Fearless Fund at this time stated it has obtained a multi-million-dollar follow-on funding from Financial institution of America, Costco and MasterCard for its second fund, although it declined to share how a lot the brand new funding was. All the restricted companions on this follow-on funding are returning traders.
Launched in 2019 by Arian Simone, Keisha Knight Pulliam and Ayana Parsons, Founders Fund invests in early-stage shopper and expertise startups based by girls of shade. Its portfolio contains Partake Meals, Slutty Vegan and Bread Magnificence.
The agency launched Fund 2 final yr, and to date has invested in 5 corporations, writing checks of as much as $2.5 million. The primary fund was $25.8 million, and the second goals to lift at the least double that quantity.
“We envision the Fearless Fund rising its portfolio of various and modern corporations, serving to them scale and obtain long-term success,” Simone, who can be the fund’s normal companion, instructed TechCrunch. “We wish to bridge the hole for girls of shade companies to entry enterprise capital funding and supply them with the mandatory help and sources.”
Simone stated Fearless Fund additionally desires to launch extra academic initiatives and broaden the Fearless Basis and Get Prepared Enterprise Program to assist present mentorship and data to girls founders.
The enterprise agency stated it and MasterCard would host its third annual Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, which awards $20,000 grants to small companies based by Black girls. The agency will even host its second Fearless VC Summit, with Costco, on August 18 in Atlanta. As well as, it plans to companion with lenders to supply debt financing options to small companies led by girls of shade.