1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,360
Speaker 1: Season two of the Black Tech, Green Money podcast is

2
00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,640
Speaker 1: brought to you by Lexus, who's been celebrating driveway moments

3
00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,320
Speaker 1: for over thirty years with the Lexus December to Remember

4
00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,040
Speaker 1: Sales event, when you can find exclusive offers on the

5
00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:15,319
Speaker 1: most popular Lexus models. Experience Amazing at You Alexis Dealer

6
00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:24,759
Speaker 1: afro Tech World. Charles Hudson, Managing partner at Precursor Ventures,

7
00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,520
Speaker 1: is being interviewed by Isa Watson, founder and CEO at Squad,

8
00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,720
Speaker 1: a VC backed software company that helps people build their

9
00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:36,400
Speaker 1: real life friendships and communities on the virtual stage. Charles

10
00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:38,800
Speaker 1: sets some light on how he picks the founders, not

11
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,560
Speaker 1: the companies he invests in. If I think about most

12
00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,040
Speaker 1: of the people we're back though, it really is some

13
00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,920
Speaker 1: combination of the clarity of purpose around what they're building.

14
00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:51,680
Speaker 1: You know, most of the companies we invest in, they

15
00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:53,960
Speaker 1: don't have a ton of data or attraction. There's no

16
00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,680
Speaker 1: products to touch a feel. In most cases, if I'm

17
00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,920
Speaker 1: trying to assess as the person sitting across from me,

18
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,000
Speaker 1: as they really thought deeply about the problem and trying

19
00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:04,880
Speaker 1: to solve until they have a thesis on how to

20
00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,039
Speaker 1: solve it, that I think is going to play out

21
00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,400
Speaker 1: well over the next five seven years. That's a big

22
00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,640
Speaker 1: part of it. The second piece, though, that's related, is

23
00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,759
Speaker 1: do I think that the founder has capacity for tremendous

24
00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,840
Speaker 1: personal growth as a leader. And it's super subjective and like.

25
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:21,360
Speaker 1: Part of what I'm looking for is people that I

26
00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:24,720
Speaker 1: think the process of running and building a company is

27
00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:26,600
Speaker 1: going to bring the best out of them. They have

28
00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:28,800
Speaker 1: the work ethic, they have to drive, they have the focus,

29
00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,080
Speaker 1: but they also have areas um where they can grow

30
00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,080
Speaker 1: and develop as a leader and where a startup is

31
00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:36,119
Speaker 1: going to really put them in a position to do that.

32
00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:38,840
Speaker 1: And generally speaking, when I see that that's what we're

33
00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,000
Speaker 1: looking for. It's less about, you know, the market or

34
00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,559
Speaker 1: the space and attraction. That's really more about how how

35
00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:47,920
Speaker 1: much the founders thought about the problem and the clarity

36
00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:52,440
Speaker 1: they have around the solution. I'm Will Lucas and this

37
00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,880
Speaker 1: is Black Tech, Green Money. I'm gonna introduce you some

38
00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,320
Speaker 1: of the biggest names, some of the brightest minds and

39
00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,720
Speaker 1: brilliant ideas. If your black and building or simply using

40
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,520
Speaker 1: cut to secure your bag, this podcast is for you.

41
00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,200
Speaker 1: Candice Matthews Brokine is the founder and CEO of Lightship Capital,

42
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:17,200
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bays portfolio service firm including accelerators Hillman and

43
00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,760
Speaker 1: New Meat, an adventure capital fund Lightship where she serves

44
00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:25,920
Speaker 1: as managing partner. Lightship Companies work together in support of underrepresented,

45
00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,640
Speaker 1: early stage transformational businesses. Candice has a huge focus on

46
00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,400
Speaker 1: investing in the Midwest. Her own statements where other investors

47
00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,480
Speaker 1: he fly over country, She's he's a gold mine. I aska,

48
00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,640
Speaker 1: why then other vcs aren't paying attention to the Midwest opportunity?

49
00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:48,800
Speaker 1: Quite certain? Why we are overlooked. I think it's really, um,

50
00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:53,560
Speaker 1: A bit of it is just not doing the work right.

51
00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,040
Speaker 1: So um. You know, there was kind of an uproar

52
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,560
Speaker 1: on the internet off the CEO of Wells Fargo UM

53
00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:05,760
Speaker 1: saying that they've had a very limited pool of black

54
00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:11,000
Speaker 1: talent um to kind of draw from. That's just lazy, right,

55
00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,320
Speaker 1: So the Midwest is considered a fly over country, so

56
00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,760
Speaker 1: folks are flying from San Francisco to New York or

57
00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,120
Speaker 1: San Francisco to Boston to look for deals. Now, of course,

58
00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,800
Speaker 1: are there a lot of great deals in those areas? Sure,

59
00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:30,480
Speaker 1: because UM exits bring more activity, you get more mentors,

60
00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,000
Speaker 1: you have more dollars, so all of those things spin

61
00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,040
Speaker 1: up UM. But there are also great corporations that have

62
00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:41,600
Speaker 1: been built in the Midwest. You've got Eli Lily in Indiana.

63
00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,680
Speaker 1: You've got Procter and Gamble in Ohio. You've got in

64
00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:49,640
Speaker 1: Michigan Quicken and Rocket Like. You've got some amazing organizations

65
00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,800
Speaker 1: throughout the Midwest where there's incredible you know kind of

66
00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,720
Speaker 1: like minds share and talent UM. So so why fly

67
00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,960
Speaker 1: over here when we have in credible talent here and

68
00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,400
Speaker 1: so we're just we're fishing from upon that no one's

69
00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:10,480
Speaker 1: interested in fishing it and we're taking advantage of incredible deals. Yeah.

70
00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,160
Speaker 1: And part of going back to you know, your your

71
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,719
Speaker 1: bio which I read, and you've impacted state, local policy.

72
00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,320
Speaker 1: Part of the issues that happened in these communities is

73
00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,479
Speaker 1: the eco systems are broken. The things around the spirit

74
00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,680
Speaker 1: of entrepreneurship that go to support it, local gain, local government,

75
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,920
Speaker 1: university UM. Again, those big organizations, they're not UM working

76
00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,960
Speaker 1: together for that entrepreneurial community. You didn't have that feeling

77
00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,599
Speaker 1: of powerlessness to not being able to change it, but

78
00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:45,200
Speaker 1: many people do. What is it UM that you did

79
00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:50,360
Speaker 1: as those initial steps to be able to impact that ecosystem?

80
00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:52,720
Speaker 1: Sold that these people can come to the table and

81
00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:58,279
Speaker 1: work for the betterment of entrepreneurs. You know, I think

82
00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,760
Speaker 1: I just didn't know any better. Um. So, I mean

83
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:04,920
Speaker 1: I've always been taught from a young age, like stick

84
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:10,080
Speaker 1: up for yourself, Um, you know, let people hear your voice.

85
00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,359
Speaker 1: Don't take no for an answer. Um. You know, I

86
00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,400
Speaker 1: think we all walked uphill in both directions with you know,

87
00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,480
Speaker 1: poor bad shoes in the snow. Like, you know, it

88
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,000
Speaker 1: was just kind of raised from a humble upbringing. And

89
00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:28,440
Speaker 1: so like I've always gotten what I've what I've needed

90
00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,320
Speaker 1: and wanted because I asked for it, I worked for it.

91
00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,279
Speaker 1: So as I've been building an ecosystem here and continue

92
00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:40,040
Speaker 1: to kind of attempt to build additional ecosystems elsewhere, it's

93
00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:44,440
Speaker 1: just a matter of having hard conversations with lots of

94
00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:49,120
Speaker 1: different people. Um. It's just it's not been easy work,

95
00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:53,520
Speaker 1: but it's been consistent. So I'm consistently going and knocking

96
00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,840
Speaker 1: on doors and then if they're not open, like I

97
00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,320
Speaker 1: opened it a little bit and then we have a conversation.

98
00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,440
Speaker 1: So it's just been a continuous process process, and and

99
00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:05,920
Speaker 1: part of that kind of affecting, um, you know, kind

100
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,040
Speaker 1: of legislation and law. It's it's really just starting with

101
00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,040
Speaker 1: a conversation with someone in an office and then introduces

102
00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,400
Speaker 1: you to someone else and you tell them that story.

103
00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:20,839
Speaker 1: So it's just been consistent storytelling of these Um, it's

104
00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:25,040
Speaker 1: been consistent storytelling and sharing the data around the issues,

105
00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,880
Speaker 1: and um, you know, it got us to this point

106
00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,839
Speaker 1: and now the entire world is looking at these issues

107
00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,600
Speaker 1: with a with a greater lens. We were all though

108
00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,640
Speaker 1: doing this work previously when you talked about, you know,

109
00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,000
Speaker 1: sharing data around the issues, and so many of these

110
00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,440
Speaker 1: communities that data is not available, so it may be

111
00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,000
Speaker 1: anecdotal early. Um, how do you how do you make

112
00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:53,479
Speaker 1: that case when it is anecdotal? You just search for

113
00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:58,760
Speaker 1: either you you create your own research and that's where

114
00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:01,280
Speaker 1: that's where all out of our work, as you know,

115
00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:06,760
Speaker 1: will happen in Ohio. Right Like it was anecdotal, Um,

116
00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,840
Speaker 1: it was qualitative, and so we felt the problems, but

117
00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,240
Speaker 1: we didn't we didn't necessarily and we knew how to

118
00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:16,520
Speaker 1: verbalize it. But folks just don't listen to anything other

119
00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,760
Speaker 1: than data. Right. So, UM, you know, part of the

120
00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:21,680
Speaker 1: work that we did here in Sincy and throughout the

121
00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,680
Speaker 1: state of Ohio was that Minority Entrepreneurship Connectivity Assessment, which

122
00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,040
Speaker 1: was really like taking a deep dive into our tech

123
00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:31,800
Speaker 1: ecosystems throughout the state and figuring out, Um, you know,

124
00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:33,960
Speaker 1: while we are a super diverse state, we are not

125
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,400
Speaker 1: all that inclusive or equitable with our dollars. And so

126
00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:41,000
Speaker 1: once you bring that to life for people, they really

127
00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,480
Speaker 1: get it, right, um, at least they get it a

128
00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:50,400
Speaker 1: little bit. Now, do we still have issues in society, absolutely, um,

129
00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,400
Speaker 1: But we are tackling this one particular area. So I

130
00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,400
Speaker 1: just really believe that it's consistency. It's also just creating

131
00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:01,160
Speaker 1: things that don't exist, um, and spending the time to

132
00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,840
Speaker 1: do it. There's nothing like a survey, right. You can

133
00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,040
Speaker 1: Google form yourself into anything, um and send it to

134
00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:08,640
Speaker 1: a whole bunch of friends. You can get a ton

135
00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,880
Speaker 1: of information. We could do a survey for the entire

136
00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,400
Speaker 1: Midwest based on our our inboxes and using the context

137
00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,920
Speaker 1: that we have and really, you know, really form something big.

138
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,920
Speaker 1: That's how Project Diane Dot started. That's like how lots

139
00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,960
Speaker 1: of other things got started. I love that. Um. I've

140
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,800
Speaker 1: written this blog post that I have published LinkedIn several

141
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:30,800
Speaker 1: years back, and it kind of caught fire put me

142
00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:32,240
Speaker 1: on the radar of a lot of people, and it

143
00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,160
Speaker 1: was titled, Hay Startups, you don't live a Silicon Valley.

144
00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,200
Speaker 1: And part of the issue was a lot of at

145
00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:41,560
Speaker 1: least at that time, a lot of the insight in

146
00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,600
Speaker 1: education on how to build a startup and how to

147
00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:47,280
Speaker 1: get funded was coming out of Silicon Valley. It wasn't

148
00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,560
Speaker 1: coming from other places, right, And what I learned was

149
00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,520
Speaker 1: a lot of that stuff doesn't work outside of Silicon Valley, right.

150
00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,400
Speaker 1: And So, what is the difference in your mind, from

151
00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,120
Speaker 1: a couple of different angles, from you know, being an entrepreneur,

152
00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,120
Speaker 1: which you are an entrepreneur, from being an investor today

153
00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,439
Speaker 1: to somebody who's just worked in the machine to make

154
00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:12,840
Speaker 1: things happen. What's the difference that people probably too often

155
00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:17,280
Speaker 1: overlook about, um, the insights they get from the Silicon

156
00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:22,720
Speaker 1: Valley or traditional known notable tech hubs, tech ecosystems versus

157
00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,280
Speaker 1: nascent ones ones that are growing, you know, so and

158
00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:31,040
Speaker 1: be having fund I'm finding other investors to invest in me,

159
00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:36,880
Speaker 1: and it's a it's a huge interview process. So, um,

160
00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:38,760
Speaker 1: if somebody has given you a million dollars, let me

161
00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,240
Speaker 1: tell you the interview process is like rough. There's a

162
00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,680
Speaker 1: background check, criminal and and personal, and they're they're checking

163
00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:51,080
Speaker 1: every single thing. But through these conversations, many of our

164
00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,679
Speaker 1: our LPs are limited partners and the fund are investors

165
00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,280
Speaker 1: from the coasts, and they ask us lots of questions

166
00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,800
Speaker 1: about like, so, how much money you're getting put in

167
00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,880
Speaker 1: this company and what percentage of ownership are you going

168
00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:09,679
Speaker 1: to get and and we're explaining to them Midwest valuations

169
00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,440
Speaker 1: and we're explaining to them how much money I have

170
00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,680
Speaker 1: to put in to get a meaningful amount of ownership percentage.

171
00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:20,680
Speaker 1: And you know, at first we were letting them know, Okay,

172
00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:22,720
Speaker 1: we're putting in this much, and they're like, there's no

173
00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:26,079
Speaker 1: way you can get ownership percentage with that amount of money.

174
00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:32,520
Speaker 1: And I'm like, folks, did West valuations, Like I don't

175
00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:34,319
Speaker 1: know what you guys are out there doing, but like

176
00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:38,320
Speaker 1: we don't start million dollars. We started like five to eight,

177
00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,839
Speaker 1: So like, I'm right there doing something way different. So

178
00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:44,920
Speaker 1: they can't even wrap their minds around the fact that

179
00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:49,679
Speaker 1: like a company that's generating revenue right in market, has

180
00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:51,600
Speaker 1: been in the market for a few years, is making

181
00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,680
Speaker 1: a few million dollars a year, like still has like

182
00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:58,160
Speaker 1: an eight million dollar valuation. They just can't. They just

183
00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,600
Speaker 1: don't get it. So they struggle in that aspect. They

184
00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,080
Speaker 1: struggle with the fact that, like Midwesterners love to help

185
00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:10,839
Speaker 1: each other. Like I could text some people pretty high

186
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,400
Speaker 1: up at lots of corporations that are like fortune one hundreds,

187
00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:18,760
Speaker 1: and that's just because all of those people are like

188
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,920
Speaker 1: just really down to like get it moving for their

189
00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:24,800
Speaker 1: city or their state. And so I think that that's

190
00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,480
Speaker 1: what they overlook. They overlook the fact that we're all

191
00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:35,200
Speaker 1: connected and that we genuinely have care for what we do. UM. Yeah,

192
00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,600
Speaker 1: there's there's all sorts of differences between but like and

193
00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,679
Speaker 1: they also fight for deals. Do we fight for deals

194
00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,800
Speaker 1: in mid West? There just aren't enough funds right for

195
00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,360
Speaker 1: us to fight against each other. So there's just there's

196
00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:51,800
Speaker 1: just a difference in the way they do things out there.

197
00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,160
Speaker 1: I'm glad you you talked about the stage at which

198
00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,319
Speaker 1: you come in because I get interested in I remember

199
00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,800
Speaker 1: listening to you do an interview where you talked about,

200
00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:05,959
Speaker 1: you know, you've had you have very little room for error,

201
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,760
Speaker 1: and that's why you don't invest super early on. UM

202
00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,719
Speaker 1: talked about that here, like why can't a fund by

203
00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,440
Speaker 1: a black woman the biggest one in the middle, you know,

204
00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:21,360
Speaker 1: period first fund? Why can't you write checks super early

205
00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,440
Speaker 1: in the company? Be just because you believe? Yeah, I

206
00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:29,800
Speaker 1: have to show my investors the path to exit. So

207
00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,960
Speaker 1: if it's hard to show the path to exit on

208
00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:39,760
Speaker 1: a dream right, um do I have talked to some

209
00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:49,560
Speaker 1: amazing founders, um and before delaying Parnell like what he

210
00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,679
Speaker 1: is now with play versus like I saw that at

211
00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:57,920
Speaker 1: the dream stage, right and you know, as an investment committee,

212
00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,480
Speaker 1: now I wanted to invest right there. It could not

213
00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,319
Speaker 1: get me wrong, But like the entire committee was not interested,

214
00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,640
Speaker 1: right because it was just too early. Unfortunately, I have

215
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,240
Speaker 1: to return at least half of the fund on every

216
00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,920
Speaker 1: single investment. So let me break this down for you.

217
00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:17,200
Speaker 1: So it's a fifty million dollar fund. Half the fund

218
00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:21,200
Speaker 1: is twenty five million dollars. If I own ten percent

219
00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,360
Speaker 1: of a company. This is just like rough Man, I

220
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,520
Speaker 1: owned ten percent of the company and it exists for

221
00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:30,920
Speaker 1: two fifty million dollars. I've returned half of the fund.

222
00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,199
Speaker 1: It's really difficult to do that on an idea. How

223
00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,920
Speaker 1: do I quantify that on this paperwork that's going to

224
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,960
Speaker 1: go to LPs that have put in a million dollars

225
00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:47,720
Speaker 1: or more. So that's why Also I like you, like

226
00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:52,000
Speaker 1: we've talked like, I have the weight of the world

227
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,400
Speaker 1: on my shoulders, and I feel that it is my

228
00:13:55,640 --> 00:14:03,400
Speaker 1: responsibility to deliver a win. I really do feel that way. So, UM,

229
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,959
Speaker 1: we are trying to get the best mix of black

230
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,600
Speaker 1: and brown founders and maybe fun too, we can invest earlier.

231
00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,320
Speaker 1: Maybe the folks that come to our pipeline are getting

232
00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,320
Speaker 1: investments from angel investors in our network, and we will

233
00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,280
Speaker 1: work really hard for that. Um. But just in this

234
00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,120
Speaker 1: fun one, I could not and I hate that. Sometimes

235
00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:29,880
Speaker 1: what what has to happen so that or perhaps there's

236
00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:31,880
Speaker 1: got to be more canvases, But what has to happen

237
00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,560
Speaker 1: so that candices can make early her bets? We just

238
00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,360
Speaker 1: we need um, we need more fun managers. No matter what.

239
00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:45,280
Speaker 1: There are folks making earlier bets. UM. So precursor ventures,

240
00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:49,240
Speaker 1: they make earlier bets right now. They invest in all founders.

241
00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:53,360
Speaker 1: Is not just um, women and people of color. UM,

242
00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,120
Speaker 1: But they make earlier bets. UM. I believe Richard Kirby

243
00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,760
Speaker 1: over an equal makes earlier bets. UM. Just I know

244
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:06,080
Speaker 1: for sure moniqu water makes some earlier bets. Um. But again, um,

245
00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,160
Speaker 1: they're I think they're just has to be more of us.

246
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:14,000
Speaker 1: I think for many years the angel community, Angel investment

247
00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:18,840
Speaker 1: community got burned, right, not by black founders in particular,

248
00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,920
Speaker 1: but kind of like all founders. Um. And I think

249
00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,440
Speaker 1: we just have to get a resurgence of new people

250
00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:30,800
Speaker 1: angel investing and being educated. Um for earlier bets to

251
00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:34,200
Speaker 1: take place. But it's been it's been difficult to do

252
00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:38,920
Speaker 1: kind of precede precede venture funding. Um, it's a difficult

253
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:57,080
Speaker 1: space to fund kind of no matter what. Season two

254
00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,240
Speaker 1: in the Black Tat Dream Money podcast is brought to

255
00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,560
Speaker 1: you by Lexus, known for celebrating driveway moments for over

256
00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,920
Speaker 1: thirty years, Lexus invites you to create more with exclusive

257
00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,720
Speaker 1: offers on the most popular Lexus models. At the December

258
00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:12,840
Speaker 1: to Remember Sales event experience Amazing at You. Alexis Dealing

259
00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:16,880
Speaker 1: Canada set out to raise twenty million dollars for a

260
00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:20,560
Speaker 1: first fund at Lightship. In the end, she became the

261
00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,680
Speaker 1: first black woman to raise as much as she did

262
00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:27,520
Speaker 1: at her first go, clearing fifty million dollars during a

263
00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,760
Speaker 1: global pandemic. So how does that kind of overshot happen

264
00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,520
Speaker 1: Canadas speak soon it okay, So like, I'll take it

265
00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:40,560
Speaker 1: away way back. So um, my co founders of Hilman,

266
00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,320
Speaker 1: we originally were like, we're gonna raise just like a

267
00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,160
Speaker 1: million dollar micro fund. It's going to invest in these

268
00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:50,560
Speaker 1: Hillman companies. Cool that we raised it, great, And so

269
00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,760
Speaker 1: then when Brian and I decided to raise this fund,

270
00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,560
Speaker 1: you know, originally we're sitting down with our mentors and

271
00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,840
Speaker 1: we're like, okay, ten million dollar fund. Our mentors were

272
00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,720
Speaker 1: like ten million dollar fun? Do you know how that works?

273
00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:08,080
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the logistics and like management fee on

274
00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,640
Speaker 1: ten million dollars and how you're that's just not gonna work.

275
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,000
Speaker 1: They're like twenty million dollars. I look at Brian, I'm like,

276
00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:18,520
Speaker 1: twenty million dollars. That's not gonna happen, right Like. And

277
00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,919
Speaker 1: then we started socializing the idea and in February we

278
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,679
Speaker 1: got our first investment, and so I'm like, oh, this

279
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:27,760
Speaker 1: is gonna go down. And then by March we had

280
00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,959
Speaker 1: raised fifteen of the twenty million dollars and so I'm like, okay,

281
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,840
Speaker 1: this is good. And then Covid hit um and I thought,

282
00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,040
Speaker 1: of course this thing is gonna this is gonna shut

283
00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,520
Speaker 1: all the way down. We won't raise it all. Fifteen

284
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:45,480
Speaker 1: is good, pat on the back, fantastic. And then um,

285
00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:49,080
Speaker 1: a gentleman from Cincinnati who was working for a group

286
00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:52,679
Speaker 1: called Second News or to M Capital, reached out to

287
00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:57,639
Speaker 1: us and said, Hey, I'm thinking about doing X y Z.

288
00:17:57,840 --> 00:17:59,560
Speaker 1: Do you have time to talk? And we're like sure,

289
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,280
Speaker 1: and we off to him. He's like, hey, I think

290
00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,879
Speaker 1: my boss would really like what you guys are up to.

291
00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:07,480
Speaker 1: Would you like to talk to him? So we talked

292
00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:11,120
Speaker 1: to this guy named Todd from to M Capital, and

293
00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:15,280
Speaker 1: over like three meetings they decided to invest twenty million

294
00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:23,040
Speaker 1: dollars and we were like, we're at thirty five. What

295
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:27,120
Speaker 1: just happened here? Um? And so we could see that

296
00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:31,080
Speaker 1: path to fifty million was our hardcap for the fund,

297
00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,919
Speaker 1: and so we saw a path We're like, maybe we

298
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,880
Speaker 1: can raise fifteen more, but man, it's COVID. And then

299
00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:44,000
Speaker 1: George Floyd was murdered, and suddenly some foundations, some other

300
00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:49,160
Speaker 1: corporations like started doing some soul searching and realized that

301
00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:53,200
Speaker 1: what they had been doing to date just wasn't enough

302
00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,040
Speaker 1: and they should have done it a long time ago. Right,

303
00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:01,159
Speaker 1: Those are the conversations we've been having and you know,

304
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:06,400
Speaker 1: we're it about. I mean, our cap is fifty million dollars,

305
00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:10,240
Speaker 1: but we have a lot, a lot of interest. We

306
00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:16,560
Speaker 1: have more double all that and interest. So um, it's uh, Now,

307
00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:19,240
Speaker 1: it's just going through and figuring out what's the right

308
00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:23,320
Speaker 1: blend of people. It's a very interesting place to be.

309
00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:27,720
Speaker 1: First time fund managers don't get this opportunity. Lack fund

310
00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,800
Speaker 1: managers don't get this opportunity. And so for us, we're

311
00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,040
Speaker 1: trying to find the right blend of investors that are

312
00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:36,600
Speaker 1: here for the right reasons and that will stick with

313
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:41,480
Speaker 1: us through funds to fund three and beyond. Um we are.

314
00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:45,680
Speaker 1: It wasn't all luck May and the timing of this

315
00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,240
Speaker 1: has just been incredible. Yeah, it's I'm glad you said

316
00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,480
Speaker 1: that because I've had this conversation with a couple of

317
00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:55,760
Speaker 1: folks and people who are working on recognizing the moment

318
00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,560
Speaker 1: that we're in, that we're still in with COVID and

319
00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,480
Speaker 1: George Floyd and the social prisings and people starting to

320
00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:03,720
Speaker 1: wake up to your point of like we haven't done enough.

321
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,280
Speaker 1: And I always think about it's romy manual quote from

322
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:09,680
Speaker 1: back from two thousand and eight. I don't even know

323
00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:11,520
Speaker 1: if he's the first person to say it, but he said,

324
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,920
Speaker 1: you never let a great crisis go to waste. It's

325
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:17,400
Speaker 1: an opportunity to do things you otherwise couldn't have done. Right,

326
00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,840
Speaker 1: And you just talked about in this moment when COVID hit,

327
00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,159
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, when George Floyd hit specifically, people woke up

328
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,960
Speaker 1: and say, hey, we need to do more, and that

329
00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:34,480
Speaker 1: obviously lended itself to getting you guys some checks. Um,

330
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:40,800
Speaker 1: what do you say two entrepreneurs would be investors about

331
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:44,720
Speaker 1: this moment um and and how to take advantage of

332
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:48,199
Speaker 1: this moment when people are saying, hey, you know, maybe

333
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,959
Speaker 1: we should be doing more. How do you take advantage

334
00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:53,119
Speaker 1: of right now? Well, you still have to recognize that

335
00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:58,960
Speaker 1: all money is not good money, right um, And there

336
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:04,880
Speaker 1: are folks that are being predatory in this moment, So

337
00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,400
Speaker 1: make sure that you still are looking at your deal

338
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,680
Speaker 1: and making sure it's a good deal. Right. I've seen

339
00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,240
Speaker 1: people try to put a hundred thousand dollar check into

340
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:17,520
Speaker 1: a company that's doing really well for seven percent equity. Well,

341
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,920
Speaker 1: I don't know what that's about, Like, I just don't

342
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:27,160
Speaker 1: understand what that's So we're we are still seeing that Um.

343
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:31,000
Speaker 1: But but use the moment to get ahead, because it's

344
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,640
Speaker 1: going to end. This window will close. They've forgotten about

345
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,600
Speaker 1: us before, they will forget about us again. So now

346
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,360
Speaker 1: is the time to structure everything that you need to

347
00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,359
Speaker 1: to get it done. UM. I mean, I don't know

348
00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,080
Speaker 1: if I have much more to say about that than

349
00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:49,119
Speaker 1: that it's it's Um, it's a unique moment. It is.

350
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,119
Speaker 1: It is an incredibly unique moment. And but it's a

351
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:58,320
Speaker 1: moment that's deserved, right. We deserved this stuff a long

352
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:03,600
Speaker 1: time ago. This isn't charity, right when people are investing,

353
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,000
Speaker 1: I think it's our responsibility though, to remind people that

354
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:10,199
Speaker 1: investment in this is not charity, This isn't philanthropic. We

355
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,560
Speaker 1: are at our fund looking for market rate returns. All

356
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,200
Speaker 1: of the founders that surround us, they aren't. They aren't

357
00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:21,520
Speaker 1: doing it for social impact. I'm not a social impact investor. Um.

358
00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,040
Speaker 1: There are people making an impact on the world, but

359
00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,440
Speaker 1: we're also like generating revenue and we're looking to build

360
00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,240
Speaker 1: generational wealth. So now is the time to do it.

361
00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:34,400
Speaker 1: And I think it's everyone's responsibility to make sure that

362
00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,960
Speaker 1: these good stories are being told, um, and that we're

363
00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:42,600
Speaker 1: highlighting great founders doing great things, not necessarily just the

364
00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:48,879
Speaker 1: I raised around, right, because raising rounds aren't milestones. Generating

365
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,439
Speaker 1: revenue is right, So how do we highlight the people

366
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,320
Speaker 1: do actually doing the work. How are we putting up

367
00:22:56,359 --> 00:23:02,120
Speaker 1: those people who really need an investment? UM, That's that's

368
00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:17,719
Speaker 1: how we have to capitalize on this whole movie. Season

369
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:19,920
Speaker 1: two of the Black Tech, Green Money Podcast is brought

370
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:23,040
Speaker 1: to you by Lexis for over thirty years, Lexus May

371
00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:25,600
Speaker 1: Driveway is the place to celebrate with the December to

372
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:29,679
Speaker 1: Remember Sales event. Find exclusive offers on popular Lexus models

373
00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:34,399
Speaker 1: now through January four. Experience amazing y alexis dealing. I

374
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 1: want to talk about the education you guys do UM

375
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:40,879
Speaker 1: in a couple of different ways, how consequential. First was

376
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:43,680
Speaker 1: the new Me acquisition, right, and I were just talking

377
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:49,920
Speaker 1: about this this this morning. UM to be completely candid,

378
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,720
Speaker 1: and I'm fine with this, Like it's not easy, rate

379
00:23:54,880 --> 00:24:01,199
Speaker 1: like running a nonprofit and UM grants hum and grants go,

380
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,600
Speaker 1: and they are not always smooth. And for us, there

381
00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,680
Speaker 1: were two reasons for doing the New the acquisition. One,

382
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,720
Speaker 1: it generated revenue to smooth out those bumps because there

383
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:19,840
Speaker 1: were times when I couldn't make payroll right because we're

384
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,040
Speaker 1: a nonprofit right and sometimes people people say they're gonna

385
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:25,960
Speaker 1: give you a hundred thousand dollar grand and suddenly it's

386
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,320
Speaker 1: a fifty thousand dollar grand, and like, where am I

387
00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:31,199
Speaker 1: supposed to come up with that? Bunny books like and

388
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,360
Speaker 1: so there were plenty of times where like I deferred

389
00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,200
Speaker 1: my salary for my employees. So one, it was a

390
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:43,560
Speaker 1: revenue generator so that we would not still be We

391
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,880
Speaker 1: would have had a very difficult time being around without

392
00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:51,159
Speaker 1: a way to make revenue. That's number one. But to

393
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:58,080
Speaker 1: it gave us access to a fantastic brand and people love, love, love,

394
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:02,199
Speaker 1: still love Angela Beton Right and the program that she

395
00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:06,480
Speaker 1: created back in two thousand twelve New Me Class two.

396
00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:11,159
Speaker 1: Brian Bracken went through that class right, Freddie from Pigeon

397
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:16,040
Speaker 1: Ley went through it too. Marlon Avery, our director of technology,

398
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,480
Speaker 1: went through New Me Like New Me made a huge

399
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:25,160
Speaker 1: difference for Black Tech UM and continues to and three

400
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:29,080
Speaker 1: of our first seven investments were New Me companies. That

401
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:33,640
Speaker 1: time that we get to spend with companies physically together

402
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:38,720
Speaker 1: working through their business issues, like it's really helped us

403
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,439
Speaker 1: to change our model on the accelerator side. UM but

404
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,480
Speaker 1: it's definitely a way to find great companies to invest

405
00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:47,639
Speaker 1: in as well. So I don't know knew me was

406
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:52,200
Speaker 1: a really like big turning point for us. Talk about

407
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 1: what the program looks like now for entrepreneurs. So yeah,

408
00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,840
Speaker 1: it's a one week boot camp. UM. While it used

409
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:01,800
Speaker 1: to will be in a house, now will be in

410
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:06,160
Speaker 1: UM nice safe, clean hotel space and in conference rooms. Well,

411
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,040
Speaker 1: so founders at the end of the night can still

412
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,360
Speaker 1: go back to their spaces. I used to cook breakfast, lunch,

413
00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:14,120
Speaker 1: and dinner with a team of people, So now it's

414
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:21,399
Speaker 1: uh catering practices for sanitizing and of course you know

415
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,960
Speaker 1: I cleaned the kitchen like a black auntie, so um,

416
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,959
Speaker 1: you know, no worries there. But catering does help. And

417
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,760
Speaker 1: so that's how we'll run it. UM and we'll have

418
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:39,640
Speaker 1: NEWBEE programs in one in Cincinnati, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

419
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,600
Speaker 1: Why why are those communities, UM, What's what's happening in

420
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:48,159
Speaker 1: those communities? That's well, UM, there's a kind of a

421
00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:54,360
Speaker 1: key inflection point in Tulsa, UM with the Tulsa Race

422
00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:59,479
Speaker 1: massacre anniversary comes up in June of UM, and so

423
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,280
Speaker 1: that can. He has asked us to come in and

424
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,840
Speaker 1: figure out our little corner of helping to rebuild a

425
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,480
Speaker 1: portion of Black Wall Street. Right, there's a lot of

426
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,399
Speaker 1: work that needs to be done UM in meaningful ways.

427
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:15,639
Speaker 1: So a group they're called the George Kaiser Family Foundation

428
00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 1: UM gave us a pretty significant grant to do work

429
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:23,399
Speaker 1: in Tulsa, and UM that same organization actually made a

430
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:27,560
Speaker 1: sizeable investment into the fund UM, so they've they've invited

431
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,679
Speaker 1: us there in Detroit, UM and actually in Michigan so

432
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,960
Speaker 1: Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana UM and actually

433
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,880
Speaker 1: this press release came out today, UM made a one

434
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,800
Speaker 1: point eight million dollar investment UM in Lightship and in

435
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,280
Speaker 1: Hillman UH and new me for us to offer programming

436
00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,639
Speaker 1: in Detroit, Cleveland and Toledo. So UM we'll also do

437
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,240
Speaker 1: some work in the Indiana area, but those dates haven't

438
00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:56,880
Speaker 1: been secured yet. So as we kind of go into communities,

439
00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 1: we do say, yes, it is important to provide programming,

440
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:02,000
Speaker 1: but we as a people, as we stay over and

441
00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:05,639
Speaker 1: over over mentored and under capitalized, So you have to

442
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:09,080
Speaker 1: invest in both. UM. You have to train people, but

443
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 1: you also need to invest in their companies so they

444
00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:14,160
Speaker 1: can grow it in your community. UM. So we look

445
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,760
Speaker 1: at it from two lenses. As a fund um, you know,

446
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,399
Speaker 1: it's it's building great companies adding to the tax base. Um.

447
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,439
Speaker 1: But from a nonprofit side, we are an economic development engine.

448
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:29,280
Speaker 1: You mentioned this when I asked you about, you know,

449
00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:33,040
Speaker 1: making impact at the state local levels. Um, that you

450
00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:34,720
Speaker 1: kind of you know, you didn't know, so you just

451
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,160
Speaker 1: started doing stuff and it just kind of worked. You talked,

452
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,120
Speaker 1: you talked yourself on the fly. Um. Investing, how do

453
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,320
Speaker 1: how do you learn to invest? So what happens in

454
00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:45,880
Speaker 1: communities like where we come from. You know, you get

455
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,480
Speaker 1: people who ride at twenty five not a check because

456
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,400
Speaker 1: they got money, you know, into a startup, and that

457
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,160
Speaker 1: startup goes nowhere. Then they stopped investing, right because you know, Okay,

458
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:55,560
Speaker 1: this is not what I thought. This is not the

459
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:56,720
Speaker 1: next school. I thought it was going to be the

460
00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:59,920
Speaker 1: next Google. Right, And so how do you get educated

461
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:02,760
Speaker 1: it to do this so that you don't fall into

462
00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:09,560
Speaker 1: that trap of hey, one didn't work and I'm tapped out. Yeah? So, um,

463
00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:15,000
Speaker 1: really it's been a long game. UM. So this is

464
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:18,280
Speaker 1: not my background a degree in economics and statistics. So

465
00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,760
Speaker 1: we were see Cincinnati. Um. I was incredibly luved that

466
00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:24,360
Speaker 1: two families took me under their wing and provided a

467
00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:27,960
Speaker 1: scholarship for me. And um, you know, that was the

468
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,160
Speaker 1: base of my knowledge for many, many years. Six years

469
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,360
Speaker 1: ago I got into tech, had a very small tech

470
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,480
Speaker 1: company here instance, then raised a few hundred thousand dollars,

471
00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,520
Speaker 1: ran out of a few hundred thousand dollars. And I

472
00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,400
Speaker 1: think it was in while I was running that company

473
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,600
Speaker 1: that I built some of the strongest relationships that I

474
00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:49,200
Speaker 1: have today. So I'll mention two people and these are

475
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:54,880
Speaker 1: both white males. Um. Mike Venerable, Uh, the CEO of

476
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:58,680
Speaker 1: since Tech, which is a venture capital firm that is

477
00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:02,080
Speaker 1: supported by the state of Ohio. Oh. Um. I pitched

478
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:06,040
Speaker 1: him my company hello parent years ago and he was like, kid,

479
00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:10,880
Speaker 1: come back to me when you got something better. And

480
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:14,840
Speaker 1: I did. At some point I went back to him

481
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:16,680
Speaker 1: and said, hey, I got this thing called and accelerator.

482
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,160
Speaker 1: He was like, okay, I can get after this. And

483
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,080
Speaker 1: then when I said I wanted to do a fund,

484
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,280
Speaker 1: he was the person was like, ten million dollar fund.

485
00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,120
Speaker 1: Oh no, no, no, twenty million dollar fund. He really

486
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,120
Speaker 1: helped me structure my thesis, so had I taken his

487
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,800
Speaker 1: no at no I don't like you or no you're

488
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:38,240
Speaker 1: not good enough UM and taken that in UM as

489
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:41,680
Speaker 1: a negative. I wouldn't be where I am today. So

490
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:46,440
Speaker 1: you know, he really that relationship. He taught me a

491
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,560
Speaker 1: lot about venture UM. And and as I was building

492
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:55,760
Speaker 1: Hello Parent, which was the little tiny company UM, David

493
00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:00,560
Speaker 1: Woolbrand from a law firm called Thompson him really walked

494
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:06,840
Speaker 1: me through really understanding my term sheet vertibal notes safe waterfalls,

495
00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:11,800
Speaker 1: like really understanding the terms like it, Matt. It's it's

496
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:15,640
Speaker 1: a lot of reading. It's a lot of like repetition

497
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:20,360
Speaker 1: looking at deals. Like. The nice thing about having accelerated

498
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:22,960
Speaker 1: the last few years is we see two thousand companies

499
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,960
Speaker 1: a year. Now do they fit? Are they all great?

500
00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:31,600
Speaker 1: Absolutely not, but there's a there's a grouping that are incredible.

501
00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:34,360
Speaker 1: So I've gotten a lot of reps and we asked

502
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,440
Speaker 1: a lot of questions. So just I've been curious. My

503
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:40,960
Speaker 1: business partner, Brian has been curious UM. And then we've

504
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,959
Speaker 1: surrounded ourselves with other great people. So our senior associate,

505
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:48,440
Speaker 1: Alexis Alston came to us from a to maybe three

506
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:52,800
Speaker 1: billion dollar fund, right, so she was well trained Um,

507
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,080
Speaker 1: she went to Brown, she's been she's been investing for

508
00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:59,040
Speaker 1: the last like five years. And it's some days I

509
00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:00,480
Speaker 1: look at her and like, are you old enough to

510
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:04,440
Speaker 1: have been investing for five years? Right? But she's got it. Um.

511
00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,520
Speaker 1: We have a venture partner at in Tulsa, Joey wick Garaga, Like,

512
00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:09,840
Speaker 1: who helps us us? Right? Because we don't know what

513
00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:14,200
Speaker 1: we don't know? And our LPs are constantly helping. But

514
00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:16,760
Speaker 1: we know we're emerging fund managers. We know we're going

515
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:19,720
Speaker 1: to make mistakes, and we just ask a lot of

516
00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:23,400
Speaker 1: questions and I just I'm just I am. I'm still

517
00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,760
Speaker 1: learning on the fly. But um, you know, one of

518
00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:30,560
Speaker 1: our LPs like reached out last week and they're like, man,

519
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,680
Speaker 1: these first five investments are really good. We're really proud

520
00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,600
Speaker 1: of you, and you know you're tracking better than some

521
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:42,480
Speaker 1: of your majority peers and that actually feels pretty cool.

522
00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:45,440
Speaker 1: So what do you say to those well healed people

523
00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:48,840
Speaker 1: who just you know, got great retirements and um, have

524
00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:50,800
Speaker 1: some money to play with and want to get into

525
00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:54,880
Speaker 1: startup investing. But where do they go to get that education?

526
00:32:56,160 --> 00:33:00,160
Speaker 1: What should they do? What should they do? I I'm

527
00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:05,040
Speaker 1: a huge advocate of the Angel Capital Association UM SO

528
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,000
Speaker 1: a c A and I'm not certain when they were founded.

529
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,960
Speaker 1: UM provides fantastic education for Angels. Every year they do

530
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,120
Speaker 1: a summit I'm certain of this year they'll do it

531
00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,320
Speaker 1: online UM. But I've taken people to the A c

532
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:22,800
Speaker 1: A UM Angel one oh one boot camp UM and

533
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,800
Speaker 1: it's a great way to learn from other people of

534
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,240
Speaker 1: how to formulate their portfolio and how to read the

535
00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,280
Speaker 1: terms and when to invest, how to carve out a

536
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:36,280
Speaker 1: certain amount of money UM. And so as a group,

537
00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,920
Speaker 1: they have chapters all over the country. Now they will

538
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,320
Speaker 1: be the first to admit that diversity has been an

539
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:45,720
Speaker 1: issue UM within a c A. So there aren't very

540
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:49,760
Speaker 1: many people that look like us in chapters UM, but

541
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,080
Speaker 1: it is a great way to get in there and

542
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,760
Speaker 1: learn UM. And I know that this year they're just

543
00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:56,840
Speaker 1: like they do it every summit. UM. They bring in

544
00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,320
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs from all over the country and they're always looking

545
00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:01,920
Speaker 1: for great black founders at the same time they're looking

546
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,680
Speaker 1: for other black angel investors. So I believe that education

547
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:10,239
Speaker 1: first before you write a check. Good UM. I kind

548
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:12,480
Speaker 1: of want to end here on there's a quote I

549
00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:16,000
Speaker 1: found from you, UM, and you talked about your startup journey.

550
00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,960
Speaker 1: Hello parents, and um, there's a quote It says I

551
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,600
Speaker 1: started a lot of businesses and I enjoyed the process

552
00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,680
Speaker 1: of business creation. I've started lots of things somewhere horrible

553
00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:30,320
Speaker 1: failures and some were great. This one is actually probably

554
00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:35,279
Speaker 1: my best one yet. How then, how do you encourage

555
00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:39,000
Speaker 1: Because I'm talking my question is pointed towards the spirit

556
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,680
Speaker 1: of entrepreneurship and ultimately finding the thing that works. How

557
00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:47,480
Speaker 1: do you encourage people to go after just the ideas

558
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,040
Speaker 1: and even if you hit a bunch of ten dead ends,

559
00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:52,720
Speaker 1: you just keep trying things. How do you just, based

560
00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,080
Speaker 1: on your trajectory and your journey, encourage people to just

561
00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:59,479
Speaker 1: keep you know, nipping at that thing until you find

562
00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:03,520
Speaker 1: your success. Well, you have to surround yourself with like

563
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:08,000
Speaker 1: really great people. You know, family members aren't always going

564
00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:11,360
Speaker 1: to support you in this crazy thing. So surround yourself

565
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:13,279
Speaker 1: with a group group of people who are going to

566
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:17,120
Speaker 1: encourage you, um and also going to let you know

567
00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:22,120
Speaker 1: like when you are being an idiot. Um. I think

568
00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:24,760
Speaker 1: you have to start there. And a friend of mine

569
00:35:25,239 --> 00:35:28,840
Speaker 1: UM said a few years ago to me, like you

570
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:32,120
Speaker 1: can do anything from ten pm to two am, Like

571
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:36,440
Speaker 1: try doing the work then like, spend your time growing

572
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,640
Speaker 1: that thing after hours, Um, still be great at your

573
00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:43,399
Speaker 1: day job, um, and but work on that one thing

574
00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:46,719
Speaker 1: every night. I don't know, this has kind of been

575
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:51,000
Speaker 1: being an entrepreneur. I think is the best thing like

576
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:53,080
Speaker 1: to be human is you know, you only have a

577
00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:56,359
Speaker 1: limited amount of time. Um, and so I'm trying to

578
00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:59,879
Speaker 1: live my best one years. So I think if people

579
00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:02,359
Speaker 1: to take that on, like, are you happy in your

580
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,200
Speaker 1: day job if you are doing and then after hours

581
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:09,120
Speaker 1: do something else, that's great, that is going to affect

582
00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:13,279
Speaker 1: and change the world. Um. But yeah, there are plenty

583
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:15,600
Speaker 1: of people who are happy in making a difference in

584
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: their day job and so maybe entrepreneurship isn't their path. Um,

585
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:22,200
Speaker 1: But if you've got a hankering for something, like do

586
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:43,680
Speaker 1: it because you only have so much time. Black Tech

587
00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:46,360
Speaker 1: Green Money is a production of Blackvity. Afro Tech is

588
00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:50,080
Speaker 1: produced by Morgan Dubon and meat Will Lucas, with additional

589
00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:53,960
Speaker 1: production supported by Love Beach and Ray veneer Born. Special

590
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:56,480
Speaker 1: thank you to MIKEAE Davis is the cars of you

591
00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,839
Speaker 1: know like the Wine. Yes that's his real name. Learn

592
00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:02,280
Speaker 1: more about my guests and other tech disruptors and innovators

593
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:07,000
Speaker 1: at afrotech dot com. Go get your money, Peace of love,