Black Men Ventures

Black Men Ventures We envision a world where Black Men Founders have equitable access to professional and financial capi

Four Things we learned being part of … In many ways, Black Men Ventures is still in its infancy as a nonprofit.We did ...
06/26/2023

Four Things we learned being part of …

In many ways, Black Men Ventures is still in its infancy as a nonprofit.

We did our first three successful virtual pitch competitions during the pandemic – fulfilling our mission to create capital for Black male founders – but we were itching to do an in-person pitch competition.

Little did we know that our first live pitch competition would be as part of Earn Your Leisure’s InvestFest, a festival which gathers 14,000 people in a combination of investment strategies, entrepreneurship, pop culture and entertainment.

How we got that opportunity could be a whole blog post in itself.

There’s an old adage that relationships beats resumes.

And relationships are what created this amazing opportunity for us.

To borrow a phrase from professional baseball’s farm system, we went from Single A ball to the Major Leagues seemingly overnight.

Here’s what we learned in the process.

1. The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity.

We have a six-week schedule for producing a pitch competition. It’s detailed, and it lays out what we should be doing each week to prepare.

Being part of Earn Your Leisure’s InvestFest gave us half of that time to prepare.

We had to adapt.

When big opportunities come your way – and we’re trusting they will - you’ll have to adapt, too.

2. Rely on the people in your circle that can handle big dreams.

We needed to raise a decent amount of money and arrange some logistics quickly.

It only made sense to reach out to people who are used to dealing with big dreams. People like Omi Shelly Bell at Black Girl Ventures and our guy Kendall Ficklin - KFA at Grindation. We needed partners who could see past the obstacles.

When big opportunities come your way – and we trust that they will – you’ll need partners who can see your vision and not just the obstacles.

3. Just take the first few steps even if you can’t see the finish line.

If you pray for rain, you should grab your umbrella.

Even while we were working through the logistics, we started making travel accommodations for Atlanta.

We never assumed there was an obstacle we couldn’t overcome, so we planned as if all the obstacles had been removed.

When your big opportunity comes – and we’re believing that it will – keep preparing as if the obstacles had already been removed.

4. If you stay ready, you never have to get ready.

Half of the Black Men Ventures originally met as college basketball teammates. We know that champions are made in the offseason and crowned in the postseason.

We gave ourselves over to perfecting every single aspect of our pitch competition in obscurity.

That behind-the-scenes preparation made us ready for the BET Main Stage when the Earn Your Leisure opportunity presented itself.

When your big opportunity presents itself – and we believe that it will – it will be your behind-the-scenes preparation that will have you ready for it.

Happy Juneteenth from
06/19/2023

Happy Juneteenth from

Happy Juneteenth from Black Men Ventures
06/19/2023

Happy Juneteenth from Black Men Ventures

Happy Father’s Day from the Black Men Ventures Team
06/18/2023

Happy Father’s Day from the Black Men Ventures Team

Happy Father’s Day from the team at Black Men Ventures!
06/18/2023

Happy Father’s Day from the team at Black Men Ventures!

We don't think Black male entrepreneurs should go through life with no support. At Black Men Ventures, we're doing somet...
06/06/2023

We don't think Black male entrepreneurs should go through life with no support.

At Black Men Ventures, we're doing something about it.
https://blackmenventures.org

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7761 Diamondback Drive
College Park, MD
20742

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