As Black Founders and Venture Capitalists, the path is not the same for raising early-stage startup funds — neither are the rules. That’s why we’ve brought together a group of startup veterans to discuss the nuances associated with successfully raising capital and investing in the Black and greater BIPOC underrepresented community. The panelists will draw on board room secrets from their shared experiences in fundraising, operating, scaling, and investing in Black men and women. The insights discussed during this panel are broadly applicable to underrepresented founders and all entrepreneurs and investors with an interest in Black deal-flow.

Supporting Sponsors:

Capital Studio, https://capitalstudio.org/
BlckMeninTech, https://blkmenintech.com/
The Commons on Champa, https://thecommons.co/

Moderators:

Osa Aihie is the Co-founder of Capital Studio, blended capital entrepreneur, and fractional CMO for venture-backed companies.
Virginia Chau is the Co-founder of Capital Studio, blended capital entrepreneur, and corporate attorney.

Panelist information:

David Potter - Founder of Curu
Curu is a fintech company that helps lenders and loan marketplaces grow their new accounts by recovering their rejected applicants. Potter raised 3.7m in capital from the Western Union accelerator, FIS accelerator, and several other national venture funds with most recent rounds from Harlem Capital during a pandemic. https://www.curucredit.com/

Chandler Malone - Founder at Bootup and Venture Partner with Atento Capital
Malone is an early stage investor and serial entrepreneur (with several successful exits) and the current founder of Bootup™, the largest community of Bootcamp vocational school graduates with the stated mission of empowering the next generation of the tech workforce. https://www.joinbootup.com/

Eric Drummond - a seasoned venture capitalist, lawyer, entrepreneur, and former mayor. He is currently Chair of Colorado’s Venture Capital Authority, with over $100 million AUM. Eric is a Co-Founder of Energize Colorado, as well as a Founding Director of the Colorado Clean Energy Fund, Colorado's green bank. He is the CEO and Founder of Innovation Corridor Investments LLC. Eric was a partner at the international law firm of Squire Patton Boggs, founded his own law firm, and co-founded a Li-ion battery grid-tied energy storage company. https://inncorr.com/

Regina Gwynn - Founder at TresseNoire & VC-in-Residence at Pipeline Angels
Gwynn is serial entrepreneur, brand & digital marketing executive and launched the first beauty booking platform designed for time-starved multicultural professionals with TresseNoire. At Pipeline Angels, she works on changing the face of angel investing and venture capital, as well as creating funding for trans women, cis women, nonbinary, two-spirit, agender, and gender-nonconforming founders. https://pipelineangels.com/

Kham Ward - Founder of BLKMeninTech. https://blkmenintech.com/