Our Mission is to accelerate emerging Black entrepreneurs as they explore, connect, launch, and grow their visions into wealth-building ventures.
The
Problem
The path to building wealth is broken for Black young people.
Entrepreneurship is a huge driver of wealth creation, however emerging Black entrepreneurs face multiple barriers to success:
Black and low-income children lack proximate role models to encourage innovation
White children are 3x more likely to become inventors than Black children due to increased exposure to innovation in childhood (Quarterly Journal of Economics)
Black entrepreneurs face numerous barriers to accessing capital at similar rates as white entrepreneurs
On average, white entrepreneurs receive 300% more startup capital than their Black counterparts (Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research)
Lack of access to entrepreneurial networks negatively impacts social capital
78% of startups considered networking necessary for entrepreneurial success (Forbes)
The
Opportunity
71 of the 100 wealthiest Americans earned their wealth through companies they founded and built over the last 60 years (Forbes).
Only one of the 100 wealthiest Americans is Black.
We can build significant equity, both financial and societal, by accelerating the Black entrepreneurial ecosystem over the next 60 years.
Our
Impact
Formation Ventures works to close the racial wealth gap by providing identity-affirming entrepreneurial learning and support to Black young people.
Our focus in our first two years has been to build Run the Future, an entrepreneurial learning experience and social capital development program developed in partnership with Cambiar Education. As part of Run the Future, learners build entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, develop a venture concept, and receive coaching from near-peer mentors.
Our learners report:
90% were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience in Run the Future
88% made progress in developing their business idea during the course
86% are excited about pursuing a business idea after the course
94% said their instructors listened to their ideas and took them seriously
Your
Investment
Supports…
Learning experiences to accelerate emerging entrepreneurs towards building success, and wealth, earlier and faster
Mentorship and a peer community to build social capital
Incubation opportunities for entrepreneurs who are launching their first ventures
Seed funding to bridge the friends and family funding gap
Our Partners
Our partners are key to our ability to achieve this mission. We partner with entrepreneurial and equity-minded people and organizations to make our programs accessible to young people, develop stronger pathways to college and career, provide incubation support to our entrepreneurs, and invest in both our entrepreneurs and our work.
