Recognizing Black Founders: Past and Present
Black founders raised 1% of all VC funds in 2022
Rachel Braun
January 29, 2023
TechCrunch senior reporter Dom Madori hosted a Twitter Space called "Why don't VCs like funding Black founders?". Listen to the recording here to learn more about the topic, the hurdles faced, and the proposed solutions. While Dom reports within the venture and startup ecosystem as a whole, she recently has proven quick to point out industry narratives others ignore. She is an amazing reporter shining a light on topics too often tiptoed around in tech. Check out some of her recent work: Funding for Black founders remains dismal — where do we go from here? and Black founders still raised just 1% of all VC funds in 2022.
The Twitter Spaces began with founders and continued to include institutional VCs. "Will we have to stay siloed as a culture within the space to get anything done?" was a question that struck me. Over the past few years, the impact of underrepresented communities has been brought to light within the mainstream corporate sector... but where does it live within startups?
The conversation reminded me of the history of Jack Daniel's and how long it took for the person who taught him about whiskey distillery to get acknowledged.
The legacy of Master Distiller Nathan "Nearest" Green
Nathan "Nearest" Green taught Jack Daniel the art of whiskey distillation and was the inventor of the Lincoln County Process, the sugar maple charcoal filtering method used to make most Tennessee Whiskey. As he was only freed in 1865 following the Civil War, Green was robbed of recognition for more than 150 years. It wasn't until 2016 that he was acknowledged as the first African-American master distiller on record in the US. After the War, he was given the title "Head Stiller" for the Jack Daniel's Distillery.
In 2017, author and historian Fawn Weaver launched "Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey" in honor of the Head Stiller. Weaver is the first African-American woman to head a major spirits brand and the first American spirit brand with an all-female executive team.
Before launching the brand's first distillery in 2019, she started the Nearest Green Foundation, which honors the legacy of Green with a scholarship program and offers full college scholarships for Green's descendants. The inspiration for these ventures started in 2016 when she traveled to Tennessee to interview Green's descendants for a book project.
In 2019, Uncle Nearest announced a descendant of Green as the master blender: Victoria Eady Butler. She became the first known African-American female whiskey master blender and was named Master Blender of the Year by Whisky Magazine, VinePair, and The Spirits Business in 2021.
In 2022, Weaver and Butler were named one of Food & Wine's Drinks Innovators of the Year.
Helping African Americans entering the spirits industry
In 2020, Nearest Green Distillery and the Jack Daniel's Distillery teamed to create the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative. Each company gave $2.5M to create the Nearest Green School of Distilling at Motlow State Community College. The program includes the Leadership Acceleration Program for apprenticeships and the Business Incubation Program, which provides African Americans entering the spirits industry with mentorship and resources.
Minority-founded and owned spirits brands
In 2021, Uncle Nearest formed the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund to invest in minority-founded and owned spirits brands. On Twitter, I was recommended to try Hella, one of their portfolio companies! Hella Cocktail Co offers botanically inspired mixers and beverages for elevated cocktails. According to Entrepreneur, it was the first BIPOC-owned and led beverage brand to be available in all 50 states.
On January 17th, Hella Cocktail Co received an investment from Pronghorn, a company dedicated to expanding diversity within the spirits industry, aiming to invest in 57 Black-owned brands. Hella co-founder Jomaree Pinkard will transition to Hella chairman and assume the position of Pronghorn's CEO and managing director.
If we realized it took far too long to recognize Nathan "Nearest" Green and his contributions to whiskey, why aren't we making changes to recognize more Black founders contributing to the startup space now?
Rachel's Recommendations
- Coffeeshop and Radio Bar: Hi-Note
- Bookstore: Harriett's Bookshop
- Beer: Harlem Hops
- Creator: Bukola
- Artist: Lyne Lucien
- Read: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett