📢 HCP Newsletter: Phenomenal Women Founders👏🏽 – March 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 – March 2022
Monthly Update 📅
👩🏽💼 Capping off Women’s History Month!
We at Harlem Capital have the privilege of investing in & partnering with incredible women founders. 💪🏾💪🏼💪🏿💪🏽
To date, we have invested in 19 women-led companies, spanning e-commerce, beauty, wellness, enterprise software, Web3, fintech, fashion, proptech, HR tech & insurtech. Our founders are leading & growing diverse teams. Many are working moms & some of the strongest people we know.
We also want to recognize the four incredible women on our team. Harlem Capital is on a mission to uplift and empower brilliant women builders, and it starts from within. Gabby, Nicole, Melody, and Tonna are integral to the soul and success of HCP 🚀 Equity all day, every day.
Portfolio News 🗞️
💡Last chance to apply for the first-ever Pariti Founder Fellowship
Yacob Berhane started Pariti because he saw the amazing potential African founders possess. The fellowship is a 6-week remote, data-guided program that helps founders become investment-ready and access funding. Applications are due tomorrow, April 1.
🎓 Ruben Flores, Founder of CashDrop, presented his case study at Harvard Business School
Ruben and our very own Jarrid hit up Boston to discuss the CashDrop case, which features his background as an undocumented immigrant in the United States, his previous business ventures, and his views on the influence of venture capital on business. The duo received a standing ovation! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
🖼️ Ariana Waller, Founder of Mueshi topping the lists!
Congratulations to Ariana the Techie of Mueshi, a marketplace to buy, sell, and fractionally invest in fine art NFTs. Boardroom named her one of the Coolest Black Women in Web3 and Yahoo Finance dubbed her the #2 Female Founder Building in the Metaverse.
✨ Glow Labs on CNBC’s Tech Check
Annie Reardon, co-founder and CEO of Glow Labs, the first white-label loyalty rewards program on the blockchain, joined CNBC to share why she joined the Web3 world: to "be at the frontier of technology" after seeing the smartest people in tech move to crypto & Web3. Keep glowing!
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 get your dream job at an HCP portfolio company!
Harlem Capital Related 🚀
🎙️ More Equity goes Web3! 🎙️
All 6 episodes of our Crypto Convos series are live! We hear from the world’s top Web3 investors & innovators who have a shared vision of making crypto more accessible. We highlight three episodes below –
📢 Erikan Obotetukudo of Audacity
Erikan, Founder and Managing Partner of audacity.fund, shares her journey building the first crypto VC fund focused on supporting Black and African crypto founders around the world ➡️ Apple | Spotify
📢 Lisa Cuesta of Aztec
Lisa, Head of Business Development at Aztec, a privacy-focused layer two on Ethereum, discusses breaking into crypto full-time, mass crypto adoption & exciting products in the pipeline ➡️ Apple | Spotify
📢 Cuy Sheffield of Visa
Cuy, Vice President and Head of Global Crypto at Visa, discusses Visa’s move into the crypto space and how to get started with NFTs ➡️ Apple | Spotify
🎬 HCP’s Henri discussed what he looks for in founders on Inc.’s Your Next Move 👉🏽 Video
Gems dropped 💎💎💎
TLDR; We look for self-confidence, thick skin, and long-term vision
Diverse people hire more diverse employees and go on to invest in other diverse people. The impact is cyclical!
We believe that the largest driver in closing the wealth gap is via equity and ownership
🔥 Jarrid & Henri featured in AfroTech’s inaugural Future 50 list 👉🏽 Article
Threads to follow 🧵
🎢 Dive deep into the highs and lows of the Harlem Capital journey
How did 25-year olds writing $25k checks end up closing an oversubscribed $40 million inaugural fund by 28? Jarrid shares how mentors, hustle, and building in public were the key ingredients to HCP’s success. Even if you’re familiar with the road to building HCP, this thread is worth a read.
✅ The post-close playbook
Gabby gives you a peek behind the curtain of the multilayered process that happens after we decide to invest in a startup. From terms and legal to fundraising and onboarding, HCP gets in the weeds with founders to set a firm foundation of this new relationship.
💥 Outsiders & newcomers – you got this!
All 7 of us at HCP had never worked in venture capital prior to starting or joining the fund. That’s a testament to the power of fresh perspectives when it comes to building something new. We hope you’re encouraged and inspired to follow your dreams, as audacious as they may seem – the world will be better for it.
Top Diversity & Tech News 👀💸
💼 BootUp raises $2.1M Seed from all black investors to help enterprises fill their talent pipelines with non-traditionally trained candidates
🧾 Finally raises $95 million Series A, including both equity and debt funding, to help small businesses automate their accounting and finance functions.
💳 Milo Credit raises $17M Series A to continue reimaging how global consumers access credit
🧠 Daybreak Health raises $10M Series A to provide mental health support for youth
💵 Capchase raises $80M Series B to make non-dilutive financing more accessible to founders
🩺 Somatus raises $325M Series E to continue providing preventative kidney disease care
🚨Jobs in VC 🧑🏾💻
Looking for a role in VC? 🔥 We got you covered.
➡️ Our own Senior Associate Nicole DeTommaso is sharing weekly job openings across venture capital. Give her a follow to stay in the know.
Mark Your Calendars – Save These Dates! 📅
🖊️APRIL 5 – Apps open for the Visible Hands Accelerator Fall 2022 Cohort
Visible Hands brings together its next cohort of U.S.-based entrepreneurs to support them in obtaining pre-seed funding, validating business ideas, and building transformational tech companies. Selected founders will each receive an initial investment of $25,000 + the opportunity for an additional $150,000 investment at the end of the accelerator.
Helpful Resources 💯 & Other Suggested Content 💡
The basics of the venture debt market, types, and lenders.
30 Legendary Startup Pitch Decks 📈
Learn some pitch deck best practices by reviewing real examples of companies from Facebook to Airbnb.
Venture Capital Compensation Survey 💰
Check out Emerging Venture Capitalists Association’s second annual compensation survey to learn more about salaries in VC.
That’s a wrap on the March 2022 edition of Road to 1,000! ☘️
