"Girl Bosses" exit over the mistreatment of women of color; Billion-dollar valuations; Major brands committed to observing Juneteenth; The 15% pledge.
A weekly newsletter for Black and Brown women highlighting entrepreneurship and venture capital in the tech ecosystem.
Hello and welcome to For Colored Girls Who Tech, a weekly newsletter highlighting entrepreneurship and venture capital in the tech ecosystem.
Today I humbly welcome hundreds of new subscribers following the publication of an article about our newsletter in The Hustle. I hope you will find it informative, useful and interesting, and in turn, share it with others!
This past week has seen the departure of several high-profile, female startup founders, aka “girl bosses.” These women and companies posted messages of support for the Black Lives Matter movement and were then promptly called out by current and former employees (and customers) for creating racist cultures.
Audrey Gelman, co-founder of The Wing, stepped down from her role as CEO. Christene Barberich, editor-in-chief of Refinery29 resigned over how it has treated black writers. And Reformation founder and CEO Yael Aflalo apologized and stepped down after being accused of racist behavior.
Twitter, Vox Media, Ogilvy, Nike, and many other brands will honor Juneteenth — June 19 — as a company holiday. Facebook is launching a corporate venture capital group. Apple becomes the first $1.5 trillion US company.
USA
Squire Technologies, a New York-based provider of barbershop management and point-of-sale software, raised $27 million in Series B funding.
Meditation app Headspace raised $47.7 million in extended Series C funding.
Instacart raised $225 million in a round led by DST Global and General Catalyst that values the company at $13.7 billion.
Attn:Grace - launches eco-friendly personal care brand for women 40+.
Wave, the virtual avatar concert company, raised $30 million in funding from Scooter Braun, Alex Rodriguez, and other investors.
EUROPE
German air taxi startup Lilium gets $35 million Series C funding from Tesla investor, crosses €1B valuation.
Europe's Just Eat Takeaway to buy Grubhub for $7.3 billion.
Spanish tech startup Ontruck secures €17M funding.
France creates fund to protect tech startups from takeovers.
Norweigan game-based startup Kahoot! raises €25M funding, with a $1.39 billion valuation.
Swiss startup, HelloMask, develops a transparent surgical mask to be available in 2021.
AFRICA
Uber partners with Flutterwave and MPesa to unveil Uber Cash in Africa.
Sun Exchange, a South African solar energy startup with a cryptocurrency twist, raised $3 million.
Egyptian online mental health platform Shezlong raises VC funding.
Ugandan fintech startup Eversend raises $706k in a crowdfunding campaign.
Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance has invested $100,000 each in two Nigerian companies - the logistics company MAX and Releaf Group, an agritech.
INSIGHTS
Lo Toney has some ideas about how to (really) bring VC into the 21st century
-Connie Loizos / TechCrunch
So You Want to Fund Black Founders
-Brian Dixon / Kapor Capital
What Should You Send a VC Before Your Meeting?
-Mark Suster / Upfront Ventures
8 Actions to be a Better Ally and Drive Capital to Black Founders
-BBG Ventures
100+ diversity in tech communities in Europe
-Amy Lewin / Sifted
FUNDING & COMPETITIONS
The Resourcing Racial Justice fund is providing financial support to people working to redress the impact of COVID-19 on those who identify as People of Colour. Apply by June 15, 2020.
PayPal Announces $530 Million Commitment to Support Black Businesses, Strengthen Minority Communities, and Fight Economic Inequality.
South Africa Innovation Summit: Africa Cup. Exclusively for Black Founders & Executive Operators. Entries close June 30, 2020.
The Innovating Justice Challenge invites all startups that are transforming the justice sector to become part of their 2020 accelerator cohort.
UPCOMING (VIRTUAL) EVENTS
Blck VC: Intro to Angel Investing. June 16, 2020.
Queer Womxn Founder Talk | SoGal x StartOut. June 17, 2020.
Women Startup Lab: WiSE 24 Online Pitch Event. June 18, 2020.
Startup Capital hosted by Tech BBQ, an online matchmaking event that connects pre-seed, seed-stage, and series-A startups with investors through virtual facilitated matchmaking activities. June 18, 2020.
Breaking Through, Rising Up: Strategies for Propelling Women of Color in Technology. June 18, 2020.
Webinar: How can Europe step up to global tech leadership? June 19, 2020.
Build Your Career: Breaking Into Venture Capital [Webinar] - June 20, 2020.
ON OUR RADAR
Dalai Lama preps debut album of teachings and mantras set to music.
Merriam-Webster is changing the definition of “racism.” The old version failed to mention systemic oppression.
The 15 Percent Pledge calls on stores to dedicate shelf space to Black-Owned businesses and brands.
A heartfelt thank you for reading and see you next week!
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