📢 HCP Newsletter: AAPI Heritage, Diverse Series A, and HCP Milestone – May 2023
Harlem Capital’s monthly recap on our portfolio companies, industry news, events & beyond! 🏎️💨
The Headlines 🗞️
HCP Celebrates AAPI Heritage Month 🎊
Today and every day, Harlem Capital celebrates the vibrant and rich heritage of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in our society. As we commemorate AAPI Heritage Month, it is crucial to acknowledge and honor the numerous contributions made by AAPI entrepreneurs to the venture ecosystem. At Harlem Capital, we express our sincere appreciation for the opportunity to support and collaborate with remarkable diverse founders and investors.
Milestone Alert: 50 Investments Strong 💪🏾
We would like to take a moment to commemorate a significant milestone of investing $75M into 50 diverse-led companies in 4.5 years! Our ultimate goal is to invest in 1,000 diverse founders and we remain dedicated to this mission. We know there's still a lot of work left to do in changing the world of entrepreneurship, but we're super excited and motivated to make it happen!
Series A Lessons From Diverse Founders 💡
As an early-stage fund, one consistent question from our founders is “What are the key things I need to be best prepared for the Series A?” To answer this question, we interviewed some of our founders that raised a Series A as well as the investors that led their rounds to find out the key lessons that can’t be found online. After 10 interviews, there were three key themes that stood out for the founders and VCs.
💡 Be Strategic and Methodical when Targeting New Investors
💡 Start Marketing Early
💡 Balance Being Aspirational and Inspirational
In addition to these lessons, we also dug into our portfolio and Series A market for diverse founders, which you can read about in our blog post and full report. Fundraising can be a difficult journey for founders, and we are committed to supporting and preparing our portfolio companies from incubation to exit. We hope this report serves as a resource for HCP portcos and other founders preparing to raise a Series A.
Founder Launchpad Kickoff 🎉
Last week, Harlem Capital hosted our inaugural kickoff event in New York City for our Founder Launchpad program. Drawing upon our team's extensive experience as early-stage investors and our expertise in creating a robust and diverse VC internship program, we are now dedicated to fostering intentional community among high-performing operators.
We were absolutely thrilled by the overwhelming number of applications and the tremendous interest in the program. The Founder Launchpad is designed to empower underrepresented operators in the tech industry, equipping them with a supportive community, an expansive network, and valuable tools to successfully embark on their entrepreneurial journey.
Meeting the exceptional founders participating in the program was truly a delight as it provided a platform for them to share their invaluable entrepreneurial insights. We discussed their triumphs, the challenges they face in today's macro environment, and explored ways to support one another on this exciting path of building successful ventures.
Harlem Capital Related 🚀
More Equity for Latina Luminaries ✨
Harlem Capital’s podcast, More Equity, hosted by Platform & Community Manager Melody Hahm featured Noelle Acosta, Co-Founder & CEO at Noula in the third episode of the “Latina Luminaries” series. Noula is a customized reproductive and hormonal support startup..
Tune into this exciting episode on your next midday power walk here -- or if you like matching voices with faces, check out their conversation on YouTube here 🎧
The fourth episode of the “Latina Luminaries” series featured Mariana Costa, Co-founder & CEO at Laboratoria. Laboratoria is Latin America’s revolutionary female-focused boot camp program to help women develop careers in tech.
Learn how Laboratoria has now seen 3200 graduates, with over 80% getting roles as developers in this inspiring episode here -- or check out their conversation on YouTube here 🎧
Inclusive Entrepreneurship with Rev1 Ventures 💥
HCP’s Partner Brandon Bryant joined Lindsey Michaelides, founder of Strongsuit, to openly share their insights as experienced professionals within the startup industry. They delve into the intricacies of the landscape, offering perspectives from both the investor and entrepreneur standpoint. Check out some takeaways below and the full episode here.
💥With female entrepreneurs, more investors focus on risk. With male entrepreneurs, more investors focus on opportunity.
💥 If people don’t believe in you and in what you are building, even the best number-crunching models won’t get you there.
💥Find the people who believe what you already know. Show through numbers and traction that you are the right person to deliver.
VC Benchmark with the TheVentureCity ✔️
Gabby Cazeau, Principal at HCP, delves into the fascinating dynamic between macroeconomic trends and venture capital activity. Discover more of her valuable insights by listening to her discussion here.
🚨 Jobs in VC 🧑🏾💻
Nicole’s weekly VC jobs roundup
Interested in working at one of the Startups in our portfolio?💻👇
Search job openings across the Harlem Capital network here!
Helpful Resources 💯
HCP Discusses AI Ethics with TechCrunch ⚖️
VC exit model template created by ND.
Founder-led Sales Pitfalls ⚠️⚠️
5 common pitfalls of founder-led sales by Forum.
A Founder's Retrospective 💪🏾💪🏾
Essay on Kristen Anderson’s founder journey by Workweek.
On Being "Enough" ☮️☮️
Scooter Braun’s podcast episode by 20VC.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! See you all next month for more updates 👋
And don’t forget to follow us @harlemcapital on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to stay up to date on all things HCP, including upcoming opportunities with the team 👀