“Venture Capital & Angel Investing” - Bridging the Funding Gap with Brooke Daniels

“When it comes to representation, VC entrepreneurship is woefully behind,” shares Brooke Daniels, founder of Ready, Aim, Launch. In today’s episode host D-Rich sits down with Brooke to talk about bridging the funding gap for Black entrepreneurs and the differences between venture capital and angel investing. Next, D-Rich and Brooke are joined by entrepreneurs Aireka Harvell, CEO of NoDat Place, and Gene Norman of Water Watch LLC to critique their business pitches.    Many Black entrepreneurs feel that before they start a business, they need to have a specific amount of money, but that is not the case. Brooke explains that bigger companies rely on venture capital and angel investors for funding rather than investing their own cash. Venture capital offers the opportunity for very high growth in exchange for equity in the company. Angel investors are accredited investors that face even larger risks than venture capitalists because they are investing individually rather than through a fund. It is one of the riskiest asset classes, but does allow for greater control over your investments and the potential for even higher reward.    Join Brooke Daniels, Aireka Harvell, Gene Norman, and host D-Rich on this week’s episode of Southern Soul Live Stream - Podshow to learn more about venture capital and angel investing. Learn about the funding gap facing Black entrepreneurs and how to benefit from learning how to invest in different asset classes.    Quotes  • “One of the biggest hurdles I see in our community is that we feel like it has to be our personal cash that starts a business, which is just not true. That's not how the big companies do it.” (11:52-12:03 | Brooke) • “The trade off for venture capital money is that because you've been able to grow so fast with these cash infusions, you've created a bigger business where now you maybe only have five or 10% left. But that piece is still going to be bigger than the piece you may have had if you had done the funding yourself.” (13:21-13:37 | Brooke) • “VC entrepreneurship, when it comes to representation, is woefully behind.” (16:18-16:22 | Brooke) • “When I was on TV, I was just forecasting how you're gonna get two inches of rain. Once it fell, I didn't care what happened to it. But there's a whole industry of people who are very concerned about what happens to that water. And so I listened to my customers, I made adjustments to our product to make it more valuable and useful to them. And that has helped us grow.” (56:52-57:12 | Gene) • “After COVID, what we realize is it's easier to connect with investors through zoom.” (1:05:53-1:05:58 | Aireka) Links   Connect with Brooke Daniels, Founder of Ready, Aim, Launch and Business Coach & Advisor - VIP Coaching - https://thebrookedaniels.com/vip-coaching - Ready Aim Launch - https://thebrookedaniels.com/ready-aim-launch   Gene Norman, Water Watch, LLC https://waterwatchpro.com/   Aireka Harvell, CEO NoDat Place https://nodatplace.com/ https://nodat.app/about/   Angel Investor Resources for Black Women, and People of Color Equity Crowdfunding Getting Started as an Angel Investor - Cap Table Coalition - https://www.captablecoalition.com/ - WeFunder Crowdfunding - https://wefunder.com/ - Net Capital Crowdfunding - https://netcapital.com/ Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun Investing in Startups - https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Investing-David-S-Rose-audiobook/dp/B00KI2JKLA/ About Southern Soul Thursdays - @SoulThursdays   Witty, thought-provoking, and uplifting, Southern Soul Livestream - Podshow is the program that you’ll invite friends over to watch every week, where you’ll learn about fascinating speakers and get to share in exciting experiences. Tune in each Thursday at 8 pm eastern at SoulThursdays.com to connect with guests from across the generations and to laugh with our "cast of characters," hosts who are as charming as they are talented!   Support Community Exploratory Journalism  Buy us  A Coffee!  Shop Southern Soul Official Merchandise  Buy  Official Merchandise Purchase Official Show Companion  SSL Companion & Journal   Register for Live Episode - “It’s a Whole Vibe!”  Click here to register.    Connect with us Website: www.SoulThursdays.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulthursdays/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulthursdays/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/soulthursdays Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@soulthursdays