In the vibrant tapestry of modern entrepreneurship, Black entrepreneurs stand out and leverage cultural values - important yet often overlooked assets that impact not only the dynamics of their individual businesses, but also the broader ecosystem of minority-led innovation. Despite a 71% drop in total funding into Black-founded startups last year, Zeal Capital Partners continues to invest in groundbreaking entrepreneurs like Fifi Kara, CEO of Aster, an all-in-one women’s health management platform, blazing their own trail in the realms of funding, innovation and representation.
Need to know:
Cultural currency encompasses the symbolic value and social capital associated with specific cultural practices, knowledge, or artifacts in a particular social context from which Black entrepreneurs can greatly benefit. CultureBanx reported that the concept, which has roots in the sociological and anthropological study of culture, helps understand the dynamics of power, social stratification, and cultural capital exchange.
Black entrepreneurs can and do use their cultural values to overcome funding hurdles, drive innovation, and carve out a space where their voices and businesses can thrive. Here, Kara describes her company’s journey to becoming a venture-backed healthtech startup as a nearly decade-long journey that involved building a strong network.
“No one questioned whether this problem existed; rather, it was a question of the solution and how we could scale it,” Kara told CultureBanx in a conversation about Funding Cultural Currency. She’s excited to use the pre-seed capital to grow her company.
Her company, Aster, is poised to revolutionize the U.S. women’s health market, which is expected to capture $21.6 billion in 2022 and reach approximately $32.1 billion by 2032. According to McKinsey, 80% of consumer purchasing decisions in the healthcare industry are made by women.
Leveraging culture:
In the field of venture capital, the influence of cultural currency is particularly evident when analyzing the experiences of Black venture capitalists: these individuals often navigate environments characterized by nuanced communication styles and systemic barriers that profoundly impact their investment decisions and interactions within the industry.
The decline in funding for Black-founded companies far outpaces the overall decline in startup funding: Crunchbase reported that venture funding for Black-founded U.S. startups totaled just $705 million last year, falling short of $1 billion for the first time since 2016.
Several venture capital funds have emerged with a focus on backing Black and underrepresented entrepreneurs, with firms like Zeal Capital Partners pioneering a change in the investment landscape by directing capital to ventures led by Black founders that often go unnoticed and underfunded.
“Increasing representation also means increasing the number of people writing the checks and having the power to make investment decisions and allocate that capital. I see this as a huge opportunity to invest in founders who might otherwise be overlooked,” Thomas said.
Talent exists everywhere and has nothing to do with a particular zip code, which is why, through his work at Zeal Capital Partners, Thomas ensures these founders have access to venture capital funding so they can realise their dreams to move towards their biggest ambitions in innovation.
What’s next:
While some funds have faced setbacks in their mission to provide capital to underrepresented founders, initiatives like California’s new law requiring venture capital firms to report on the diversity of the founders they invest in set a precedent for transparency and accountability that could lead to more equitable fundraising practices. These insights into the world of venture capital from Zeal Capital Partners and its portfolio company Aster reveal the important role of cultural currency and highlight ongoing efforts to mitigate bias and foster a more inclusive economic environment for diverse entrepreneurs.