POCIT. Telling the stories and thoughts of the underrepresented in tech. POCIT. Telling the stories and thoughts of the underrepresented in tech.
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Startups

Fearless Fund: VC Fund For WOC Responds To Racial Discrimination Lawsuit From Conservative Activists

Fearless Fund

Fearless Fund has responded to the lawsuit filed by the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) after it accused them of racial discrimination. What happened? Conservative group American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by Edward Blum, brought a lawsuit against Fearless Fund, which supports women of color who own small businesses. The lawsuit accuses Fearless Fund of violating Section 1982 of the Civil Rights Act of 1886, which bars racial bias in private contracts, by opening its grant competition to Black women alone. Lawsuits brought by Blum and the conservative group led

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RoadPitch And Blacks In Technology Foundation Collaborate To Empower Black Tech Founders

Nonprofit organization Blacks In Technology Foundation (BIT) has announced a strategic partnership with RoadPitch, the most extensive multi-city pitch tour to help Black tech founders to raise pre-seed and seed capital from investors.  For over a decade, BIT has offered training, education, networking and mentorship opportunities to elevate Black professionals in the tech industry.  The nonprofit aims to “stomp the divide,” influencing and effecting change in an industry that has historically not sought parity concerning Black workers. The Collaboration The collaboration will see RoadPitch become BIT’s official international pitch competition organizer.  RoadPitch will

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Serial Entrepreneur Who Sold His Tech Firm For 11x Its Revenue Is Raising $50M To Back Founders Of Color

Black tech entrepreneur Luke Cooper aims to raise $50 million by November for his Baltimore-based venture capital firm, Latimer Ventures. Latimer Ventures Latimer Ventures, named in honor of Lewis Latimer, an African American inventor born to fugitive slaves, is a venture capital firm focused on helping the next generation of Black and Hispanic enterprise SaaS unicorns. They source the best seed deals from diverse managers and connect them with tech startups. Cooper founded Latimer Ventures in 2022 to address the lack of capital available to entrepreneurs of color. He plans to

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Meet Some U.S. Recipients Of Google’s Black And Latino Founders Funds 2023

Google for Startups

Yesterday, Google for Startups announced the 46 U.S. recipients of this year’s Black and Latino Founders Fund. The participants receive $150,000 in equity-free cash to help fuel their business, sales, and fundraising training, technical support from Google mentors, up to $100,000 in Google Cloud credits, and mental health coaching from a team of Black and Latino therapists. Over the past month, Google has welcomed 99 Black Founders Fund recipients in the U.S., Africa, Europe, and Brazil.  Here are some of the recipients chosen from the U.S. Meet some of the

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Venture Capital Firm For Immigrant Founders Secures Additional $35M

Unshackled Ventures

Unshackled Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm for immigrant founders, has closed its third fund with $35 million. This adds to the $35 million the firm, founded by Manan Mehta and Nitin Pachisia, has already deployed to 80 companies.  Unshackled Ventures has also provided over 200 founders with visa sponsorship, immigration support, and a community of resources. Unshackled Ventures The first and only early-stage venture capital fund focused on retaining foreign talent in the U.S., Unshackled Ventures invests in visionary immigrants and has built a place for them to successfully launch a

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The Pregnancy App Supporting Communities Of Color With Data And A Human Touch

The United States is the most dangerous and expensive high-income country for childbirth, especially for Black and Indigenous women. Drawing on her own pregnancy experiences, Emagine Solutions Technology co-founder and CEO Courtney Williams has developed The Journey Pregnancy app. This data-driven tool couples the power of technology with a human touch to ensure a safer and more informed pregnancy journey. Addressing Disparities in Maternal Healthcare Black women face a nine times higher risk of maternal death compared to their white counterparts, and it is not because of differences in wealth.

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The Windrush Legacy: The Caribbean Tradition Inspiring The Fintech App Pardna

Windrush Day

Today marks 75 years since more than 800 passengers from the Caribbean travelled to the UK onboard a ship called the Empire Windrush. These passengers had been recruited to help rebuild Britain after WWII  and became known as the ‘Windrush generation.’ Windrush Day has been celebrated in the UK  every year since 2018, and it has become a time to appreciate the cultural, social, and economic contributions that were made to the UK. One such contribution can be seen in fintech app Pardna. What is Pardna? Pardna, or pardner, is

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Black-Owned Barbershop App Squire Surpasses $1 Billion In Processed Payments, Says Founder

Squire Founders

Squire, the Black-owned all-in-one barbershop management platform, has surpassed $1 billion in payments processed, according to co-founder Songe LaRon. “It took two years to reach our first $1 million, 5.5 years to $100 million, and now we surpassed $1 billion,” said LaRon. “Every dollar reflects the hard work of our team and the dedication of the barbers we serve, and I’m deeply grateful to every shop owner, barber, and team member who’s been part of this journey.” What is Squire? Founded in 2015 by Songe LaRon and Dave Salvant, the

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Diverse Teams Facing More Scrutiny Amid Venture Capital Slowdown

A new report by Dropbox DocSend has shed light on the funding divide in the tech industry, particularly regarding race and gender disparities among founders.  While 2021 witnessed record-breaking levels of VC funding and increased engagement with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, 2022 proved to be more challenging for historically underfunded founders.  Turning tides In 2021, VC funding for early-stage founders experienced a significant boost, with record-breaking funding levels. Historically underrepresented founders also experienced a surge of investor interest driven by DEI-related investment initiatives in response to the murder

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Germany’s First BIPOC Accelerator Announces First 10 Startups

Germany BIPOC accelerator

The Migrant Accelerator (TMA), a Germany-based, early-stage startup accelerator for founders with a migration background, including Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), has just announced its first cohort of 10 startups. TMA aims to create a softer landing and sense of belonging for BIPOC founders who encounter discrimination on a structural and individual basis.  “Migrant founders in Germany are overlooked and underfunded,” said Laila Zohaib, Stuttgart-based startup coach and investor relations manager.  “Since the 1960s, migrant led-businesses have served as the backbone of the local German economy and are

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