2020 has been a big year for Brackeen, who launched a first-of-its-kind $50 million venture fund for underrepresented founders in the Midwest from racial minorities to the LGBTQ and disabled communities. As the largest fund launched by a Black woman to date, her goal is to capture a market inefficiency to find returns in an overlooked part of the country, among overlooked demographics of founders. According to statistics, only 1 percent of U.S. venture-backed funds have Black founders and just 11 percent of funding goes to startups led by women.
“The venture capital market has failed BIPOC and, ultimately, itself,” Brackeen told Ozy in a 2020 interview. “We’re making it clear this is not a social impact fund…We’re capitalists at heart. We’re here to respect the money and get a market rate return. When people see our teams win, then you’ll see a model that works.”
