Together We Stand.
Together We Invest.
Do you wish to see change in the world?
Are you ready to invest in great black founders?
If not now, when?
What We Do
Investment Thesis
Black Founders Matter is a $10-million seed-stage investment fund. We invest in Black Founders who lead ventures that are registered and headquartered in the United States.Industry-specific Screening
We are an industry-agonistic fund which means we look at companies across many different industries. We have intentionally built industry-specific screening into our evaluation screening process so that we actually do invest across various verticals. Our investments so far represent five unique and differentiated verticals for maximum diversification and impact.
An “Impactful” Fund, Not An “Impact” Fund
We are a returns-focused fund that seeks super scalable ventures led by brilliant Black entrepreneurs. Our fund and our investors are impactful because we use capital to create more diverse and innovative unicorns. We also fundamentally change the face of entrepreneurship and help more diverse families and communities thrive post-acquisition.
How We Do It
Stage-specific Checks
We typically write between $50k-$150k checks into companies between the Series Seed and Series A life-stage.
Follow-on Funding
We reserve half of the fund for follow-on funding. This means we reinvest in companies after the initial check. While capital is a necessary foundation, we believe it’s just the first step.
Industry-specific Partnerships
Beyond capital, our fund strategy is to partner with industry-specific lead firms in the Series Seed to Series C stage. Having extensive experience in this field, we know that industry-specific resources help our portfolio companies scale with efficiency and effectiveness. We develop partnerships with these firms as co-investors and subsequent leads to ensure that our companies are not only well capitalized but also resourced to scale and be acquired.
Portfolio
Here are our latest investments:
A Kids Company About
Saysh
Meter Feeder
HUED
YearOne
LISNR
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FAQs
What is an accredited investor?
The SEC provides the definition of an accredited investor. Investors self-accredit that they meet these standards to participate in our fund. The main methods of being an accredited investor include: Having $200,000 in annual income if you are an individual investor Having $300,000 in annual income combined with your spouse Having at least $1 million in personal assets, excluding your primary residence Having intimate knowledge of venture capital through professional experience (please speak with your accountant or counsel for more information on this)
How does my money get split amongst investments?
When you invest in a professionally-managed fund like Black Founders Matter, your money is collectively pooled together with other Limited Partners/investors to make up the $10 million fund. Seasoned professionals that have extensive experience in the Venture Capital investment space are designated the Managing Directors of the Fund, and will perform all day-to-day operations including sourcing, screening, and managing portfolio investments. Your investment is split evenly across all investments that the Fund makes*. When we make an investment into a company, we subsequently own a percentage of their company. When you invest in Black Founders Matter, you own a percentage of the fund, and therefore a pro-rata share of the companies we invest in.
*The only exception to this is if there is an acquisition prior to your investment and that has already paid out and is no longer a company of the Fund.
Can I invest if I’m living outside the United States?
While our fund is focused on investors and entrepreneurs within the United States, in some special cases, we might make exceptions. Please contact us for more information.
What is the minimum amount for each deal?
We typically write between $50k-$150k checks into companies between the Series Seed and Series A life-stage.
How many deals do you plan to invest in?
We see ourselves doing about 30 deals over the course of Fund I. As we noted in our fund strategy, we work extremely closely with each of these companies and give them additional capital and resources post-investment.
How involved should we expect to be? Do we interact with the companies?
As with other professionally managed funds, Black Founders Matter has a team of General Partners/Managing Directors who oversee the operations of the fund and make investment decisions. We routinely pull from the expertise of our Limited Partner/investor base to help facilitate industry-specific deal screening. We also pull from our Limited Partner/investor base for company advisor and board member opportunities.
Do you focus on a specific round?
We generally invest between the Series Seed and Series A round.
Can you speak to assumptions about timelines of returns and payouts?
Venture investing is a high-risk, high-reward environment where returns can take 5-10 years to pay out. The primary way that any equity-focused venture fund gets a pay out is through a liquidation event. Broadly speaking, this is when a portfolio investment either gets acquired or goes public through IPO.
Am I able to invest through my IRA?
Yes. Please contact us for more information on various investment instruments.