SVA Presents: Dark Matter
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In light of recent events, SVA is taking a firm stand with the wider US black community. We are committed to build upon the success of our community of entrepreneurs and activists to join forces alongside the black community and advocate for a more equitable innovation ecosystem. We believe that successful student entrepreneurs and young professionals from the SVA community can become role models, mentors, advisors and general advocates for minorities in their workplace.
More generally, we believe that connecting high-potential founders from the SVA community with diverse networks can create a more inclusive workplace by exposing underrepresented groups to high impact career opportunities
This entails providing a more diverse set of financial and human capital on a recurring basis by systematically redirecting those assets towards addressing some of the most important economic injustices creeping America’s society. Read on to find out more about how we are doing it.
Context
Black founders receive around 1% of venture capital. One study by HBS found Black investors made up less than 1% of the Venture Capital industry in 2016 (0.32%).
Conversely, the proportion of black students is much higher across major top-tier colleges such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley where most current funded founders and venture investors go to school.
Moreover, recent reports on entrepreneurial activity at major colleges show that 46% of the teams in the pipeline had a co-founder that reported being an underrepresented minority (URM) and 33% of investments made by Dorm Room Fund in 2019 went to teams with at least one URM founder.
This difference between the high entrepreneurial activity by minority in college campuses and the macro reality at the Silicon Valley level are indicators of systemic barriers where early stage startup ideas pursued by minorities are too often not funded at subsequent rounds. Beyond those numbers, over the last 3 years, we have personally observed this dynamic at play while being active on college campuses and tracking the progress of our members and working closely with them. This in effect is highly problematic as early stage ideas are often fragile and if not provided the right level of support and attention, can easily be abandoned.
Rather than being over scrutinized and met with skepticism, black founders need support and trust early on while being guided through the harsh reality of entrepreneurship.
Initiatives
Our plan to make the American Innovation ecosystem more equitable is to find and amplify the voices of all black student entrepreneurs through a university scout program and a media agency.
Thanks to a network of scouts distributed throughout US universities and rooted in African immigrant communities where our members have a strong presence, we will identify and track the most promising startup projects targeting the US market led by black founders.
Entrepreneurial initiatives led by Black founders clearly need more visibility. Thanks to a dedicated podcast, we will amplify voices of black student founders that our scouts recommend and put them in touch with the right partners.
Call to Action
If you read this far and believe in racial, restorative and economic justice and are looking for an effective way to maximize your impact, you can be sure that donating to SVA will help achieve your goal during this public crisis.
To get us to a place of adequate financial positioning and stability, we need to raise a total of $50,000 within the next 60 days, with an urgent need of $5,000 in the first 30 days of this campaign.
The money raised will be used for paying off business scouts and operational expenses over the next school year.
All funds will go directly to support us. Feel free to share this campaign with your family, friends and colleagues. Thanks in advance for your love and support. We appreciate your contributions. Now let’s make it happen.
About SVA
SVA started in May 2017 in an effort to make it seamless for the elite of the African diaspora living in Silicon Valley to meaningfully connect. Our coalition has since then grown from a 2 to 200 members strong community of highly educated and ambitious makers. This young, powerful group of people of extraordinary ability notably includes 12 startup founders who have actively raised more than $16m and employ more than 40 people.
Our website: https://siliconvalleyafricans.net/
More generally, we believe that connecting high-potential founders from the SVA community with diverse networks can create a more inclusive workplace by exposing underrepresented groups to high impact career opportunities
This entails providing a more diverse set of financial and human capital on a recurring basis by systematically redirecting those assets towards addressing some of the most important economic injustices creeping America’s society. Read on to find out more about how we are doing it.
Context
Black founders receive around 1% of venture capital. One study by HBS found Black investors made up less than 1% of the Venture Capital industry in 2016 (0.32%).
Conversely, the proportion of black students is much higher across major top-tier colleges such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley where most current funded founders and venture investors go to school.
Moreover, recent reports on entrepreneurial activity at major colleges show that 46% of the teams in the pipeline had a co-founder that reported being an underrepresented minority (URM) and 33% of investments made by Dorm Room Fund in 2019 went to teams with at least one URM founder.
This difference between the high entrepreneurial activity by minority in college campuses and the macro reality at the Silicon Valley level are indicators of systemic barriers where early stage startup ideas pursued by minorities are too often not funded at subsequent rounds. Beyond those numbers, over the last 3 years, we have personally observed this dynamic at play while being active on college campuses and tracking the progress of our members and working closely with them. This in effect is highly problematic as early stage ideas are often fragile and if not provided the right level of support and attention, can easily be abandoned.
Rather than being over scrutinized and met with skepticism, black founders need support and trust early on while being guided through the harsh reality of entrepreneurship.
Initiatives
Our plan to make the American Innovation ecosystem more equitable is to find and amplify the voices of all black student entrepreneurs through a university scout program and a media agency.
Thanks to a network of scouts distributed throughout US universities and rooted in African immigrant communities where our members have a strong presence, we will identify and track the most promising startup projects targeting the US market led by black founders.
Entrepreneurial initiatives led by Black founders clearly need more visibility. Thanks to a dedicated podcast, we will amplify voices of black student founders that our scouts recommend and put them in touch with the right partners.
Call to Action
If you read this far and believe in racial, restorative and economic justice and are looking for an effective way to maximize your impact, you can be sure that donating to SVA will help achieve your goal during this public crisis.
To get us to a place of adequate financial positioning and stability, we need to raise a total of $50,000 within the next 60 days, with an urgent need of $5,000 in the first 30 days of this campaign.
The money raised will be used for paying off business scouts and operational expenses over the next school year.
All funds will go directly to support us. Feel free to share this campaign with your family, friends and colleagues. Thanks in advance for your love and support. We appreciate your contributions. Now let’s make it happen.
About SVA
SVA started in May 2017 in an effort to make it seamless for the elite of the African diaspora living in Silicon Valley to meaningfully connect. Our coalition has since then grown from a 2 to 200 members strong community of highly educated and ambitious makers. This young, powerful group of people of extraordinary ability notably includes 12 startup founders who have actively raised more than $16m and employ more than 40 people.
Our website: https://siliconvalleyafricans.net/
Fundraising team: Silicon Valley Africans (2)
Mohamed Kane
Organizer
Berkeley, CA
Niels Rochet
Team member
