Karen Rands - Compassionate Capitalist

Just 1.2% of the record $137 billion invested in US startups in the first half of 2021 went to Black entrepreneurs, and only 2% went to women-founded companies, according to a blog post from Crunchbase. If you aren't familiar with the challenges non-white, non-male founders of startups face getting capital in the United States, these numbers are actually better than they have been in the past. There was a great wakeup call in 2020 to the barriers to capital diverse founders face. Zane Ventures is not new to the party, but they are using this new found corporate and traditional investor consciousnes and awareness momentum to be a disrupter in the capital market place. Through their long-standing Zane Access program they have mentored 1200 startups with diverse founders.  With the launch of their venture fund they are able to invest in bold founders who have innovative business models and are building early-stage technology solutions with early traction, whether in dollars or data. Shila Nieves Burney is the Fo