Black entrepreneurial duo Candice Matthews Brackeen and Brian Brackeen want to prove that capitalism is for everyone. This summer their venture capital firm Lightship Capital, along with the agency SecondMuse, created a $50 million fund — the first of its kind.
The fund focuses on underrepresented founders in the Midwest, which includes racial minorities as well as LGBTQ and disabled communities, Nick Fouriezos reported in OZY. He added that the fund plans to initially invest in around 35 businesses across AI, e-commerce, sustainability, healthcare, and consumer packaged goods. Comedian Hannibal Buress signed on as an early investor.
This is not a social impact fund, Candice Matthews Brackeen clarified to OZY. “We’re capitalists at heart. We’re here to respect the money and get a market rate return,” she said. “When people see our teams win, then you’ll see a model that works.”
For our ongoing curation of the innovation and tech news our team is reading, the Plug In South LA Beat, we can see why this pioneering fund attracts so much attention: