While the state of tech jobs is in critical condition, Black Ambition is serving as a safe haven for Black and brown entrepreneurs. Per Crunchbase, funding to Black founders and startups plummeted by 73 percent from Q1 to Q2. Hatcher and Pharrell’s efforts are working toward combatting such numbers.

Recently, the organization held its second Demo Day, where it invested $2.5 million in 31 entrepreneurs.

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According to Hatcher, what makes Black Ambition’s mentorship next level is being adamant about steering away from surface-level mentors. Additionally, the mentors and mentees are not only building connections but also leveraging relationships.

“I think a lot of people at this point, especially in the tech space, have separated a mentor from a champion and you need to find people that do both,” Hatcher affirmed. “Some people will have very linear exclusive relationships, one to the other, but we’ve been able to attract people that do both.”

She continued: “And that’s really important because, for so many Black entrepreneurs, so much of their time is wasted either with very bad advice or people who are just like, ‘Go find someone at this major corporation that does that,’ but they have the contact and they have the relationship. They just refuse to make it for you because they don’t want to leverage their relationships in order to do so. And that’s not right.”

Tech Layoffs

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