VISIBLE NEWS
December 16, 2022
Visible Hands is the most trusted platformfor early-stage, overlooked founders building high-growth startups.
Happy Friday, VH Community,'Tis the season of winding down, preparing for the holidays, drafting fun out-of-office messages, and packing your suitcases for the trip you've been waiting for!As we get ready for our virtual offices to close next Wednesday, we reflect on this past year and all that we've accomplished together. This year, we launched new accelerators (BK-XL) and fellowships (VHLX and VHNYC), grew our amazing team, closed our first fund at $10.5M, and partnered with great organizations like Google for Startups, Meta, AWS for Startups, Bolster, WeWork, Social Justice Fund, and more! Thank you for being a part of our community and always championing underrepresented founders. We could not do this without you.We're thrilled to see you in the new year! Be well,
The VH Team
Today is the LAST DAY to apply for VHNYC.
VHNYC is our newest founder fellowship for underrepresented founders building high-growth, tech, and tech-enabled businesses based in NYC, in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)!
Learn more and apply by MIDNIGHT here.
This week, we hosted our first ever Well Founded Retreat, in partnership with Afro Yoga! We got to take a week to relax and reset with other founders of color in Tulum, Mexico, and are looking to continue supporting founder wellness in 2023!
We held a holiday dinner in NYC this past week for some of our founders and ecosystem partners in the area, ending 2022 on a fun and positive note while celebrating our community!
Shoutout to VH Product Manager Yulkendy Valdez who was recently published in the book Take Command by Joe Hart and Michael Crom!
ICYMI: This week, we published Seeing Latinx, which looks at the data behind the disproportionate amount of funding and support Latinx entrepreneurs receive and what we can do to change that narrative. Read it here!
Founder Updates, Asks, and Wins:
Congrats to VHLX Fellow Carmen Roman for Dollarito's selection for a $50K grant from the ADAPT: Social Innovation for a More Resilient Future pitch competition by Village Capital!
Congrats to Visionary, Artin Ali Perse, on being chosen from the 11 participants to receive seed funding for Levl through winning 2GI's BIPOC Pitch Competition. Read more here.
Shoutout to '22 Visionary, Shannon Morales, for inspiring us with her progress by sharing her journey as a single parent and founder of Tribaja. Read her post here.
Congrats to '22 Visionary, Sharon Obuobi, Founder of Oarbt for being selected for Microsoft for Startups VC networking program!
Holiday Gift Ideas: VH EditionDo you have folks on your list that you still need a gift for? Not sure where to start? Here are a few of our favorite BIPOC and female-founded gift ideas from our portfolio founders:
Want to support Black-owned businesses? '22 Visionary, Leah Freeman-Haskin, Founder of BLK Oceans put together their top picks for the 25 Black-owned gifts to grab this year - with all budgets in mind. Check it out here.
Know a new or soon-to-be birthing person who hopes to nurse their baby? Check out '21 Visionary, Shannan Clarke's Queen & Baby Starter Kit Gift Box complete with breastfeeding essentials and a short lactation consultation offer! Also, be sure to check out how to support them throughout the motherhood journey with Villie, Rae's Roots Teas, or Noula!
Make it easy for family and friends to gift your child experiences and activities this holiday season, with Gift Nabü founded by VHLX Fellow, Dani Vasquez Robles. Check it out here!
➕ Founder Community Resources and Events:
Looking for a grant to support your WOC-led small business? Fill out this application from Fearless Fund's $10K grants for Black Women founders to be considered; apply by Dec 27th.
Applications just opened for Hyper Accelerator (Product Hunt's sister company). The investments are $300K; the length is four weeks and it's for Seed & Series A companies. Learn more and apply here by Jan 6th.
Apply today for 1863 Venture's nationwide education & grant program empowering New Majority businesses to navigate the effects of COVID-19 and racial bias.
Applications are open now for The Workers Lab: Innovation Fund, which funds early-stage ideas centered around making the ways our country serves workers more modern and inclusive. Learn more and apply here by Mar 27th.
🌎 Ecosystem Spotlights:
Applications are open for the ACCEL Climate Accelerator for BIPOC Founders! They're seeking applications from innovative startups with founding and executive teams that are primarily made up of BIPOC leaders who are developing climate solutions for the electricity, transportation, buildings, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors. Learn more and apply here by Dec 23rd!
Applications are now open for the 4th annual Black New Venture Competition. Black entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to pitch their ventures for a chance to win more than $200K in prize money. Learn more and apply here by Jan 10th!
The HITLAB: Connecting Health & Wellness at Home Pitch Competition is seeking innovators developing solutions that support aging in place. Learn more and apply here by Jan 13th.
💼 Featured Jobs:
Boddle Learning is currently hiring an experienced VP of engineering who is passionate about building cutting-edge technologies in a fast-growing company and wants to make a positive impact on education and kids. Learn more about the role and apply here.
Our partners at Liberty Mutual are hiring for some interesting roles. Check them out and apply directly before the roles are filled:
'21 Visionary Son Ca Vu's startup, Alta is hiring a Community Manager and a Senior Front End Developer. Alta is the alternative to coding to quickly launch a mobile app.
Amazon is hiring a program manager for the Black Business Accelerator to oversee the execution of cohort-based programs within BBA. Learn more and apply here!
CT Next is currently hiring for multiple positions! Learn more about each and apply below:
🧑🏽💻 What we are watching, reading, or listening to:
Sharing: Seeing Latinx by Visible Hands!
Listening: N'y pense plus by Tayc
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
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