Divergent Unicorns

This episode, we meet with Jackson Cummings, an investor at Salesforce Ventures; which is a Corporate Venture Capital firm that has invested in companies such as Box, Dropbox, and Ncino. 

Key Topics: Acquiring CVC investment, CVC benefits, Startup-Investor relationship, and more!

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Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: April 2020

This week, we speak with Garry Johnson - founder of First Founder's Accelerator; which is an early stage accelerator designed to boost underrepresented founders — those from one or more groups including racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ, people with disabilities and women. 

Key Topics: Importance of Accelerators, Pitch Decks, Demo Day, and more!

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Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: April 2020

This week, we speak with Dana Wilson - Founder and CEO of CHIP; which is a FinTech startup increasing visibility and access to financial professionals of color. 

Key Topics: Building a Team, Creating a Prototype, Importance of Community in the Startup Space, and more!

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Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: April 2020

On this episode, we speak with Amanda Johnson - Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Mented Cosmetics; which is a beauty startup looking to provide products to women of every HUE. Amanda Johnson and her co-founder are the 15th and 16th black women to raise $1M+ in venture funding.

Key Topics: Finding Problem Market-Fit, Utilizing Influencer Marketing, Defining Customer Experience, and Supply Chain Management.

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Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: March 2020

On this episode, we speak with Amira Ouji and she discusses her experience with breaking into Venture Capital and how fundamental HBCUs (graduate of Howard) have been on her journey. Amira Ouji currently serves as the Director of Portfolio Engagement at Revolution, and is a founding team member at HBCUvc. At the time of this recording, Amira worked with MetaProp NYC. 

Learn more about her journey.

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Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: March 2020

On this episode, De'Havia interviews Mercedes Bent - Partner at Lightspeed Ventures. At Lightspeed Ventures, Mercedes focuses on investing into early stage consumer startups. She also happens to be 1/5 black women with investment influence at a $1B+ venture fund.

Key Topics: Building consumer startups, Growing and Scaling, and Raising funding.

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Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: March 2020

On this episode, De'Havia Stewart and Ime Essien interview Collin Wallace, CEO of ZeroStoreFront (formerly EatGeek). Collin has managed to make 3 exits - his first startup, Fango, was acquired by Grubhub in 2011. Collin has also participated in Accelerator programs such as Techstars and Y Combinator, and has raised millions in venture funding.

Key Topics: Process of Getting Acquired, Acquiring B2B customers, Raising a Round of Funding, and Importance of Intellectual Property.

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Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: March 2020

On this episode, we speak with Jarrid Tingle - Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Harlem Capital; where Jarrid and his team plans to invest in 1,000 diverse founders. Jarrid and Harlem Capital have recently closed a $40M inaugural fund and have been featured in large media publications for their work such as Forbes, TechCrunch, and Black Enterprise.

Key Topics: Learnings from $40M fund raise, how Harlem Capital evaluates companies, alternative ways to raising capital, and the VC and founder relationship.

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Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: April 2020

On this episode, we speak with Austin Woolridge - Co-Founder and CEO of Players' Lounge; which is an eSports startup that connects gamers virtually and allows them to compete competitively for cash. Aside from reaching consumers across the United States, Austin has been able to raise $3.7M in venture funding and has participated in Y Combinator Cohort 18.

Key Topics: Building an MVP, Influencer Marketing, Scaling business, and Raising a Round.

Visit our website and submit a question/topic here.

Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: March 2020

On this episode, we speak with Arlan Hamilton - Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital. Backstage Capital is a venture firm that invest in "underestimated" founders - black, person of color, woman, and/or LGBTQ. Since founding the firm, Backstage Capital has invested in over 100 diverse founders. 

You can expect to hear more on what Arlan looks for in startups, how diverse founders can overcome challenges within the startup ecosystem, navigating COVID-19, and Arlan's new book "It's About Damn Time".

*This episode was recorded via Instagram Live on April 23, 2020*

The book and course are now live.

Thank you for tuning in!

Visit our website and submit a question/topic here.

Hosted by @de_havia and @imessien

Recorded: April 2020