📢 HCP Newsletter: Crypto in Color: Our Web3 Vision 🎨 – April 2022
This newsletter is Harlem Capital’s monthly recap of updates on our portfolio companies, industry news, content, and events we suggest to check out and more!
Now, buckle up! 🏎️💨 LIVE FROM EVERYWHERE, it’s Road to 1,000 – April 2022
Monthly Update 📅
💥 Who are the diverse founders in Web3?
💡 Web3 shouldn’t be a replica of the Web2 ecosystem. And we can only change what we can measure! The central tenets of Web3 – ownership, collaboration, wealth creation, and proof of scarcity – are also key cornerstones of Harlem Capital’s mission to change the face of entrepreneurship.
We’re proud to share our Black, Latino & Women Founders in Web3 report, which analyzes the 119 Black, Latino & Women-Founded Startups that have raised $1M+ in Web3 from 2015 to 2021.
Key insights 👇
There are 17 sub-industries represented, with the majority of companies falling within fintech. The median raised within fintech is also larger than most other sectors, excluding AR/VR.
The largest amount of capital raised by both women and men founders is in the FinTech sector, followed by the software sector.
The majority of companies are still in early stages with 42% having a latest funding round at the Seed stage.
2021 and 2018 saw the largest bumps in capital raised for Black, Latino & Women founders in Web3, with 2021 experiencing a 5.2x increase from the year prior.
2018 had the most funding rounds for Black, Latino & Women founders in Web3 at 91 total rounds, followed by 2021 at 57 total rounds.
🪴 At Harlem Capital, we’re proud investors in 4 of the 119 companies in this report. Glow Labs, Primitives, Mueshi, and Atomize have raised a total of $12.8M in funding. They’re paving new pathways!
To learn more about Harlem Capital’s Web3 thesis and our newly launched dinner series Crypto in Color, where we gather founders, operators, & investors focused on championing diversity in Web3, check out Brandon’s blog post. WAGMI 💫
Portfolio News 🗞️
🧪Glow Labs raises $4.15 million seed round
Harlem Capital is proud to lead Glow Labs’ $4.15 million seed round! Founded by Annie Reardon & Renee Russo, Glow Labs is the first white-label loyalty rewards software on the blockchain. Consider it your rewards card for the metaverse.
🎮 Ugami raises $4.8 million seed round
Ugami is a financial product for gamers, starting with a gamer-focused debit card, which has a 265,000-person waitlist. We’re delighted to lead the company’s $4.8 million seed round. Founded by Hector Hulian and Andres Caldera, Ugami has tailor-made offerings for video game-obsessed consumers!
💻 Compt raises $13 million Series A
Harlem Capital portfolio company Compt has raised its Series A led by Battery Ventures, with participation from HCP and Slack, among others. Founder Amy Spurling built HR tech platform Compt to help companies manage and design employee perk stipends in a deeply personalized way as employees demand more flexibility and customization. Dive deeper into Compt in our recent founder spotlight.
🩸Aunt Flow secures $8.5 million Series A
Go Aunt Flow and founder Claire Coder! The team announced its Series A led by JLL, in which Harlem Capital also participated. HCP led the seed round – Aunt Flow was actually our first investment from the fund and we continue to believe that menstrual products should not be a luxury for women in the office.
🖼️ Mueshi raises $3.3 million seed round
Mueshi is a dynamic marketplace where you can buy, sell, and fractionally invest in fine art NFTs. Harlem Capital is thrilled to lead Mueshi’s $3.3 million seed round and be on this journey with founder Ariana Waller. The marketplace will be available on both the Ethereum and Solana blockchains later this year. Ariana is one of four black women who have raised over $1 million in Web3 🤯
Interested in working at one of the startups in our portfolio? 💼
Want a career at a Harlem Capital portfolio company? Search job openings across the Harlem Capital network here or submit your info for a chance to work at your dream job at an HCP portfolio company!
Harlem Capital Related 🚀
¡Viva CDMX!
🌮 The Harlem Capital team spent the first week in April in the vibrant Mexico City for our quarterly retreat! From inspiring and productive strategy sessions to plentiful tacos and mezcal, our trip was nothing short of phenomenal.
A major capstone was teaming up with This Week in Fintech, Tribal Credit, and Google Cloud to host an epic happy hour, which included speed networking for women in fintech.
We made our first LatAm investment in Turbodega and our first African investment in Pariti. You’ll be seeing more of us abroad as we look to invest in top founders in both regions. While it was our first international retreat, it certainly won’t be our last!
Top Diversity & Tech News 👀💸
❤️🩹 Eleanor Health raises $50M Series C to expand addiction and mental health offerings
💰 NovoPayment raises $19M Series A to grow its banking platform.
🚛 SmartHop raises $30M Series B to boost trucking fintech products
🩹 Nue Life Health raises $23M Series A to expand its mental health and wellness offerings
💳 Union 54 raises $12M Seed+ to issue and manage debit cards without needing a bank or third-party processor
🚨Jobs in VC 🧑🏾💻
💪 Pursuing a career in VC has been notoriously opaque, but there’s more transparency and accessibility to job openings! Our own senior associate Nicole DeTommaso shares openings every week:
VC recruiting and All Raise are also great resources to peruse opportunities in the venture world:
Mark Your Calendars – Save These Dates! 📅
♻️ APRIL 30: Deadline to apply to Apple’s Impact Accelerator
Are you a Black, Latino, or Indigenous founder building on the cutting edge of green tech and clean energy? Apple’s 12-week program may be for you! The accelerator is designed for late-stage startups and mature firms offering innovative solutions, applications, and processes aligned with Apple’s three environmental priority areas: climate change, resources, and smarter chemistry. More details and application here.
🏛️ MAY 19: AFROTECH Executive DC
Meet us in the nation’s capital for our last East Coast stop in the AFROTECH Executive series. Join us for an evening celebrating the connections and community we’ve built this year while spotlighting opportunities to cultivate Black wealth – followed by a Happy Hour networking reception. Secure your pass to AfroTech Executive DC with an exclusive 10% off promo code: HARLEMCAPITAL10.
📣 MAY 24 & 25: AllRaise VC Summit
Nicole has been masterfully demystifying the world of VC. She’ll be speaking about building her personal brand at the AllRaise VC Summit happening in San Francisco. Register here.
Helpful Resources 💯 & Other Suggested Content 💡
Founder Resource Alert PitchDeck Database ⚒️⚒️
700+ decks to reference across various rounds.
Resources for BIPOC Owned Natural Products Businesses 🌳🌳
Networking and other resources for BIPOC business owners.
Kauffman Fellows Venture Portfolio Construction 💰💰
Insights on portfolio construction strategy for investment funds.