Dose of Prose
The current political climate and recent injustices that have occurred this week have left me with a mix of emotions. The energy on my social media the last few days has been chaotic to say the least. I have always been a huge advocate for living a balanced lifestyle and conducting due diligence before participating in herd-like behavior and performative activism without intention. But lately I find myself being torn between needing to stay present and connected so that I am informed of what’s going on and needing to unplug to rest and recharge because I am extremely overwhelmed.
I believe that social media can be a powerful tool to inform, influence and spread awareness, if used correctly with substance. It’s unfortunate that the media often shows one biased narrative and it’s even more upsetting that most individuals have short attention spans and treat social movements as quick-fix trends to participate in one day and sweep under the rug the next.
Overall, there is no denying that 2020 has opened my eyes to many things (my vision feels like 2020 even though in reality it is -6), especially the incredibly poor, embarrassing leadership and flawed systems that exist in the United States. Although we have come a long way, we have a long way to go and the unfortunate reality is that radical change of this nature is not something that can happen overnight. Systematic change can only occur with systemic solutions.
It has been empowering to see so many individuals, brands and corporations fighting the good fight over the last few days and I applaud them for it. I hope this momentum for change will continue for the long-term. I encourage everyone to keep doing what you feel comfortable and called to do; whether you are on the frontlines or behind the scenes, keep your foot on the gas. Donate, organize, research, read, watch, ask questions, have open conversations, hold each other accountable, actively listen and last but not least, take care of yourself. Most importantly, take care of each other. Rest plays a huge part in resistance. Also note that a revolution has many lanes – it is possible to play multiple roles in creating an impact on your community.
I’m Black and I’m proud.
In case you weren’t aware, I am a Black (African-American) woman. My father and brother (+ my mom but since the focus right now is the senseless killings of black men in America…) are strong, irreplaceable figures in my life. As a result of attending predominantly White educational institutions, I am used to not seeing anyone who looks like me in a classroom, whether it be high school or higher education (Fun fact: I was the only Black person in my graduate program out of 80 students). I am currently pursing a career path in the Finance and Legal fields, both of which have staggering low statistics of Black representation. I have been exposed to people from all walks of life (some better than others) and have a mix of friends from diverse backgrounds. I could give you several stories of my experience being Black in America as well as the covert racism I have faced throughout my life, but this blog post is not the place for that.
I will never forget where I came from. At the end of the day, when all these hashtags stop trending, I will always be Black. My future children will be Black. I love being Black and am proud of my Blackness, Black people and Black culture. Oh and for those of you who continue to feed into stereotypes and put people in a box, newsflash: there is not one way to be Black.
I am fully aware of the uphill battle I have ahead of me. No matter how I walk, talk and carry myself, no matter how “presentable” and professional my executive presence is, I know that I have to work twice as hard to get half as far as my White counterparts.
However, I have faith and resilience on my side. I know that the best view comes after the hardest climb. I am excited for where I am going, because I live by the motto: lifting as I climb. I strive to extend olive branches and I want to leave a legacy where I have created spaces and opportunities for those in my community…which brings me to today’s post, where I will be discussing group economics, building generational wealth and the connection between entrepreneurship and equity in the Black community.
Disclaimer: If you are looking for resources on how to get involved in movements such as #BlackLivesMatter or information to educate yourself on systemic racism, I implore you to check out this incredibly useful and FREE tool called Google. There are plenty of books, documentaries and articles available for you to tap into. This week my timeline was flooded with references, reshares and retweets of information, so I’m assuming it is the same for you. It is not my duty, calling nor is it my responsibility to teach everybody every single thing. However, if you are an underrepresented entrepreneur, a Black, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC) with an idea, or even if you are White but have curiosity about anything surrounding the topic of investing in marginalized communities, keep on reading.
What is Group Economics and Generational Wealth?
Let’s start with group economics. Although there is no formal definition, group economics refers to a group of people pursing a common economic interest in a way that adds value to amongst the group. Examples of this include exchanging products, services, talents, currency, and other resources with each other.
I’m sure you are familiar with the term generational wealth, but just in case you aren’t, generational wealth refers to passing accumulated assets (wealth) from one generation to another.
White families hold 90% of national wealth. Black families hold 2.6% of it. Since the 2009 recession, the wealth gap has increased.
How are these terms related? Well, if a community of people come together and exchange resources to accumulate wealth, they can financially sustain and secure themselves for the long-term. There have been numerous discussions about these concepts, which you can find elsewhere, but the point I am trying to highlight here, is the importance of group economics and generational wealth in the black community. It is important for my community to utilize our buying power, to support and invest in each others ideas and businesses, to mentor and hire each other, to be financially literate, to enable our children and our children’s children to live a life that is financially comfortable.
Why? Because, in order to dismantle systems that do not protect us and corporations/institutions that set us up to fail, it is essential that we come together, now more than ever before, to accumulate financial resources and knowledge for each other. We have to start supporting businesses that genuinely support us. We must strive for financial freedom so that we can leverage our buying power while creating generational wealth. We have to continue to show up for each other to bridge the wealth gap that has been created due to years of system racism.
Intersecting Equity and Entrepreneurship to Build Black Buying Power
Venture capital (VC) is a type of financing provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage and emerging companies. If you don’t know what this means, let me explain it another way. Have you seen the show Shark Tank? If so, the “sharks” = VCs and the entrepreneurs who come on the show to pitch their ideas = the startups, early-stage, emerging companies that the VCs invest in. Hope that makes sense. I want to work in VC at some point in my professional life (I’m still submitting internship and full-time applications to firms like these as I type this -wish me luck-), but the road to getting there, especially for me, will be one that is less travelled.
2% of VC investment partners identify as African-American or Latino. 11% of VC investment partners are women. Less than 10% of VC funded companies are led by women or people of color.
These statistics show that this space is made to box out BIPOC, which is why it is imperative for us to create these spaces for ourselves. In today’s blog post, I want to highlight Black-led programs and VC firms who focus their investments on underrepresented founders. There are others out there, and I don’t want to appear like I am picking favorites, but I am sharing these particular VCs because I either have heard inspiring speeches from the CEOs of these companies at conferences or I just strongly align with their mission and vision overall.
Many non-Black people and corporations are taking the time right now to amplify black voices, by sharing black-owned business, creators, etc. Lots of brands and companies have sent emails and made posts advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion. Many investment firms who are not diverse are reaching out to Black founders and investors in effort to support them, which is all great. I am all for allyship. But I also believe in helping your own. Black investors do exist. So for those BIPOC who have ideas and/or business plans but are looking for mentoring, funding and/or capital from investors who will keep your best interests at heart, I suggest putting these firms on your radar.
BLCK VC
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.
BLCK VC is all about community. Its goal is to increase the number of Black investment professionals in venture capital and build a community so that Black investors can help each other succeed.
Founder Gym
We are a Black team navigating a White space (Silicon Valley and the tech startup industry), and we serve a majority Black community.
Message from the CEO, Mandela SH Dixon
Our mission is simple and it has remained consistent throughout our 2.5 year existence: use entrepreneurship to create a more equitable world.
Who we are, what we represent, and the mission we have committed our lives to is our message to the world. A perfectly crafted PR statement in times of social and political unrest is not where we invest our resources. We invest our most valuable resources — our time, our talents, our network, and our money — in our community, every single day.
Founder Gym is the leading online program training underrepresented founders on how to raise money to scale their tech startups.
500 Startups
Diversity is not just a strategy or tactic.
It’s who we are.
The name says it all, but 500 startups focuses on investing in a variety of founders from all backgrounds in different industries. Their management and investment team matches their mission, as it is full of diverse members from all over the world.
Harlem Capital
Harlem Capital Partners (“HCP”) is a New York based early-stage venture capital firm on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship by investing in 1,000 diverse founders over the next 20 years. We are focused on investing in minority and women founders in the United States.
Led by four black male investors and owned by minority founders, the HCP team has skill sets in finance, media and entrepreneurship, along with an expansive network, which allows them to provide the most value-add per invested dollar for early stage companies.
HBCUvc
Nothing stronger than a community that invests in its people.
HBCUvc is a nonprofit organization that trains students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in venture capital and technology entrepreneurship. It’s co-founder, Hadiyah Mujhid is a powerhouse black woman, mom and racial equity advocate.
Backstage Capital
We invest in the very best founders who identify as women, People of Color, or LGBTQ.
Arlan Hamilton
Less than 10% of all venture capital deals go to women, POC, and LGBTQ founders. Backstage Capital sees this as the biggest opportunity in investment and has invested in over $7 million in over 130 companies led by underrepresented founders.
I know there is a lot to unpack in this post and I’ve only merely scratched the surface of these important issues, but at the very least, I hope it was an interesting read and maybe encouraged you to find ways to support the Black community, whether you identify as Black or not. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below. Let’s start a compelling conversation. Reminder: everyday is an opportunity to become a better version of yourself. Who will you choose to be? To my non-Black readers, will you choose to be actively anti-racist? To my Black readers, what legacy will you leave for your community?
-Kaamilah
