Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
One of the more recent VCs to call the Portland area home, Black Founders Matter, recently had the opportunity to take Crunchbase through some of the goals and motivations for starting the fund designed to support Black-led businesses.
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If you’re a Black founder seeking venture capital, you may want to look toward a Portland-based fund inspired by the struggles of another Black founder. Marceau Michel knows firsthand the frustrations of raising capital. But that negative experience also served as the motivation to provide a solution for other Black founders: the Black Founders Matter Fund.
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It makes sense that I’m composing this post while sitting in a Workfrom cafe. I mean, it’s a virtual cafe. But still. More on that later. What’s top of mind right now is that Workfrom has received a $50,000 non dilutive investment from Google for Startups as part of the Black Founders Fund.
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Speaking of new venture capital funds in Portland… Granted everything is pretty grim right now. And energy is hard to come by. Let alone optimism. So when there is a glimmer of something hopeful in the Portland startup community, that seems like something to celebrate. Like Portland’s Black Founders Matter fund making its first investment. In a Black founded Portland startup. And then that news making it into TechCrunch.
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The dynamics of venture funds are very much akin to the dynamics of startups. It’s rarely smooth. It’s often a series of fits and starts. And fundraising. And pivoting. Until a fund really hits its stride. But I’m happy to report that Black Founders Matter is beginning to get some early traction and has announced its first investment as part of the funding for A Kids Book About.
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I love startup folks. They’re creative. And resilient. And optimistic. And when one path doesn’t pay off, they’ll quickly start right down another one. So it should come as no surprise that two Portland founders—both representing notoriously under funded demographics among the ranks of venture capital funded startups—would look for an opportunity to fund their companies in new way. Meet Fund a Founder.