The Managing Directors of the Black Founders Matter Fund led a discussion about how Black founders can access resources and how the greater community can support the mission of equitable funding. Himalaya Rao and Marceau Michel explained common innovation screening pitfalls and shared tangible evaluation tools that the Fund has come up with to “filter in” differences.
ABOUT BLACK FOUNDERS MATTER
Marceau Michel and Himalaya Rao started this fund after working in venture capital and seeing capital access disparities across communities of color. Marceau Michel was drawn to creating a fund after experiencing first-hand the difficulties of fundraising in a biased investment world. Himalaya Rao previously worked with seven different venture funds to source and screen investment opportunities. It was there that she realized even when there is a willingness to diversify the portfolio, there are significant barriers to achieving that outcome.
