Community Voices: Black-owned startups encouraged to apply for Seedfunders Opportunity Fund

Welcome to the Catalyst’s Community Voices platform. We’ve curated community leaders and thinkers from all parts of our great city to speak on issues that affect us all. Visit our Community Voices page for more details.

Is your startup majority Black-owned? If so, apply now to receive an investment from the Seedfunders Opportunity Fund. 

Research shows that entrepreneurs of color often have uniquely positioned ideas for technology-driven businesses but cannot raise the capital to get started. We aim to empower Black entrepreneurs through “friends and family” stage investments and mentoring with the goal of filling the gap created by decades of systemic racism. 

To be eligible to receive funding, your majority Black-owned business must be headquartered in the state of Florida and your product or service must be based on a scalable technology concept with a minimum addressable market of $100 million. Additional investment criteria includes:

• Having a driven, capable and passionate founding team
• Being focused on pre-launch, pre-revenue business incubation
• Employing a lean startup approach to developing a minimum viable product (MVP)
• Having a clear path to $1 million in annual repeatable revenue over a three to five year period

If your startup is approved for funding, you’ll receive myriad benefits and ongoing support. In addition to long-term mentoring by a team of venture capital industry veterans, you’ll also have access to an extensive network of professionals throughout the country, along with capital to fuel your growth. You can expect to participate in regular steering meetings with founders and key stakeholders, receive technical assistance and managerial advice, get help with your marketing strategy and go-to-market development, learn how to conduct competitive industry analysis research and make connections with industry professionals. Ultimately, the Opportunity Fund will help you focus on growing your business to a point where it is competitive and attractive for follow-on funding opportunities. 

The application process is your first step for receiving an investment through the Opportunity Fund. You’ll be asked to provide basic information about your startup’s founders, your business concept and your progress to date. Once you submit your application, it will go through an initial screening to determine whether your company fits the fund’s criteria. Applications that pass the initial screening will move on to due diligence. 

Don’t wait any longer to start growing your business. Click here to submit your application. Have questions or want more information? Contact Jonah Hanowitz at jonah@stpete.co.