VC Lives Matter; The science behind dressing for zoom; Hennessy growth accelerator; New Roll Up Vehicles streamlines cap tables; Black Ops community.
A weekly newsletter for Black and Brown women highlighting entrepreneurship and venture capital in the tech ecosystem.
Happy Easter (to those of you celebrating),
Now that I have kids I’ve rediscovered the joy of dying Easter eggs and making my own Easter Baskets. It’s a simple pleasure and reminds me of the time spent doing so with my siblings. However, this year, there will be no Easter Egg Hunts. France has gone back on a nationwide lockdown and all schools and daycares will be closed for the next three to four weeks. This means I’ll have my 19-month old son and stepdaughter at home all day + work + running an accelerator + VC fellowship + newsletter. Please forgive me in advance if I am late to reply to your emails. Enjoy your holiday weekend and try not to overdose on those chocolate eggs.
Apple Pay goes live in Africa. Vaccine passports are coming. Biden will let Trump’s H-1B Visa ban expire in a win for tech. Salesforce paid $0 in federal taxes on their 2020 profits along with 54 other US companies. Siri no longer has a default female voice. Elon Musk has been named to the board of Hollywood’s Endeavor ahead of its IPO. Vice Media in 'Advanced Talks' to SPAC. On Deck raised $20 million in Series A funding for its tech community bootcamps. Even LinkedIn is working on a Clubhouse rival. So is Discord! And Spotify!
INSIGHTS
Introducing Roll Up Vehicles (RUVs)-Streamline your closing with one entity for angel investors
-Angel’s List
Global Gender Gap Report 2021
-World Economic Forum
Venture Capital in Latin America: Elite Status and Underestimated Founders
-Magma Partners
-Sonal Chokshi, Chris Dixon, Denis Nazarov, Jesse Walden, and Linda Xie / Andreessen Horowitz
Building a community of world-class African operators — one step at a time
-Seni Sulyman
Three ways VC firms can construct sustainably diverse portfolios
-Leslie Feinzaig / TechCrunch
OPPORTUNITIES, FUNDING & COMPETITIONS
Black Girl Ventures x Equilibria Women Pitch Competition. Open to founders with an E-Commerce or CPG-based business. Deadline April 4, 2021.
Digital Undivided Do You Fellowship 2021 Program. Open to Black and Latinx women founders. Apply by April 12, 2021.
EdTech + Future of Work Founders can apply for the Summer 2021 Education & Workforce Innovation Accelerator and Conference. Each startup receives a $100k investment. Applications are due April 12, 2021.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program is accepting nominations. Entrepreneurs can come from any sector and any country. Apply or nominate by April 16, 2021.
Visible Hands virtual-first fellowship program. 14-weeks dedicated to company-building services and investments of up to $200k to underrepresented talent. Priority Deadline April 16, 2021.
'Never Stop Never Settle Society' growth accelerator by Hennessy. A $1 million investment in Black Entrepreneurs via $50,000 high impact funding. Applications close April 23, 2021.
The Minority Entrepreneurship Institute’s Third annual Showcase and Pitch Competition. Compete for a pool of $200,000+ in capital, expert feedback, and free access to MEI’s educational platform. Apply by May 9, 2021.
UPCOMING (VIRTUAL) EVENTS
VCFamilia presents "Break into Venture" series-"Networking to Break into VC,” April 6, 2021.
Diversity Reboot Series 2021: Elevating Black Women, April 6-9, 2021.
Hivebrite Webinar-Women community leaders on building networks that drive change, April 8, 2021.
Google Developers Founders Friday-Habits of Impactful Startup Founders and Leaders. April 9, 2021.
Africa Next E-Pitch session presented by Euroquity. The session will showcase some of the most promising African start-ups selected by top African VCs and accelerators.
April 14, 2021.The Stanford Black Venture Demo Day, April 14, 2021.
Antler UK Demo Day, April 15, 2021.
J.P. Morgan Fintech Perspectives Webinar: The Hyper-Personalization of Banking, April 21, 2021.
Black Girl Ventures x Afro Sheen Pitch Competition, April 22, 2021.
ON OUR RADAR
The UK is free of institutional racism, a government race report claims. It’s wrong.
Why animals don't get lost.
“VC Lives Matter”: Silicon Valley Investors Want to Oust San Francisco’s Reformist DA.
The Science Behind WFH Dressing for Zoom-What you wear while working actually matters; Researchers studying ‘enclothed cognition’ say your clothing choices at home can affect productivity and performance.
PEOPLE / ANNOUNCEMENTS
Harlem Capital closes a $134 million second fund to back diverse founders.
Brazil’s Nubank launches R $ 1 million Semente Preta (Black Seed, in Portuguese) fund to invest in black entrepreneurs.
Milan Daniels, Co-Founder, and CEO of Otrium, an Amsterdam-based marketplace for end-of-season fashion, raised $120 million in Series C funding.
Kenya becomes the second African country to roll out 5G.
The Seed 100: The best early-stage investors according to Business Insider.
Cendana has raised a $30 million ‘fund of funds’ for VCs managing $15 million or less.
Spike Lee, George C. Wolfe to join Board of Vimeo.
Tiger Global closes massive $6.65 billion venture fund.
Isha Sesay, former CNN Journalist is the new CEO of Okayplayer & OkayAfrica.
A heartfelt thank you for reading and see you next week!
You can follow us on Twitter @veliza9 and @4Cgirlswhotech for updates throughout the week.
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