Open Enrollment Begins for New Program Bridging the Gap in Venture Capital Funding for Women of Color
The Fearless Fund launches the Get Ready Venture Program to prepare and position minority women of color to receive venture capital funding. The 12-month intensive training will equip female startup founders to overcome the challenges that threaten entrepreneurial equity and aptly navigate the discriminatory bias in the VC world. Participants will acquire the needed mentorship, knowledge, and skills needed to unlock access to capital and build scalable, venture attractive companies. Application for enrollment is open now through December 1st, 2020 and the Get Ready Venture Program will begin January 1st, 2021.
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As recognized in Entrepreneur, Black women-owned businesses are the fastest-growing economic force in the U.S. and yet have the least access to capital. In 2018, Fortune reported that U.S. companies raised a total of $130 billion in VC funding and only 0.006% of total funding was allocated toward businesses founded by minority women. The Fearless Fund is the first fund led by women of color for women of color. Co-founders actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, entrepreneur Arian Simone and global leadership executive Ayana Parsons organized the Fearless Fund to invest capital into the businesses of minority female entrepreneurs.
“People of color, and especially Black women, have been left out of the conversations of VC and corporate funding for small businesses for far too long. Systemic change cannot survive without economic empowerment and investment in Black entrepreneurs from the top down,” says co-founder Arian Simone. “We are proud to be purveyors of change within the VC and investment industry and fund the dreams women of color led startups.”
The Fearless Fund, known for its commitment to increase diversity and grooming of high performing early stage businesses, has hosted pitch competitions at Facebook Headquarters & Spanx Headquarters with brand partners such as Coca-Cola, UrbanSkinRX, Bumble and more. The Get Ready Venture Program uniquely places female founders in position to change the trajectory of their businesses to create a legacy and generational wealth.
In addition to a robust training program, the team is leveraging their network to feature coveted masterclasses of successful industry experts and celebrity thought leaders such as tech investor, entrepreneur and ecosystem builder, Rodney Sampson; co-founder of Refinery29, Piera Gelardi; along with founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, Arlan Hamilton and more. The selected cohorts will also receive small group coaching, inclusion in a private community of like-minded entrepreneurs, and quarterly pitch development workshops. Participants who complete the 12-month training will qualify to present for a $5K grant at the culmination of the program.
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