In Case You Missed It: Launch Links - Week of August 2, 2020
- 8.7.2020
Some interesting links we found across the web this week:
I’m a Black Startup Founder. Here’s How I Raised $11 Million After 150 Rejections
“Unfortunately, our country has a very deep history of equating African blood with inferiority, and this has not gone away with the Civil Rights Act or a newly educated Black generation,” explains Joseph Heller, the CEO of The/Studio. Black founders lead only 1% of VC backed and 80% of VC funds don’t even have a single Black Investor. While the good news is that more investors are starting to acknowledge this as a problem, there is a long road ahead. In this FastCompany article, Mr. Heller roadmaps his experience as a Black entrepreneur and leaves us with his vision: “The more Black entrepreneurs succeeding, failing, and growing in the venture capital market, the easier it will be for future generations. This is our civil rights movement.”
How to Start a VC: Interview With Maya Horgan Famodu, Founder, Ingressive Capital
“I have an obligation to use my access to empower the next generation of African innovators,” said Maya Horgan Famodu, the youngest Black woman to launch a tech fund, Ingressive Capital, which may well be the largest first-time tech fund raised by a solo Black woman in all of venture. In this Forbes interview, Ms. Famodu shares the challenges she overcame, provides helpful advices and details the increasing African market demands.
A VC’s Guide to Investing in Black Founders
James Norman, a serial entrepreneur and a co-founder of Transparent Collective, a nonprofit that has accelerated 40 founded by unrepresented founders (women and people of color), explains in the article from HBR the unknown and unspoken nuances that will challenge most VCs when it comes to actually getting into a deal with a Black founder.
Tips Black Women Business Owners Have for Black Female Entrepreneurs
Black women in America share a unique experience as business owners due to the systemic sexism and racism, resulting in a lack of funding . In this Business News Daily article, five successful Black business owners share the challenges they overcame and advice for other Black women entrepreneurs.
Black-Owned Companies Are Managing a Surge in Demand
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, Black-owned businesses are experiencing a sharp increase in demand. This Inc.com article features some of these companies facing positive challenges to scale their business to meet the demands.
This Public Spreadsheet Lists Black Founders Who Have Raised VC, and the Investors Backing Them
Yonas Beshawred (Founder of StackShare), Sefanit Tades and James Norman (CEO of Pilot.ly and a co-founder of Transparent Collective), in association with the Transparent Collective, compiled the most comprehensive list of U.S.-based venture-backed Black founders. The data is publicly available from TechCrunch and is continuing to be updated. If you are a Black founder in need of venture-backed funding, this may be a great place to start your fundraising campaign.
Links compiled by Lugar Choi.
