Kimberly Bryant has had quite a few ups and downs during her journey as an entrepreneur, especially over the past year.
Known for founding Black Girls Code, a nonprofit organization that helps young Black girls enter STEM fields, Bryant faced a slew of problems in 2021, when tensions started boiling between her, her employees, and her board. Allegations of poor management followed and eventually led to her indefinite suspension from the company, and a few months later, she was let go. The situation is still developing.
At the time, many founders told TechCrunch it was a wake-up call to pay more attention to how much power they give boards.
Regardless of the drama, though, Bryant is back with her latest endeavor: a 12-week startup accelerator program called The Black Innovation Lab (BIL), under the umbrella of her newly launched investment firm, Ascend Ventures.
Based in Bryant’s hometown, Memphis, the accelerator aims to cut checks for Black-founded companies addressing timely issues such as artificial intelligence, climate and healthcare.
Black founders are woefully underfunded, consistently raising less than 2% of all venture capital in any given year. The numbers hardly move when broken up by category: Last year, for example, Black founders raised 1% of all capital invested in climate funding.
“Black founders have the potential to make a significant positive impact on the world,” Bryant told TechCrunch+. “A strong sense of community, equity and culture are keys to the success of any startup endeavor.”
Bryant plans to launch BIL next fall with gener8tor, one of the biggest startup accelerators in the nation. The accelerator aims to host one to two cohorts of six early-stage and pre-seed companies per year. Each startup will receive $100,000 of guaranteed funding in exchange for equity, which is a common practice with startup accelerators. Bryant wants to expand the accelerator throughout the U.S. over the next 10 years.
Ascend Ventures currently aims to focus on supporting startups in its accelerator program, though Bryant says she wants the fund to one day invest in companies outside of BIL.
Image Credits: Kimberly Bryant
The timing is right: The southern U.S. is seeing a boom in venture funding as resources continue to grow in the region for founders who live and have relocated there. Last year, during the venture pullback, the southeast U.S., including states like Georgia and Florida, was the only region not to see a substantial decrease in funding. Atlanta has emerged as a shining jewel of the region, following in the footsteps of Austin and Miami.
Upon launch, the BIL will be based out of Memphis’ historic Griggs College, a Black-owned institution that operated from 1949 to 1971. Bryant is crowdfunding to help expense the BIL program but says she also has support from private angel investors, LPs, and the Tech Hubs program.
We recently caught up with Bryant to talk about this new endeavor, what she’s learned since leaving Black Girls Code, and what kind of legacy she wants to leave within the startup ecosystem.
(This interview has been edited lightly for length and clarity.)
TC+: How did your experience with Black Girls Code impact how you set up BIL?
KB: As I transitioned from my role with Black Girls Code (BGC) at the end of 2022, I embarked on a journey of self-reflection and learning from the mistakes I made as a founder. During this time, I found myself inundated with messages from other founders, and as I connected with them, a common theme emerged — the need for key business tools and support in areas such as board governance, IP protection, and access to adequate capital for growth.
It wasn’t until I left BGC that the vision for Ascend Ventures and Black Innovation Lab became clear. The urgent need was a space for entrepreneurial mentorship and support, where founders could access the resources and guidance needed to succeed. My lessons from Black Girls Code also guided me to prioritize diversity and equity.
Our primary goal is to create pathways to reduce the racial wealth gap by providing resources to advance the creation of generational wealth and economic freedom for socially and economically disadvantaged communities. More than that, I want to create a supportive and protective community for founders like myself.
Why did you also decide to crowdfund this accelerator?
I wanted to pay homage to and embrace the legacy of Emma Williams Griggs, the founder of Griggs College, which will serve as the heart of the Black Innovation Lab. While we have an ambitious goal to raise just upward of $3 million to launch this initiative, I believe it’s essential to embark on this journey together with the community. We are certainly seeking more traditional avenues to fundraise through investors and partners, but the crowdfunding campaign is a way to take the community on this journey with us.
Through a community fund in partnership with our developer, we plan to invest in improvement projects in the surrounding community.
Any particular reason why you’re focusing on the U.S. South?
While venture capital investment in startups has fueled the ecosystem for several decades, most of this investment has been focused in the coastal regions, like California, New York, and Massachusetts. However, shifting patterns of people’s movement over the past decade, relatively lower cost of living, and rich talent pools have blossomed significant opportunities for investment in the South and Midwest.
These patterns are an opportunity to reap significant returns on investing in an often overlooked talent pool. Investing in companies founded by entrepreneurs from marginalized communities in Memphis can provide a significant RoI while addressing the racial equity gap that has plagued this city, which has a significant minority population.
These entrepreneurs have unique perspectives and experiences that can lead to innovative solutions and disruptive business models. They can help create a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Memphis and serve as a catalyst to promote economic mobility for underrepresented communities throughout the U.S. South.
While our first Black Innovation Lab will be piloted in Memphis, we certainly have a shortlist of other cities in mind as we scale and grow.
What is still broken with the venture model and how do Ascent Ventures and BIL aim to address that gap?
The traditional venture model has long struggled to provide equitable opportunities for underrepresented founders. In 2020, out of the $161 billion invested in the startup economy, only a small fraction found its way to Black, Latine, or female entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, as we navigate the volatile market, these numbers tend to dwindle even further.
By strategically supporting underrepresented founders, we endeavor to bridge the gap and create a more inclusive and diverse entrepreneurial landscape, and kickstart a hyperlocal tech ecosystem movement throughout the Southern corridor.
This month, the U.K.’s Treasury Committee released a report stating how inequitable their venture landscape is for women and people of color, and mapped out steps to overcome this disparity. Would you like to see the government here in the U.S. take a more active role in creating policy and awareness around our funding disparities?
Our government can play a crucial role in creating policies and awareness to tackle funding disparities for women and people of color. They can start by implementing measures to encourage diversity and inclusion in the tech industry, such as setting diversity targets for venture capital firms, providing incentives for funding startups led by underrepresented groups, and supporting educational programs that promote tech entrepreneurship among marginalized communities.
There is currently a lot of this work in progress under the current Biden administration, including the widespread investment via the CHIPS Act and other public sector programs through agencies such as the NSF [National Science Foundation] and EDA [Economic Development Administration] to fund and seed tech innovation hubs across the U.S.
While these efforts are a great start, I think it’s important to realize that Black communities and marginalized founders are starting their races far behind the finish line. We will require an outsized influx of funding to significantly move the needle.