Black Tech Nation Ventures: Funding for Black Entrepreneurs

Black Tech Nation Ventures Launches $50 Million Fund

Kelauni Jasmyn, a general partner at the newly established Black Tech Nation Ventures, articulates the firm’s primary objective with clarity: “Our central aim is to increase funding for Black entrepreneurs.”

Building on Existing Support

Jasmyn has already dedicated herself to this cause through Black Tech Nation, a Pittsburgh-based organization. This organization provides crucial support to Black entrepreneurs through educational resources, content creation, and community building initiatives.

Now, she is directly addressing the financial aspect by spearheading the creation of a $50 million inaugural fund. She is collaborating with fellow general partners Sean Sebastian and David Motley to achieve this.

A Historic Economic Opportunity

“We are at the very outset of something entirely new,” Jasmyn stated. “This has the potential to be a truly historic undertaking, offering a tangible economic transformation for the Black community and fostering the creation of generational wealth.”

She further emphasized their role, stating, “We have the opportunity to establish the very groundwork for this change.”

Leveraging Expertise and Knowledge Transfer

Sean Sebastian currently serves as a partner at Birchmere Ventures, a seed-stage fund also located in Pittsburgh.

David Motley is the co-founder of both BlueTree Venture Fund and the African American Directors Forum.

Sebastian highlighted that his and Motley’s involvement is partially intended to facilitate a “transfer of knowledge.” This will empower a new cohort of Black investors, beginning with Jasmyn.

Combining Platforms for Greater Impact

Motley explained that this venture aims to “integrate the Black Tech Nation platform with the resources of Birchmere.” He recounted his initial conversation with Jasmyn, prompted by Sebastian, and his immediate impression: “Sean, this is a genuinely promising opportunity.”

Financial Returns and Social Mission

The three partners collectively stressed that while the fund is driven by a social mission, a strong focus on achieving financial returns remains paramount.

“We operate under the same principles as any other fund, regardless of our focus on a specific community,” Jasmyn clarified. “Comparable returns are expected, and we simply benefit from access to largely untapped potential.”

Investment Strategy

The fund will concentrate on seed and Series A investments.

Motley indicated a preference for software startups, encompassing Software as a Service (SaaS), Business-to-Business (B2B), and Business-to-Business-to-Consumer (B2B2C) models.

These ventures can be in the pre-revenue or even pre-product stages, but must demonstrate “scalability and the capacity for substantial value creation.”

National Scope, Beyond Silicon Valley

Sebastian added that while Black Tech Nation Ventures is based in Pittsburgh, their investment scope extends nationwide.

They will particularly prioritize entrepreneurs originating from areas outside of Silicon Valley.

Synergy Between For-Profit and Nonprofit Arms

A question arose regarding potential conflicts between the fund’s financial objectives and the inclusive ethos of Black Tech Nation.

However, the partners countered that the for-profit fund and the nonprofit organization can actually work in synergy.

Motley explained that Black Tech Nation “expands our ability to approve investments,” while Jasmyn suggested that even if the venture fund declines an opportunity, they can direct the entrepreneur to “explore options with Black Tech Nation and potentially revisit the idea at a later time.”

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