Be Hungry But Not Thirsty When Pitching VCs with Arlan Hamilton S7 Ep. 5 Seven years ago she was broke and sleeping on the airport floor.  Now she is a successful investor, entrepreneur, and author..  Arlan Hamilton of Backstage Capital, Runner and author of It’s About Damn Time published well before singer Lizzo’s popular song by the same name.  Backstage Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now raise ..read more

Scaling Black Beauty with Leslie Roberson S7 Ep. 4 The US beauty industry is worth about $60 billion and spending on beauty is robust among Black Americans, a diverse and growing group of 41 million people with increasing spending power. In 2021, they spent $6.6 billion on beauty. However, Black brands make up only 2.5 percent of revenue in the beauty industry and Black consumers are responsible for 11.1 percent of total beauty spending according to a 2022 McKinsey & Company report titled Black Representation in the Beauty Industry. Leslie is on a mission to fix that by creating opportuni ..read more

Investing in BIPOC Founders and Normalizing Black Wealth with Danielle Shoots S7 Ep. 3 Danielle Shoots is  the Managing Partner and Managing Director of the New Community Transformation Fund a $50 million equity venture capital fund for BIPOC founders in Denver. She is also President and CEO of Wealth Equity Enterprises, her holdings company, which owns several businesses that support the mission of building BIPOC wealth and leadership.  Her passion for people and leadership, distinguished business acumen, and tenacious work ethic have garnered her numerous accolades, including the ..read more

Pull Up and Pitch to Win with Omi Bell S7. Ep. 2 She dabbled in all sorts of ventures such as building a tent in her living room to rent on AirBnB, building furniture, owning a t-shirt company and a print shop before she started Black Girl Ventures. Stick around to hear how this system disruptor moves ideas to profit while empowering people to live more authentically. Shelly Omilâdè Bell ("Omi" Bell) She was named one of the Top 100 Powerful Women in Business by Entrepreneur Mag,Entrepreneur of the Year by Technically DC, and acknowledged as ARising Brand Star by Adweek. She is among the nat ..read more

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Changing the Funding Ecosystem for Afropreneurs with Fernando Cabral S6 Ep. 12 If you are an early-stage Black founder, keep listening to learn how to survive your first 24 months as a startup entrepreneur.  Fernando Cabral is the co-founder of Djassi Africa, which invests in African tech-enabled startups and ecosystem builders by providing world-class expertise, operational support, and access to a global network to help these startups build the future of Africa.     In this episode you’ll learn: How Djassi Africa is empowering African and Afro-descendent founders and ..read more

5 Fundability Factors for Building Small Business Credit with Jonathan Fodera S6 Ep.11 If you are a small business owner, lean in and keep listening to hear more about how to structure your business to qualify for SBA and commercial bank credit for your business.   My guest is the President of Integrated Business Financing, and the host of the podcast “Create Success Out Of iFailure”. Jonathan Fodera has been in business financing for 14 years and has helped thousands of entrepreneurs get over $500 million in funds. He founded Integrated Business Financing, a small business lending mark ..read more

How Purse Empowered Women Prepare to Invest in Their Side Hustle with Shani Curry S6 Ep. 10 Are you thinking of launching a business or side hustle and need some strategies to help you get your money right? If you are interested in learning strategies to start stacking coins to invest in launching your business then stick around because my guest today is all about purse empowerment and helping women live more financially empowered lives. My guest is Shani Curry, the head of Purse Empowerment providing a safe haven for women to learn, share and grow in the area of financial literacy. Shani re ..read more

Strategies to Standout on Social Media, Market and Increase Revenues with Danielle Jeter S6 Ep.9 Danielle P. Jeter has been quoted in over 20 national publications for her ability to advocate, inspire, lead, and build community. Her relentless pursuit of storytelling has culminated in hundreds of media features for her clients and partners!  Danielle is a dynamic storyteller and an award-winning travelpreneur. Her 13 years of experience and proven strategies have garnered her opportunities to share the stage with many greats like Master P, Kindred The Family Soul, Wale, Governor Tom Wol ..read more

How I Show Up as Woman in a Male Dominated Industry with Vava Angwenyi S6 Ep.8 How much do you know about your coffee before it comes out of your Keurig coffee machine or handed to you by the barista at your favorite coffee shop? “We hardly have any stories told by the coffee producer or the person living in that country and experiencing all the emotions that go with working in the coffee industry, from the growing of the coffee, processing and selling it. This story has always been from the point of view of the buyer, the roaster, the trader - the foreigner looking in and excited about the ..read more