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
Subscribe to the Techish Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other Platforms. Episode Content: In this weeks Techish Abadesi and Michael discuss key chapters in Arlan’s brand new book Its About Damn Time. 💰 Turning yourself into money🙋🏾♀️ Writing your own invitation 🤔 Curiosity is king Pre-order your copy of Arlans amazing new book Extras: Techish on Patreon: Advertise with Techish: Please rate and review the Techish podcast
My nascent investment thesis — of sorts It is hard to be optimistic about tech these days. If in the early 2010s we were all keen and positive, now we’ve seen the consequences — albeit unintended — of big tech. The tech-lash is real and governments are scrambling and scratching their heads for solutions. Senator Warren wanted to break up big tech. Andrew Yang wanted to give every American a universal basic income to help the country deal with the challenges of automation. I am not blind to any of
In honor of Black History Month, a group of Black founders, VCs, and tech professionals put together the most comprehensive list of US-based venture-backed Black founders ever. In honor of Black History Month ✊🏾, a group of Black founders, VCs, and tech professionals put together the most comprehensive list of US-based venture-backed Black founders ever. We hope this will be an inspiration to a generation and serve as a running historical record of Black founders, both past and present. The release of Jessica Livingston’s book “Founders At Work” has inspired
