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Fearless Fund is claiming victory following a settlement that dissolved one of its grant programs. What Happened As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Fearless Fund had been in a legal battle with legal activist Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group over the firm’s Strivers Grant program — a Blum-led group had earlier challenged race-based affirmative action policies and won in the Supreme Court. The grant program, backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mastercard, supported Black-owned women businesses with $20,000 in funding, per information shared by “CBS Mornings.” The lawsuit, filed August 2023 in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, GA, argued it was in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to launch a grant program “open only to Black females,” labeling the move as “explicit racial exclusion.” As a result, several rulings and appeals have been issued. First, the grant program was permitted to continue operating under U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash on...
The lawsuit preventing Fearless Fund from allocating funding to Black women entrepreneurs has been settled. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Fearless Fund, currently led by founding partner Arian Simone, was sued by legal activist Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group. In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, GA, in August 2023, the investment firm had been accused of “explicit racial exclusion” for creating a grant program that was “open only to Black females,” with the lawsuit alleging that it went against the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Blum and the group flagged Fearless Fund’s efforts of providing $20,000 in grants and mentorship directed to Black women due to a violation of “race neutrality,” The Washington Post reports. Initially, U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash was in favor of the Fearless Fund, which at the time had been guided by Simone and COO Ayana Parsons, who later stepped down from her role in April 2024. View this post...
According to the Associated Press, Atlanta, GA-based venture capital firm Fearless Fund “faced tough questions from conservative judges” on Wednesday, Jan. 31, as it fought for its grant program to further support Black-women-owned businesses. As AFROTECH previously told you, Fearless Fund was hit with a lawsuit by Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) group in August 2023 on the basis that the fund was carrying out “explicit racial exclusion” and violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
If you are tired of being down on your luck when it comes to managing your ever-evolving services for others, this app is just for you. ShearShare is a first-of-its-kind mobile app providing licensed beauty and barbering professionals rent flexible, affordable spaces to work with no-term leases or commission fees. After creating the platform to help with their own excess capacity in their barbershop and salon, Dr. Tye and his wife, Courtney Caldwell knew that this was something that other business owners could use to scale and thrive. “Like all great businesses, ShearShare was first created because we were trying to solve our own problem,” Dr. Tye told AfroTech. “Today, we’re fueling small business recovery across 900 cities, but it didn’t start out that way.” After discovering the shift in the industry as a licensed barber and stylist who has been operating for close to three decades, Dr. Tye realized the opportunity for economic mobility for others in the space.
Travelsist is where travel and technology collide! The travel tech company — founded by Veronica Woodruff — works to introduce concierge services and the gig economy to the airport ecosystem. Now, to continue in its mission, it can also celebrate as it’s received an investment of $250,000 from the Fearless Fund, the first venture capital fund built strictly by women of color for women of color. “Travelsist is perfectly positioned to capitalize on growing demand for personal on-demand services and the post-COVID air travel rebound,” said General Partner and Co-Founder of Fearless Fund, Arian Simone, in an official press release shared with AfroTech. “We have been amazed by Veronica’s business background and her vision, and Fearless Fund is thrilled to welcome Travelsist to our portfolio.”
Inclusive e-commerce beauty brand thirteen lune, backed by Diddy, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more, has closed a $3 million seed round led by venture capital firm Fearless Fund. “We are delighted to welcome thirteen lune into the Fearless Fund family,” says Arian Simone, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fearless Fund, according to Essence. “Nyakio has created a groundbreaking space to foster inclusivity in the beauty and wellness industries and we are excited to support the brand as they continue to scale over the next few years.” As a Black woman founder, receiving funding does not come easy. In fact, only 93 Black women have received venture capital funding over $1 million as of December 2020. Nyakio Grieco — founder of thirteen lune — learned firsthand how difficult raising money can be as an entrepreneur. She was fortunate to collect funds from friends and family to debut her brand into the market. The new funds marks a hopeful step forward to create a new landscape for more...
Back in June, PayPal made a $530 million commitment to Black and minority-owned businesses to fight racial injustice. Now, as a part of that promise, the financial giant is paying up. In a press release , Paypal announced an investment of $50 million in eight early-stage Black and Latinx-led venture capital funds: Chingona Ventures; Fearless Fund; Harlem Capital; Precursor Ventures; Slauson & Co.; VamosVentures; Zeal Capital Partners; and one additional fund. The money will be funneled to each company through PayPal venture capital arm, PayPal Ventures, which invests in startups from series A to late-stage funding. “Black and Latinx founders have been underrepresented in venture capital funding for far too long,” said president and CEO of PayPal, Dan Schulman. In addition to providing capital to minority-led VCs, PayPal Ventures is offering a three-month fellowship to a Black or Latinx graduate student each semester. In the program, the student will be mentored about business....