Putting Capital into the Hands of Black & Brown Operators
Putting Capital into the Hands of Black & Brown Operators
Introducing the Acrew x Westbound Super Angel Program
Our mission at Westbound is to create a virtuous cycle of wealth and opportunity for and with underrepresented people of color. Critical to this mission is to close the gaps we see at the “friends and family” or “angel” funding stage of the ecosystem: “Angels” poured $25.3B into early stage companies in 2020 – yet white investors predominate this group, accounting for 87.6% of Angels.
How can we ensure that Black and Brown people are able to access the greatest wealth generating opportunity of our time? Besides investing in underrepresented founders of color ourselves, we must ensure that there are more check writers who look like them, with the ability to play a role in who gets a shot to start a company. In collaboration with our friends at Acrew we’re launching Acrew x Westbound Super Angels, an initiative putting capital into the hands of underrepresented operators with the goal of sourcing and seeding great companies at the earliest stages.
Partnering with Acrew on this important initiative was an obvious decision for us. Over years, the team at Acrew has put dollars and time behind their deep and authentic commitment to equity and the belief that diversity drives superior results. Our shared mission is simple, we aim to advance the venture ecosystem by:
- Supporting, training, and capitalizing the next generation of angel investors well-positioned to discover and invest in the most ambitious founders at the formation stage. We want every participant in this program to have the ability to transition full time into investing, should they desire to do so.
- Give more founders of color at the formation stage access to the “Angel” or “Friends and Family” capital that has previously been inaccessible to Black and Brown entrepreneurs due to centuries of structural inequality that perpetuate the racial wealth gap.
Providing a massive accelerant for companies
Building a company is an arduous journey. Angel investors equip founders with strategic counsel, access to networks, and operational experience. They’re also often a founder’s first source of capital––a critical support that helps companies clear a key hurdle in the startup journey. To further jumpstart their success, we believe companies benefit from a diverse set of investors on their cap table. Studies have shown the same to be true: startups with diverse leadership teams deliver 30% higher returns. Diverse backgrounds and experiences help to uncover blind spots, contribute to more robust problem solving, and deliver more innovative solutions. The bottom line is diverse perspectives and networks around the cap table can be a massive accelerant for companies.
Opening the aperture for wealth creation
Venture capital creates great opportunities for wealth creation. But in underrepresented communities, wealth inequality raises investing obstacles. Smaller fund sizes create huge limitations in the amount of capital that is deployed. And when investors have smaller equity in portfolio companies, wealth creation is negatively impacted. These disparities in capital also prevent more people from becoming accredited angel investors, making the road to building a track record as an angel investor even more challenging.
To democratize access to wealth creation, we are funding a pool of capital for angels to invest into promising early-stage tech companies. We’ve structured this program differently from typical scout programs:
- Each angel is equipped with $100,000 to make multiple pre-seed investments. Carried interest (i.e., the profits from investments) is split evenly across all angels within each cohort. If one company does well, everyone benefits.
- Each angel is entrusted with a high level of autonomy. There’s more than one way to invest, and there’s certainly no one blueprint to angel investing.
- Each angel is encouraged to invest at the earliest possible stage and to focus on high conviction early-stage investing.
We’ve designed this program to provide angel investors with capital and community to help advance their track records as early-stage investors. From executives at leading growth stage tech companies to founders to former NFL players to Web3 evangelists, the inaugural cohort of Super Angels includes:
- Kristen Stewart, Head of Implementation at Plaid
- Dr. Theresa Johnson, Product Manager at Airbnb
- Ian Livingstone, Angel Investor & Advisor
- Marco Matos, Head of Business Success Product at Pinterest
- Nadia Singer, VP of Talent at Figma
- Brandon Chubb, Player Director at NFL Players Association
- Ros Gold-Onwude, Sports Broadcaster at ESPN
- Jason Mayden, CEO at Trillicon Valley
- Brittany Bankston, Product Lead at Mainstreet
- Jehron Petty, CEO at Colorstack
- Fabiola Cazares, Merchant & Partner Diversity at Affirm
- Nonso Maduka, Product Lead at Plaid
- Alana Beard, Founder/CEO at Transition Play
- Chichi Anyoku, Impact Investor at Goldman Sachs
- Stephanie Gaither, Senior Manager & Bizops at Guild Education
- Touré Owen, Co-founder at ColorWave
- Erika Hairston, Co-founder/CEO at Edlyft
- Joshua Ogundu, Founder/CEO at Campfire
- Sowa Imoisili, MBA Candidate at Stanford GSB
- Alfred Jackson, VP of Partnerships & Operations at Bootup
If you are a founder who is looking for angel investment, don’t hesitate to reach out. If you think you would make a great Super Angel in a future cohort, don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s build the virtuous cycle together.
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