Something new is on the horizon when it comes to investing in overlooked and underserved companies, and these Black founders are helping to spearhead it.
According to Forbes, venture capitalist firm Westbound Equity Partners, led by former nonprofit director Shawn Mendy, has invested millions of dollars in companies led by Black, Latinx, and diversity-focused founders. It is said that he has a mission to pour money into the world.
“We’re not investing in undervalued founders out of an altruism,” Mendy told the outlet. “This fund aims to invest in the best companies and performance. Explicit impact is what we do on the foundation side.”
Since its founding in 2019, the firm, formerly known as Concrete Rose Capital, has successfully invested in more than 40 startups, while also leveraging what Mendy calls “diversity opportunities.” funds successful and underrepresented founders, especially Black and Latinx founders.
Additionally, there is an emphasis on startups with the goal of contributing to the community.
“If we can make the next Yahoo, the next LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google diverse early on, the people who build wealth will be more diverse, and they will go out and become founders. , or become an investor themselves may be considered more investable,” Mendy said. “We turn this vicious cycle into a virtuous cycle that gets worse over time.”
According to Forbes, initial funding totaled $25 million, with Mendy and his team initially writing checks for “several hundred thousand dollars.” But the goal of their new $100 million fund is to raise money on a larger scale and secure funding for startups in the early stages of development.
Additionally, the company’s new name pays homage to the Great Migration of the 20th century, when millions of black Americans left the South and moved north and west in search of better opportunities. At the time, the South was implementing Jim Crow laws, continuing a cycle of racial discrimination that is still evident today.
According to Forbes, Westbound has already invested in companies such as Sierra, an AI company led by OpenAI Chairman Brett Taylor, but the company declines to disclose the amount of investment it has received from backers. Another of his funders includes his Esusu, a credit-building rent-payment tool that he considers one of the few Black-led, billion-dollar startups in the tech industry. Masu.
Essu Co-founder and Co-CEO Wemimo Abbey He says he is already recommending Westbound to other founders looking for their next big break.
“I fundamentally believe in what they’re doing,” Abby told the outlet. “We introduce founders of color and founders of non-color who are high achievers and whose values align. That’s the most important thing.”
As Westbound continues what Mendy called its “mission of equity,” the team’s biggest win is helping underserved and undervalued founders build great companies. Not only that, he says, but knowing he’s helping spread that success into the community.
“We tell them that by just doing their job and allowing them to focus on what they’re doing, they’re creating value that goes back into the community,” Mendy said.
