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
Systemic racism has created a world where I and many other Black people literally have to work twice as hard to get half as much. Since I’ve been able to work, I’ve worked multiple jobs. During summers growing up, I worked in the businesses started by my grandparents in Mobile, AL, and passed down to my father and his siblings. You could find me doing everything from working the register at their BP gas station to preparing sandwiches in my father’s Subway. When I went to college, despite having a full-ride academic
Hi there! You’ve likely landed on this page because you heard that, along with my co-founder Jesse Middleton, I launched a venture capital fund called The Community Fund. You’re likely wondering “what is this fund about and who is Lolita Taub?” Well, the short of it is that through the fund, we’ll invest in community-driven companies destined to become unicorns through an investment team, taking a page from XFactor’s playbook. As for me, I’m an unlikely VC fund manager. Yes, I have fourteen years of experience as an operator and investor in
The “Pipeline” is Blocked At The Top — With the recent uprising against systemic racism in our governmental institutions and society, there has been an increased focus on the on the lack of funding for underrepresented founders. Only 1% of VC funded startup founders are Black, Latinas have received .04% of VC funding, women of color can expect an average of $42k seed funding vs. the average seed funding of $1m, the list of stats goes on. Yet the problem is far deeper than startup founder-level stats. It exists at the other side of
Put your money in funds that invest in Black-owned startups Unrest in the streets has made its way to Wall Street. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was photographed kneeling in solidarity with protestors; Morgan Stanley promoted two Black women to high-profile roles; and Citi, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs published inspiring anti-racist messages and pledges. Many financial firms announced donations to the NAACP or similar organizations. These are all commendable efforts, but they won’t address the root causes of structural racism in finance. In fact, in the absence of deeper solutions,
I was one of the first Black investors to be promoted to Partner at a venture capital firm. At the time (2015), I was also one of the youngest, having just turned 31 years old. I have been in the venture industry since 2011, beginning as an intern in Kapor Capital’s inaugural Summer Associates program. I have never seen a wave of pro-Black commentary and actions like the one we are all witnessing today. Over the past few weeks, more people than ever before have aligned themselves to the #BlackLivesMatter
When we first posted The Black Founder List during Black History Month, the world looked very different. Coronavirus was not being mentioned much in the news in the US, nor were Black founders. Fast forward to today, the Black Lives Matter movement has begun to affect how people see the Black experience across every industry, even tech. This movement is pushing people to go beyond short term solutions, as the country has begun a larger discussion around how to address racism and make the startup, tech, and venture capital industry
Subscribe to the Techish Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other Platforms. Episode Content: In this episode of this Techish, Abadesi and Michael discuss: All the new VC funds targeting black founders? [0:57] Alexis Ohanian steps down at Reddit [4:23] IBM abandons facial recognition software [15:17] WoC blocked from negotiation [19:15] Extras: Techish on Patreon: Advertise with Techish: Please rate and review the Techish podcast
We are living through the strangest of times. As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, we are in an unknown period of uncertainty. My thoughts are with everyone who has been affected. To think that just two months ago it was business as usual. As a Principal and Founding Member at Impact X Capital LLP Partners, a Black-led VC which invests in companies led by underrepresented founders, I was having frequent meetings with entrepreneurs and attending events. Today I am sitting here reflecting on the past 15
A lot has changed in the venture capital industry in just the last year. MaC Ventures and the Kauffman Foundation released a publication illuminating positive financial returns in companies with diverse perceived ethnicity, the total number of funds hit an all-star high with a median annual fund size of $90M, and funds targeting diverse entrepreneurs — such as Harlem Capital and Olamina Fund — closed $40M+ raises. Harlem Capital Partners recently released a report analyzing 200 Black and Latino founders who raised $1M+ in VC funding, while e-sports pioneer — Delane Parnell (PlayVS)- made headlines for a $50M Series
