💫 some professional news 💫 I'm excited to announce that next week I start as a senior venture capital and startups reporter at
@TechCrunch
so feel free to start sending me pitches, tips, and invites 👀 👀 👀 (my DMs are officially open...)
Spoke to
@meenaharris
about her new book "Ambitious Girl" which seeks to teach children that there's nothing wrong with being ambitious.
"There's a lot of unlearning and relearning around our bias against female ambitious and women in power," she said.
NEW: The boot camp MyTechBestFriend (
#MTBF
) and its founder are being accused of bullying its students and plagiarizing affordable tech course material to sell for up to $6k to students.
I looked into the fallout that had
#MTBF
trending for a week.
Hosting an open conversation next week for
@TechCrunch
about how, bear or bull market, Black founders still pick up around 1% of all VC funds.
Stop by, spill tea, bring a drink, and let's get candid!
NEW: Crunchbase data shows that funding for Black founders dips again, to even more dismal amounts.
“I hope future venture capital funding for Black founders matches the cultural impact Black Americans have on American life,” one investor told me.
As of yesterday, all of my work at TechCrunch is now free to read. Here is a guide to help you keep track of the amount of venture capital funding that goes and has gone to women and founders of color.
Proud to represent TechCrunch today in helping open the NASDAQ markets and moderating a panel about Black entrepreneurship and generational wealth for Black History Month.
As someone said today, "the revolution will be financed."
Last night, Gov. Newsom signed into law a bill that will require VC firms in California to report the diversity breakdowns of who they are allocating money to.
Advocates call this a massive step toward transparency, as VC funding disparities remain.
NEW: I thought this was the perfect time to remind startups that there are Black-owned banks they can start working with as everyone now seeks to diversify their banking strategies amid SVB's collapse 💕💕
EXCLUSIVE: My first story for
@TechCrunch
— introducing the 25 by 25 Pledge, which presses VCs to invest 25% of their funds into BIPOC women by 2025. Would you take the pledge and what impact will this have on the industry? Let's discuss 👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿
excited to take over as the new co-host of techcrunch's podcast
@found
with
@rebecca_szkutak
!
listen to us talk to founders and spill tea every tuesday and if you want to possibly be interviewed, dm me 💕
Represented TechCrunch last week at Cannes Lions, planning and moderating a panel to bring Black voices to the front of the AI Conversation.
We spoke about how it can be used to advance equity and inclusion 💕💕💕
Happy to contribute to this year's
@NiemanLab
Predictions for Journalism 2023.
I wrote about the pressing need for diverse reporters in business journalism to help hold those in power accountable and more fairly cover the economics of this world.
Google tapped
@chancetherapper
's longtime music producer
@RealCottontale
to, for the first time, create an original song for its annual Year in Seach campaign.
CottonTale did so with the help of over 80 Black artists, engineers, producers, and managers.
Had a few thoughts about the Neumann raise so I wrote them for
@TechCrunch
.
"One cannot out-educate, out-network, and out-assimilate the systemic barriers designed to discriminate against them."
Interesting news out of California — the state looks to pass a new bill that would require VC firms to report the diversity of the founders they fund in an effort to track where and to whom vc dollars are going.
The bill's off for Newsom to sign.
NEW: I spoke to some lawyers, founders, and investors about what impact the Fearless Fund lawsuit could have on the overall venture community.
Read for some interesting legal insights 👇🏿🤔
NEW: In 2000, Clarence Thomas was deep in debt.
He met w/ a GOP Congressman & complained about his salary.
The GOP started to fear he’d leave the court.
In the years that followed, billionaires lavished him w/ secret gifts.
Spoke to rapper
@WESTSIDEGUNN
about his extensive art collection which he values at over $1 million. It includes contemporary art, wrestling memorabilia, and toys — lots and lots of toys.
"Tech Journalists You Should Follow Who Aren't White Men Named Matthew" (ahem,
@iealondon
)
Glad to be included in this list with other amazing reporters. There are so many people of color journalists worldwide and our voices, too, deserve to be heard.
"I’m not saying 12 white men would have avoided this mess, but the company may have been distracted by diversity demands."
Because white men have a proven history of avoiding such messes in the past, right?
An example of a classic troll in my DMs. But this is an exact reason why it's important that I keep writing about race within the venture landscape.
"Nevertheless, she persisted."
Hey ya'll!
@TechCrunch
is searching for 200 early-stage companies for Startup Battlefield at Disrupt this September. Comes with a chance to win $100,000 in equity-free $$ and cool kid creds.
Apply by May 31:
So many people responded to my last post, that I created a form for Black founders to — anonymously or not — submit the good, the bad, and the ugly stories of their fundraising experiences.
Transparency is essential to accountability. Let's start here!
Great analysis by
@JOrtakales
, "an obsession with an idealized version of young, thin, white, feminine, and able-bodied beauty has long facilitated a culture of marginalization that affects employees, models, and consumers alike."
NEW: Crunchbase data given to TC shows that Black founders raised $264 million in Q4. Overall, Black founders raised about 1% of all VC funds allocated last year, a slight dip from 1.3% the year prior.
Me and
@ron_miller
had thoughts about the SBF and the investors who keep backing such founders.
"A white guy could play video games during an investor call or come to a meeting dressed as Spongebob’s pineapple house and still likely take a check home."
NEW: I wrote about how the allocation of venture capital has always been a civil rights issue.
Right now, it's like detractors are telling a bootless community to lift themselves by their bootstraps ✍️🏿👇🏿
NEW: The boot camp MyTechBestFriend (
#MTBF
) and its founder are being accused of bullying its students and plagiarizing affordable tech course material to sell for up to $6k to students.
I looked into the fallout that had
#MTBF
trending for a week.
NEW: MassMutual has announced today the launch of a $100 million fund to invest in Black and other overlooked founders.
I spoke to its head of impact investing about its responsibility as an LP and how to ignite change within the venture landscape.
NEW: I wrote two articles regarding the latest VC funding stats for women and Black founders and noticed some comments defending such dismal stats. So, I wrote an essay about it.
Sen. Tom Cotton: "Have you ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party?"
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew: "Senator, I'm Singaporean. No."
Cotton: "Have you ever been associated or affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party?"
Chew: "No, senator. Again, I'm Singaporean."
NEW: Pitchbook data shows startups with all-women founding teams raised 1.9% of all VC funds last year, which is around $4.5 billion (out of around $230 billion).
That's a decline from the 2.4% the cohort raised in 2021.
NEW: Fearless Fund raises a multimillion-dollar follow-on round for its Fund 2 with LPs Bank of America, Costco, and Mastercard.
FF said the goal of this fund is to double the amount of the first, which was $25.8 million.
NEW: For years, I've wondered what it's like being a Black founder in France. Now I have an answer.
It's a story that mixes ambition, entrepreneurship, and France's refusal to acknowledge its colonial history.
NEW: Iddris Sandu raises $10 million for his web3 infrastructure and hardware company Spatial Labs.
The seed round was led by Blockchain Capital with participation from Marcy Venture Partners, the firm co-founded by Jay-Z.
one thing about me is i'm going to find the tech angle... i wrote about pintrest being a fav of meg the stallion and why all the hot girls are using the app these days
NEW: Fearless Fund has released its first statement regarding the racial discrimination lawsuit.
Its CEO, Arian Simone, also went on CBS this morning, calling the suit an "attack to dismantle and address our economic freedom as people of color.” 👇🏿✍️🏿
NEW FUNDRAISE JUST DROPPED:
@TechCrunch
Guava raises $2.4 million pre-seed to provide banking services to Black small businesses. Its founder, Kelly Ifill, aims to help reduce the racial wealth gap and target the Black banking deserts.
Another announcement! E-commerce platform Gander closes a $4.2 million seed co-led by
@HarlemCapital
and
@crossbeamvc
.
Speaking to me at
@TechCrunch
, its founder, Kimiloluwa Fafowora, reveals her plans to usher in a new era of online shopping.
I helped organize for a group of brown and a Black students to attend this year’s Disrupt 💕 So excited to see the opportunities that lie ahead for them!
NEW: For
@TechCrunchPlus
, I headed to TikTok where VCs are flocking to reach the next generation of investors and founders.
It's the rise of VCTok and the VCs I spoke to on the platform say this is only the beginning.👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾
Fearless Fund is set to host a press conference tomorrow at 3PM to address the racial discrimination suit the AAER filed against it.
Stay tuned for more coverage ✍️🏿
NEW: I spoke to some lawyers, founders, and investors about what impact the Fearless Fund lawsuit could have on the overall venture community.
Read for some interesting legal insights 👇🏿🤔
Women-founded startups raised 1.9% of all VC funds allocated in 2022. Another chart by
@mirandahalpern
breaks down what that looks like.
All-women founding teams are in pink, mixed-gendered founding teams are in purple, and overall VC numbers are in gray.
This saga is far from over. Students are still reporting alleged harassment for speaking out. The founder, meanwhile, is apparently looking to rebrand the company in the new year. It will basically be "MTBF: All Grown Up," the company said on Instagram.
NEW: The boot camp MyTechBestFriend (
#MTBF
) and its founder are being accused of bullying its students and plagiarizing affordable tech course material to sell for up to $6k to students.
I looked into the fallout that had
#MTBF
trending for a week.
Thanks to
@VernTheLegend
for speaking with me about confounding the social app
@useRealtime
— he just raised a $4 million seed round for the app led by
@sevensevensix
. It's kinda a big deal: less than 1% of Black startup founders receive VC funding.
Spoke to the lovely
@HogoeKpessou
about her rise in fashion. Growing up, she was bullied for her name — today it’s an emblem of luxury and the namesake of a brand on track to do $1 million this year.
Launched a Women in AI Series with
@Kyle_L_Wiggers
to highlight the names this modern AI narrative is leaving out. We'll update this regularly to remind people that the AI craze didn’t start with a bunch of tech bros in the Bay.
The 2022 numbers show that nothing has changed. Black founders raised 1% of VC funds last year, and women raised 1.9%. All out of more than $200 billion allocated last year.
Tomorrow we're chatting about why it's time for investors to
#CutTheCheck
.
Hosting an open conversation next week for
@TechCrunch
about how, bear or bull market, Black founders still pick up around 1% of all VC funds.
Stop by, spill tea, bring a drink, and let's get candid!
Spoke to the lovely
@JasmineJBrowley
for
@Essence
about the venture landscape for Black founders.
"Just that I’m going to keep telling these stories as long as the problems persist. Once founders are funded equally, my reporting will reflect it."
After an appeals court ruled against the Fearless Fund for black women-run startups, critically acclaimed actor
@WendellPierce
speaks out. Why he shared his experience with modern racism. “I wanted to show the damaging effect of when bigotry is memorialized in law.”
NEW: WorkToruch raises $2.2 million seed.
"Based in Kansas, the returning capital helped make the duo two of the few, if any, Black women to raise more than $1 million in the Midwest. 'As two Black women in Kansas, we’re super proud of that.'"
News from across the pond: venture firm Black Seed raised £5 million to invest in Black founders. It's part of a growing trend of Black funds in the country, where such founders receive less than 0.3% of all VC funds.
"Black founders and investors are far from solely responsible for making a change: It’s those LPs, those rich white men, those boys-club GPs and big institutions that need to be held accountable."
My latest for Insider is talking with
@Diddy
's Chief Brand Officer
@DeonGraham
about his rise to the top of the music ranks. We talk about his thoughts on corporate responses to Black Lives Matter, and marketing one of the biggest moguls in the world.
people always question why i keep track of venture funding to poc and this is why — to help craft policy.
if the current data is wrong, then there's need for policy to see what's right. if the data is right, there's need for policy to correct what's wrong.
Last night, Gov. Newsom signed into law a bill that will require VC firms in California to report the diversity breakdowns of who they are allocating money to.
Advocates call this a massive step toward transparency, as VC funding disparities remain.
MacKenzie Scott announces a nearly $4.2 billion donation to over 300 organizations including a $40 million gift to Morgan State, a historically black university.
This year, Scott's announced she's given away nearly $6 billion.
Sam Altman is a hero of mine. He built a company from nothing to $90 Billion in value, and changed our collective world forever. I can't wait to see what he does next. I, and billions of people, will benefit from his future work- it's going to be simply incredible. Thank you
For my latest column at
@BusinessInsider
, I spoke to 22-year-old luxury designer
@lanegraelimiera
about her popular bumblebee backpacks which have put the company on track to net seven figures by next year.
GOOD NEWS: More than 70 VC firms have signed on to join VCs for Repro, a coalition explicitly and publically stating that criminalizing abortion is a violation of human rights and anti-innovation.
Get the scoop here 👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿