VISIBLE NEWS
Visible Hands is a VC firm that provides exceptional founders from underrepresented backgrounds with the funds, hands-on support, and community they need to thrive at the earliest stages of company building.
Happy Friday, VH Community,This week was the week of panels at VH! Co-Founder and General Partner Daniel Acheampong spoke at Harvard and AWS' iLAB, VH Co-Founder and General Partner Justin Kang paneled with Virtual Cleantech this week, and even some of our program founders from BK-XL to Visionaries to VHBOS spoke at various events this past week. Additionally, we want to highlight more of our amazing partners that allow us to do deeper and more meaningful work to support our founders. This week, we published our first ever partnership case study, spotlighting Hill Holliday and their work to uplift Visionaries I Founder Alyse Dunn of CareCopilot through hands-on marketing support over the last year. You can read the full case study here.Read on below for recaps on all of the amazing ecosystem events, and the lessons/learnings gleaned from the different panelists this week, as well as for additional founder resources and opportunities!Be well,The Visible Hands Team
VH ANNOUNCEMENTS
VH Co-Founder and General Partner Daniel Acheampong spoke at a panel talk this week at iLab for NextGen Accelerator by AWS and Harvard - read here for the full recap and advice given by the entire panel!
Daniel also happened to run into BK-XL I Founder Jen Chiang of Opal Wearables in Brooklyn during a brand photoshoot! (See above.)
VH Marketing Director Sumia Shaikh was featured this week by the University of Connecticut - read here to learn about her "unconventional path" to VC!
Meet our new Co-Ops Michelle Won and Erin Salomon!
Curious how to engage with your audience better on social media? Here's the three mistakes you're probably making (and how to fix them, according to VH Marketing Associate Kerry Ingram!)
Check out VH Investor Associate, Darrel Frater's Office Hours on Twitter Spaces every Friday from 1 pm - 3 pm EST where he creates a space for founders to pitch VCs and discuss challenges they are facing in the business.
VISIONARY UPDATES
Founder Updates, Asks, and Wins:
Congratulations to Visionaries II Founder Domonique Olowolafe of Lightly on recently starting a new position as a cohort 2 member of the Female Founders in Hospitality!
Congratulations to VHBOS I Founder Samantha Johnson of Tatum Robotics on her recent feature by Voice of America News!
Congratulations to Visionaries I Founder Son Ca Vu of Alta on launching Alta's free AI Chatbot Builder on Product Hunt this week!
Congratulations to VHBOS I Founder Jashin Lin of Growbie and Visionaries I Founder Irene Li of Prepshift on speaking at the NAAAP Leadership Convention in Boston this week!
Congratulations to BK-XL I Founder Joy Fan of re/tell on recently being a panelist at the Luxury Education Foundation's virtual Luxe Talk on Pop Ups and Trunk Shows!
Congratulations to VHLX I Founder Carmen Perez of Much on her recent feature by US News!
WHAT WE HAVE OUR EYES ON
➕ Founder funding, community resources, and events:
Applications are open and rolling for the Forum Ventures B2B SaaS Accelerator, a high-touch program for early-stage founders designed to get you to the next stage. Learn more and apply here.
Applications are open for the Gener8tor Accelerator, a nationally ranked accelerator that invests in high-growth startups. Gener8tor supports the growth of startups through its network of experienced mentors, technologists, corporate partners, angel investors and venture capitalists. Learn more and apply here.
Applications are open for Eighteen150, a residence program for solo immigrant founders. Eighteen150 is the most reliable way for solo immigrant founders to explore their ideas while on a visa in the U.S. They provide $150K, full immigration support, and employment. Learn more and apply here by August 27th.
Applications are open for the digitalundivided Breakthrough Program in Miami for Black and Latina Women founders. Learn more and apply here by August 27th.
Early stage, growth-oriented companies can apply for one of two different NC IDEA grants: NC IDEA MICRO awards $10K project-based grants to young companies looking to validate and advance their idea. NC IDEA SEED offers $50K grants to early stage companies, often the critical funding they need to scale faster. Learn more about each and apply here by August 28th.
Publish Her is dedicated to providing resources to female-identifying business owners and authors. Applications are now being accepted for the Publish Her Business Impact Grant (BIG) program for women of color business owners. With support from community partner BankCherokee, Publish Her will award a $5K grant to a woman of color whose business is making a difference in the lives of others and the world. Learn more and apply here by August 31st.
Applications are open for Forum VC's $100K Pitch Competition for BIPOC founders! 5 finalists will be chosen to pitch in front of a panel of esteemed judges, where ONE lucky winner will walk away with a $100K investment and acceptance into Forum VC's Accelerator program! Learn more and apply here by August 31st.
Applications for the next Graham & Walker Catalyst are now OPEN! G&W's Catalyst is a two-week fundraising readiness program that is free, industry agnostic, and designed to support early-stage companies led by women and nonbinary founders. Learn more and apply here by September 7th.
Applications for Harlem Capital's second cohort are live! The Founder Launchpad program will equip operators interested in becoming founders with the community and knowledge required to launch companies that change the face of entrepreneurship. Learn more and apply here by September 7th.
Applications are now open for Cohort V of the Hive Founders Investment Readiness Accelerator! Learn more and apply here by October 2nd.
🌎 Ecosystem Spotlights:
The Latino Business Action Network (LBAN) is currently collecting responses for its 2023 Startup Survey. LBAN is a Silicon Valley based nonprofit that collaborates with Stanford University to empower Latino entrepreneurship. Through its research, it explores the journey of entrepreneurs so that we can better build and strengthen ecosystems and capital networks. Your experience as a founder is significant, and they want it represented in their findings - fill out the survey here.
Early-stage founders, January Ventures wants to hear from you! Our friends at January Ventures are building on years of research and kicking off their 5th annual company-building survey to understand what founders are experiencing. Help them out by taking the survey here.
Find your go-to workspace with this special offer from WeWork: We’ve teamed up with WeWork to bring you a special discount. Whether you need a nearby spot to focus on or an inspiring place to collaborate, their WeWork All Access plan is a monthly membership to beautifully designed co-working spaces near home or around the world. Get 30% off for 6 months of monthly membership fees with code VHAA30. Learn more and sign up here.
Scroobious is increasing diversity in the startup ecosystem by teaching diverse founders how to create investable pitch material through a scalable online platform and making it easy for investors to discover them through data-driven curation. Mitchell Sandler, a women-managed, majority women-owned law firm, has partnered with them to support 15 FinTech or InsureTech entrepreneurs in their fundraising efforts with free 1-year Scroobious memberships. Early-stage, US-based founders in these sectors who are working on a fundraising pitch are encouraged to learn more and apply here.
EdTech Week is happening October 2nd-5th in New York City this year and we've got a special discount for our community! Join the movement that unites thought leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and educators in shaping the future of learning and the global workforce, and use discount code EDTECHWEEKVIP for 20% off for a limited time only!
Registration is open for the annual StartOut Awards, recognizing the very best in LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship and advocacy. Join more than 300 investors, founders, leaders and friends as our friends at StartOut celebrate shared achievements and look forward to the year ahead. Learn more and register here to attend on October 12th.
💼 Featured Jobs
BK-XL I Team re/tell is currently hiring Brand Ambassador Interns to join its growing Partnerships & Business Development Team. This position offers a fantastic opportunity to learn about our marketplace which provides an easy experience for brands to book space with us and for spaces who are looking to activate with our brand partners. Learn more and apply here.
Wentworth Institute of Technology is hiring a Program Manager for Accelerate, Wentworth's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. Learn more and apply here,
Lerer Hippeau is an early-stage VC fund based in New York, and is seeking a full-time Analyst to join its investment team. This Analyst role will play a central role at Lerer Hippeau, where they source and research new opportunities, diligence companies, and help support our current portfolio companies. Learn more and apply here.
Primary VC is on the lookout for a talented Market Development Manager to join its Impact team and scale its expanding network of healthcare, financial services, and general industry executives. Learn more and apply here.
Our friends over at Liberty Mutual are hiring for multiple innovation-related positions - learn more about the available roles and apply here!
🧑🏽💻 What we are watching, reading, or listening to:
Listening: Busy Yet Pretty, Spotify Podcasts
Sharing : How to Engage with Customers Online
If you'd like your founder resource or event/conference to be featured in our weekly newsletter, shoot us a message at kerry@visiblehands.vc
"We celebrate the bold, the curious, and the irrational. We applaud those with big dreams, and who choose the harder, riskier path in relentless pursuit of pushing forward what is possible."
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