Posts in Tag

1863 Ventures

1863 Ventures, a nonprofit known for championing underrepresented founders, will close and reemerge as a for-profit entity, New Majority Ventures. Under the continued leadership of founder Melissa Bradley, the new organization aims to better support New Majority founders—women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, and other historically marginalized entrepreneurs. In a statement, Bradley explained that the shift to a for-profit model will enable the organization to deepen its impact through partnerships with accelerators, incubators, and universities, while maintaining its core mission. A Legacy of Impact Since its founding nearly a decade ago,

For Black and Latino entrepreneurs, there’s only one direction to go — forward.  This is the message driving Square‘s small business accelerator program for Black and Latino entrepreneurs, FORWARD. The accelerator, launched in partnership with Social Change Fund United (SCFU), 1863 Ventures, and American Express, aims to provide Black and Latino entrepreneurs with the education, mentorship, coaching, and capital needed for their businesses to thrive. Black and Latino Americans are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs. In 2022, Black and Latino Americans filed more than 5 million new business applications, more than any other group.

Several Black-led venture capital firms have written an open letter in response to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) op-ed which suggests Silicon Valley Bank’s diversity focus contributed to its collapse. Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the WSJ published an opinion piece by Kessler in which he stated: “I’m not saying 12 white men would have avoided this mess, but the company may have been distracted by diversity demands.” Black Women in Venture Capital, BLCK VC, 1863 Ventures, and Living Cities wrote an open letter to the Wall Street Journal editors and