Black & Brown Founders

First, our Bootstrapping Bootcamp is designed to be highly actionable with measurable impact. We help entrepreneurs assess their talents, build their first prototype, and validate their business idea. The ‘camp is organized into five parts which include: (1) self-assessment & goal setting, (2) understanding your market & customer, (3) business model, monetization & funding strategy, (4) building your prototype, and (5)  branding, marketing, sales & launch. In addition to the building of community, accountability, and confidence, participants can expect to receive our recipe for how to launch and get their first customers; a workbook and tools; on-demand video lessons; group and 1:1 coaching sessions; and a prototype that can be used for pitching or sales-generation.  

Second, we want to help ‘campers get started turning their ideas into reality AND become financially successful. This desire is what drives the teaching and coaching offered in our ‘camp that helps get participants to those first dollars. Still, a boost is always helpful and that’s why we have the Germinate Fund. Black & Brown Founders invests between $2,500 and $5,000 in non-dilutive funding for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. When ‘camp participants complete eight (8) of the 10-week virtual program, they become eligible to apply for the Germinate Fund. 

Last but not least, we provide free or affordable event programming such as CHROMA, a virtual event series and online community designed to spotlight the Black and brown genius that is often unrepresented on tech conference stages.

COVID-19 has shown us that cracks can quickly become chasms. Tech entrepreneurship is providing accelerated pathways to financial security, and we have always believed that equitable participation in the innovation economy is a moral and economic imperative that can level the playing field for marginalized groups. We see that the needle of change won’t move by itself. Money provides people with safety, agency, and power, ownership is a key driver of wealth. Therefore, our ultimate goal is to use tech entrepreneurship as a vehicle to help close the wealth gap and create pathways to financial stability for the communities of color that we serve. Black women and Latinas are the two fastest growing group that over indexes in creating businesses yet they are also the least invested in, and engaged in entrepreneurial support. That is why we have created our program, to serve the leaders in our communities.  

We're on a mission to close the vast and growing wealth gap between Black and Latinx households and their counterparts in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median net worth for Black and Latinx households is $9,211 and $12,460 respectively, compared to $132,483 for a White household. Tech entrepreneurship is providing accelerated pathways to financial security, and we believe that equitable participation in the innovation economy is a moral and economic imperative that can change the outlook for marginalized groups. 

In our communities, access to money is a major challenge, let alone access to capital. Further, many Black and Latinx entrepreneurs are not only trying to support themselves and perhaps a spouse and child(ren), but also their parents, siblings, and so on. When coupled with unfair hiring practices and being underpaid working for others, it becomes clear why we are likely to become entrepreneurs by necessity.

We are a team of Black and/or Latinx folks who are helping Black and Latinx entrepreneurs at the earliest stage of their journey cross the chasm from idea to revenue. We know the issues because we have lived the challenges. 

Black & Brown Founders program content is tailored to perspectives of Black and/or Latinx people, but all are invited to participate as long as there is respect for and to the community. In communities of color, access to money is a major challenge, let alone access to capital. Further, many Black and Latinx entrepreneurs are not only trying to support themselves and perhaps a spouse and child(ren), but also their parents, siblings, and so on. When coupled with unfair hiring practices and being underpaid working for others it becomes clear why we are likely to become entrepreneurs by necessity.

Our organization is here to specifically empower Black and Latinx entrepreneurs to feel in control of their lives, help their families, and build both wealth and lasting legacies.

Demographics of BBF’s program participants

EDUCATING GENERATIONS

• 7% ages 18-24
• 48% ages 25-34
• 32% ages 35-44
• 13% ages 45+

EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES

• 63% identify as Black
• 20%  identify as Latinx
• 3% identify as Afro-Latinx
• 14% from other mixed, Asian, or Caucasian backgrounds
• 45% identify as women

Quotes from our Bootcampers

“I have developed many useful habits since joining the BBF family which have improved my project management skills and work-life integration.  For one, keeping track of my time has been a great help in improving my overall performance. I budget my time more judiciously to get the most out of my day in regard to working on SoonForward or enjoying social activities (e.g., attending salsa and bachata events).“

“I use the accountability tracker, as well as the time blocking method, to help me focus on my top priorities, identify the root cause of time-wasting activities, and eliminate blocks.”

“The program has helped me to become more strategic in planning all aspects of the business (e.g., marketing, customer relations, finances).“

We work in all 50 states and internationally. 

We provide community, education, and access to Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, allowing them to launch and build tech businesses with modest resources.

We believe that anyone with a great solution to an important problem and the determination to bring it to life should have the opportunity to build it taking into consideration the resources they have. 

Black & Brown Founders has produced events across the United States that provided actionable information about building tech and tech enabled companies, gathered interdisciplinary stakeholders to ideate on ecosystem solutions, and refined effective ways to create connection among siloed tech founders of color.

We’ve learned that bootstrapping with limited resources is most effective when a venture is built from the founder's unique knowledge and talents. We've developed a process to help founders assess those talents and put them to work solving problems for their communities. Our theory of change is when companies get to $500,000 in revenue and three employees they can break the challenges of growing and scaling. 

We launched our virtual self paced bootcamp in June of 2020. We all had worldwide doubts as what our collective futures would hold. As a group of many POC women, we had not been exempted from the realities of what COVID was doing to our communities. It was a scary time. We are proud to say that since 2020 we have attracted and engaged with entrepreneurs all over the US, both in metropolitan areas and rural ones. We have had 140 people go through our program. We are currently looking for ways to scale now that we have learned how people interact with the curriculum. 

We have worked with stakeholders at every level to connect city government, educational institutions, corporations, small businesses, mentors and policymakers with our target demographic. A prime example occurred with the City of Philadelphia where we produced a three-day conference sponsored by Microsoft for Startups, Comcast Universal, Drexel University, and businesses at the local, regional, and national levels. The conference engaged Black and Latinx founders, tech workers, aspiring entrepreneurs, and students within the School District of Philadelphia. We are expanding our footprint due to the demand that folks have made of us. We are looking for funding to replicate this work in other geographies. 

We have found smilingly opposing realities. We are all living online outside of time zones and geography, and at the same time in our own neighborhoods. This has meant that we need to help people assess and engage in understanding their own ecosystems, and create opportunities for themselves within the interactions they can have on the internet. This can create fluidity of opportunity anchored by the geographic community support. We no longer can recommend that folks ignore one over the other, rather that folks engage in creating systems that allow them to tap into the resources they need on and offline. 

We have built a reputation for our work being consistent and community centered. This has allowed us to create trust within our bootcamp. Our monthly newsletter is filled with engaging content on entrepreneurship opportunities to further engage folks as they are practicing what they have learned in the world.  

Our main goal right now is to grow and scale our bootcamp. This will allow us to create ongoing revenue for our work, and meet our programatic goals. By serving 100's if not thousands of people in the next three years we will like to see our entrepreneurs reach back and help new folks as they come in.

We have a unique and deeply thoughtful team. All of us have started our own tech or tech enabled businesses. We all come from intergenerational entrepreneurially minded families, with deep connections to our communities. From a software engineer to a classically trained opera singer we are all lifelong learners that are always looking to find solutions with to solve our internal challenges and serve our communities. As a result, we work cross discipline, geographies, and our differences to best be able to address of those we work with and for, BIPOC entrepreneurs. This has allowed us to create room for innovation that reverberates into our work. 

Black & Brown Founders program content is tailored to perspectives of Black and/or Latinx people, but all are invited to participate as long as there is respect for and to the community. In communities of color, access to money is a major challenge, let alone access to capital. Further, many Black and Latinx entrepreneurs are not only trying to support themselves and perhaps a spouse and child(ren), but also their parents, siblings, and so on. When coupled with unfair hiring practices and being underpaid working for others, it becomes clear why we are likely to become entrepreneurs by necessity.

Partnering with the Truist Foundation will add to our network, allowing us to be in relationship with folks who understand the issues our communities and our organization faces. We hope that regardless of the outcome of this application we keep in mind that the issues we are collectively looking to solve must be done with our communities at the center for them to be sustainable. 

For us a partnership must have accountability, transparency, and an ethical grounding. This means that those who have expertise are listened to and engaged in a way that is respectful, and feedback loops are created to ensure the wellbeing of all involved.  

We are looking for potential funding partners.