Chipping away
*ICYMI, here's last week’s issue.
Good morning everyone!
We’re excited to announce that Crescent Fund has completed its team of partners at each of the Claremont Colleges (Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, and Scripps).
Here’s what’s coming up in this newsletter edition:
A column addressing the longstanding issue of diversity in VC
Exciting podcast, NFT, and AI-related startup news
Upcoming career opportunities, featuring the startup Fud
Sincerely,
The Crescent Team
*If you’re a student building something cool, want to join Crescent, or just want to chat, reach out to us at ops@crescentfund.vc.
Diversity in the World of Tech and VC
In 2021, out of an impressive record-breaking $137 billion invested in tech startups in the US, only 1.2% was invested in Black entrepreneurs. This massive discrepancy in investment portrays one of many hurdles that Black founders face in an industry where there is a drastic lack of representation for ethnic minorities.
Diversity is an issue that needs to be seriously addressed in the world of venture capital. Due to the fact that VC is an industry that simply has not been historically accessible to African-Americans, it is not surprising to see that as of 2020, White Americans made up approximately 72% of all partner positions.
In light of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, major institutions like Google and Paypal have invested millions in Black-led start-ups and investment firms. However, venture capital still has a long way to go in terms of addressing the lack of diversity. With the help of organizations like BLCK VC, firms are being pushed to take action and become more inclusive in order to help shift the racial demographics of the industry so that they may reflect the diversity of this country.
BLCK VC is a non-profit organization that aims to provide support and resources to Black investors in order to help close the racial gap within venture capital. According to recent data, Black investors make up only 6% of the industry, and Black venture capital partners make up only 4% of the industry. Additionally, data gathered by BLCK VC reports that “In a survey of 638 firms with more than 7 investors, almost 90% don’t have a single Black investor and only 15 have more than one.”
In order to address this serious problem, Crunchbase has developed a Diversity Spotlight to support the growth of equity and inclusion in the tech start-up world by holding investment firms accountable for how they address diversity in their funding activities. Crunchbase also uses the Diversity Spotlight to bring attention to companies with “diverse leadership and the investors who fund them,” which in turn can be used as a tool for connecting VCs and CEOs who are eager to bring more visibility to Black-led companies.
Venture Capital still has large strides to make in terms of inclusion and diversity, but with the work of organizations like BLCK VC and tools like the Diversity Spotlight, we can get closer and closer to making the VC and tech start-up world a place where people of all backgrounds are welcome and represented.
The Southern Californian Tech Landscape
Gumball, a Silver Lake-based advertising technology startup, seeks to automate the manual process of negotiating host-read ads between advertisers and podcast hosts. They recently raised $10 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate the process.
The Beverly Hills-based startup NFT Brands becomes yet another player in the NFT market. They help brands with the entire NFT creation process, all the way from initial design to community management. The startup recently received $3.6 million in a seed funding round, with a projected $154 million from incoming deals.
Chipotle employs an AI-enabled robot named “Chippy”, courtesy of Miso Robotics. The Pasadena-based robotics startup has programmed Chippy to specifically make tortilla chips, so the next time you enjoy some chips and guacamole, it could be the work of a robot.
Career Opportunities
- Featured This Week: Fud -
Fud, a social community that supports side hustles, is hiring a part-time brand ambassador!
To apply, send an email to Thomas Nolan (thomas@joinfud.com) along with your resume and CV.
Here’s more from Fud:
We are building a new platform with different tools, earning and methodologies which will necessitate forming a close bond and relationship with our creator community partners.
Core responsibilities:
Recruit existing creators from other platforms who are creating content within the side hustle community
Develop and maintain a detailed pipeline which will serve as both a potential CRM as well as a north star for who Fud wants to poach
Attend key influencer events across the country representing the Fud brand with the aim at recruiting
Development and quarterbacking of local events meant to educate the public on Fud with the aim of driving them to our Discord server to learn more and engage
*If you want a job or listing featured in this newsletter, please reach out to us at ops@crescentfund.vc.
Startups
Software Dev + Engineering:
HG Insights (Internship)
Graymatter Robotics (Internship)
Gemini (Full-time)
Instride (Full-time)
Marketing + Content:
Lemonlight Media (Internship)
Media.Monks (Internship)
Bliss Point Media (Full-time)
HRL Laboratories (Full-time)
VC
Chegg (Internship)
Silicon Valley Bank (Internship)
Struck Capital (Full-time)
Group 11 (Full-time)
*If you’re interested in helping out Southern California student founders through advising or becoming an LP feel free to reach out to ops@crescentfund.vc.
Thanks for tuning in to this week’s newsletter.
Signing off,
Crescent Fund