According to the Associated Press, Atlanta, GA-based venture capital firm Fearless Fund “faced tough questions from conservative judges” on Wednesday, Jan. 31, as it fought for its grant program to further support Black-women-owned businesses. As AFROTECH previously told you, Fearless Fund was hit with a lawsuit by Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) group in August 2023 on the basis that the fund was carrying out “explicit racial exclusion” and violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

A federal court judge shortened a significant win for Fearless Fund.

Fearless Fund’s commitment to supporting Black women-led brands remains strong.  

A leading venture capital fund for women-of-color businesses has made yet another groundbreaking investment.

If you are tired of being down on your luck when it comes to managing your ever-evolving services for others, this app is just for you. ShearShare is a first-of-its-kind mobile app providing licensed beauty and barbering professionals rent flexible, affordable spaces to work with no-term leases or commission fees. After creating the platform to help with their own excess capacity in their barbershop and salon, Dr. Tye and his wife, Courtney Caldwell knew that this was something that other business owners could use to scale and thrive. “Like all great businesses, ShearShare was first created because we were trying to solve our own problem,” Dr. Tye told AfroTech. “Today, we’re fueling small business recovery across 900 cities, but it didn’t start out that way.” After discovering the shift in the industry as a licensed barber and stylist who has been operating for close to three decades, Dr. Tye realized the opportunity for economic mobility for others in the space.

Travelsist is where travel and technology collide! The travel tech company — founded by Veronica Woodruff — works to introduce concierge services and the gig economy to the airport ecosystem. Now, to continue in its mission, it can also celebrate as it’s received an investment of $250,000 from the Fearless Fund, the first venture capital fund built strictly by women of color for women of color. “Travelsist is perfectly positioned to capitalize on growing demand for personal on-demand services and the post-COVID air travel rebound,” said General Partner and Co-Founder of Fearless Fund, Arian Simone, in an official press release shared with AfroTech. “We have been amazed by Veronica’s business background and her vision, and Fearless Fund is thrilled to welcome Travelsist to our portfolio.”

Back in June, PayPal made a $530 million commitment to Black and minority-owned businesses to fight racial injustice. Now, as a part of that promise, the financial giant is paying up. In a press release , Paypal announced an investment of $50 million in eight early-stage Black and Latinx-led venture capital funds: Chingona Ventures; Fearless Fund; Harlem Capital; Precursor Ventures; Slauson & Co.; VamosVentures; Zeal Capital Partners; and one additional fund. The money will be funneled to each company through PayPal venture capital arm, PayPal Ventures, which invests in startups from series A to late-stage funding. “Black and Latinx founders have been underrepresented in venture capital funding for far too long,” said president and CEO of PayPal, Dan Schulman. In addition to providing capital to minority-led VCs, PayPal Ventures is offering a three-month fellowship to a Black or Latinx graduate student each semester. In the program, the student will be mentored about business....