Two computer science majors from the University of Chicago (UChicago) are making significant strides in advancing improvements in the criminal justice system. Death Of Laquan McDonald Inspired The Need For Change Co-founders Leslie Jones-Dove and Devshi Mehrotra refused to look the other way following two tragedies at the hands of police. In 2015, while attending the University of Chicago in Illinois as freshmen, Jones-Dove and Mehrotra learned of dash cam footage that was released showing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being fatally shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke on Oct. 20, 2014, ABC-7 Chicago reports. The incident sparked protests across the city and demonstrations on the University of Chicago campus. For the duo, it served as a launch pad for their interest in the intersection of technology and criminal justice. According to The Guardian, a police union official said McDonald had “lunged at police” before the officer fired shots. However, the video footage told a different...

Inclusive e-commerce beauty brand thirteen lune, backed by Diddy, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more, has closed a $3 million seed round led by venture capital firm Fearless Fund. “We are delighted to welcome thirteen lune into the Fearless Fund family,” says Arian Simone, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fearless Fund, according to Essence. “Nyakio has created a groundbreaking space to foster inclusivity in the beauty and wellness industries and we are excited to support the brand as they continue to scale over the next few years.” As a Black woman founder, receiving funding does not come easy. In fact, only 93 Black women have received venture capital funding over $1 million as of December 2020. Nyakio Grieco — founder of thirteen lune — learned firsthand how difficult raising money can be as an entrepreneur. She was fortunate to collect funds from friends and family to debut her brand into the market. The new funds marks a hopeful step forward to create a new landscape for more...

Nonprofit firm BLCK VC teamed up with Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners to launch a network that supports the next generation of Black investors. There has been an emergence of scout programs in the venture capital sector, which have helped better connect founders, operators, and angel investors (If you’re unsure of what venture capital scouts are, think of them as the bridge between venture funds and promising companies looking for support). Through the BLCK VC Scout Network, Black investors will be able to tap into training, mentoring and networking opportunities. BLCK VC launched this initiative after recently discovering that only three percent of venture capital investors are Black. The firm is working to increase diversity in venture capital, so this new network is a step in the right direction. The BLCK VC Scout Network program will take place over six months, across three phases focused on education, community , and deal flow. Twice a year, BLCK VC will welcome...

Diversity-focused venture capital firm, Harlem Capital has just announced the close of its Harlem Capital Partners Venture Fund II Limited Partners (LP) — also known as Fund II — at $134 million. According to a press release reviewed by AfroTech, the new fund exceeded its original target of $100 million and went above its initial cap of $125 million as it aims to continue its mission of changing the face of entrepreneurship with diverse founders. It is also said to be the largest diversity-focused VC fund to date. Harlem Capital shares that while Fund II will maintain the firm’s focus on minority and women founders, it will also seek out early-stage investments in companies in the enterprise and consumer technology fields. “We are focused on building an institution and platform to support diverse founders for many generations. Fund II is one step closer to our mission, but we know the work and journey continues,” Harlem Capital Managing Partner Henri Pierre-Jacques shared in a...

Of the 1,537 startups that closed venture capital deals of at least $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, only 40 of them have Black founders at the helm, a new report finds. These findings were brought to light by Los Angeles-based diversity recruiting platform company Hallo in its second quarterly Black Founders Funding report. The new report analyzed 1,537 young companies across the U.S. that raised funding between $1 million and $50 million at the end of last year. The findings only account for these mega-deals closed between Oct. 1, 2020 , and Dec. 31, 2020. “In my honest opinion, the largest bottle neck for entrepreneurs of color are in the earliest days of starting your company. Once it’s time to go raise a traditional seed round the lack of friend and family capital access might put even the best laid plans and product roadmaps behind the curve in the eyes of seed investors aiming to back initial products and amazing teams,” Hallo’s co-founder and CEO Vernon Howard told...

The diversity numbers in venture capital (VC) are even worse than the numbers in tech as a whole. According to Tech Crunch, 81 percent of VC firms don’t have any Black investors at all. A study released by Harvard in 2017, indicated that women have accounted for less than 10 percent of the entrepreneurial and venture capital labor pool from 1990-2016 with about two percent having been Hispanics, and less than one percent African Americans. A more recent Stanford study indicates that even successful Black VCs have a tougher time in the industry than their white counterparts. Here are five Black VC making a mark: 1. BLCK VC According to their website , “BLCK VC was formed to connect, engage, empower, and advance Black venture investors by providing a focused community built for and by Black venture investors.” Their goal is to increase the number of Black venture capitalists from 200 to 400 by 2024. BLCK helps VC firms incorporate effective diversity and inclusion practices in their...

Entrepreneurs generally have three things on the brain: product, scale, and profit. We generally believe these two principles go hand-in-hand. The more customers we pull in, the more profits we make, right? Well, sometimes. However, developing a viable product and producing large quantities of it often require lots of upfront capital, which young entrepreneurs generally don’t have. Here’s where venture capital (VC) comes in. Investopedia defines “venture capital” as “a form of private equity and a type of financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential.” It might seem like every startup worth its salt has raised some VC along the way. However, for Black entrepreneurs, the truth can be a bit bleaker. Black startups generally have a harder time raising VC, and it only gets worse the better they perform. Here are some reasons you probably shouldn’t pursue VC funding for your startup: Diluted Ownership...

Bessemer Venture Partners has tapped Elliott Robinson to lead growth equity investments in enterprise software and cloud computing technology. Robinson’s experience with BLCK VC — a firm focused on Black investors and founders — and technology-centered investment fund, M12, makes him ideal for his new Bessemer position. Robinson said working with Bessemer is ” a dream come true” via Twitter. “Now, more than ever, the best companies have a ton of options when choosing their venture capital and growth equity investment partners,” Robinson told Afrotech. Robinson said that he has learned many lessons throughout his time working in venture capital, but that maintaining a good reputation is one of the most important ones. “I’ve found that your reputation, value add, and what others say about you as a VC will always be more important than your brand, social media following and what you say about yourself,” Robinson said. Robinson says founders aren’t only basing their decision solely on...