Welcome! ⭐

Hi Founders!

I’m so glad you’re here 😊! For those I haven’t met formally, my name is Zoe Chamberlin, and I am a software engineer, former founder, and venture scout passionate about all things technology, entrepreneurship, and equity.

This newsletter has been a long time coming. In August 2023, I attended the Fearless Fund Venture Summit in Atlanta, which was an amazing experience. I met hundreds of Black female founders and had the opportunity to hear from the inspiring Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons. However, while speaking with these founders, I learned about their hardships: 1) not knowing how to pitch, 2) not knowing what to include in their pitch decks, 3) not being taken seriously by investors, 4) not knowing how to approach investors, and 5) having an idea but not knowing what their next steps should be—the list goes on.

After the first day of the conference, I returned to my hotel and wrote detailed notes on three founders' pitch decks. It only took me a couple of hours, and as always, I was happy to help. However, it made me wonder how many other founders might need this assistance. Since the Fearless Fund Summit, I’ve attended AfroTech, CultureCon, and Sip N Slay, where I met more founders facing the same challenges. At this point, I believe enough is enough—I want to take my help a step further.

The Black Female Venture Club was born from the need I saw among Black female founders. This newsletter will provide resources for grants, accelerator programs to watch, pitch deck advice, angel investors looking to invest in founders like yourselves, in-person event details, and more! ✨

I’m so excited to grow this community and connect with all of you. We’re just getting started! 😆

BFFs (Black female founders) killing it💗:

1. Alexis Barber (@alexisbarber) founder of https://toocollective.com/ 

2. Brooke Devard (@brookedevard) founder of https://www.nakedbeautypodcast.com/

3. Sabrina Elba (@sabrinaelba) founder of https://sablelabs.co/

Venture Fund of the Week📈:

Fifth Star Funds ⭐

All my Chicago girlies need to tap in!! 😁 

“Fifth Star Funds is a venture philanthropy fund seeking to address the funding epidemic in America where only 1% of venture capital is awarded to Black founders. We accomplish this by investing in Black tech founders in Chicago at the early stage “Friends & Family” round. We believe the funding gap at this stage is the most critical to address, as centuries of inequity have prevented these potential entrepreneurs from having the initial capital to start their businesses. Any individual, corporation, or foundation can contribute to the fund as a tax-deductible donation, and 100% of all returns from successful investments are reinvested into the fund to support future generations of underrepresented founders. We are partnered with leaders in the industry such as 1871, Winston & Strawn, Tides.org, and many more. The Chicago flag features four stars that represent pivotal events in our city’s history; we contend that the Fifth Star belongs to underrepresented founders and the extraordinary impact they will have on our city’s future.”

Want to be featured in the BFVC newsletter or have a 1:1 with me? Shoot me an email at [email protected] ! 💖