Collab Capital

Black entrepreneurs have always turned obstacles into opportunities, building legacies that stand the test of time. As the landscape shifts, strategic preparedness and unwavering determination remain our greatest tools. This Black History Month, we honor the past by equipping founders to thrive in the future.

Black entrepreneurs have always turned obstacles into opportunities, building legacies that stand the test of time. As the landscape shifts, strategic preparedness and unwavering determination remain our greatest tools. This Black History Month, we honor the past by equipping founders to thrive in the future.

Barry Givens and Jewel Burks Solomon met while navigating capital raising as entrepreneurs. In 2019, the duo founded Collab Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm that?focuses on investing in Black founders who are developing technological solutions to address critical challenges in key industries that impact everyday life. By combining founders’ domain expertise and innovative approaches with Collab’s operational experience and extensive network, the firm helps scale market-defining businesses. The?strategy aims to deliver a significant impact while generating strong returns for LPs. Collab?targets three focus?areas that Givens and Burks Solomon?consider essential to building shared prosperity with a focus on underserved communities: 1. The future of work 2. The future of care 3. Community Infrastructure Through these focus areas, Collab Capital executes its mission to create positive social impact while targeting returns of 3x to 4x for its investors. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eKhXp4YM

Had an incredible time this week at the two-year anniversary celebration for the Mayor's Office of Technology and Innovation, led by Donnie Beamer Jr., CFA, and his team. The event showcased some of Atlanta's brightest founders and ecosystem leaders, reinforcing the city's dedication to startups and to the goal of becoming a Top 5 tech hub. The stats highlighting the early impact of the initiative are also impressive, including $19M in investments facilitated and $9M in salaries generated. A point from Barry Givens struck a chord with me: supporting Atlanta startups means more than showing up to events —it’s about being customers in our personal and corporate capacities. Blake Patton echoed this on a later panel with something I've heard him say many times - “Startups need two things -capital and customers.” Personally, I’m proud to be a customer and supporter of Atlanta-based startups like Livin (formerly Cookonnect)(affordable chef service for busy families), Switchyards (neighborhood work clubs), and Flock Safety (Safety solutions we use in my HOA where I am on the board). These companies represent the innovation Atlanta thrives on. So questions for my LinkedIn fam: Who are the next Atlanta startups we should know so the community can support as consumers? Who is in the next wave of scaling B2B startups that should be on our investment radar here at Fulcrum Equity Partners? Drop your recommendations in the comments, where you can also find the link to the full impact report.

At NAIC, we are proud of how?our 25 Black-owned venture capital member firms fuel innovation and?drive economic growth. Their impact extends far, as?their investments?are shaping the future of technology, healthcare, and media, while creating opportunities for?founders from historically underserved communities. These firms are not just investors—they are catalysts for change, strengthening the U.S. economy and redefining leadership in asset management. Join us in recognizing these VC firms and their founders, for their exemplary leadership in asset management and their communities. #venturecapital?#blackhistorymonth?#alternativeinvesting

Two years ago, I applied to HBS to find new ways to support overlooked founders. Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Khari Austin-Rawls to build a competition that does exactly that—one that provides capital, levels the playing field, and creates lasting support for early-stage founders. Bringing this competition to life was no small feat. With DEI efforts facing growing challenges, securing funding and support required persistence, strategy, and unwavering commitment to our mission. Every detail was intentional, from refining applications to positioning the competition as the opening keynote of the 52nd H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference for greater visibility. Late nights were spent fine-tuning pitch criteria, reviewing applications, and making tough decisions about resource allocation—all to ensure this was more than just a check, but a real opportunity for founders to grow. Despite the challenges, this has been one of my most fulfilling experiences at HBS and an opportunity to embody the school's mission of becoming a "leader who makes a difference in the world". This weekend, the 6th Annual Black New Venture Competition finally came to life! Our founders' passion and resilience were inspiring, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built. Seeing them walk away with funding, connections, and the confidence to scale made every hurdle worthwhile. Congratulations to this year's BNVC winners! Your ambition and drive exemplify how innovation flourishes when we create our own opportunities rather than waiting for permission. Pre-Revenue Winners 1st Place: Orphic – Chris Jackson 2nd Place: LiQUiD – Chrystal Graves 3rd Place: Jovo – Anthony M. Revenue Winners 1st Place: KidVestors? – Courtney Pettway 2nd Place: Pluff Protein – Dylan Paul 3rd Place: Transition – Kayla Wright-Jackson, MHA 4th Place: wechipn – Morgan A. Webster A huge thank you to our judges Gus Coldebella, Barry Givens and Aasiyah Abdulsalam for their time and expertise and a special thank you to our faculty advisor, Jeffrey Bussgang, for his guidance throughout this journey. Lastly, this event wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our sponsors: General Catalyst, Grain Management, LLC, Goldman Sachs, Collab Capital, Benchstrength, Pamela Culpepper, T.D. Jakes Foundation, StockX and HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. Thanks to your generosity, we awarded $133,000 to our winners and ensured that every founder received funding! Photos by Evgenia Eliseeva

Had a great time at the Harvard Business School 52nd H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference, and I’m still thinking about the conversations, connections, and insights shared. Collab Capital was a proud sponsor this year, and our General Partner Barry Givens served as a judge for the Pitch Competition alongside Gus Coldebella and Aasiyah Abdulsalam. Congratulations to all the winners: Pre-Revenue Winners 1st place: Orphic – Chris Jackson (so proud of my good friend!) 2nd place: LiQUiD – Chrystal Graves 3rd place: Jovo – Anthony M. Revenue Winners 1st place: KidVestors? – Courtney Pettway 2nd place: Pluff Protein – Dylan Paul 3rd place: Transition – Kayla Wright-Jackson, MHA 4th place: wechipn – Morgan A. Webster One of the most insightful sessions for me was the Trailblazers in Capital panel, featuring: Willie Woods (ICV Partners) Marques Torbert (5th Century Partners) Jason Howard (New Catalyst Strategic Partners) Gabby Cazeau (Harlem Capital) Saron Tesfalul (Dragoneer) A few takeaways that stuck with me: - If you’re meeting an LP for the first time and saying, “Hi, my name is…”, you may be at least 12 months away from a check - start building relationships early. - Fund I is about building your foundation and edge. Fund II is about execution. Fund III is where results and returns matter most. - The best fund managers aren’t just great investors - they deeply understand human capital, operations, and structuring to build lasting firms. - LPs will always look at returns, but relationships and trust are just as important - "Do I like them? Are they honest and transparent?" - Knowing when to exit is critical - market conditions shift, and the best managers execute, generate value, and return capital efficiently. These are the kinds of conversations that push the industry forward, and I’m grateful to be part of them. Looking forward to continuing to learn and build. Check out the photos from the weekend! I was so happy to spend some quality time with some of my very good friends, including our summer'24 intern, Ryan Jackson, who is in her first year at HBS. See you all again soon!

Get ready to boss up with Boss Up, The Musical —the dazzling debut film from viral sensation Tony Talks, streaming globally on Revry February 1.

Meta’s open source AI, Llama, is free – enabling WriteSea to build an AI tool that helps people with the job search.

We're proud to share that our portfolio company, WriteSea, just launched a major partnership with Meta to bring #Llama3 AI to their Job Search Genius AI platform! At Collab Capital, we back founders who are building industry-defining solutions, and WriteSea is doing precisely that by transforming the job search experience nationwide. This partnership with Meta is a testament to the team's vision and relentless drive to innovate. We’re excited to see how this will supercharge WriteSea’s growth and amplify its impact on job seekers everywhere. Congrats to Brandon Mitchell, PMP, CSM and the team on this incredible milestone—and shoutout to AI at Meta for helping bring this vision to life.