VISIBLE NEWS
September 22, 2023
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 Fall, VH Community!This week, we've been channeling the viral "tube girl" energy - that is, uplifting ourselves enough to live like the main characters in our lives. This time of year can get overwhelming really fast, between realizing you only have a few months left to hit your 2023 goals and balancing busy work schedules with the oncoming holiday season. By embracing our best main-character energy, we're living each moment at its best and prioritizing staying worry-free amongst the chaos.Of course, we also want you to live the tube girl life too, which is why we're continuing our virtual bootcamp in October with two more sessions that you can RSVP to using the links below! Additionally, we'll be co-hosting an in-person Salsa Social and Networking event with WeWork and LatinxVC during this year's New York Tech Week! Join us for fun, drinks, and good people in NYC on October 16th by RSVP-ing here! Beginners are welcomed - we will start at 6:30 PM and have a Salsa Instructor lead a lesson at 7 PM. Sign up today!
Here's to making the most of the new season while maintaining a stress-free, main-character kind of life this fall.Be well,
VH Team
VH ANNOUNCEMENTS
We revamped and republished our "Seeing Latine" e-book this week! Read here for our overview of the need for better Latine representation and support in the VC and entrepreneurial landscapes.
VH Co-Founder and General Partner Yasmin Cruz Ferrine met up with some of our VHBOS founders at this week's Underscore Core Summit! Check out our takeaways from Yasmin's moderated session here.
Join us for Emprende Como Karol G: A Virtual bootcamp for Latino Entrepreneurs with Yulkendy Valdez, where she'll guide founders weekly through how to build a playbook and launch a venture-backed company. Below are all the dates and times for the upcoming workshops:
October 3rd from 3 - 4 PM EST: Introduction to Minimum Viable Test
October 10th from 3 - 4 PM EST: Storytelling Workshop + Pitch Practice with Guest Speaker, Andrea Perdomo from Common Future
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.
Calling NYC-based Series A Investors!
This Fall, we are excited to work with Google for Startups (GFS) to host a Founder Summit on October 17th - 18th, inviting the top 20 companies that are recipients of their Black and Latinx Founder Funds. Across two days, we will host a holistic experience focused on fundraising readiness, wellness, and community engagement. A featured component of our Summit will be 1-on-1 investor meetings on the program's second day (October 18th). We're inviting active series A investors to attend the event in Manhattan and receive the opportunity to meet up to four founders. We have limited investor spots, so please sign up using this form as soon as possible so we can secure your attendance. More info will be shared.
VISIONARY UPDATES
Founder Updates, Asks, and Wins:
Congratulations to VHBOS I Fellow Sid Desai of Novobeing on recently debuting on Meta Quest!
Congratulations to Visionaries I Founder Kim Jolasun of Villie on her recent podcast feature on Parents Making Profit!
Congratulations to VHBOS I Fellow Bobbi Wegner of Groops on recently moderating a conversation on public-private partnerships at Harvard!
Conratulations to VHNYC I Fellow Jamie-Jin Lewis of Wiggle Room on her recent feature on the People are the Answer podcast!
Congratulations to VHLX I Fellow Victor Ocando of AdaptTheGame on recently presenting to a Social Entrepreneurship Class at ASU!
Congratulations to Visionaries II Founder Dr. Karen Wilson of ChildNEXUS on her recent feature on Understood's ADHD Aha podcast!
Congratulations to VHLX I Fellowship Team Modi on partnering with Shopify to host an event celebrating Latinx Fashion in the heart of NYC! Learn more about the fashion event and RSVP to attend here on September 29th.
WHAT WE HAVE OUR EYES ON
➕ Founder funding, community resources, and events:
Applications are open for Sephora Accelerate, a brand incubation program dedicated to building a community of innovative, inspirational brand founders in beauty. With a focus on founders who are people of color, its goal is to ensure there are brands in the beauty industry representative of the colors, races, and ethnicities that make up the Americas. Learn more and apply here by September 25th.
Applications are now open for the UCSF Rosenman Institute #ADAPT program! ADAPT supports and brings together health technology startups addressing disparities in health and access to care and healthcare systems. Learn more and apply here by September 27th.
Partnered with Canva 's Developer Community & Innovation Fund, Forum Ventures is hosting a LIVE pitch competition in San Fransisco on October 11th for the chance to win $100K investment and acceptance into their Accelerator program. Learn more and apply here by September 28th.
The Cleantech Open Northeast Regional Finals Showcase and Awards Celebration is happening on September 28th at Newlab in Brooklyn, NY. 46 startups will showcase, and six finalists will pitch on stage. Learn more and register here.
Applications are open for the New Energy Technology Incubator, a 4 month program where 50 founders will be selected and 5 founders at the end of the program will be selected for a $100K investment. Learn more and apply here by September 30th.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Ascender is launching the 'Mini-Becas, Acelera Tu Negocio Con Ascender' Latinx Mini-Grants Program to empower and support Latinx entrepreneurs in Allegheny County (Pennsylvania). Learn more and apply here by October 1st.
Applications are now open for Cohort V of the Hive Founders Investment Readiness Accelerator! Learn more and apply here by October 2nd.
Applications are now open for the Black@Labs x Benedict College Statewide Investment Accelerator, a program dedicated to empower and elevate founders from diverse backgrounds in South Carolina by providing them with the resources, support, and opportunities they need. Learn more and apply here by October 6th.
Applications are now open for Forum Ventures pitch competition in San Fransisco, a chance to win $100K and admission to our best-in-class Accelerator program. Learn more and apply here by October 11th.
Applications are now open for The Women Entrepreneurs Boot Camp with Amex Ventures & Project W! Learn more and apply here by October 23rd.
🌎 Ecosystem Spotlights:
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.
CHROMA is hosting a conference where over 300 attendees will connect in Philadelphia with fellow entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders, gain valuable insights from experts who will provide invaluable knowledge and expertise on a range of crucial topics, and experience the best of our shared culture! Learn more and apply here.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is kicking off their Women's Health Challenge. Learn more and register here by September 26.
AcceleratorCON is hosting their inaugural conference, where startups will find resources, access to capital, and networks that help them grow. Learn more and apply here by September 29th.
INVANTI is hosting a 4-week Small City Problem Sprint for founders who are pre-company or pre-pivot and interested in tackling problems that show up in small cities. Learn more and apply here by September 30th.
Calling all MBA founders! The ORCA Network is hosting a live pitch competition in NYC for founders to compete for the chance to receive a $100K investment! Learn more and apply here by October 4th.
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.
Notedd is hosting their first in-person event in Atlanta! They are a community-centric, multimedia company that helps Black women stay informed, connected, and authentically ourselves through unconventional conversations, communal experiences, and curated content. Learn more and register here to attend on October 14th.
💼 Featured Jobs
Hearth Display is hiring a Full-stack Engineer; 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: Lazy Girl Capital Playlist
Reading: Seeing Latine, Visible Hands
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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