Beta Boom, a US-based venture capital firm, has announced the closure of its $14.5 million Fund II. Founded in 2017 by Kimmy and Sergio Paluch, Beta Boom is committed to bridging the funding gap experienced by underrepresented founders, particularly in areas beyond the major tech hubs. Beta Boom’s Fund II Beta Boom’s Fund II, raised by the duo, alongside Ally Bank, Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, and Bank of America, signifies a pivotal shift in the venture capital landscape. The fund aims to support early-stage startups that cater to the
Fearless Fund has urged a US appeals court to allow its grant program to resume, which awards funding to businesses run by Black women. The Fearless Fund Story To Date The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) attacked Fearless Fund in August 2023 after it claimed the fund’s grant was racially discriminatory. The AAER, founded by Edward Blum, who was behind the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling, accused the grant program of violating Section 1081 of the Civil Rights Act of 1886. The US District, Thomas V. Thrash, initially ruled that Fearless Fund
Venture capital (VC) funding for Black entrepreneurs in the US has been decreasing since a peak following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. In 2023, Black founders in the US got only 0.48% of all venture dollars, about $661 million out of $136 billion, TechCrunch reports. This is the lowest in recent years. Peak funding in 2021 In 2020, Black founders received 0.6% of venture funding. By the first half of 2021, funding to Black entrepreneurs in the US reached nearly $1.8 billion, a fourfold increase compared to the same time
From dealmakers at significant funds to founding partners of new firms and industry-changing nonprofits, Forbes 30 Under 30 listed young leaders helping to shape venture capital’s future. The list spotlights funders and founders aged 29 or younger as of December 31, 2023. We have compiled a list of some people of color founders who are helping the venture capital industry. Sesana Allen – Associate Investor, Smash Capital Allen is an investor at Smash Capital, a late-stage venture firm backed by former Disney executives and investors from Insight Partners. She sourced the firm’s investment in
BLCK VC, a nonprofit for Black investors, has appointed two-time founder and investor Robert Gordon IV as its CEO. BLCK VC BLCK VC is a nonprofit organization that equips Black investors with the access, education, and community they need to accelerate their venture capital (VC) careers. Typically, Black entrepreneurs receive less than 2% of overall dollars each year in VC funding. Additionally, by the end of 2022, adverse market conditions led to a 36% drop in overall VC dollars, but Black entrepreneurs saw a 45% decrease in the financing. BLCK
California is working on passing SB 54, the nation’s first legislation to increase diversity in venture capital. In California, venture capital investments do not reflect the state’s diversity, according to the bill. It states that companies founded or co-founded by women receive far less investment funds than companies founded by men. Additionally, companies founded or co-founded by people of color receive far fewer investment funds than companies founded or co-founded by white people. Black founders have long faced challenges securing funding for their businesses, with VC funding dropping by 36%
A UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs report found gaps in funding given to Black and Latine founders. The school tracks investments made by LA-based venture firms connected to the Annenberg Foundation’s Pledge LA initiative. Pledge LA is a coalition of over 200 venture capital firms and tech companies. Initiated by the Annenberg Foundation and former Mayor Eric Garcetti, the pledge advances access and opportunity for all Angelenos. Each year, PledgeLA anonymizes funding data and presents it at the regional level, highlighting pain points and areas of success for the LA tech scene. What
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
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
This article was first published by Rumbi Makanga on Medium. I was asked to give a talk by a London-based company for Black History Month in October 2022. Initially, I was going to title my talk Your Silence Will Not Protect You after the eponymous collection of essays by Audre Lorde and to honour the many silences I have nursed over the years and the vast silences I know countless Black people are forced into in their professional lives. It took a bout of illness in the last days of 2020 to
