104 Black founders and investors to know in 2025

Black founders in fintech and blockchain

Black founders in art, content creation, media, and entertainment

Black founders in healthtech

Black founders in foodtech and agtech

Black founders in beauty, skincare, and haircare

Derrick T. Butler

Founder and CEO of Krisspi, a startup whose app allows users to book a verified, licensed hair service provider onsite at hotels, public events, and corporations.

Diishan Imira

Founder and CEO of Oakland's Mayvenn, a web-based and mobile point-of-sale app that allows salons and stylists to provide retail products to their clients without having to buy or hold inventory.

Hannah Diop

Cofounder, alongside actress and writer Issa Rae, of Sienna Naturals, a haircare company designed to nurture textured hair with natural ingredients.

Karen Young

Founder and CEO of the direct-to-consumer shaving and bodycare brand OUI the People, based in Brooklyn.

Leila Velez

Founder and CEO of Curl Lab, a startup that offers a personalized curly hair product line created by scientists, dermatologists, nutritionists, and curly hair experts. Prior to founding Curl Lab and relocating to New York, Velez founded Brazil's Beleza Natural in 1993—when she was just 19. Beleza Natural went on to become a beauty institute chain that employed 4,000 people.

Lorrie King

Cofounder of New York-based  Caire Beauty, a beauty brand for women 40+ whose skin is changing due to hormone shifts and/or the peri- to post-menopausal phases.

Songe LaRon

Cofounder and CEO of Squire Technologies with Dave A. Salvant, a booking and payment platform that connects people with great barbers worldwide. Headquartered in New York City and founded in 2015, Squire is also a management platform for barbershops—allowing them to engage their customers, process bookings and payments, and manage inventory. Forbes profiled both co-founders in 2021, spotlighting how the former finance guy and the former corporate lawyer ditched their careers to build a massively successful barbershop app.

Tracey Pickett

Founder and CEO of Hairbrella, a rainwear company headquartered in Atlanta that combines fashion and function to keep hair dry and protected from the elements. Hairbrella specializes in a line of patented rain hats proven to keep hair dry and protected in any forecast, and its products—including unisex and kids styles—are sold in 44 countries. Prior to Hairbrella, Pickett cofounded Eboticon, a creative design and entertainment media company that developed mobile apps and video games.

In an era of tech tool proliferation and complicated tech stacks, these founders are using technology to increase business productivity. From streamlining internal teamwork to facilitating product design and development, these founders are creating one-stop shops to make businesses and teams run more smoothly.

Amira Rasool

Founder of The Folklore, a platform and community empowering small brands to grow faster, save more, and sell globally through the power of commerce and shipping tech.

Barbara Jones-Brown

Founder and CEO of Freeing Returns, a cloud-based return management platform designed to detect and stop fraudulent returns at the point of returns.

Jordan Walker

Founder of Yac, an app designed to cut down on meetings and calls with voice messages, searchable transcriptions, and asynchronous screen sharing.

Karissma Yve

Founder and CEO of Gildform, headquartered in Detroit, an on-demand jewelry design and manufacturing platform that helps brands create jewelry from concept to creation—starting with a sketch.

Melanie Samba

Founder and CEO of Sproxxy, a conference management platform that addresses business’ conference needs—from discovery to analysis.

Sofiat Abdulrazaaq

Founder and CEO of Goodfynd, a venture-backed startup addressing the needs of mobile businesses.

Tope Awotona

Founder and CEO of Calendly, the modern scheduling platform for high-performing teams and individuals accelerating business forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and founded in 2013, Calendly is a powerful yet simple automated scheduling tool that takes the work out of scheduling check-ins, meetups, and meetings so that users can be more efficient with their time and energy. Prior to Calendly, Awotona spent the majority of his career in enterprise software sales at companies like IBM and Dell Technologies. He's also a board member for SalesLoft.

Yaw Aning

Cofounder and CEO of Malomo, an Indianapolis-based shipment tracking and customer marketing platform for e-commerce brands that helps its users generate revenue and increase customer loyalty.

Founders suggested for inclusion in this section play a critical role in facilitating professional growth for people of all ages and life stages. From developing software and hardware to enhance learning outcomes for students and supporting new coding pros through job training and bootcamps to mentor-matching apps, these founders are working to cultivate curiosity, passion, education, expertise, and professionalism that will propel learners forward.

Alex Tsado

Cofounder and COO at Ahura AI, a San Francisco-based learning experience platform that delivers personalized learning by combining neuroscience and AI to understand human learning behavior.

Chris Bennett

Cofounder and CEO of Wonderschool, a Bay Area-based network of modern early education programs to ensure all families have access to high-quality early childhood care.

Coretta Martin

Cofounder and chief strategy officer of IEP&Me, which ensures every student can achieve academically regardless of their disability by providing an online platform that seeks to empower students to take control of their learning through an individualized approach.

Dayre Henry

CEO and cofounder with San Pathak of AfterSchool HQ, a youth program management software that aims to connect youth with engaging afterschool and summer learning programs.

Jasmine Snow

Founding engineer at Dreami, a startup harnessing the power of technology to break down the barriers to equitable career development and mentorship.

Porter Braswell

Founder and CEO of 2045 Studio, an exclusive in-person and digital network for influential professionals of color.

Ruben Harris

Cofounder and CEO of San Francisco's Career Karma, an app created to help job training programs find qualified applicants. Harris is also the CEO of OutRival, an AI platform that empowers customer experience teams.

Yolanda Barton

Founder of RevereXR, an experiential learning startup that harnesses VR, AR, XR, AI, and mixed reality to create immersive storytelling experiences for school districts and a variety of other organizations and groups. RevereXR is working to make XR more accessible, as well as shift how we engage with popular culture and history.

Zachary Farley

Cofounder of KITT LABS, a continuous learning community whose mission is to provide engineers with trainings and opportunities to help them through their tech journey.

An incomprehensive list to be sure, the investors included in this section were submitted by our community of readers—they inspire the people around them every day. They’re pushing back on the industry’s homogenous makeup today, while simultaneously opening the door for the Black investors of tomorrow.

Aaron Gillum

SVP of 50 South Capital, an alternatives asset management firm designed to meet the core strategic needs of investors seeking access to hedge funds, PE, and real assets solutions.

Abyah Nycole Wynn

General partner at London-based TRAMLINES, a fund and accelerator focused exclusively on B2B deep tech, AI, fintech, and enterprise tech.

Aia Sarycheva

Vice president of Bessemer Venture Partners, a San Francisco-based firm whose 300 portfolio companies have filed for 145 IPOs across the enterprise, consumer, and healthcare spaces. Sarycheva is an investor in the New York City office, where she focuses on cloud software, supply chain technology, and climate tech across SaaS and B2B marketplace models. Before joining Bessemer, she was an investor at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.

Amy Duffuor

Cofounder and general partner at Azolla Ventures, a VC firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that invests in early-stage tech companies with the potential for gigaton-scale climate impact.

Arian Simone

CEO and founding partner of the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund, which invests exclusively in early-stage businesses run by women of color.

Arlan Hamilton

Founder and managing partner at Backstage Capital, a seed investment fund that backs overachieving, underrepresented startup founders. Founded by Hamilton in 2015, the firm is based in Los Angeles and dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women and/or LGBTQ+. With an active portfolio of 130 investments, Backstage Capital has recently invested in BoldHue and EdLight.

Atlas Berry

Founder and general partner of Mission One Capital, an early-stage VC firm focused on climate tech and equitable access startups. Atlas is also an advisor for San Francisco-based pre-seed and seed-stage venture fund Parade Ventures.

Boris Moyston

Founder and senior managing partner at Relentless Venture Partners, a VC firm that funds early-stage US-based tech companies founded by Black and Latin American innovators.

Brian Hollins

Founder and managing partner of Collide Capital, a New York-based firm that guides founders on their institutional capital journey and equips them with resources, knowledge, and hands-on operational support.

Dr. Carl Smart

Partner and chief investment officer at Black Pearl Global Investments, a woman-led and Black-owned venture capital firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Carlton Charles

Chairman of Level Up Ventures, a Hearst Corporate VC launched in 2021 to help close the racial wealth gap. The firm invests in early-stage, tech-enabled startups led by Black and Latino founders.

Christina Lewis

Founder of Beatrice Advisors, an independent, woman- and minortiy-owned multi-family investment firm based in New York City. Lewis is also the founder of All Star Code, a program that teaches youth of color to code, and cofounder of Giving Gap, a donor platform that connects donors and volunteers to Black-founded nonprofits in the US.

Daniel Acheampong

Cofounder and general partner at Visible Hands, a VC firm with a virtual-first accelerator on a mission to highlight and invest in the limitless potential of overlooked founders.

Darrel Frater

Senior Associate at Serac Ventures, an Oklahoma-based early-stage VC in nontraditional founders building the next generation of companies across fintech, SaaS, the creator economy, and more.

Erik Moore

Founder and managing director of Base Ventures, a seed-stage VC firm in Berkeley, California with the idea to fund disruptive ideas and champion nontraditional thinkers.

Henri Pierre-Jacques

Cofounder and managing partner of Harlem Capital Partners. He, alongside Jarred Tingle, built the New York City-based venture firm in 2015 to change the face of entrepreneurship by investing in diverse founders.

James Norman

Managing partner at Black Operator Ventures, a seed fund built for and by Black founders. The Oakland-based firm leads seed rounds and coinvests at the pre-seed and Series A stages. Norman is also the founder and CEO of Pilotly, a consumer insights platform that creates meaningful engagement between content creators and global audiences.

Jillian Williams

Partner at Cowboy Ventures, a Bay Area generalist pre-seed and seed fund where she focuses on B2B and B2C fintech investments—particularly those with passionate people at the helm who are obsessed with problems and inefficiencies that face our society. Prior to Cowboy Ventures, Williams was an investor at Anthemis, another early-stage fintech-focused venture firm.

Kathryne Cooper

General partner at Jumpstart Nova, a venture capital firm headquartered in Nashville that makes direct investments in seed and Series A stage companies led by Black founders focused on healthcare.

Kelauni Jasmyn

Founding partner at Black Tech Nation Ventures, a Pittsburgh-based, seed-stage venture group focused on Black-founded/led startups and other underrepresented founders. Jasmyn is also the founder of Black Tech Nation, an organization that brings people from across the Black diaspora into tech.

Kimberly Bryant

Limited partner at First Close Partners, a fund of funds based in New York City, and at Portfolia, a community that invests in the companies they want in the world. Bryant is also the CEO and founder of Black Innovation Lab, the author of a forthcoming book called "Ascending: Black Women & The Power Paradox", the former founder and CEO of Black Girls CODE, and more.

KJ Miller

Brand president at West Lane Capital Partners, an Los Angeles-based firm that invests in lower middle-market companies, where she heads up Mented Cosmetics—which she cofounded—and Beauty Bakerie.

La Keisha Landrum Pierre

Cofounder and general partner at Emmeline Ventures, a Los Angeles-based, female-founded, early-stage fund investing in ambitious female founders building businesses to help women manage their health, build their wealth, and live in a cleaner, safer world.

Lauren Washington

Cofounder and CEO of Fundr, a platform that automates seed investing by creating portfolios of vetted startups for angel investors.

Lawrence F. Williams III

Partner at The De-Carceration Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in innovative tech enterprises that are working to eliminate the suffering caused by the US criminal justice system.

Lenore Champagne Bierne

Founder and managing partner of Bright Ventures, a firm that invests in pre-seed and seed-stage VC companies in fintech, digital health, and future of work. Working to build a more inclusive economy through capital, coaching, and community, Champagne Bierne leads Bright Ventures’ capital strategy.

Leslie A. Brun

Founder, chairman, and CEO of Chicago's Ariel Alternatives, a private assets management firm whose Project Black is on a mission to scale sustainable, middle-market, minority-owned businesses.

Lo Toney

Founding managing partner at Plexo Capital, a San Francisco-based institutional investment firm he incubated and spun out from GV (Google Ventures). Founded in 2018, Plexo Capital invests in emerging seed-stage VCs led by diverse teams—like CodeSee and 54gene. Prior to Plexo Capital, Toney was a partner on the investing team at GV where he focused on marketplaces, mobile and consumer products. Before that, he held positions at Comcast Ventures, Zynga, Nike, and eBay.

Maria Toler

Founding partner at SteelSky Ventures, a New York-based VC firm that invests in companies that improve access, care, and outcomes in women’s health.

Marlon Nichols

Cofounder and managing general partner of MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage VC firm in Los Angeles that invests in visionary founders and their tech companies.

Marell Evans

Founder and general partner at Exceptional Capital, a pre-seed and seed-stage venture firm that invests in B2B software startups across the US and Latin America.

Mercedes Bent

Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where she focuses on consumer, fintech, crypto, edtech, and future of income investments.

Mitch Brooks

Co-founder and managing partner at High Street Equity Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in, supports, and scales promising high-growth technology companies. The firm invests in alignment with its core focus—geographic diversification and the themes of work, health, and emerging tech. For the last decade Brooks has been an angel investor, and he previously cofounded Eye Street Investments, an angel investor network. Based in Washington, DC, Brooks was previously the COO and partner at DSI, an enterprise SaaS technology company and consultancy.

Osei Van Horne

Co-global head and managing partner of sustainable growth equity investments at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, J.P. Morgan's growth equity investing practice focused on climate action. Van Horne is also the head of his firm's social impact commitment to Project Black. Prior to his current role, Van Horne was managing director and cofounder of the technology division of Wells Fargo's growth equity practices. He is on the board of advisors of the Women's Venture Fund, an All Raise mentor, and adjunct professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business.

Phil Bronner

Cofounder and managing partner at Ardent Venture Partners, a Washington D.C.-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in B2B fintech, marketplaces, and vertical SaaS startups.

Promise Phelon

Founder and managing partner at Growth Warrior Capital, an Austin-based firm that invests in experienced diverse and female founders. Through a lens of building equitable solutions, Growth Warrior invests in seed and Series A funding rounds across AI/ML, fintech, and future of work. Phelon is also a business mentor with Endless Frontier Labs.

Ray Fraser

Senior consultant at Graham Allen Partners, a South Bend, Indiana-based private investment firm focused on developing early-stage tech businesses into sustainable growth companies.

Richard Kerby

Cofounder and general partner of Equal Ventures, a seed-stage venture fund that backs founders and businesses that are disrupting legacy markets. The firm has identified climate as one of its key investment areas in 2022—outlining a few new areas of climate tech they plan to dive deeper into throughout the year. Prior to Equal Ventures, Kerby was an investor at Venrock, where he led seed-stage and Series A investments in companies like 6Sense, Amino, Beckon, and others. Before that, Kerby held roles at Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) and the banking division of Credit Suisse.

Sasha McKenzie

Deal lead at Boston's Wellington Management, one of the world's largest independent investment management firms.

Sean Green

General partner at Black Operator Ventures, a Bay Area VC fund that invests in Black-led tech companies. Green is also the founder and CEO of Artneral CRM, a sales solution for art galleries, advisories, and private sales.

Shaun Hawkins

Managing partner at Pier 70 Ventures, a Seattle-based firm that invests in disruptive healthcare technologies.

Sydney Sykes

Nvidia venture capital alliance manager and cofounder and co-chair of the board at  BLCK VC, a nonprofit that aims to support and expand Black representation in venture capital.

Ulili Onovakpuri

Managing partner—working alongside fellow managing partner Brian Dixon—at Kapor Capital, an impact-driven investment firm based in Oakland, California. Kapor Capital launched its $126 million Fund III in 2022, its largest to date, with the continued mission of investing in tech startups that center positive impact for low-income communities and communities of color.

Tracy Gray

Founder and managing partner at Greater Los Angeles' The 22 Fund, an early growth VC and advisory firm focused on increasing the export capacity of US manufacturing companies. The firm's mission is to create the clean, quality jobs of the future in underserved communities and build generational wealth for women and BIPOC. Gray is also the founder of We Are Enough, which educates women on why and how to invest in women-owned businesses, and an LP for Portfolia's Green and Sustainability Fund.

Tuoyo Louis

Cofounder and managing partner at Seae Ventures, a healthcare service and technology fund founded by former healthcare executives.

The PitchBook Platform does not track race or ethnicity data related to founders or investors operating within the capital market ecosystem. Therefore, when this article was originally published in 2019, the Black founders and investors included were sourced through an online research process.

Shortly thereafter, PitchBook blog readers began proactively reaching out to suggest themselves or someone in their network for inclusion. By 2022, and continuing through present, all new additions to this list are sourced from our community of readers. We invite your suggestions, too!

To submit a Black founder or investor’s name for the next update of this post, please email [email protected] and include the following details:

• The person’s name
• The person’s title
• The name of their company or firm
• Links to their LinkedIn and/or Twitter/X profiles

This article highlights founders whose companies fall within industry verticals and emerging spaces tracked by PitchBook. We periodically add new categories to the list when we received enough inquiries—typically three or more individuals.

We are thankful for the number of submissions we receive for this list—typically 100+ per year. Though we are unable to feature everyone whose name is submitted, we appreciate every person who takes the time to reach out.

How often is this blog post updated?

While you’re welcome to suggest a Black founder or investor for this article anytime, we update this list annually each February, adding 10-20 new founders and investors on a first-come, first-served basis. To feature new professionals from across the industry, some individuals highlighted in previous years may be omitted.

PitchBook does not track race or ethnicity of founders or investors; therefore, this re-verification process differs from the quality assurance (QA) standards applied to our platform data. Since the list grows each year, we welcome updates if you spot outdated information.

About the links in this list
In addition to using PitchBook-tracked industries and emerging spaces to inform this article, many of the links included point you to our profile previews. These previews provide details on funding, active investments, and investors with a stated preference for minority- and women-owned businesses.

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