INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Harlem Capital has upgraded from angel syndicate to full-fledged venture capital fund, closing its debut effort on an oversubscribed $40.3
The pair have since graduated from Harvard Business School and hired two venture partners, Brandon Bryant and John Henry, and two senior
associates to help expand their portfolio
industry-agnostic vehicle that invests in post-revenue businesses across the United States , will be used to lead, co-lead or participate in
$250,000 to $1 million-sized seed or Series A financings
To date, the team has backed 14 companies, including B2B feminine hygiene product Aunt Flow, gig economy marketplace Jobble and pet wellness
Harlem Capital plans to add another 22 businesses to Fund 1.
You need diversity funds like ourselves to get this market anywhere close
Harlem Capital managing partner Jarrid TingleWith its first fund close, Harlem Capital becomes one of the largest venture capital
funds with a diversity mandate
Despite an increasing amount of punishing data exposing the gender and race gap in venture capital, minority founders continue to rake in
just a small percentage of funding each year
According to a RateMyInvestor and Diversity VC report released earlier this year, most VC dollars are invested in companies run by white men
Other recent data indicates startups founded exclusively by women raised just 2.2% of overall VC funding in 2018, with numbers on pace to
increase only slightly in 2019
Meanwhile, the median amount of funding raised by black female founders, as of 2018, was $0.The stark contrast in funding for female versus
male entrepreneurs or white women versus black women founders is in part a result of a lack of diversity amongst general partners at venture
capital funds and amongst the limited partners that choose which venture capital funds to provide capital
Some firms have strategically added a few partners here and there, but not enough to change the organization
generation of leadership, Tingle and Pierre-Jacques have built a prolific internship program at the firm
With as many as six interns admitted each quarter, the goal is to train future investors of color.Limited partners in Harlem Capital
Partners Fund I include TPG Global, State of Michigan Retirement Systems, the Consumer Technology Association and Dorm Room Fund .
