Black founders and investors are at the leading edge of innovation, building and funding organizations from the ground up and reimagining solutions to everyday challenges.
The VC ecosystem is starkly homogenous, long associated with its lack of diversity and representation. Zooming in on the data, a recent VC Human Capital Survey from NVCA and Deloitte found that 3% of investment partner positions are held by Black employees, Black employees comprise 3% of investment professionals who originate deals, and 3% of those who represent the firm on the boards of portfolio companies. Black women founders are particularly impacted by a lack of funding, receiving .41% of all US VC dollars in 2021, according to Fast Company.
For years, venture capitalists have faced mounting pressure to diversify their portfolio companies and investment teams with Black people, other people of color, and women. In 2020, the conversation reemerged in the wake of several police killings of Black Americans and folks across VC vowed to work toward reducing racial disparities and inequalities in the industry. In recent years, incremental progress toward creating a more diverse VC ecosystem has been made—71 Black women raised $1 million or more between 2021 and 2023, for example. But as is often the case, progress can feel like one step forward two steps back.
In 2024, our list of Black founders and investors to know celebrates a small fraction of the Black leaders and innovators who are making impacts in their communities, industries, and beyond. This is a community-generated list, as PitchBook does not track race or ethnicity of founders or investors. To learn more about how we put this list together or to submit a name for consideration for our next update, scroll to the end of the article.
Financial technology (fintech) companies use the internet, algorithms, blockchain, and software technologies to offer or facilitate financial services traditionally provided by banks. Fintech investors and entrepreneurs, including those suggested by our readers for this list, continue to reap the rewards of an acceleration in digital transactions. VC funding for fintech startups slowed in 2023, with startups in the space garnering $50.80 billion in funding—down from $94.18 billion in 2022, according to PitchBook data.
Sheena Allen
Founder and CEO of Atlanta-based CapWay, a mobile banking and fintech company with the mission to restore trust and provide a fair opportunity to learn and grow wealth for all.
Joe Beard
Cofounder of Dallas' CollateralEdge, a fintech platform that provides banks with innovative, automated solutions to bolster the credit profile of loans and allow greater underwriting flexibility.
Trevor Rozier-Byrd
Founder of Stackwell, an early-stage startup on a mission to attack the racial wealth gap by empowering a new community of Black investors—specifically Black millennials and Gen Z. Launched in early 2022, the app combines pre-built portfolios based on risk, educational resources, and behavioral nudges in order to address the pervasive underinvestment and unbanking of Black people in the US. Prior to founding Stackwell, Rozier-Byrd worked at firms including State Street and WilmerHale.
Natasha Bansgopaul
Founder of New York's VegaX, a digital asset management platform that offers access to actionable indexes and index-driven crypto products.
David Potter
Cofounder and CEO of Curu, a SaaS lead-recovery platform based in Denver that helps lenders and loan marketplaces grow their new accounts by recovering their rejected applicants.
Michael Broughton
Cofounder and CEO of Altro, a free credit service that helps people build credit through recurring payments and subscriptions. Altro's free app empowers members to easily link recurring payments—like rent and subscription services—to leverage unseen and uncounted payments to build their credit score. After being denied a loan to cover the cost of his college tuition due to a lack of credit score or history, Broughton founded his startup as a Gen Z-first approach for building and repairing credit.
Angel Rich
Founder of WealthyLife and CreditRich, an app that teaches young people about credit management, personal finance and entrepreneurship through gaming.
Craig Lewis
Founder and CEO of Dallas-based Gig Wage, the developer of an API and web-based payments platform designed to pay, manage, and support contractors.
Black founders in media, entertainment, and art
The founders in this category are active in the production, distribution, and sale of entertainment‐related products and services—which can include everything from movie theaters and production companies to record labels. Closely related, media startups and their founders seek to disseminate news, entertainment, and information through varied channels, like TV networks, print and digital publications, and gaming platforms.
Shequeta L. Smith
Founder and CEO of Shero Comics, a Los Angeles-based multimedia company that builds diverse IPs that feature women and girls of color as the protagonist.
Leonard Tatum
Founder and CEO of Tatum Games, a startup that helps game developers create successful products and that pioneers solutions mobile analytics and advertising pain points.
Morgan DeBaun
Founder and CEO of Blavity, a media platform focused on serving the multifaceted lives of Black millennials.
Dion Wilson
CEO and cofounder of Rast·r Technologies, a company that creates software solutions for independent media entertainment publishers.
Black founders in healthtech
Flagged by our readers, these luminaries are part of the fast-growing health technology AKA the healthtech space. Healthtech companies provide mobility and other information technologies to improve healthcare delivery while decreasing costs. Startups in this space—of which PitchBook tracks 20,000+—often have crossover into sectors like cloud computing, internet services, and social mobility to optimize patient-centered healthcare.
Crystal Adesanya
Founder of Kiira Health, a Los Angeles-based telehealth platform for collegiate women focused on addressing women's health inequities.
Derrick Miles
Founder and CEO of CourMed, a Dallas-based startup that provides end-to-end concierge delivery of healthcare products and services to homes, condos, offices, hotels, and more.
Maya Hardigan
Founder and CEO of Mae, a culturally competent digital health platform that connects Black expectant mothers with critical resources to drive positive pregnancy outcomes. Headquartered in New York City, Mae works in concert with healthcare payers and states to address the significant disparities in maternal health outcomes for Black moms across the US. Prior to founding Mae in 2020, Hardigan worked at Pfizer for a decade in strategy, platform, and innovation roles.
Feyi Ayodele
Founder and CEO of CancerIQ, a precision health technology startup designed to help doctors identify patients at high risk for cancer.
Dr. Eric E. Whitaker
Founder and CEO of Chicago-based Zing Health, a startup offering tech-enabled insurance plans that provide Medicare Advantage plans to reduce healthcare disparities among historically underserved populations.
Kimberly Huggins
Cofounder along with Brittany Brathwaite of Kimbritive, a New York-based startup that offers consulting services and workshops for Black women on topics like healthy relationships, pleasure, consent, contraception options, and other sexual health and wellness topics. The duo established an STI and HIV prevention-based student organization in college, which led to the creation of Kimbritive. Huggins is also a licensed social worker.
Bea Arthur
Founder and CEO of The Difference, a New York City-based on-demand therapy technology that uses AI to connect users with live, licensed therapists via phone, app, or smart speaker.
Founder of Re-Nuble, an agricultural tech startup based in New York that transforms food waste into organic fertilizer that can be used for organic farming, gardening, and landscaping.
Riana Lynn
Founder of Austin's Journey Foods, a SaaS and AI-powered platform intended to help food businesses develop, manage, and launch nutritious food products.
Lisa Dyson
Founder and CEO of Air Protein, the developer of a meat alternative technology designed to create protein out of ordinary carbon dioxide. The proprietary process for creating air-based meat takes hours—not months—from the elements found in the air we breathe. Dyson is also the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Kiverdi, a startup that uses NASA-inspired technologies to convert carbon dioxide into people- and planet-friendly bio-based products.
Jasmine Crowe-Houston
Founder and CEO of Goodr, an Atlanta-based food waste diversion platform that tracks an organization's surplus food from pickup to donation, delivering social and environmental impact reporting analytics.
Black founders in beauty, skincare, and haircare
The founders submitted for inclusion in this section are creating goods and services to support peoples’ self-care—from on-demand haircuts to vegan makeup. When we look and feel our best, we’re empowered put our best foot forward. These founders know that! They also know what a huge market opportunity beauty represents—in 2023, 187 beauty industry VC deals netted $565.96 million in capital raised, according to PitchBook Platform data.
Tracey Pickett
Founder of Hairbrella, a rainwear company headquartered in Atlanta that combines fashion and function to keep hair dry and protected from the elements.
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.
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.
Karen Young
Founder and CEO of the direct-to-consumer shaving and bodycare brand OUI the People, based in Brooklyn.
Courtney Caldwell
Cofounder and COO, with her husband Dr. Tye Caldwell (CEO), of ShearShare, a Buffalo, New York-based B2B mobile platform that matches licensed beauty professionals to unused salon space in 900+ cities.
Cashmere Nicole
Founder of Beauty Bakerie, a cosmetics line offering long-lasting vegan and paraben-free makeup, headquartered in San Diego.
KJ Miller
Cofounder and CEO of New York City's Mented Cosmetics, an upscale beauty line created for women of color—including what Essence calls the “best nude lipsticks we've ever worn.”
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.
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.
Black founders in business operations and productivity software
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.
Jordan Walker
Founder of Yac, an app designed to cut down on meetings and calls with voice messages, searchable transcriptions, and asynchronous screen sharing.
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.
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.
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.
Black founders in edtech, mentorship, and career readiness and placement
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.
Ruben Harris
Cofounder and CEO of San Francisco's Career Karma, an app created to help job training programs find qualified applicants, as well as match people with coding bootcamps to support them throughout their careers.
Porter Braswell
Founder and CEO of 2045 Studio, an exclusive in-person and digital network for influential professionals of color.
Chandler Malone
Founder and CEO of Path, an AI-powered job platform that helps jobseekers with its AI career mentor. Malone also founded Bootup, a platform that uses matching algorithms, employer-sponsored certifications, and concierge services to fill gaps at tech companies. In 2019, he became the founder of The Family, a VC firm that invests in founders of color.
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.
Jasmine Snow
Founding engineer at Dreami, a startup harnessing the power of technology to break down the barriers to equitable career development and mentorship.
Joanna Smith-Griffin
Founder and CEO of AllHere, a chatbot software designed to reduce chronic absenteeism and foster success among students. Using artificial intelligence, the startup's virtual advisor communicates 24/7 via automated two-way texting, proactively sending nudges and leveraging a customized knowledge base to ensure each family and student receives the right support at the right time. Named one of Forbes 30 Under 30, Smith managed family engagement, child development, and personalized learning research at schools across the East Coast.
Makinde Adeagbo
Founder of /dev/color, a nonprofit community for Black software engineers to help each other grow into industry leaders.
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.
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.
Black investors
Just 3% of US venture capital partners are Black, according to a survey by NVCA and Deloitte—it’s no secret that Black investors and other investors of color are unrepresented at firms across the US. An incomprehensive list to be sure, the investors included in this section were submitted by our community of readers—they inspire folks around them every day. They’re pushing back on the industry’s homogenous makeup now, while simultaneously opening the door for the Black investors of the future.
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.
Abyah Nycole Wynn
Cofounder and fund manager at True Capital Management, a wealth management firm in San Francisco.
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 co-founder 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.
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.
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.
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 co-invests 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.
Arian Simone
Cofounder and CEO of the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund, which invests exclusively in early-stage businesses run by women of color.
Tuoyo Louis
Cofounder and managing partner at Seae Ventures, a healthcare service and technology fund founded by former healthcare executives.
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.
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.
Sydney Sykes
Lightspeed Venture Partners scout investor and cofounder and CEO of BLCK VC, a nonprofit that aims to support and expand Black representation in venture capital.
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 nearly 150 investments, Backstage capital has recently invested in Shop Latinx and Currents.fm.
Mercedes Bent
Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where she focuses on consumer, fintech, crypto, edtech, and future of income investments.
Marlon Nichols
Founding managing partner of MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage VC firm in Los Angeles that invests in visionary founders and their tech companies.
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.
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.
Christina Lewis
Chairwoman of BFO21, a private family investment office based in New York. 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.
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 a LP for Portfolia'sGreen and Sustainability Fund.
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.
Leslie A. Brun
Founder, chairman and CEO of Chicago's Ariel Alternatives, a PE firm that invests in mid-market, scalable businesses that are or will become Black, Latino, and/or Latina owned. Brun is also the chairman and CEO of Sarr Group, LLC, a private family practice that invests in the hospitality, automotive, and manufacturing sectors.
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.
Amy Duffuor
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.
Sasha McKenzie
Deal lead at Boston's Wellington Management, one of the world's largest independent investment management firms.
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 and an advisor at iTalent Digital.
Kathryne Cooper
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.
Marell Evans
Founder and managing director at Exceptional Capital, a pre-seed and seed-stage venture firm that invests in B2B software startups across the US and Latin America.
Kelauni Jasmyn
Founding partner at Black Tech Nation Ventures, a Pittsburg-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.
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.
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.
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.
Darrel Frater
Venture partner 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.
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.
Aia Sarycheva
Investor at Bessemer Venture Partners, a San Francisco-based firm whose 200 portfolio companies have filed for 135 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’sRise of the Rest Seed Fund
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.
Atlas Berry
Founder and managing partner of Mission One Capital, an early-stage VC firm focused on climate tech and equitable access startups.
About PitchBook’s Black founders and investors to know list
The PitchBook Platform does not track race or ethnicity data related to founders and 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!
Suggest an addition
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
Note that the article is organized to highlight founders whose companies can be categorized within some of the industry verticals and emerging spaces tracked by PitchBook. We are happy to add new categories to the list when we’ve received enough inquiries from founders or people in their networks to necessitate the creation of a new section—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 every person whose name is submitted, we appreciate every person who takes the time to reach out.
How often is this blog post updated?
Though you’re welcome to suggest a Black founder or investor for this article anytime, we update this post once annually each February. As part of its yearly update, we add 10-20 new names to this list—a mix of founders and investors—on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that with each annual update, some of the founders and investors highlighted in the previous year’s version of the list are omitted to keep the list fresh and create room to highlight a new slate of professionals from across the industry.
To reiterate, PitchBook does not track race or ethnicity of founders or investors; therefore, this annual re-verification process does not involve the same quality assurance (QA) operation that our platform data does. Though we try to be thorough, the article gets longer and longer each year. Don’t hesitate to reach out of you notice outdated information in a founder or investor blurb.
About the links in this list In addition to using PitchBook-tracked industries and emerging spaces to inform the format of this article, many of the links included will point you to one of our profile previews. PitchBook’s profile previews provide a cursory sense of the types of data and insights PitchBook customers can access with their subscription to the platform—from funding details and active investments to investors with a stated preference in minority- and women-owned businesses.
All images were sourced from LinkedIn and Google. PitchBook does not own the rights to any of the images used in this post. If you’d like to have a photo removed, please contact us at [email protected].
