Billing itself as the leading online program training underrepresented founders on how to raise money to scale their tech startups, the Founder Gym (FG) has just announced that they’re ready to go forward with yet another cohort. This cohort, according to their Medium page, will be part of the inaugural fundraising cohort specifically designed for Black women who want to raise money to scale their startup. FG Fundraising Cohort 17 is for all Black women, including trans women. The best part about the Founder Gym is that they don’t take a portion of equity when they do get you funding for your startup. Rather, they’re a fee- and tuition-based program, and there are even payment plans available for those that can’t afford the tuition all upfront. For those that don’t identify as Black women, Founder Gym has you covered, too. Although non-Black women can’t apply for this next cohort, there is another cohort that’s available for all underrepresented founders (women, Black, Latinx,...

This article was originally published on 03/18/2019 So you read my first article and decided you do , in fact, want to raise money to scale your startup? Great! Now you’re probably wondering, “What do I do now?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Next up, I will be walking you through the first six steps you should complete if you want to increase your odds of securing the bag. These steps have been proven effective by Founder Gym graduates I have personally trained, and I’m confident they will be helpful guideposts for you too. 1. Consult with founders who’ve already raised money Remember, you’re a complete newb here. You’ve never done this before, so be humble and seek out founders who have already achieved what you’re aiming to. Read their posts about fundraising, watch their interviews on YouTube, and if you have direct access to them, definitely ask them for advice. One of the biggest mistakes I see time and time again is when a founder tries to raise money without consulting with more...

Shani Dowell conceived an idea that would transform the way parents communicate with administrators at their child’s school by asking a simple question: What if someone made it simple for parents to give feedback? Parents already talk about issues, give praise, voice frustration, and comment on ways they might improve their child’s education. However, when these conversations take place amongst themselves, the feedback often doesn’t reach school administrators. “We wanted to catch issues before they became bigger problems and have a system for parents to participate and engage through sharing their perspective,” Dowell told AfroTech. Dowell launched Possip—”positive gossip”—a platform gathering parent feedback and praise in real-time allowing schools to analyze data systemically. Through weekly texts or emails forwarded to parents automatically, parents can instantly and easily record feedback. Though Dowell had no prior tech experience, her career in education helped guide her...

Black founders have a tendency to be overlooked in the tech industry. Overall, Black founders represent one percent of venture-backed companies, according to CB Insights. The #ProjectDiane study by DigitalunDivided reported Black women-led startups have raised $289 million in venture capital funding since 2009. This only accounts for .0006 percent of the $424.7 billion raised in venture funding during that time. Programs like Backstage Accelerator—which last month announced the launch of training programs in four different cities for underrepresented tech founders —offers small companies led by diverse founders support for accessing venture capital to help to build successful businesses. Check out the list below to learn about some other incubators and accelerators. NewMe In 2017, NewME startup accelerator moved their program from the Silicon Valley to Miami in an effort to better serve entrepreneurs of color. “The old [accelerator] model works for a particular type of entrepreneur....

I n 2016, 253 venture capital funds raised $41.6 billion , a 10-year high, and invested it into promising startups. There is so much money floating around to help founders realize their dreams, yet less than 1% of venture funding goes to black founders . So how can black founders learn to appeal to venture capitalists and secure the bag for their tech businesses? This is where Founder Gym comes in. Only seven months old, Founder Gym was created to help solve the funding gap and ensure more venture capital gets deployed to underrepresented founders, including black founders. Via an intense five-week virtual bootcamp, selected founders are given the structure, accountability and connections needed to advance their entrepreneurial endeavors. In its first two cohorts, Founder Gym graduated 70 founders, 50% of whom are black. We recently asked our black founders what advice they could give to other black founders who aspire to raise capital for their business. Here is what they said: “Be...