Ife Babatunde

LAUNCHING A VC FIRM AS AN UNDERREPRESENTED MANAGER: COURAGEOUS, CRAZY, OR BOTH? 🤔 I read that only 2%-3% of all VC funds are led by Black General Partners (GPs). Maybe that’s why people keep calling me courageous for launching a VC firm as a new Black fund manager. Truthfully though, my whole life feels like one big exercise in doing the hardest $h!t imaginable. But here’s the thing: If you want to make a real dent in the universe, you can’t expect the path to be easy, right? For me, launching Kabila Ventures isn’t just about building a firm—it’s about leveling the playing field for overlooked founder teams worldwide. 🌎 It’s a calling, not a choice. So, to answer the question: Is it courageous? Maybe not. But I’ll admit... I’m definitely a little crazy. Here’s to the crazy ones—the ones who dare to do what others won’t. 🙌🏾 If you’re bold (or crazy) enough to consider launching your own VC firm as an underrepresented manager, check out my video for three tips to help you get started. Let’s build something that matters. 💪🏾 Together. Tally ho! 🤠 #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #DiversityInVC #VCtips #VC

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Thanks Chinenye. I couldn't agree with you more. However while we work on this, we also have to be mindful of the fact that bias isn't just the problem in this data rather a combination of poor economy and bias. Of all these regions mentioned, Africa is the least performing market. therefore Davidson, naturally you would expect investors to do less there. They are not charity organisations but a venture set up for outsized returns.Therefore the major issue we should be discussing is, which sectors are receiving this funding in Africa? Are the investments coming to sectors that will lift the other sectors up fundamentally or to sectors that will window dress the issues? or Worst still the ones that will reap-off on the people and distort rather than disrupt the system. (eg Nigeria POS fintech and the real banking system. a discussion for another day). Until strong investments are made in the technology sectors powering manufacturing strong job growth in Africa be it REAL B2B eCommerce not repeating what is already being done, or B2C eCommerce that is truly efficient and cost effective. Equally important is the improvement in the purchasing power of the consumers via credit card system. in as much as Sub-Sahara Africa lacks good credit system that captures the average citizens and residents, B2C will continue to struggle. in as much as our logistics investments are predominantly in the last mile delivery rather than efficient crosborder logistics, both B2B abd B2C eCommerce will struggle to scale efficiently and profitability. So, it's time for the investors to do away with the low hanging fruits and start tackling the real issues that will empower and propel Africa economies. That's where the main bias lies.

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Growth-stage DTC brands know that scaling is a financial tug-of-war — every department is pulling for its share of the (budgetary) pie 🥧 In our most recent expert guide, Matt Weiler, founder of Second Star Ventures and interim CEO of Wells Group of New York, shares five tactical tips on strategic cross-functional finance: 1️⃣ Decide between tangible growth and buzz Balance investments in short-term ROI with hard-to-quantify activities. Collaborating across teams to align on needs will help you measure intangible results and focus on net profits per initiative. 2️⃣ Assess your decision risk Evaluate each business decision by mapping out assumptions for probability and measurability. Then consider how easily it can be reversed if it fails, and * only * proceed if the cost of failure is manageable. 3️⃣ Prepare for success just as you plan for failure Whip your ops into shape before you action on strategy. That way, when growth occurs, you can deliver what you promised your customers. For example, a successful product launch can still fail if you don’t have enough stock to meet demand. 4️⃣ Pay back your CAC quickly Tracking your LTV, CAC, and payback periods helps you monitor customer growth at all times. If you can’t pay back your CAC quickly, you can’t drive near-term ROI, making it tougher to increase LTV. 5️⃣ Use Drivepoint for cross-functional strategic finance Drivepoint enables you to easily create and compare financial scenarios, build accurate forecasts in minutes, and sync sales, accounting, and marketing data across all sales channels — for a holistic understanding of your business. Want to learn more? Matt breaks it down here: https://lnkd.in/gXc-f_5x

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New Year, New Opportunities: Meet the Top 5 Investors Supporting Black Founders As 2025 begins, let’s celebrate the trailblazers breaking barriers and creating opportunities for under-networked founders. These visionary investors inspire us at MyCofoundr.AI to dream bigger and aim higher: 🌟 5. Michael Seibel – The Startup Sage -- Firm: Y Combinator I $600B Portfolio Valuation -- Thesis: Mentoring over 1,700 startups, including Airbnb. Y Combinator’s first Black partner and first Black president. -- Notable Successes: Co-founded Twitch (sold to Amazon for $970M) and Socialcam Inc. (sold to Autodesk for $60M). 🔥 4. Marlon C. Nichols & Charles D. King – The MaC Mavericks -- Firm: MaC Venture Capital | AUM: $200M+ -- Thesis: Building a venture capital ecosystem that prioritizes diverse leadership and innovative ideas. -- Notable Successes: Backed Gimlet Media, MongoDB, and Blavity Inc. . Their portfolio boasts 69% Black and Latino founders, proving diversity is a business advantage. 🌱 3. Arian Simone – The Fearless Phenom -- Firm: Fearless Fund | AUM: $25M Fund -- Thesis: Creating opportunities for women of color through transformative investments. -- Notable Successes: Over 40 investments and partnerships with JPMorganChase and Mastercard. Despite legal challenges leading to the closure of their grant program for Black women entrepreneurs, the Fearless Fund remains unwavering in its mission. Arian has stated that the organization continues to support under-resourced entrepreneurs, demonstrating the resilience and commitment that we all need. 💡 2. Adeyemi Ajao (“Ade”) – The Billion-Dollar Visionary -- Firm: Base10 Partners | AUM: $1B+ -- Thesis: Driving investments in startups serving the “99%” while transforming inclusion into exponential growth. -- Notable Successes: Co-founded Tuenti (sold to Telefonica for $100M) and identified (acquired by Workday). Backed unicorns like Figma (acquired by Adobe) and Cabify, showcasing the power of global innovation. 🔥 1. Charles Hudson – The Precursor Pioneer -- Firm: Precursor Ventures | AUM: $200M+ -- Thesis: Championing early-stage founders and reshaping the future of inclusive investing. -- Notable Successes: Backed over 400 startups, including AnyRoad and VoiceOps. Charles is redefining early-stage investment by focusing on untapped talent and under-networked founders. These trailblazers show us that when we set bold goals and invest in diversity, we create a world where everyone wins. That's what's driving us at MyCofoundr.AI; we’re committed to using AI to help under-networked founders connect with the resources, investors, and tools they need to thrive. If you’re looking for your unfair advantage this year, let’s make 2025 the year you level up. Who’s inspiring your New Year’s resolutions? Who do you should have been on the list that we might have missed? Let's celebrate them! Drop your thoughts below!

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"When they litigate, we should not capitulate; we should fight back." The wise words of Stacey Abrams, political leader and #fintech entrepreneur. How will we do it? With our voices, communities, and DOLLARS. 💸 This TechCrunch headline exposes these “prominent” VCs for what they really are: They are unwilling to roll up their sleeves and WORK for an innovative and regulated system that works in the best interests of EVERYONE. What’s their “Why?” A fear of progress and the power it brings. Since women are making progress, even if small, defenders of the status quo will delegitimize, litigate against, and support a candidate who will legislate away DEI initiatives because they threaten the status quo. They have a reductive sense that if more of us have something, they have less. But as Abrams also teaches us, “Why would we abandon our principles because someone who doesn’t believe in those principles mocks them?” Fintech Is Femme is committed to: 1. Amplify Her Story: You can’t be what you can’t see, and we need more people to see and hear female stories in fintech, an industry that sits at the intersection of two of the most powerful business sectors on the planet.    2. Share Her Blueprint: After sharing her story, we break it down into actionable, bite-sized pieces, creating a roadmap for others to follow. 3. Build Her Community: We need a supportive network of women to sustain us through successes and failures (and ridiculous headlines like this!) Using our platform and these three core pillars to fund HER, over and over. In Sallie Krawcheck's wise words, the solution is to “get more money into the hands of women.” 👏 It’ll happen because WOMEN make it happen, per usual. Thank you, Samantha Katz, Cindy Gallop, and Erin Gallagher, for speaking up. When I first saw this headline, I felt alone, but seeing other women speak up inclined me to -- let’s do it #onrepeat 

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If you're building a fintech startup, you likely know of this investor, but just in case... This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Neil Kapur from TTV Capital. He: 🛫 Is based in SF & Atlanta 💲 Has spent time at Google in consumer-facing payments & at two fintech startups  🏔️ Loves alpine mountaineering and has climbed Kilimanjaro, Denali, Rainier, and more!! Amongst founders, Neil and the team at TTV Capital , including Gardiner Garrard, Mark Johnson, Sean Banks, Lizzie Guynn, and Laney Lewis are known for saying “lift, not lean.” They believe that their job as investors is not to create work for founders, but instead ask the right questions and help navigate to the best outcomes. Knowing Neil well personally, he's not only my go-to person for anything related to fintech but I can also highly recommend having him on your cap table - he's the kind of human you want to have in your corner during both good times and bad. Make sure to: ✉️ Pitch him at [email protected] ➡️ Follow TTV Capital on LinkedIn For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with TTV Capital's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

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Many people underestimate the impact of out-of-home (OOH) advertising, especially at the early stage. I’ve seen time and time again how it can be done well. I was reminded of this last week when Canvas Ventures hosted a panel discussion with GTM leaders. Euphonia X. (Brex, Ashby) shared why billboards worked especially well for Brex, when she was joined as the second marketer at the Series B, and why she’s trying it again now at Ashby. In this clip, Euphonia shares how you can figure out if your audience is properly concentrated to ensure effective reach, and how to boost engagement and think about measurement by incorporating a LinkedIn strategy. "I recently did a little bit of testing, kind of like a single billboard situation on the 101. We were able to talk to some pretty crazy big companies that we would otherwise not be able to. Something unique about a billboard is that it is a physical thing. It gives people a feeling that you are trustworthy. So whenever you buy billboards, try to buy premium placement before you do bus stops." I'll be sharing additional tips and insights from last week's event here throughout this week. #GTM #VentureCapital #OOH #Marketing #Venture

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April was a big month for the Everything Marketplaces community! Here's a few highlights from our monthly roundup & recap post that I shared: -We're now 2,300+ marketplace founders & teams in the community -We had really incredible group chats with Casey Winters, Sara Mauskopf from Winnie, & Marco Zappacosta from Thumbtack -We had lots of other online events like our female founders meeting, fundraising meeting, & weekly office hours -We had meetups in New York City (at FJ Labs) & San Francisco (at Craft Ventures) -We had lots of founders share wins like launches, closing funding rounds, & also hitting major growth milestones + lots more Looking forward to another big month in May and also sharing some exciting news for the community soon!

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Strategic and corporate venture funds are increasingly playing a bigger in role earlier stage startups, particularly for #deeptech companies needing design partners to build and test their beta products. Looking forward to discussing some lessons learned for earlier stage companies seeking strategic investment with my fellow panelists Michael (Mick) Gilbert, Kenzie Weston Mucci, Katerina Fialkovskaya, Adarsh Sowcar, Jianyu (Jerrold) Wang, MBA, Maria G. Manrique and moderator Stephen Brook. Thanks to Peter Walker and the team for organizing the annual New England Venture Summit. Definitely recommend the youngStartup Ventures conferences. #vc #cvc #startups #investment

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This is so disheartening! However, in addition to addressing this challenge, we need to find innovative ways to mobilize domestic capital and diaspora investments. The biggest challenge is “trust”, alot of our people work in silos with an individualistic mindset. We should learn from other races how to collaborate for greater impact! Ecosystems develop based trust! For instance, the Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists in Sillicone valley are within a tight network. And its trust that enables founders to tap into these networks/relationships to raise preseed, seed capital, and later funding rounds. Even in Nigeria the Igbo entrepreneurship and trans-generational wealth creation model is based on trust.

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“The funding landscape has changed during the time we have been involved in it, and continues to evolve,” “And we’re evolving with it, to ensure that there is even more flexibility for companies to access the specific capital they need for a given scenario. We’ve funded well over 180 technology companies across multiple industries and verticals, and we’re not slowing down any time soon.” Regarding the total addressable market for Tractor to operate in, Imam explains that the one-funding-product-fits-all approach has required tweaking, simply due to the totally different needs expressed by the financial decision-makers, related to time, total access to the capital itself, and looming milestones that require a more strategic approach to accessing capital. “If you’re a SaaS company, or an ecommerce company, or a hardware company, or operating in a particular niche or vertical like marketing tech for example, you will have a different set of needs for funding based on your revenue,” explains Imam. “We’ve moved to a scenario-based funding model, based on the most common queries we receive at this point in time. B2B Enterprise SaaS we will always be able to fund in an instant. Other scenarios arise when the financials require a bit more flexible and bespoke assessment.” “In particular, our Inventory product points to our capability to fund in some very very specific and founder-focussed ways, and that flexibility really excites us, now and for the future.” Thank you for this write up SmartCompany!

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✨ Breaking: BFM Fund Announces New Fund.- BFM Fund A seed-stage fund focusing on founders who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, promoting diversity in venture capital. https://www.bfm.fund Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups#Venturecapital

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What's your edge? Every person, every company, every fund has something that makes them special. Makes them stand out from the crowd. Gives them an unfair advantage. Tips the scales in favor of success. Today marks the launch of a new show on Alt Goes Mainstream: "What’s Your Edge?" The first episode is with Bob Long, CEO of StepStone Group's StepStone Private Wealth. An innovator in evergreen strategies, StepStone Private Wealth is one of the leaders in providing access to private markets for the wealth channel. Bob has three decades of experience in the private markets and has led investment teams for global firms in both the general partner and the limited partner role. He has served as the CEO of two publicly-traded companies focused on expanding private market access for high net worth investors. On today’s podcast, Bob and I discuss the nuances of evergreen funds and the unique features and offerings of StepStone Private Wealth’s evergreen strategies. Thanks Bob for sharing your wisdom, experience, and your edge. https://lnkd.in/egP3Ppdn

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💡 Interesting takeaways (+ my own commentary) from this #SFClimateWeek session on startups engaging with #utilities - Bits (software) and atoms (hardware) will both be required to power #decarbonization and the #energytransition. Enterprise SaaS is a proven business model that needs to complement innovations in deeptech. Start by targeting the customers most open to moving quickly with new approaches - which might be municipal and coop utilities. Referencing those early customers and successful deployments then helps when you start targeting more risk-averse companies, who have higher expectations and potentially more to lose from new technologies. I've seen the latter play out many times in SaaS markets. Successfully penetrating more mainstream (and conservative) segments of a market requires thoughtfully sequencing and orchestrating product development, partnerships & integrations, go-to-market capabilities, and delivery/service capabilities. Would have loved to be at the session to hear firsthand from Adriana Penuela-Useche Louisa White Page Crahan Andrea Sguazzi Giancarlo Savini.

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Recent data provided by Carta on pre-seed funding allocation for Black/African founders is deeply troubling. Black/African founders received just 0.4% of total pre-seed funding in 2024—a figure that has consistently declined over the past three years. Compare this to even East Asian and South Asian founders, who received 26% and 27.6%, respectively. The disparity is clear and undeniable. This reflects systemic inequities that continue to marginalize Black founders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Lack of funding means missed opportunities for innovation, economic growth, and community development. It means untapped potential and ideas that never make it to market. This is quite challenging, as great ideas come from everywhere, yet the current funding practices exclude entire groups from realizing their potential. Numerous studies have shown that diverse teams and leadership outperform their counterparts. By underfunding Black founders, we are leaving significant value on the table. It’s time to address this imbalance. Equity in funding isn’t charity—it’s smart business, it’s moral leadership, and it’s the right thing to do. Let’s ensure that the next wave of game-changing ideas comes from all communities, not just a privileged few. How can we really work together to ensure a fairer distribution of funding across the entrepreneurial landscape? #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #DiversityInTech #BlackFounders

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Today's post is about facilitating introductions. This can be in many contexts -- connecting someone for a potential partnership opportunity, a fundraising lead, a job opportunity, a reference, you name it. We make hundreds of intros a year at Bread and Butter Ventures. A few thoughts on how to make it the most effective use of everyone's time: -Always ensure a double opt-in, meaning you have pinged both people quickly (usually a quick email outreach) to ensure they both want to receive the intro. This is rule #1 to setting up a good intro and respecting everyone's time. Do not make intros that are not dual opt-in. We've all been there. :) -Have a very clear purpose of why you are making the intro, and make it super clear in your note. Provide a quick sentence summary for each person with some brief unique context from your point of view, and let them take it from there. Add any other info that would be helpful that they should know. -If you're the one asking someone to make an intro on your behalf (in my case for example, I might be asking a fellow fund manager for an introduction to a Limited Partner investor in their fund I would love to be connected with; I might be making an intro to a corporate partner of ours on behalf of a portfolio company looking for a commercial opportunity), always offer to send a forwardable email. This should include a brief description in your words with a short overview of you, your business, and why you'd like to connect with them specifically; personalize this point to show it's unique to them. Try to make it as easy as possible for the person who is offering to reach out on your behalf. -Close the loop. Go the extra mile to quickly let the person who made the intro know how it turned out with your thanks. What tips would you add?

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Casey Winters shares his roadmap for building scalable marketplaces, drawing insights from his growth roles at Grubhub, Pinterest, and Eventbrite. His advice centers on selecting markets with diverse suppliers, focusing on high-demand customer habits, and leveraging unique data loops for sustainable growth. For startup founders, it's about balancing scalable acquisition strategies with early non-scalable efforts to validate demand. Curious about the biggest hurdles marketplaces face? Explore Winters' do's and don'ts for turning a promising marketplace into a billion-dollar platform.

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Top 5 Strategies for Growing Your Podcast Audience, an interview with Chad Silverstein Some really good nuggets in here... many, for what it's worth, are equally applicable to building any brand -- not just media or personality.

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1% and 2% of VC funding go to Black and Women founders. Since money is hard to come by, we try to make it last by doing things ourselves. A word of advice: spend the money. We tried to do everything ourselves in the early days of working on Chezie. - I learned Webflow and Bubble to build our landing page and product and avoid hiring developers. - We spent hours onboarding every customer instead of buying a product to automate the process. - We constantly updated our email subscriber count so we didn’t have to upgrade to the next plan for an extra $30/month. I thought I was being scrappy, but I was actually holding the company back because it distracted me from higher-priority tasks. If you’re struggling to think about what to do yourself and what to spend money on, here’s a simple framework to help you decide: Put a price tag on your time. Early on, set your time at $50 or $100 an hour. If the time a tool or service saves you is more than that hourly rate, spend the money. As your company grows and your responsibilities pile up, the value of your time will rise, too. It might be $250/hour when you have ten employees and $1M in revenue, then $1000/hour at 25 employees and $3-5M in revenue. This isn’t about being reckless with your spending. It’s about freeing yourself to focus on the things that only you, as the founder, can do. Don’t let a $20 decision hold you back when it could be the key to moving faster and growing smarter. If it saves you time and mental energy, spend the money.

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