All results
Nonprofit firm BLCK VC teamed up with Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners to launch a network that supports the next generation of Black investors. There has been an emergence of scout programs in the venture capital sector, which have helped better connect founders, operators, and angel investors (If you’re unsure of what venture capital scouts are, think of them as the bridge between venture funds and promising companies looking for support). Through the BLCK VC Scout Network, Black investors will be able to tap into training, mentoring and networking opportunities. BLCK VC launched this initiative after recently discovering that only three percent of venture capital investors are Black. The firm is working to increase diversity in venture capital, so this new network is a step in the right direction. The BLCK VC Scout Network program will take place over six months, across three phases focused on education, community , and deal flow. Twice a year, BLCK VC will welcome...
Nigeria’s Kuda Technologies raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures with participation from Target Global and other investors. Co-headquartered in London and Lagos, Nigeria, Kuda offers mobile-first banking services to help people from the African diaspora manage their money and credit digitally. Kuda’s services are currently only live in Nigeria and this is the first African startup that Valar has financially backed. Kuda’s CEO Babs Ogundeyi says the company plans to use the Series A to expand its credit offerings, add more integrations to its platform, build services excessively for businesses and expand to more markets. “Nigeria is at a tipping point in the adoption of digital banking,” Andrew McCormack, a general partner and co-founder at Valar, told TechCrunch . “With the rapidly growing, youthful population who are open to new financial alternatives, Kuda is well-positioned to benefit and will transform the landscape of African banking.” This...
Of the 1,537 startups that closed venture capital deals of at least $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, only 40 of them have Black founders at the helm, a new report finds. These findings were brought to light by Los Angeles-based diversity recruiting platform company Hallo in its second quarterly Black Founders Funding report. The new report analyzed 1,537 young companies across the U.S. that raised funding between $1 million and $50 million at the end of last year. The findings only account for these mega-deals closed between Oct. 1, 2020 , and Dec. 31, 2020. “In my honest opinion, the largest bottle neck for entrepreneurs of color are in the earliest days of starting your company. Once it’s time to go raise a traditional seed round the lack of friend and family capital access might put even the best laid plans and product roadmaps behind the curve in the eyes of seed investors aiming to back initial products and amazing teams,” Hallo’s co-founder and CEO Vernon Howard told...
Launching a company is difficult, and limited funding is the most common barrier to entry to the startup world. Do you have a great idea, but you’re trying to figure out how to fund it? Are you already running a startup, but cash is running out fast? Here are some ways to raise capital for your startup: Save Money Saving money isn’t easy, but it’s the most straightforward way to raise funds for your business. If you’re still working a regular full-time job, commit to saving a part of your current salary to help fund your dreams. Review your monthly expenses and eliminate unnecessary expenses like subscriptions and expensive lunches. If you live with roommates or a significant other, consider sharing expenses to reduce cost per person. This might include shopping in bulk, sharing an Amazon Prime account (or any subscription for that matter), and taking advantage of family memberships at the gym. If you’re already committed to your startup on a full-time basis, you should be auditing...
The diversity numbers in venture capital (VC) are even worse than the numbers in tech as a whole. According to Tech Crunch, 81 percent of VC firms don’t have any Black investors at all. A study released by Harvard in 2017, indicated that women have accounted for less than 10 percent of the entrepreneurial and venture capital labor pool from 1990-2016 with about two percent having been Hispanics, and less than one percent African Americans. A more recent Stanford study indicates that even successful Black VCs have a tougher time in the industry than their white counterparts. Here are five Black VC making a mark: 1. BLCK VC According to their website , “BLCK VC was formed to connect, engage, empower, and advance Black venture investors by providing a focused community built for and by Black venture investors.” Their goal is to increase the number of Black venture capitalists from 200 to 400 by 2024. BLCK helps VC firms incorporate effective diversity and inclusion practices in their...
“You know you’ve picked the hardest issue to solve, right?” Those were the words from a potential investor after I completed a funding pitch for my company Patientory. His response wasn’t new to me. I knew healthcare was broken from my previous experience of working in a digital healthcare startup. Any healthcare entrepreneur should be aware of the amount of time (years) needed to invest in an innovative healthcare product and see it through. After figuring this out, I prepared for the long haul. It’s very different when you experience it, versus when you just observe it. However, what I did know for sure was that I was up for the challenge. I also knew this pitch wasn’t my first and it wouldn’t be my last. I created Patientory to empower consumers with an application they can use to improve their overall health and well-being. Coupled with an enterprise solution that can integrate electronic medical records, through personal experience and research, I realized healthcare that’s...
Entrepreneurs generally have three things on the brain: product, scale, and profit. We generally believe these two principles go hand-in-hand. The more customers we pull in, the more profits we make, right? Well, sometimes. However, developing a viable product and producing large quantities of it often require lots of upfront capital, which young entrepreneurs generally don’t have. Here’s where venture capital (VC) comes in. Investopedia defines “venture capital” as “a form of private equity and a type of financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential.” It might seem like every startup worth its salt has raised some VC along the way. However, for Black entrepreneurs, the truth can be a bit bleaker. Black startups generally have a harder time raising VC, and it only gets worse the better they perform. Here are some reasons you probably shouldn’t pursue VC funding for your startup: Diluted Ownership...
“ When I was younger there was something in me. I had passion. I may not have known what I was going to do with that passion, but there was something –and I still feel it. It’s this little engine that roars inside of me and I just want to keep going and going.” – Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET and CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts The virtues of following one’s passion have been cornerstones of 21st-century motivational speeches. We’ve been taught that excelling at — and monetizing — our favorite activities is the only true way to lasting professional and personal success. Some argue that social media platforms make it possible for everyone to make a living from their talents without requiring acceptance from the traditional gatekeepers of industries. With platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube, musicians don’t need record labels to distribute their music anymore. Publish platforms, like Medium , allow writers to share their work directly to the internet, and engineers can now...
Bessemer Venture Partners has tapped Elliott Robinson to lead growth equity investments in enterprise software and cloud computing technology. Robinson’s experience with BLCK VC — a firm focused on Black investors and founders — and technology-centered investment fund, M12, makes him ideal for his new Bessemer position. Robinson said working with Bessemer is ” a dream come true” via Twitter. “Now, more than ever, the best companies have a ton of options when choosing their venture capital and growth equity investment partners,” Robinson told Afrotech. Robinson said that he has learned many lessons throughout his time working in venture capital, but that maintaining a good reputation is one of the most important ones. “I’ve found that your reputation, value add, and what others say about you as a VC will always be more important than your brand, social media following and what you say about yourself,” Robinson said. Robinson says founders aren’t only basing their decision solely on...