Venture capital firm Harlem Capital just hit a new milestone in its mission to invest in 1,000 diverse founders over the course of 20 years.
Last week, the company announced it had raised $40.3 million to an oversubscribed fund.
"What we're focused on is seed and Series A companies that are run by minority and women founders," managing partner Henri Pierre-Jacques told Cheddar on Monday. Venture partner Brandon Bryant agreed, saying to increase the number of minority- and women-run startups, "you need to start by deploying capital."
Pierre-Jacques and Bryant joined Cheddar the same day PitchBook announced venture capital investment in all-female founding teams has hit a record high of 2.8 percent of capital invested across the U.S. in startups. But that is still a very small sliver of the VC funding that has been distributed.
To remedy the low percentage of investment into female-founded companies Pierre-Jacques said: "you need more diversity-focused funds."
The "industry-agnostic" fund invests between $250,000 and $1 million per organization and so far has invested in nine companies in nine cities. Pierre-Jacques said New York and Los Angeles have been their best cities so far. San Francisco will finally enter Harlem Capital's portfolio next month.
"We just don't see a lot of people of color coming from San Francisco," Pierre-Jacques said.
Bryant said the company's media presence has helped the fund attract more companies than it can fund.
"There's definitely not a pipeline problem," Bryant said, noting 50 percent of "our flow comes from management teams reaching out to us."
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Applying for financial aid for college is a long process but there's a new streamlined application for federal student aid. Mark Kantrowitz, student loan expert, joined Cheddar News to explain the FAFSA form and what kind of changes are expected.
With all of the stress surrounding the holiday season with gift-buying and planning family gatherings, it could be a chaotic time for all members of your family, including pets. Cesar Milan and Michael Ehrman, co-founders of Halo Collar, joined Cheddar News to provide tips on how to keep your pets stress-free for the upcoming holiday season.
Going home for the holidays can be pretty expensive, especially if you're a student. Cheddar News senior reporter Michelle Castillo provided tips on how to save ahead of the holiday season.
Alaska Airlines is buying Hawaiian Airlines, stocks finished at their highest level on Friday and are on the way to concluding 2023 on a positive note as Bitcoin surged. And Spotify is laying off workers, again.
United Airlines has introduced a new self-serve snack bar on its flights allowing economy passengers to help themselves to free snacks instead of relying on a flight attendant to get them.
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Alaska Airlines is planning to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.
Spotify cut nearly one-fifth of its workforce, or about 1500 staffers, representing the third round of layoffs this year.
