Morgan DeBaun went against Silicon Valley’s metric of success. Her entrepreneurial journey began at age 13 when she started investing in the stock market. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and entrepreneurship from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. By 2014, she had become a founder and CEO, launching Blavity Inc. — a global company dedicated to providing media and product solutions for Black Millennial and Gen Z consumers, as well as businesses and organizations aiming to connect with this audience. By 25 years old, she became one of the few Black women founders to secure $1 million in funding. Blavity Inc. has since continued to raise capital, successfully completing three acquisitions and integrations — two of which she executed before turning 24 years old, within just 18 months. The most recent, RNB House Party (now Blavity House Party), was acquired in November 2023. Today, Blavity Inc. encompasses brands like Blavity, AFROTECH™, 21Ninety, Travel...

When a company begins to grow and expand, it often needs significant capital to support its operations and scale. This is where venture capital funding rounds like Series A, B, and C come into play. Most commonly something startups engage in, these rounds represent distinct stages in a company’s journey, each with its own objectives, investor types, and implications for the business. Why Startups Use Series Funding Series A, B, and C funding rounds are primarily associated with startups because these companies often have innovative ideas but lack the financial resources to scale independently. Startups typically rely on outside investments to accelerate growth, develop new products, and gain a foothold in competitive markets. Unlike established companies, startups usually cannot rely on steady revenue streams or traditional bank loans to fund their expansion. Venture capital funding, offered during these series rounds, fills this gap. In exchange for equity, startups secure the...

This firm is working to ensure that professional athletes aren’t just another statistic.

Kobe Bryant is once again making history. TMZ is reporting that a rare card featuring the late Black Mamba was sold in a private estate sale, and it was snagged for a gobsmacking $2 million. The card in question is a 1997-98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems card. Initially numbered to 100, only 10 of the cards were ever made, and it’s considered the rarest trading card of its kind in existence today. PWCC was the company that brokered the deal, and they informed TMZ that the card in question had an 8.5 out of 10 rating (in terms of its condition and quality). “This is arguably Kobe’s best card in existence,” PWCC exec Jesse Craig said. “It’s more desirable than even a Kobe Bryant rookie card or a Kobe Bryant autograph. These Precious Metal Gems variants are arguably the most desired insert card in the entire world. These set the tone for the insert market going forward.” The card in question was one of the first-of-its-kind to be made in an “insert” fashion (meaning that the card...

Tyson Clark, a general partner with Google Ventures, has passed away. He was 43-years-old. Part of one a growing — albeit small — list of Black VCs, Clark was also a veteran of the armed forces. During his armed forces career, Clark became a naval nuclear propulsion submarine officer and led the boat’s scuba diving team. He joined Google Ventures — the investment arm of Alphabet, the parent company of Google — six years ago, and has been impactful in the field ever since. Bloomberg reports that Clark led the investments into such companies as Lightmatter, Ethos, and Evident.io, which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks Inc. Prior to joining Google Ventures, Clark was an investment banking associate at Morgan Stanley, and a director of corporate development at Oracle Corp. He also spent six years at Andreessen Horowitz, and served on the board of trustees at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Most importantly, Clark was also a proud father of three children.

It’s no secret that the startup world needs more Black investors and venture capitalists. Inc. Magazine reports Black founders are raising “record amounts of venture capital” in 2021, even though they only rang in 1.2 percent of all venture capital in the first half of the year. Last year, Black founders received only 0.6 percent of venture capital (VC) deployed. That’s unacceptable, and Black investors are stepping up to the plate to change that. Some notable Black venture capitalists making major moves in the VC world include Jarrid Tingle, co-founder and managing partner of Harlem Capital; Marlon Nichols, managing general partner at MaC Venture Capital; and Austin Clements, partner at Slauson & Co. The trio will hit the virtual stage at AfroTech 2021 during the “Black VCs: Raising Millions with a Mission” panel to discuss how they are working to raise millions of dollars to diversify venture capital investments. Ultimately, Nichols, Clements and Tingle want to put more dollars in...

After years of investing on his own, Nigerian angel investor Olumide Soyombo is launching his own venture to support African-based startup companies. According to TechCrunch, Soyombo — a known high profile angel investor in Nigerian tech and African startups — today has announced the launch of Voltron Capital — a Pan-African venture capital firm co-founded with Abe Choi — which will invest in pre-seed and early-stage companies in Africa. The outlet also reports that Soyombo’s goal for the new firm — which aims to start off with 30 startup investments — is to ultimately “address the severe lack of access to early-stage funding for African tech companies.” The investment sizes will range from $20,000 to $100,000 and focus on startups based in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and North Africa. Soyombo is recognized as a prominent and influential figure in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, as he has access to almost any important deals happening in the market on account of his respected reputation....

Determining the valuation of your startup before presenting to investors can provide you (the founder) with a better understanding of how much your startup is worth. Plus, it will allow you to pinpoint how investor negotiations should be handled. Although growth and traction might be challenging for early startups, a valuation can still be done. Here are some pointers on determining your startup’s valuation: Determine Your Revenue Revenue is king of startup valuation. Therefore, you should know how much money your startup has generated. However, it might be difficult to asses monetary growth early in the game, or your monetary assessment might not be up to par with venture capital (VC) standards and expectations. To prove the valuation and potential growth of your startup, you could include things like monthly views, weekly revenue instead of annual income, or positive reviews from a set number of customers. Using alternative yet legit revenue predictors can show VCs your valuation...