fungible Token) (3:54) Loneliness across cultures and the isolating effects of remote working (7:34) Spotify vs Clubhouse (18:21) Vitamin D benefits (29:16) Extras Techish on PatreonAdvertise with TechishPlease rate and review the Techish podcast Subscribe To The Techish Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other Platforms.
The price of Bitcoin is surging. A new all time high for BTC reaching above $50K this month has everyone talking, bitcoin, crypto and investing. Major institutional investors, celebrity endorsements and payments firms like Mastercard and PayPal are investing in the cryptocurrency. Since the creation of Bitcoin 11 years ago, a growing number of people are turning to a new monetary system, one that is not controlled by any single authority. Cryptocurrency is a decentralized system run by a network of computers. In what some call a financial revolution, the rise in popularity of
Nigeria, often dubbed ‘Africa’s Silicon Valley,’ is making a name for itself. Meet the talented Nigerians on the continent and the diaspora leading tech companies, building multi-million [and even billion] dollar businesses, investing in their community, and taking their talents globally. Tope Awotona | Founder, Calendly Awotona spent his early years as the second youngest in seven in a lower class neighborhood of Lagos, Nigeria. Yet, Awotona is the mastermind and founder behind a rarity – a Black-owned unicorn, the scheduling powerhouse, ‘Calendly.’ In an interview with Fortune, Tope talks
Kicking off Black History Month in the US Backstage Capital has announced they’re opening their fund to allow regular people to invest alongside Backstage Capital. Through the crowdsourcing platform, Republic, individuals will have easier access to become venture capitalists. Opening the doors of opportunity for regular people to invest like a VC. It’s already raised $1M from over 2000 investors, with amounts as a little as $100. Leading the way with a new approach to venture capital investing, accredited and non-accredited investors can invest alongside Backstage giving talented underrepresented founders access to capital.
The number of Black-owned businesses has risen dramatically. Research shows, since 2007, the number of firms owned by African-American women has grown by 164%. Yet despite the knowledge, innovation, and let’s face it – the hustle, minority entrepreneurs, are being shut out when it comes to access to capital. However, many Black and Brown celebrities are growing their investment portfolios and flexing their VC muscle. Not only are they investing in startups and hooking up founders with serious capital, but they are also using their platform and wealth to empower
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
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
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
