I attended the kickoff reception for the Fall 2011 class of DreamIt Ventures on Friday at University City Science Center.
The 15-member class includes five minority-led startups selected under the Comcast Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program. Two of the Comcast MEAP startups are led by black founders. Jonathan Gosier, co-founder of metaLayer, and John Njoku, CEO of Kwelia. BTW, John is a fellow Stanford Law grad.
Kerry Rupp, Managing Partner of DreamIt, said in a statement:
We’re excited to run our second program this year, coming hot off the heels of a very successful Demo Day in New York City in August. The caliber of this class is equally impressive. Additionally, we’re excited about the diversity of this group. In addition to the Comcast Minority Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program, this batch includes an Olympic medalist, an Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran and a TED Senior Fellow, as well as several people from Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
While all founders have a tough row to hoe to get to the next level, black founders must face a “harsh reality.”
The harsh reality for black entrepreneurs in the web/tech space. Your chances of raising startup capital are slim to none. If you’re an entrepreneur, good luck and prove me wrong. If you’re an accelerator or incubator, open your doors and prove me wrong. If you’re a venture capitalist please prove me wrong!
Morgan is the CEO of Re-Vinyl, an interactive mobile app that contextualizes the music experience. His target market includes music lovers who want to kick it like back in the day when album covers were art and fans rocked to the music while reading liner notes.
Morgan was one of 14 founders who made their pitch for “dollar, dollar bills y’all” before a large audience of venture capitalists and angel investors. While some pitches were more convincing than others, they were all impressive.
That said, it was a bittersweet experience. But complaining about the lack of diversity is so Web 1.0.
It is far more productive to embrace the wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt whose spirit was invoked by DreamIt Ventures Founder David Bookspan.
Roosevelt advised folks to get in the arena and brush off those who criticize from the sidelines:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
To get in the arena, minority founders must apply to DreamIt and other incubators.
Indeed, Bookspan talked about the “power of collaboration.” He said entrepreneurs should “iterate, launch, learn.” Then repeat. It’s about people, market and ideas.
Sure, ideas without finance don’t stand a chance. But to get some “dollar, dollar bills,” founders should focus on assembling their team and identifying their market.
Bookspan said DreamIt’s bottom line is whether they can make a meaningful difference with the companies they accept into the program.
There’s little doubt DreamIt will make a meaningful difference for the five minority-led startups selected to participate in the Comcast Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program. They will get their turn on the mic on December 7 during Demo Day Philadelphia 2011.
But right now, it’s about an Empire State of Mind.
MMTC President and Executive Director David Honig writes:
After more than two decades of work to promote and preserve equal opportunity and civil rights in mass media and telecommunications, there have been many victories and a few defeats. Through it all, the need for advocacy, sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, but always determined, remains unchanged.
[…]
Access to capital is crucial to the success of minority entrepreneurs, and telecommunications policies can open doors for minority participation in American media — or close doors, if those policies are written without care and foresight. Providing access to needed capital and ensuring telecommunications policies provide for equal opportunities remain central to MMTC’s mission and to this year’s conference.
Truth be told, even Steven Wonder can see the doors to needed capital remain largely closed.
In 1979, McFadden & Whitehead released “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now.” The song epitomizes TSOP, The Sound of Philadelphia.
Last week’s announcement that Comcast Interactive Capital will provide seed funding for five minority-led startups through a partnership with Philadelphia-based DreamIt Ventures is music to the ears of minority entrepreneurs and their advocates.
In a statement, Payne Brown, Comcast Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, said:
Diversity is a cornerstone of Comcast’s culture and we are proud to have Comcast Interactive Capital partner with DreamIt in this first investment from our $20 million fund focused on expanding opportunities for minority entrepreneurs. Minority groups are underrepresented in startup ventures and we believe supporting minority entrepreneurs through the DreamIt accelerator is an effective way to provide them with greater opportunities.
The Comcast-DreamIt partnership springs from a commitment by Comcast to expand opportunities for minority entrepreneurs. That commitment was part of the company’s merger with NBCUniversal, which the Federal Communications Commission approved in January.
My longtime friend David Honig, president and executive director of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, told Politic365:
This is just what MBEs need — seed money, support and mentoring at the very start of their careers as entrepreneurs. Until now, no program has offered this kind of essential opportunity to minority digital entrepreneurs. Comcast’s venture capital initiative is off to a great start.
