00:00I think that professional women sometimes get that image that they don't like to have fun,
00:04but I can tell y'all both do. So what's that song you just that makes you feel good,
00:08makes you feel empowered, makes you feel like I can step in here in the Fearless Fun and just
00:12have a great day? Lotto is given. Yeah. We love that.
00:18You're in the Fearless Fun Summit in ATL. Can you guys let me know what we can expect today,
00:30what we're going to be seeing just throughout the venue for the rest of the day?
00:34There's going to be a lineup of special guests and it looks like pop culture meets venture. And
00:39the reason why these are people who most of the audience will know, but what they do not know is
00:44that they actually have a role in venture capital. They are investors, they are business owners,
00:48and they also acquire businesses, some of them as well, too. But majority of the day,
00:53you will see our portfolio companies share about their businesses, as well as our investors and
00:57our partners share about their role with us. So it's a full day of venture education,
01:02entrepreneurial education, and just education as a whole about being an investor.
01:06You all are headquartered in ATL, correct? What makes this city so special? Because you see,
01:12you know, other venture capital firms being positioned in other, you know, departments,
01:17other areas, but what makes ATL so special to both of you all?
01:20Well, listen, the A is the Black Mecca. You know, Black people are starting businesses at a higher
01:25rate than any other demographic, specifically Black women. This is where all Black women and brown women
01:31are starting those businesses. So it was very important for us to be intentional,
01:36intentionally here in the A for our headquarters. Our team is located all across the country,
01:41but our business is founded here for us by us. And that will always be the case.
01:47Do you all see a lot of Atlanta, you know, based companies come to you all? Or is it just
01:53worldwide? What is some of your clientele that are, you know, people that would hope to be your
01:58clientele? We receive applications, not just nationwide, but worldwide. Okay. There are areas
02:05where we do see talent that's concentrated, right? The Southeast and Atlanta is one of those areas,
02:10any area that's highly populated with women of color, we're going to have an influx of applications
02:15from them. So we definitely see talent from all over the world. But yes, there are certain areas
02:21that are more concentrated than others. Absolutely. And we're fun. We invest in consumer packaged goods
02:26and tech. And we have founders in Atlanta that we've invested in that are starting businesses in both
02:31of those spaces. And I think that will continue to be the case as black women in this space. I know
02:36that you guys have probably had to deal with backlash just because it's, it's one of something
02:40that's very niche. How do you both handle that? How do you just kind of just shake it off and not
02:45really deal with being kind of one of the only or one of the only venture capital woman of color owned
02:52spaces? Yeah, I mean, we are pioneers in this space. And you know, we've quoted, you know,
02:58Vice President Kamala Harris that we are maybe the first, but we certainly won't be the last.
03:02And it's going to take hundreds and 1000s of fearless funds to close the wealth gap
03:07and really drive economic freedom in this country. So for us, we just keep our eyes on the prize,
03:12you know, we're here for a higher purpose. We've been at this for four years, almost five years.
03:17And for us to be, you know, attacked after doing this work, you know, while it's disheartening,
03:23we know that we're built for this. Absolutely. Absolutely. I feel like very much similar to
03:28when you start a business, you really have to have a strong backbone. Are you all a venture
03:32capital? How important is that to know just what it is as the black community? I was just having a
03:37conversation earlier how sometimes we feel like we don't have any help or it's very hard for us to
03:42get help. So how important is venture capital when starting your business?
03:45Venture capital is very important. If you plan to be a unicorn business,
03:49there's other funding options out there. I want to be very clear about that. That may be your funding
03:56solution. In addition to looking at venture capital, there's still other options. There's
04:01always the healthy $15 million revenue business that may not need venture capital. Venture capital is
04:08for high growth businesses. It's aggressive. We're looking for business that can grow and scale at a
04:13rapid rate. Okay. Not just at your own leisure. Yeah. So venture is not for everybody. But is it
04:20important? Very much so. So important that it's one of the biggest drivers in building generational
04:27wealth in this country. That's how important it is. And if I could build on that. So historically,
04:32we thought of unicorn companies as a billion dollars in revenue and more. When we look for companies to
04:37invest in, they've got to be able to return the fund. And what do we mean by that? So our first fund
04:43was a $25 million fund. So if we make an investment in a company and we've invested in over 40,
04:48they have to be able to generate $25 million in revenue or more in a short amount of time.
04:54So now as the stakes are higher and we're raising fund too, they need to be able to generate $100
05:00million in revenue to be able to exit. And that means get acquired by another company,
05:05acquired by maybe private equity, or even go public.
05:09Yeah, that's a really good point. What you said about not every company needs to go venture capital,
05:15but it's about what the scale of your business is. I don't think I even knew that. So that was great.
05:20Do you feel like it's necessary to go this route? So if you do want to scale your business,
05:24is venture capital where you should start? Or, you know, what does that process look like?
05:29Yeah. I mean, there's so many options. So venture capital is equity-based financing. So what that
05:35means is we take an ownership stake in your company to help you scale and grow. There's also so many
05:40options. I mean, we have a grant program through our foundation. This is essentially free money to
05:45help you grow your business. There's also something called debt-based financing, right? So you can get
05:50loans to help you grow your business. Now you pay those back. And certainly with venture,
05:54it is incredibly risky. And when we place a bet on an entrepreneur, we expect to have a return on
06:00that investment. So the stakes are even higher, but that's just a range of ways. I mean, black and
06:05brown women have been bootstrapping since the beginning of time. We have both done it ourselves
06:10as entrepreneurs and just done it with our own money. So that is also an option as well.
06:16So with you all saying, you know, when you kind of tap into this venture capital, we're expecting you
06:22to scale your business at a fast pace. What are some of those businesses you are sort of seeing
06:26come into your portfolio that are being successful? All right. Slutty Vegan, Live Tinted. We've got a
06:31bunch. We have so many, and they've also been featured on Essence.com. Absolutely. Yeah,
06:36yeah. She said Slutty Vegan, Live Tinted, The Lip Bar, 13 Loon. The list goes on and on. Partake.
06:43We have been blessed to be able to back a lot of the hot women of color startups that are out there.
06:49Yeah, yeah. I love that. If you're looking to start a business, what is some advice you would
06:53give someone? And I'm sure you get this question a lot, but just particularly for the Essence audience
06:58who are entrepreneurs who come to Essence Fest with businesses and ideas. What is just some advice
07:03you would specifically give the Essence audience if they're looking to start their business? I would
07:07start with plan with the end in mind. You need to know what your end game is. Are you looking to have
07:12your business get acquired? Are you looking to go public? Because then every step you take will
07:18dictate that. So you want to make sure that you know what your end game is at the start.
07:22The other thing that I will say, a lot of entrepreneurs have conviction. So you need
07:27to have conviction and that passion to start a business, but you also need to have a level of
07:31agility. And what I mean by that is there are times when you might have to pivot your business model.
07:37The economy does its thing. It goes up and goes down. And the more agile you can be and pivot when
07:42you need to, that's when I think we've seen incredible success with some of these entrepreneurs.
07:47Then last question, a little fun one. What is a song you just love to get ready to?
07:51I think that professional women sometimes get that image that they don't like to have fun, but I can tell
07:57y'all both do. So what's that song you just that makes you feel good, makes you feel empowered, makes you
08:02feel like I can step in here in the fearless fun and just have a great day. Lotto is given.
08:06Yeah.
08:07I love that. What about you? Okay, y'all gonna laugh at this one, but I'm a big sports fan
08:17and I love me some coach prime. So when he came out with who was SWAT? Yep. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
08:24I used to wake up to that every single morning. So if you want to know my hype song, this is coach
08:31from the South, so I appreciate that. Thank you ladies so much for talking to Essence Magazine
08:36and we look forward to seeing the day.
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