Crypto’s coming-out party; The 10 Commandments of Media Relations; Is Zoom's UX subtly sexist?
A weekly newsletter for Black and Brown women highlighting entrepreneurship and venture capital in the tech ecosystem.
Good Afternoon,
I hope you all are enjoying your Sunday. Welcome to Issue #46 of For Colored Girls Who Tech, a weekly newsletter for Black and Brown women highlighting entrepreneurship and venture capital in the tech ecosystem. We are a community-centered newsletter so feel free to reach out if you’d like to share stories, tips, comments, or questions.
Crypto’s coming-out party. Nas could net $100 million when Coinbase lists on Nasdaq. The rise of Dogecoin. Epic Games raised a $1 billion round of funding. Pearpop Raises $16 million from from Alexis Ohanian, Snoop Dogg, Amy Schumer and others to Fuel Social-Collab Marketplace. Clubhouse now valued at $4 billion. Hallow, a Catholic prayer and meditation app, raised a $12 million Series A. Meet Car Thing, a new smart player from Spotify.
INSIGHTS
The Black experience at work in charts
-McKinsey & Company
What VCs Seek in a First Meeting
-Kara Nortman
Y Combinator’s increasing investments in Africa and its cohorts' performances
-Briter Bridges
Top VC Firms Don’t Outperform the Broader Market at Seed
-AngelList Venture
Research: Adding Women to the C-Suite Changes How Companies Think
-Harvard Business Review
The 10 Commandments of Media Relations Every Entrepreneur Should Follow
-Nicole Quinn and Meredith Kendall Maines/ Lightspeed Venture Partners
2020 (Final) Letter to Amazon Shareholders
-Jeff Bezos
OPPORTUNITIES, FUNDING & COMPETITIONS
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator Summer 2021 Program. Companies selected to participate in the four-month program will receive a $100,000 investment and the potential for follow-on funding from ERA’s Fund. Apply by April 26, 2021.
IFundWomen x Neutrogena Fund. 10 qualified women entrepreneurs will receive $10K grants to support their fresh start after a challenging year in business. Apply by April 26, 2021.
Render Capital runs an annual competition that aims to make venture capital more accessible to companies at the earliest stages. Eight winning startups will receive an investment of $100k each. Deadline is May 6, 2021.
Female Founders of high growth tech startups - applications are open for Angel Academe's June pitch event. Deadline to apply is May 7, 2021.
SURVEY: Open Call for Black female founders and/or an Africa-focused female founders in the fintech space. Unicorn Growth Capital is a Fintech VC platform building a network of global black female founders in the fintech space. Fill out their survey and share your thoughts.
Target Forward Founders is looking for early-stage product brands looking to learn how to scale into retail for their 8-week accelerator program which includes a $5K stipend. Apply by May 12, 2021.
2021 MEI Florida Showcase & Pitch Competition. For early-stage Black, LatinX, and Female Founders. Compete for a pool of $200,000+ in prize money plus all applicants will receive expert feedback from knowledgeable investors in your industry and free access to MEI’s educational platform. Apply by May 9, 2021.
Brazil-The Black Founders Fund is a Google for Startups program that offers equity-free financial resources to Black-founded startups across Brazil. Applications open.
UPCOMING (VIRTUAL) EVENTS
Founder series: Riding an African Unicorn. Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, will share the Flutterwave story and insights about building a startup in Africa. April 19, 2021.
Bethnal Green Ventures x NorthInvest: Tech for Good Pitch Workshop, April 21, 2021.
The Economy of Female Pleasure-a sheworx virtual event, April 21, 2021.
The Social Media Summit @ MIT brings together the world’s leaders in social technology to examine the impact of social media on our democracies, our economies, and our public health — with a vision to craft meaningful solutions to the social media crisis. April 22, 2021.
Inklusiiv Talks ''Taking action on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: The Role of Data'' April 22, 2021.
Supply + Demand: The Real Cost of Doing Business. A series to help female founders of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies navigate supply chain issues. April 22, 2021.
Undivided We Rise is a virtual summit that brings thought leaders and influential voices. Topics include crowfunding, the State of Black and Latinx Women Founders in 2021 and more. April 30, 2021.
2021 Founders of Color Showcase. Five to seven founders will present to investors. May 3, 2021.
ON OUR RADAR
‘Master,’ ‘Slave’ and the Fight Over Offensive Terms in Computing.
Peloton Treadmills Unsafe for People With Young Children or Pets.
Europe seeks to limit use of AI in society.
Amazon Spent $11 Billion on Prime Video and Music Content in 2020.
PEOPLE / ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Midas List-The World’s Best Venture Capital Investors In 2021.
The Midas Brink List: Meet Venture Capital’s Up-And-Comers For 2021.
Former Stitch Fix executive Mike Smith and Nikhil Basu Trivedi have launched a new $175 million fund called Footwork.
Twitter pick Ghana as its first Africa office.
Samurai Incubate, a Tokyo-based venture capital firm closed its “Samurai Africa 2nd General Partnership” fund, totaling $18.6 million.
Minnesota Twins partner with Techstars to launch a three-year accelerator program in the Twin Cities.
Mielle Organics, a black-owned haircare brand secured a $100 million investment.
A heartfelt thank you for reading and see you next week!
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