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!We hope your week has been productive yet peaceful as we head into the summer!This week, our team worked on finalizing the last details of our first ever VHBOS Fellowship launch in partnership with the Barr Foundation, and we're super excited to kick off our newest program next week (stay tuned for our cohort announcement coming very soon...!)Alongside the work we did this week, we also tried to focus on mental health and the importance of maintaining a healthy balance with the different roles we each play. The startup space can be tiring, especially for founders, so we wanted to provide a few resources to aid your mental health and wellness journey:
If you have any additional resources you'd like to share with our community, please share them with us using the contact info at the bottom of the newsletter! Be well,The Visible Hands Team
VH ANNOUNCEMENTS
VH Product Manager Yulkendy Valdez will be speaking at the upcoming NYC-Based Founders and Funders Event on May 16-17th! Learn more and register here!
VH Co-Founder & General Partner Yasmin Cruz Ferrine will be attending the upcoming All Raise Boston Chapter 2nd Annual "Agents of Change" event on May 17th at Northeastern University where female and non-binary founders can network and learn from some of Boston's biggest mentors and influencers. Learn more and RSVP here.
ALSO, major congratulations to Yasmin Cruz Ferrine on being chosen as a Top Tech Player in Boston by the Boston Globe!
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 safe space for founders to pitch VCs and discuss challenges they are facing in the business. Additionally, come join Darrel on May 17th from 1:30-2pm ET at the upcoming Kabila Conversations virtual event to learn about our new $200K Visible Hands Visionaries Accelerator for diverse founders! RSVP here.
VISIONARY UPDATES
Founder Updates, Asks, and Wins:
Congratulations to VHNYC Fellow Amanat Anand of SoaPen on launching SoaPen's first merch drop - a set of Color Wheel Socks for kids between 2-9 yrs!
Congratulations to '21 Visionary Dr. Steven Moyo of Welfie for being chosen as one of the five Founders of Color Showcase Finalists!
Congratulations to '21 Visionary Mei Lin Ng of Hearth Display on launching preorders this week!
Congratulations to '22 Visionary Yamillet Payano of Sign Speak for being selected as part of AWS' Impact Accelerator Latino Founders cohort!
Congratulations to '21 Visionary Ashton Keys of Athlytic on his recent partnership with Shinola, a globally recognized brand that represents our city!
Congratulations to VHNYC Fellow Ayomi Samaraweera of Canopy for recently being accepted into Harlem Capital's Founder Launchpad program!
Congratulations to VHNYC Fellow Tavishi Gupta of Tern for her recent feature by Startup Founder Daily!
'22 Visionary Shannon Morales of Tribaja will be in NYC May 18th-20th for the Roadmap to Billions event hosted by Black Women Talk Tech - register to join and support here!
'21 Visionary, Noelle Acosta, Founder of Noula Health, is hosting a morning walk on West Side Highway in NY on May 19th. Join her and the crew here.
BK-XL Visionary Joy Fan of re/tell is cohosting a Founders, Funders & Friends event on May 23rd in celebration of AAPI month. Learn more and register here.
Congratulations to BK-XL Visionary Sergio Villansenor of Drooler on being invited to be on "The Pitch Show" on June 9th !
WHAT WE HAVE OUR EYES ON
➕ Founder funding, community resources, and events:
Calling all Edtech startups! LearnLaunch Fund + Accelerator opened applications for their next edtech accelerator program, Breakthrough to Scale. Sign-up for an info session and learn more about the program and apply here by May 12th.
PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator Program - Juntos Crecemos Edition is a six-month, mentor-guided program to support the acceleration of emerging Hispanic-led innovations that are transforming the way consumers live their lives. Learn more and apply here by May 15th!
Don’t miss the last NY Enterprise Tech Meetup before Summer hits! Join on May 16th from 6-9pm EDT to connect with fellow NYC enterprise software operators, founders, VCs and more. Learn more and RSVP here.
Celebrate Globe Tech Week 2023 on May 17th with The Boston Globe's virtual panel on creating AI for all across business, medicine, and government. Learn more and register here.
Apply for the Rally IN-Prize Competition, where participants can pitch their product or service to an audience of VCs, angel investors, and other connected individuals and compete for up to $1M cash prize! To learn more and apply by May 19th, click here.
Applications are open now for The Idea Accelerator by Builders + Backers! Learn more and apply here by May 22nd.
Have innovative solutions around environmental sustainability or data for market access? Apply for the Strive Community Innovation Fund by Mastercard for up to $150K in funding. To learn more and apply by May 26th, click here!
The Be Nimble Pitch Competition gives pre-seed and seed-stage tech or tech-enabled companies the platform, resources, and capital to grow. Learn more and apply here by May 26th.
Applications are now open for a new 13-week accelerator starting this September in New York: Techstars Economic Mobility Powered by Samvid Ventures. Learn more and apply here by June 7.
Looking ahead to Pride Month, StartOut's 4th Annual StartOut Equity Summit is taking place virtually on June 15th, where you can listen, learn, and engage with diverse industry leaders in a day-long conversation focused on equity. Learn more and register here.
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.
🌎 Ecosystem Spotlights:
Apply now to pitch at the Inicio Awards: NYC 2023 for your chance to win non-dilutive cash awards & support. Submit your application here.
Join the Dorm Room Fund Summer Tracks this year for VC and startup-centric masterclasses targeted toward underrepresented students! For more information and to apply by May 19th, click here.
Looking to learn about all things VC? Harlem Capital has a robust intern program where they bring on 6-8 interns three times per year. Check out their syllabus here in Nicole's post!
Calling all Black VC professionals, experts, and ecosystem partners! Applications are NOW OPEN for Cohort 2 of the BLCK VC Mentorship Network. If you are looking for mentoring or interested in being a mentor, click here for more information on being a mentor and here for more information on being a mentee - apply by May 19th!
digitalundivided and Cosmopolitan have partnered to recognize and celebrate women in the startup space! Become a New C-Suite Honoree - the annual initiative spotlighting a top 10 list of game-changing businesses with women of color entrepreneurs. Learn more and apply here by May 28th!
Scroobious is increasing diversity in the startup ecosystem by teaching founders how to create investable pitch material and making it easy for investors to discover them. AAA Northeast has partnered with them to support 20 BIPOC and/or female/non-binary identifying entrepreneurs in their fundraising efforts with free 1-year Scroobious memberships. Learn more and apply here.
Porte, NYC's Modern Retail Conference, is set to take place on June 3rd in New York City. Porte 2023 is a one-of-a-kind conference that brings together over 300+ brands, buyers, thought leaders, and retailers to forge new relationships and discuss the latest trends in the retail industry. Learn more and register here (and use our community discount code FRIENDSOFPORTE2023 by May 23rd!)
Venture Lane has opened applications for its next startup accelerator that kicks off in September - offering up to $100K investments and support on sales and go-to-maket. Learn more and apply here by July 14th.
💼 Featured Jobs:
Our friends over at Liberty Mutual are hiring for multiple innovation-related positions - learn more about the available roles and apply here!
'21 Visionary Team Hearth Display is currently hiring for a Marketing Manager! Learn more and apply for the role here.
Slauson & Co. is growing and looking to add an Investment Associate to their team. Learn more and apply.
If you're a community engagement specialist and you love working to close the racial funding gap, BLCK VC is currently hiring for our Head of Community position! Apply here and share with your network!
🧑🏽💻 What we are watching, reading, or listening to:
Watching: Queen Charlotte, Netflix
Listening: More Equity Latina Luminaries Podcast episode 59 feat. '21 Visionary Noelle Acosta of Noula
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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