Ayana Parsons, co-founder of Fearless Fund, on the ForbesBLK Summit in Atlanta on June 24, 2024.
Jamel Toppin for Forbes
This story was updated on June 27, 2024.
As Ayana Parsons, co-founder of The Fearless Fundtook the stage today on the ForbesBLK Summit in Atlanta, it was an emotional moment. She was there alongside political leader Stacey Abrams and Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, chief diversity officer for the 117th and 118th Congresses. “Anytime you’re surrounded by Black women, they’re going to rally around you,” Parsons said. “So when I walked on that stage, those eyes were watering because they understood the heavy burden that’s on all of us in this country.”
Part of the heavy burden that Parsons is currently facing is interim disposal Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the eleventh Circuit issued a ruling that bars the Fearless Fund from awarding grants exclusively to Black women entrepreneurs — which is precisely its purpose. The court ruled that this practice likely violates Title 42 of the U.S. Code, which prohibits private parties from discriminating on the idea of race when drafting or enforcing contracts.
(Update: On June 26, Parsons announced that she had resigned as general manager of the Fearless Fund. but told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the move had nothing to do with the lawsuit.)
While lower than 1% of startups with employees receive enterprise capital to get off the bottom, VC dollars play a critical role within the fastest-growing startups. Additionally, corporations that receive VC money enjoy associated advantages, including alternative sources of funding, beneficial mentoring and industry contacts, and increased representation within the business community. This may be especially essential for Black entrepreneurs who won’t otherwise have access to those contacts.
At the ForbesBLK Summit, “access” and “bias” were repeatedly highlighted when it got here to enterprise capital. It’s no secret why: startups led by black women received only 0.34% US enterprise capital dollars in 2022.
Parsons of the Fearless Fund put it this manner: “As black people, we need three things: love, money and power. And as black people, we have a lot of love, but what we don’t have is a lot of money and we don’t have the power.”
Yelitsa Jean-Charles, Founder and CEO of Dolls from Healthy Rootsa toy company that empowers young girls and celebrates the great thing about diversity through its dolls and storybooks, was one among the few recipients of enterprise capital. “I was one of the first black women to raise $1 million in venture capital, and that’s a problem. There’s always a startup program and a 5-week boot camp, but nobody writes the check,” she said.
The World Economic Forum suggests that the death of George Floyd drew attention to Black startups — not less than for a short while. In 2020, VC funding for Black corporations rose to between $850 billion and $1.2 billion. But by 2022, as VC funding declined overall, the cash going to Black startups dropped much more — by 45%.
A panel on the ForbesBLK Summit explored ways to alter this. The title was: Show me the cash: Attract investors’ attention to lift capital. Panelist Michael Pronam, partner and managing director of Scrum Sports & Entertainment, said networking is vital to increasing the variety of minority corporations that receive enterprise capital. “There’s a direct correlation between underfunding and under-networking. One thing you can actually own is your network. Even if that particular startup doesn’t get funding, it should leave the pitch meeting with connections.”
Stacey Abrams is a pioneer in other ways to lift finance. She is co-founder of the Now Account Network, which provides working capital to small businesses by converting their accounts receivable into money almost immediately.
Finally, Abrams, a lawyer and writer, told the audience her thoughts on how black Americans can succeed economically. “We have to stand firm and hold our companies accountable. We have to speak up. We have to tell our stories. We have to stay connected. There are organizations out there doing the work and investing in our future, because we win, and we can’t win if we give up.”
