Black Muse: Sticking to Your Values and Investing in Black Excellence

Venture capital may be Kathryn’s occupation, but entrepreneurship is her vocation. She looks at the world through the lens of possibilities and what can be built. In creating her venture capital firm, Genius Guild, she uses venture capital to build a new Black future. In this episode, you’ll learn about the founding of Genius Guild, the power of investing in Black entrepreneurs, and the importance of sticking to your core values. “I think Genius Guild is going about its mission with much more experience than almost anyone else doing this.” Kathryn started Genius Guild as both a community for entrepreneurs and a fund to invest in high-growth companies led by Black founders. Genius Guild’s investment thesis is that Black companies produce alpha- aka market rate returns- for investors, their community, and themselves. They aim to invest in market-based solutions that end racism by funding and supporting Black founders. “On average, it takes seven introductions to an investor to get a white woman funded in their network. But it takes fifty to get a black female entrepreneur invested.” Genius Guild was created to level the playing field and make it easier for founders of color to find investments to continue pioneering work. If only some people create new businesses, you don’t get access to creators’ entire wealth of lived experience and new, innovative ideas that may not look like everything else on the market. “We're doing something big, bold, and forward-thinking. And so, we must ensure we're all on board.” When you build your business, you want to ensure that you and your team are on the same page. One way Kathryn did this was to create a set of shared company values alongside her team and create an environment of shared trust where everyone felt comfortable contributing. “In a lifetime of doing a lot of big, interesting things, this is the biggest, the most interesting, the boldest thing I've ever done.” Life is about what you leave behind and whether your existence made the world better.   Guests Renee Wittemyer: https://ncwit.org/profile/renee-wittemyer/ Brian Laung Aoaeh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/industrialtransformationandsupplychaintechnology/ Cheryl Contee: https://dobigthings.today/team-members/cheryl-contee/ Geri Stengel: https://ventureneer.com/founder-bio/ Sharmayne Lueiza Muñoz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharmayne-lueiza-mu  Barbara Clarke: https://impactseat.org/team-member/barbara-clarke/ Teresa Chahine: https://som.yale.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/teresa-chahine Dr. Jeffrey Robinson: https://www.business.rutgers.edu/faculty/jeffrey-robinson   To hear more, visit kathrynfinney.substack.com