Black women who raised $1 million nearly tripled since 2018; The Ultimate Early-stage women investors twitter thread; $9K for a Rolls Royce camping chair; #IStandWithTimnit
A weekly newsletter for Black and Brown women highlighting entrepreneurship and venture capital in the tech ecosystem.
Hello Everyone,
Althought I’m not an active Twitter use, I was on the plaform all week due to a range of threads that lit the internet. Google A.I. researcher Timnit Gebru, a leading researcher in the field of ethics and artificial intelligence, said that she was fired after criticizing the company’s lack of commitment to diversity. She shared the news on Twitter and continues to receive an outpouing of global support, #IStandWithTimnit. Lolita Taub created the ultimate thread of Early-stage Women Investors! Warner Brothers announced it will be releasing all of its 2021 movies simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service. Slack was acquired by Salesforce for $27.7 billion.
INSIGHTS
Nasdaq Seeks Board-Diversity Rule That Most Listed Firms Don’t Meet
-Wall Street Journal
ProjectDiane 2020: The State of Black & Latinx Women Founders
-Digital Undivided
The Community Playbook for Founders-Strategies and stories for founders building community-driven companies
-Flybridge Capital
How Some Black Startup Founders Are Thriving in a Pandemic Year
-Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal
The Pros and Cons of Raising Money from CVCs
-Ren Robinson
Do Algorithms Make Better — and Fairer — Investments Than Angel Investors?
-Torben Antretter, Ivo Blohm, Charlotta Siren, Dietmar Grichnik, Malin Malmstrom, Joakim Wincent / Harvard Business Review
Angel Investing 101 – Why Investing in Startups is not reserved for the super-rich
-Yvonne Bajela / Imact X
OPPORTUNITIES, FUNDING & COMPETITIONS
SoGal Black Founder Startup Grant Application. $5K and $10K cash grants to Black women or nonbinary entrepreneurs. Rolling applications.
STATION F in Paris is launching a 3-month FemTech accelerator in January 2021. Apply before December 15, 2020.
UNICEF opened an Innovation Fund to provide up to $100k in equity investments for seed-stage tech startups helping to prevent violence against children. Due December 20, 2020.
Gusto and IFundWomen 2021 Jumpstart Grant Program. Four early-stage women-owned small businesses will receive a $2,500 grant + Gusto payroll services to help them jumpstart a year of growth in 2021. Apply by December 30, 2020.
The Media Futures Fund is looking for artists/startups/SMEs that are using data to tackle misinformation. Receive grand funding and support (up to €85,000 equity-free funding for startups and up to €40,000 for artists). Apply before January 28, 2021.
BLACK AMBITION is a set of prizes to fund bold ideas and companies led by Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. Receive mentorship and win up to $1,000,000 in funding. Apply before February 18, 2021.
UPCOMING (VIRTUAL) EVENTS
2020 Review: Why Diversity and Inclusion are Crucial in Times of Disruption hosted by Diversity VC, December 8, 2020.
Ask Me Anything with Samara M Hernandez, Founding Partner of Chingona Ventures. The event is for aspiring VCs, mainly from the Latinx community but all are encouraged to join, December 8, 2020.
Island Founded Virtual Pitch Competition focused solely on entrepreneurs on Curacao and Sint Maarten. December 8, 2020.
Women investors Session I - Fund allocation and criteria to increase the funding going to women-led VC funds, startups and innovative businesses. December 9, 2020.
2020 Table Stakes Summit, December 9, 2020.
LabEight* Africa 2020 Demo Day, December 16, 2020.
ON OUR RADAR
COVID Cops in Europe Will Search Your Car for Evidence of Ski Gear.
The Losses We Share - By Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex.
Yes, Virtual Santa Claus Meet and Greets Are Happening on Zoom.
Climbing routes are riddled with racist and misogynistic names. Meet the people trying to change it all.
PEOPLE / ANNOUNCEMENTS
Lo Toney is raising $100 million for his second fund at Plexo Capital.
Forbes 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital 2021. Meet The Young Investors Spotting Tech’s Next Breakouts.
Jeff Cherry announced the launch of Conscious Venture Fund II with a $25 million target.
All Raise has raised over $11 million for gender equality in the tech industry.
Janet Rollé, GM of Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment, named to BuzzFeed Board.
The Powerlist 2021 featuring Britain’s most influential people from African, African Caribbean and African American heritage.
A heartfelt thank you for reading and see you next week!
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