FAMU foundation invests in $25 million Fearless Fund Venture Capital firm to support women of color

Press Release | Florida A&M University (FAMU) Foundation on March 9, 2021 announced its investment in the US$25 million Fearless Fund, the first venture capital (VC) fund built by women of color, for women of color, and led by two FAMU alumnae, Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons.

“This marks an historic moment in the history of the FAMU Foundation, which has an investment value of US$142 million and endowment value of US$106 million. We are charged with investing in and for the future of our great institution. We expect this investment to pay dividends for generations to come,” said Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D., vice president University Advancement and executive director of the FAMU Foundation.

The investment marks FAMU’s first in a Black-led VC firm and will be utilized by the Fearless Fund to grow its ever-expanding portfolio of women of color-led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. With this announcement, the University joins other major businesses who recently invested in Fearless Fund, including Paypal, Bank of America, Invest Atlanta, and Costco.

“This investment from Florida A&M University is an exciting addition to our fund and furthers our mission to bridge the gap in VC funding for female founders of color,” said Arian Simone, general partner and co-founder of the Fearless Fund. Simone and Parsons were members of the incoming class of 1999. “As an alumnus of Florida A&M University, having them invest in what we are building with the Fearless Fund means all the more to me,” Simone added.

About the Fearless Fund: The Fearless Fund is a venture capital fund that invests in women of color led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. The fund’s mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders building scalable, growth aggressive companies. Fearless Fund is built by women of color for women of color.

The fund’s portfolio founders and companies include: Roshawnna Novellus of EnrichHER, Alicia Scott of Range Beauty, Angel Lenise, Montre Moore, and Phyllicia Phillips, J.D. of AMP Beauty, Tracey Pickett of HairBrella, Angela Benton of Streamlytics, and Sheena Allen of Capway. The fund has a goal to invest in over 40 women of color-founded startups in the tech, CPG, beauty and fashion industries.

About Florida A&M University: Florida A&M University is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, it is located on the highest geographic hill in Tallahassee. It is the 3rd largest historically black university in the United States by enrollment and the only public historically black university in Florida. It is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, as well as one of the state’s land grant universities, and is accredited to award baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Source: Florida A&M University