Diary of a Founder: Q2 Highlights

Juneteenth?marks a special day on many fronts for me - a day to think about freedom, access and equity as well as celebrate the fruition of my vision to create an ecosystem for winning by supporting and investing in founders.

Today, we unveiled our planned $25MM BrainTrust Fund and announced a $1MM investment in CurlMix led by Kimberly Lewis . Over the last several months, we have been laying the groundwork of our fund, investing in our first 3 companies -?BeautyStat, UOMA Beauty and Thirteen Lune and could not think of a better day to formally share our work and role in supporting the growth and sustainability of Black founders across the beauty and wellness industry.

“We designed the BrainTrust Fund as a ‘blue ocean’ investment opportunity to capitalize on innovation by Black entrepreneurs in beauty and wellness,” said General Partners Kendra Bracken-Ferguson and Lisa Stone, citing reports that fewer than 1% of venture capital investors are Black women and fewer than 1% of Black women founders are funded by the venture capital community.?“The BrainTrust Fund exists so that as the massive, multi-trillion-dollar beauty and wellness marketplace grows, Black founders, Black funders and allies may participate in creating and selling what shoppers want,” said Bracken-Ferguson and Stone.

Read more about our announcement and BrainTrust Fund on CEW , Rolling Out and?www.braintrustfund.com !

I'm back at?Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2023 !?We kicked off the week with the?“The Power of Freedom” Panel hosted by Omnicom with my fellow panelists: Stacie M. de Armas (SVP Diverse Intelligence & Initiatives Nielsen), Cavel Khan (Chief Growth Officer , Jason Rosario (Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer BBDO Worldwide), and Robert Vélez (VP of US sales & LATAM Vevo).

When we think about the fact that a panel like this would not have existed on Juneteenth 3 years ago, it's not lost on me the importance and significance of access to information as the foundation of freedom. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.

As we focus on information, innovation, consumer trends and commerce, we launched a strategic partnership with TikTok. BrainTrust Founders Studio is now an official TikTok Shop Partner and BrainTrust Marketing Agency is an official Content Manager Partner. If you are interested in TikTok Shop or need help to develop a content strategy, BrainTrust Marketing Agency can help: LINK HERE .

Founders House

In March, we hit the road for our first Founders House during SXSWMarch 11th - 12th, our first of 6 houses this year! Make sure to visit Founders House in NOLA June 29th, Martha’s Vineyard August 8th - 9th, NY Fashion Week September 8th - 9th, Tulsa October and Los Angeles October 18th - 19th.

If you’re a brand interested in participating, email?[email protected] .

This past May on #BusinessOfTheBeat , we featured three inspiring podcasts for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and one special Mother-Daughter duo for Mother’s Day. The main themes that stood out to me were the importance of balance and self-care, surrounding yourself with the right people, and creating?social impact. From sustainability to ethical practices to each founders’ overall brand missions, each one is making a positive social impact and giving back to their communities.

You can find Business of the Beat on all platforms from Apple Podcasts to Stitcher to Spotify: TUNE IN .

Diary of a Founder - my weekly newsletter that explores the stories, challenges, and successes of diverse Founders! If you missed our Diary of a Founder Newsletter, make sure to subscribe on LinkedIn: SUBSCRIBE .

U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. National Conference -?at this conference in Washington D.C., we'll be designing the future of Black business! Join me Wednesday, July 19th at 3:15 PM EST for my main stage panel “Buying Beauty: The Evolution and Influence of Black Entrepreneurs in the Multi-Billion Dollar”.

Black Women Making Millions Academy -?I’ll also be speaking in Atlanta about "Finding your path to finance, funding, and investment!" Join us from 9:00 AM - 6:00PM on EST Saturday, August 19, 2023.

Black in eCom 2023 -?the world's largest ecommerce experience for the culture! This three-day conference, happening on August 17th to 19th, 2023, in Atlanta, GA, is designed to empower and educate founders and aspiring founders on how to build, launch, and scale a successful ecommerce CPG brand. The conference not only focuses on providing attendees with the latest strategies and best practices for building and scaling ecommerce businesses, but also on connecting eCommerce solution providers with black-owned brands. This unique aspect of the conference provides an opportunity for black-owned brands to connect with solution providers that can help them grow and scale their businesses.

If you are interested in joining or supporting BrainTrust Founders Studio, please visit?www.braintrustfoundersstudio.com .

Looking for social media marketing, influencer and seeding activations? Please visit?www.thebraintrust.com .