Michael Darko is the founder & CEO of Farringdon Jets, The Worlds Most

Security Focused Jet Charter Company. After becoming familiar with the needs of High- and Ultra-High-Net-Worth-Individuals through his international career in property and offshore wealth management, Michael decided to merge his experience and network with his lifelong passion for aviation to launch Farringdon Jets, a luxury charter jet service that fills the need in the market by prioritizing safety and security for its clients not just in the air but on the ground too.

In this episode youll learn:

• How he bootstrap a successful charter jet company; and
• Why he is looking to raise funds for the next stage of his travel venture.

When was the last time you enjoyed REST?

At the WTF? Podcast we are big proponents of rest as a productivity hack. Book your next relaxing luxury getaway with our partner in rest and luxury at Farringdon Jets!

Learn more about Michael:

michaeldarko.com

Linkedin:

Email: michael@fardingtonjets.com

I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with others.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Seven years ago she was broke and sleeping on the airport floor. Now she is a successful investor, entrepreneur, and author..

Arlan Hamilton of Backstage Capital, Runner and author of Its About Damn Time published well before singer Lizzos popular song by the same name. Backstage Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now raised over $20 million and invested in more than 150 startup companies led by underestimated founders.

In this episode we discuss:

• Arlans top recommendations for how to turn being underestimated into your greatest advantage
• How she pivoted from tour manager to venture capitalist
• Why you should be hungry but never thirsty when pitching VCs

When was the last time you enjoyed REST?

At the WTF? Podcast we are big proponents of rest as a productivity hack. Book your next relaxing luxury getaway with our partner in rest and luxury at Farringdon Jets!

Learn more about Arlan:

LinkedIn:

Instagram:

Twitter

• Learn more about Backstage Capital here: https://backstagecapital.com/
• Its About Damn Time: https://www.itsaboutdamntime.com/
• Learn more about Runner here: https://www.hirerunner.co/

I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with others.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

The US beauty industry is worth about $60 billion and spending on beauty is robust among Black Americans, a diverse and growing group of 41 million people with increasing spending power. In 2021, they spent $6.6 billion on beauty. However, Black brands make up only 2.5 percent of revenue in the beauty industry and Black consumers are responsible for 11.1 percent of total beauty spending according to a 2022 McKinsey & Company report titled Black Representation in the Beauty Industry. Leslie is on a mission to fix that by creating opportunities for Black women to thrive in the beauty space. Stick around to find out how.

Leslie Roberson is the Founder of the Black Beauty Collective with a dynamic past that lead her to create an initiative that fills a gap in the beauty industry. Leslie is a military veteran and has a background in corporate talent acquisition and business development. She is an expert at leading human resource functions, acquiring and training senior staff, and having an eye for unique talent.

In this episode we discuss:

• How she is creating place and space for Black women in the beauty business to feel valued, seen and heard
• Providing a sense of community with built in business development resources to help founders in the collective thrive through community and collaboration.

PR is an important part of a businesses marketing strategy. The WTF? Podcast has partnered with The PR University to help your business get SEEN and VALUED by your target customers.

If you want to learn How to be SEEN and HEARD via social and other media, follow these steps to use the WTF25 code to get a 25% discount on the Do It Yourself PR 101 class at The PR University:

1. Go to www.thePRuniversity.com to view all course options or go straight to the class at Do It Yourself PR (thinkific.com)

2. Go to the sign up option with either one of the buttons and follow the prompt to purchase the course - use the code "wtf25 - to get the course access for 25% off.

3. You can start the DIY course as soon as you are ready!

Learn more about Leslie:

Instagram

LinkedIn

Learn more about the Black Beauty Collective:

Instagram

Website

I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with 3 friends.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn

Danielle Shoots is the Managing Partner and Managing Director of the New Community Transformation Fund a $50 million equity venture capital fund for BIPOC founders in Denver. She is also President and CEO of Wealth Equity Enterprises, her holdings company, which owns several businesses that support the mission of building BIPOC wealth and leadership.

Her passion for people and leadership, distinguished business acumen, and tenacious work ethic have garnered her numerous accolades, including the 2019 list of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business from the Colorado Womens Chamber of Commerce, the 2020 Emerging Leader in Philanthropy award, the 2018 Woman of the Year award, and a recipient of the 2017 Denver Business Journals 40 Under 40 award.

In this episode we discuss:

• Her leadership and entrepreneurship journey
• Insights for Black women about leadership and growing a profitable business
• How she is building BIPOC wealth and leadership
• The New Community Transformation Fund and its unique approach
• The most significant challenges founders should be aware of when raising their first round of funding; and
• What she looks for in founders she funds

When was the last time you enjoyed REST?

At the WTF? Podcast we are big proponents of rest as a productivity hack. Book your next relaxing luxury getaway with our partner in rest and luxury at Farringdon Jets!

Learn more about Danielle:

Website

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram:

Learn more about Wealth Equity Enterprises here: https://wealthequityent.com/

I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. f you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with three friends. Sharing is caring so be generous.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

She dabbled in all sorts of ventures such as building a tent in her living room to rent on AirBnB, building furniture, owning a t-shirt company and a print shop before she started Black Girl Ventures. Stick around to hear how this system disruptor moves ideas to profit while empowering people to live more authentically.

Shelly Omild Bell ("Omi" Bell) She was named one of the Top 100 Powerful Women in Business by Entrepreneur Mag,Entrepreneur of the Year by Technically DC, and acknowledged as ARising Brand Star by Adweek. She is among the nation's most sought-after inspirational speakers in the DC Metro area with features in Forbes, The Washington Business Journal, NewsOne, The Afro, People of Color in Tech, and on Politico Live. Her organization, Black Girl Ventures (BGV) is a social enterprise that creates access to social and financial capital for Black/Brown women founders.

In this episode well discuss:

• How her endeavors before the started Black Girl Ventures
• Her pitching advice for Black women to help them stand out and improve their fundraising outcomes
• What not to say when you are pitching investors
• The things founders should know and do when they are pitching

Learn more about Omi:

Linkedin:@omibell: Twitter: @theomibell: Instagram: @omibell: Facebook: /theomibell

Learn more about Black Girl Ventures: https://www.blackgirlventures.org/

Instagram: @blackgirlventures Twitter: @bgirlventures Facebook:/blackgirlventures

At the WTF? Podcat we are big proponents of rest as a productivity hack. Book your next relaxing luxury getaway with Farringdon Jets!

I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with three friends. Sharing is caring so be generous.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Hey WTF? Podcast listeners! If you are new here, welcome. If you have been rocking with me for a while, thank you for being here!

Its been three years of podcasting and before the end of this season I will hit the 100th episode mark! Stay tuned to see what it will be about and make sure to check out all of the wonderful episodes coming up this season!

Please complete this survey to let me know how I can I can improve the podcast.

See you on the other side of the season.

Michelle

If you are an early-stage Black founder, keep listening to learn how to survive your first 24 months as a startup entrepreneur.

Fernando Cabral is the co-founder of Djassi Africa, which invests in African tech-enabled startups and ecosystem builders by providing world-class expertise, operational support, and access to a global network to help these startups build the future of Africa.

In this episode youll learn:

• How Djassi Africa is empowering African and Afro-descendent founders and supporting entrepreneurship ecosystem builders
• How hes working to change the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Portugal for Black founders through the Afropreneur initiative; and
• How to survive your first 24 months as a Black founder

Learn more about Fernando here:

Fernando Cabral

Founder & Managing Director | FS-360

Chief Venture Growth | Djassi Africa

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fjcabral/

www.fs360global.com

www.djassiafrica.com

Afropreneurs.pt: https://www.afropreneurs.pt/

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with others.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

If you are a small business owner, lean in and keep listening to hear more about how to structure your business to qualify for SBA and commercial bank credit for your business.

My guest is the President of Integrated Business Financing, and the host of the podcast Create Success Out Of iFailure. Jonathan Fodera has been in business financing for 14 years and has helped thousands of entrepreneurs get over $500 million in funds. He founded Integrated Business Financing, a small business lending marketplace specializing in getting businesses into the best financing programs they qualify for.

In this episode we discussed:

• The findability factors for accessing business credit
• How to cut payment processing costs by 95%.
• How to set up your business for long-term success.
• The best time to apply for business financing
• Understanding common mistakes entrepreneurs make and how to avoid them.

Key Takeaways:

• Cash Flow management helps with business financing
• Apply for financing when you dont need it
• 4 Things to Decide to Fund a Small Business;
  • Business and personal credit
  • Strong cash flow
  • Profitability

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you liked it, leave a rating and review and share this episode with other people who need to hear it. Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

Danielle P. Jeter has been quoted in over 20 national publications for her ability to advocate, inspire, lead, and build community. Her relentless pursuit of storytelling has culminated in hundreds of media features for her clients and partners!

Danielle is a dynamic storyteller and an award-winning travelpreneur. Her 13 years of experience and proven strategies have garnered her opportunities to share the stage with many greats like Master P, Kindred The Family Soul, Wale, Governor Tom Wolf, Senator Bob Casey, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Yee, and many more.

Youll learn about:

• How to collaborate to grow your brand
• How to do partnership outreach
• How to use storytelling as a marketing strategy
• How to simplify your messaging

Key takeaways:

• Storytelling is messaging
• Collaboration is an excellent marketing strategy
• All brands have a story to tell
• Simplify your message

Guest contact: @DPJeter on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself, so if you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with others.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network and follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

How much do you know about your coffee before it comes out of your Keurig coffee machine or handed to you by the barista at your favorite coffee shop?

We hardly have any stories told by the coffee producer or the person living in that country and experiencing all the emotions that go with working in the coffee industry, from the growing of the coffee, processing and selling it. This story has always been from the point of view of the buyer, the roaster, the trader - the foreigner looking in and excited about the new adventure of experiencing the place and its people. Hardly do we have stories especially from this continent that clearly touch on the perception of this continent and the real story of doing business in these environments.

That was an excerpt from the Coffee Milk Blood by todays guest, Vava Angwenyi. In 2009, Vava started Vava Coffee Limited a social enterprise that exports, roasts and consults on coffee value chains. Her main aim is to contribute to better future prospects for coffee communities and the industry as a whole. The company ensures sustainable livelihoods for the people and communities in which it works. Vava is also the co-founder and director of business development & fundraising at GENTE DEL FUTURO (People of the Future). GDF is an organization born out of a partnership between African Plantations Kilimanjaro and Vava Coffee Ltd. Gente Del Futuros focus is to amplify the voices of youth by creating economic empowerment, choices and sustainability for the coffee industry.

In this episode youll learn:

• How to navigate as a woman in a male-dominated industry
• How to be a changemaker as a female entrepreneur challenging the status quo

In the coffee industry.

Key Takeaways

• Women (especially Black women) deal with unreasonable judgements about their appearance and their ability, especially when they are playing in a male-dominated space;
• While the entrepreneurship journey is challenging for many, adding layers of race and gender discrimination make the journey for Black women (especially Black African women) even more challenging;
• Make sure you understand what types of funding are best for you and your business structure; and
• Entrepreneurs should do better vetting of VCs and other funders. Due diligence is a two-way street.

Guest Info:

Learn about Vava here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vavaj/

Learn more about Vava Coffee here: https://www.vavacoffeeinc.com/

Learn more about GENTE DEL FUTURO here:https://www.gente-delfuturo.com/

Learn about Coffee Milk Blood here: https://www.coffeemilkblood.com/

What did you learn or like most about this episode? Let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with three friends. Sharing is caring so be generous.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

My guest is known as the Grant Lady. If you want to learn how to win grants for your business or nonprofit, break out your notebook and pen, tablet, or the notes app on your phone, sit in a quiet place and listen. Oh, and you can write a review and thank me later!

Danita C. Doleman has over 20 years of business experience and grants consulting. Recognizing the struggle that business owners face when it comes to applying for grants she created Grants4Biz to make that part of life simpler. Lets face it: running a small business isnt easy. Throughout her career, shes helped many nonprofit organizations, commercial organizations, and small business owners connect with grant opportunities.

In this episode youll learn:

• The first 5 steps to getting grant money for your business or organization
• The different types of grants that exist
• The 3 most important things business owners should know about grants
• The 5 most important things nonprofits should know about grants
• The most common misconceptions about grants; and
• The 5 most important things to do to successfully win grants for a business or nonprofit.

Key Takeaways:

Common misconceptions grantseekers have about grants

• That they are eligible for everything
• Grants are easy to get

Key things to know about grants:

• Some grants have lengthy reporting requirements, especially for government grants)
• Grants can be audited so accurate good records
• Grants can be terminated or revoked if you dont comply with the conditions of use and grant awardees can be asked to return grant funds or assets purchased with grant funds
• Grant awardees might be asked to return cash on hand or unspent funds at the closeout of grant

3 Things to consider below applying for grants:

1. Do you meet the eligibility criteria, are you qualified to apply for that grant?
2. Will you be able to convince the grant reviewer that you are a capable and good candidate to receive the grant award?
3. Are you willing to commit to the time some grant applications take to prepare?

5 things successful applicants do to win grants:

1. Read grant eligibility criteria to ensure that you qualify to apply for the grant
2. Never submit a grant application the date its due. Prepare and submit your grant application ahead of the deadline if possible
3. Establish strong quality control for your final submission to ensure you submit an application that is complete and compelling
4. Craft a compelling story not just of need but of the intended outcomes that money will have on your ability to serve your customers
5. Write a detailed budget narrative

Guest Info:

Business IG: @grants4biz

Email: dcoleman@seapartners.com

Website: grants4biz.com

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with 3 friends.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

How do you know if you are building a business that is valued or investible? Keep listening to learn the 6 criteria for building a valuable business from Kevin Valley, host of The Value podcast who is helping entrepreneurs structure and grow successful businesses that can attract investment.

Kevin Valley is incredibly passionate about the development of entrepreneurs building valuable businesses. He is a consultant who specializes in helping businesses demonstrate their value and raise capital. Defensibility is everything as Kevin often states that unless a valuation can withstand intense scrutiny - it is just a number As a qualified Chartered Business Valuator who has spent over 13 years evaluating companies for debt and equity investment, Kevin understands how to add value by bringing a wealth of experience, tenacity, and unbiased insight to business owners and investors alike. Kevin is the Founder of Become Investible, a Partner at Aspire Fund Management, and Host of The Value Podcast.

In this episode youll learn:

• What it means to structure and lead a valuable business.

The fundamental concepts of value are based on growth and risk.

The Six Characteristics of a Valued Business:

V- visionary leadership - can your business survive without you?

A- active cash flows - are you cashflow positive?

L- long-term mindset- a company with a plan is worth more than a company without one.

U- useful to investors - are you ready to pitch investors?

E- efficient operations - the backbone of your business

D- defensible competitive advantage - what sets your business apart?

A valued business framework download.

4 Thing to Do Before Courting Investors, take time to:

• get a plan together,
• make sure you are hiring the right people,
• building a great culture, and
• document your procedures so that your business is not solely reliant on you. If you cant take a vacation from your business then you dont own a business, you own a job.

Fill out the valued scorecard here: https://businessvalue.scoreapp.com/. Reach out to Kevin to help you structure a valued business.

Learn more about Kevin here:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinvalley/ and https://kevinvalue.com/

The Value Podcast: https://thevalue.show/

Link to How to Raise Entrepreneurial Kids mentioned in the episode.

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with three friends. Sharing is caring so be generous.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

Do you need some results-based tips and strategies to help you level up your PR and business communication? Stick around! By the end of this episode, you will learn a few strategies that you can implement right away.

My guest is Phoenix Jackson. Phoenix is the Founder of Phoenix Affect, a 17-year-old global public relations, communications, and business development firm. She has worked with many small business owners, non-profits, professional athletes, entertainers, authors, speakers, politicians, NGOs, government entities, and more, helping them to manifest their desired outcomes in business.

In this episode youll learn:

• What business owners should know about business communication and how to do it effectively
• The differences between personal PR and business communication
• When you should hire a PR firm as a business owner; and
• 5 useful PR 101 tips that you can implement right away

Key Takeaways:

• PR starts within
• Collaboration and partnerships are major marketing strategies for businesses
• Many business owners arent taking advantage of adjacent media
• You can do PR on a DIY budget and this episode tells you how!

PR University discount code: WTF25 to receive a 25% discount to PR University! Dont miss out!

Learn more about Phoenix here: phoenixjackson.com

Linkedin:linkedin.com/in/phoenix-jackson-0725445

Learn more about Phoenix Affect here: phoenixaffect.com

Booking: phx@phoenixaffect.com

Twitter: phoenixkjackson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoenix_jackson_/

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with 3 friends.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode

If you are an immigrant like me, do you ever close your eyes and dream of some of your favorite foods from your home country? Caribbshopper turned that dream into a reality for people in the Caribbean diaspora when it launched in 2021. Listen to this episode to hear the Caribshopper founders fundraising and entrepreneurship journey and what motivated him to start Caribshopper. Oh, and check out the discount code below to get a 23% off of your next cart of purchases from Caribshopper.

In this episode I speak with the CEO and Co-Founder of Caribshopper, Kadion Preston.

Caribshopper is the largest e-commerce marketplace for authentic Caribbean-made products, where Caribbean diaspora communities in North America can connect with a taste of home.

Since its launch in January 2021, Caribshopper has shipped over 28,795 products to 48 states in the US, as well as Quebec and Ontario in Canada. The platform proudly features over 7000 SKUs from 650+ brands representing both Jamaica and Trinidad with more countries to be added soon.

In this episode youll learn:

• Why Kadion and his brother started Caribshopper
• How he went from idea to launch
• The 3 most important lessons hes learned during his fundraising and entrepreneurship journey ; and
• How he plans to adjust his fundraising strategy based on what hes learned so far and the current funding climate.

Lessons Learned From Kadions Fundraising Journey

1. The deal is never done until the money is in your account!
2. I was fundraising incorrectly. It started with me changing my mindset to understand that I have something that you [the investor] want. It's not the other way around and I think every entrepreneur really needs to understand that.
3. You entrepreneurs are the big deal with the idea that is going to make investors money. You are not asking for funds, you are presenting investors with an opportunity for your company to make them money.

Use this code WTF23 to get a 23% discount on your order. Act now! The discount is only good the month this episode airs.

Learn more about Kadion here:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kadion-preston-88777aa/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kadion_preston?lang=en

Learn more about Caribshopper here: https://caribshopper.com/

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with others.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

As women, we know its true. Women more broadly, women of color in particular and Black women especially have less access to capital and face compounded intersectional challenges in business.. One of the many hurdles is capital access for women of color and Black women in particular. My guest started the Women of Color and Capital Conference, one of the largest convenings of women of color in the US to address access to business capital, finance, and growing wealth for women of color.

My guest is Adeola Adejobi, the Founder and CEO of the Avant-Garde Network (AGN), a leading social impact company that creates social and economic impact through a collaborative ecosystem of industry professionals, business leaders, and entrepreneurs. Through AGN she created the Women of Color and Capital Conference, the only conference of its kind where diverse women entrepreneurs & professionals come together to learn about money, finance, capital, and investing from a 360-degree lens.

In this episode youll learn:

• The major access barriers to capital for women of color
• What must happen to reduce the barriers to capital for women of color
• 5 things women of color can do to improve their access to capital; and

Key takeaways:

• Networking is investing in a relationship: Networking is establishing genuine connections over time. People often think that networking is about meeting people and thinking about what you can get from them. Networking is not that! Networking is investing in a relationship so that if and when over time if you need something you have a pool of people that you can call on as a resource to be able to do some of the things you want to do or get the help that you need to get.

• Women of color grow slower: Due to access barriers WOC grow slower because they spend many productive hours doing all the things themselves that they could outsource to increase productivity and profit. But, due to lack of capital, they are stuck doing all of the work in their business, some of which could be best done by others.

• Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) are good capital sources for early-stage women of color in lieu of big banks. CDFIs have a mission and mandate to CDFIs are mission-driven financial institutions that create economic opportunity for individuals and small businesses.

• Women of Color Must Increase Their Prices: WOC often charge too little, which impedes profitability, and in turn makes it difficult to get a bank loan or attract angel investors in the early stages.

• The hardest task is to get to the 6-figure mark for women of color and then to scale to a million. Over 90% of Black women work their day job while running a business. That means that in addition to lack of financial capital they also lack time and currency as well.

• 5 key things that women of color can do to improve their access to capital:
• Figure out how you can make more money!
• Have your financial house in order
• Work on your pitch
• Lean in on your community - build your personal board
• Just keep going!

• Do the following to ensure your business is structured for growth:
• Have your financial house in order
• Do you tax return and maintain proper bookkeeping
• Document your business mission statement
• Have a business plan with projections
• Generate revenue (this is key!)

Learn more about Women of Color and Capital here: https://www.womenofcolorandcapital.com/

Learn more about Avant-Garde Network here: https://www.avantgnetwork.com/

Learn about Adeola here: http://www.adeolaadejobi.com/about-1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aadejobiesq/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adeolaadejobi/

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I like to say dont keep good content to yourself so if you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with others.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

If you are struggling to find the right marketing strategy for your business or with figuring out which are the right hires to get your company to the next stage, keep listening. My guest will ube discussing what makes a hstrong go-to-market strategy and how to build a team from zero to one and beyond.

Drew Glover is a founding Partner of Fiat Growth and a General Partner at Fiat Ventures. He is no stranger to the world of growth, technology, and marketing. From his time at Steady where he led marketplace development and growth to Namely, Fjord, and Portal A, he navigated the ins and outs of Go-to-Market strategies and user acquisition.

In this episode we discussed:

• What makes a strong go-to-market strategy - ensure that you have done deep discovery
• How to build a business from zero to one - who are the people to have on the bus to go from zero to one vs the people you need at the growth phase
• How to scale a team - when to hire generalists vs specialists
• Venture capital investing - what Drew looks for in founders he invests in
• Starting a venture fund - ways in which fundraising for a venture fund is similar to fundraising for a company and ways its different.

Key takeaways:

• Thirty (30%) percent of venture dollars typically go directly to marketing for a startup. The companies that have a much higher likelihood of failing are the ones that aren't able to distribute that money in efficient ways.
• What marketing is at its heart is testing and iterating, preferably cheaply to figure out what works and doesn't work.
• Deep discovery and clarity about who your customers are is key to successfully marketing to them.
• Business growth is not just hiring, it's hiring the right people at the right time. Founders must ensure they understand if the people they are hiring are 0 to 1 people or are they 1 to 10 people.
• 0 to 1 vs 1 to 10: 0 to 1 is individuals who are more generalist versus specialist. They're able to do a lot of things. You need folks that can wear a lot of different hats that don't need a ton of guidance. As you start to grow you need very specific specialists for different parts of your business, these are your 1 to 10 people.
• Venture capital is a relationship business. Its a business of returns.

Reach out to Drew on Linkedin with legitimate (emphasis on legitimate) questions because he does respond, which is not always the case on LinkedIn, which is the platform where he is most active.

Guest Info:

Learn more about Drew:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/

Twitter: GloveJones

Learn more about Fiat Growth here: https://www.fiatgrowth.com/

Learn more about Fiat Ventures here: https://www.fiat.vc/

What did you learn or like most about this episode? Let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with three friends. Sharing is caring so be generous.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

I have been at this podcast for a little while now and I am taking stock of what I can do better to serve your needs as listeners. Please complete this survey to let me know how I can improve the show and better serve your needs as listeners.

From now on you can expect at least one solo episode from me per season to kick-off the season and to inject more of me into the show. Also, I love getting feedback from those of you who listen and share your feedback. That means a lot to me so please keep sharing, I love reading them!.

In this episode I talk about whats going on with me and do a recap of what you can expect from the season. If you like this way of kicking-off a season, email me and let me know. Lets be more social and build community.

I am also trying to do a better job with social media and promoting the podcast, which is probably the most important part of having a podcast after producing the podcast. Unfortunately, I havent been so good at that part. I kept telling myself that social media isnt my thing and I much prefer consuming other peoples content than creating content to feed it.

But, guess what? I think I have to change that mindset and figure out how to grow this podcast and this community. I hope you will help me do that by following the show pages on Instagram and LinkedIn and engaging with the content as well as sharing your favorite episodes with friends or colleagues who could benefit from the conversations that you benefit the most from.

If you havent reviewed the podcast on Apple Podcast (my preferred platform because I can see the reviews there) or your preferred platform is quite fine as well please do so using this link: https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Here are some instructions for writing a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network, here https://wheres-the-funding.onpodium.com/ and here https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast. Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

Linc Kroeger is the President of Knight Moves, a limiting profit company creating the next generation of elite technology professionals through extensive training

in technology disciplines, with an intentional focus on including Native Americans,

and rural, and urban underserved communities. His passion for fighting social inequality led him to leverage his 35 years of enterprise technology experience to create a creative solution to help level the playing field while also delivering technology solutions for the worlds most important causes.

In this episode we discussed:

• The problem Knight Moves is solving in rural and marginalized communities
• How digital innovation can solve social problems
• Bridging the digital divide; and
• Advancing racial and place equity through digital access; and
• How Foundation and Government funding can stifle social innovation

Learn more about Knight Moves here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlvmZ3hgqd8

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I always say you shouldnt keep good content to yourself so if you liked it, leave a rating and review and share this episode with other people who need to hear it. Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to unreleased bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Ezinne Iroanya is the CEO of SKNMUSE, a premium beauty brand championing Inclusivity and Sustainability in luxury. She comes with over a decade of experience working for brands like Lancome, and Dior. For her, beauty is culture and she believes everyone, especially black women, deserves to have an authentic representation of beauty. Her brand, SKNMUSE, has been featured by Beyonce, Issa Rae, Essence, and Vogue, rated top 10 by ELLE USA, and many more. She is a recent Glossier and Cantu Grant winner and has raised over $200,000.00 in national grants.

In this episode we discussed:

• Why she started SKNMUSE and the problem that she is solving
• Her goal is to show others how to use beauty as a means of financial empowerment.
• How her branding got her products got featured by top celebrities and magazines
• Her fundraising journey, including bootstrapping, grant funds, and other forms of funding
• Her top 5 fundraising strategies
• Her top 5 pieces of advice for Black female startup founders in the beauty industry about raising capital and growing a successful business

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I always say you shouldnt keep good content to yourself so if you liked it, leave a rating and review and share this episode with other people who need to hear it. Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Ezinne was kind enough to share a discount link "WTF10" exclusively for WTF? Podcast listeners at https://sknmuse.com/. Dont say I dont look out for you. Enjoy!

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to unreleased bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

WTF10

TYPE AND METHOD

• Amount off order
• Code

DETAILS

• Available on online sales channels and point of Sale
• 10% off entire order
• Applies to one time purchases
• No minimum purchase requirement
• All customers
• One use per customer
• Can't combine with other discounts
• Active from Sep 2 to Dec 18

Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland has been laying tracks for the narrative on Black Philanthropy for over 20 years. With the support of Reunity, formerly the Pan-African Women's Philanthropy Network, Black Philanthropy Month launched in 2001 with its first official global summit to commemorate the United Nations Year and Decade of People of African Descent. Over 30 diverse women from multiple countries throughout the global Black Diaspora worked with Dr. Copeland to co-organize BPM Summits and public awareness campaigns over its 20-year history.

In this episode youll learn:

• How BPM is supporting Black businesses and social enterprises
• How you can benefit from Black Philanthropy
• Misconceptions about Black Philanthropy
• How BPM is helping corporations and corporate foundations achieve more equitable funding outcomes ane more!

See More Information About BPM!

Black Philanthropy Month (blackphilanthropymonth.com) is documenting and celebrating Black-led funding, while advancing fair access to private capital (philanthropy and business investment) for Black nonprofit and business founders worldwide, inclusive of all Black identities and genders everywhere. https://thewisefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/BPM-Community-Participation-Guide.pdf?utm_campaign=BPM+2022

The Women Invested to Save Earth Fund (thewisefund.org)

WISE is a global funding equity enterprise supporting diverse founders with solutions to pressing challenges and is the backbone organization for Black Philanthropy Month. See bit.ly/WISEleaders and bit.ly/WISEPIF for more and become a donor or investor today. Note that new grants or loans are on hold until 2023 as we raise more funding. To help fund WISE and Black Philanthropy Month contact info@theWISEfund.org with questions or to join our mailing list for future events and funding equity initiatives. Email: give@theWISEfund.org Phone: (602) 759-0105

• Support at bit.ly/WISEgive .The Women Invested to Save Earth Fund theWISEfund.org
• Black Philanthropy Month: blackphilanthropymonth.com
• Reunity: The Global Black WomensFunders Network reunity.net

Global Black Funding Equity Initiative (bit.ly/BPMPledge)

• 2022 Black Philanthropy Month Summit Series Replays (bit.ly/FundBlackSummit2022) Just register or login and spread the word.
• Black Philanthropy Month Proclamation Template

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself so if you liked it, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with others who need to hear it. Click here to listen and review: https://bit.ly/wheresthefundingpodcast

Subscribe to the ALIVE Podcast Network podcast: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming

Mahendra Ramsinghani is the author of two books - The Business of Venture Capital and The Resilient Founder and co-author of Startup Boards with Brad Feld and Matt Blumberg. He is also the Founder of Secure Octane - a cybersecurity seed fund based in San Francisco and led the legislation for two Fund-of-Fund programs.

In this episode, we discussed:

• The business of venture capital
• The philosophy of building meaningful companies
• The importance of putting the right Board in place; and
• The importance of building resilience as a founder.

To learn more about the business or venture capital, resilient founders, and startup boards, you can find Mahendras books here on Amazon:

• The Business of Venture Capital
• The Resilient Founder
• Startup Boards

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode with others. Click here to review: Podkite link:https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast at its home on the ALIVE Podcast Network and follow the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie and the show page on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

Steven Freidmutter is the CEO of SF Ventures who has been navigating the world of business and entrepreneurship for decades, donning many hats ranging from passionate start-up investor to advisory board member and mentor to young founders. Steven has dedicated himself to helping young companies and startups, especially on the African continent, and to empowering female entrepreneurs in finding the right investments to take their vision forward.

In this episode we discussed:

• The importance of investing, advising, and mentoring startup founders
• His interest and involvement in the African tech startup ecosystem
• His recent partnership with Launch Africa Ventures
• The most important pieces of advice for startup founders raising capital and growing a successful business.
• His latest African investment adventures

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself so if you liked it, leave a rating and review and share this episode with other people who need to hear it. Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to unreleased bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

Nike Anani is a succession specialist with over a decade of family enterprise expertise as a second-generation business owner and family office pioneer. She is co-founder of African Family Firms, the largest pan-African community of family business owners, and the author of Lifetime to Legacy.

In this episode we discussed:

• Her new book Lifetime to Legacy and how it is helping founders and Next Gen manage the succession process in a family business.

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you liked it, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with other people who need to hear it. Dont keep good content to yourself!

Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

You can find Lifetime to Legacy on Amazon and visit nikeanani.com for more information about her book, and podcast and to connect with her on her socials.

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

My guest is Susan Jeffers. Susan is an investor and founder and CEO of XY Retail, a new platform helping luxury retailers streamline & manage operations in-store and online (reduced return time from 3 minutes to less than a second), as consumers return to in-store shopping post-pandemic -- even while e-commerce continues to accelerate.

In this episode we discussed:

• How XY Retail is optimizing the luxury retail market
• Her recent seed investment round; and
• Advice for women and BIPOC founders about fundraising and growing a high-growth company.

To my listeners, dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a rating and review it or share this episode with other people who need to hear it.

Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

Tyla Flowers is an entrepreneur, and VP of Investor Relations & Managing Partner at Smile Hospitality Inc, Hotel Owner, Published Author, and Hospitality Real Estate Investor with over 15 years of experience and hospitality expertise.

In this episode we discussed:

• Why she started Smile Hospitality
• The pathway from host to hotel ownership for everyday folks; and
• Her incredible funding journey with Smile Hospitality

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Dont keep good content to yourself! If you liked it, let me and others know by leaving a rating and review and sharing this episode with other people who need to hear it.

Click to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F.

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to unreleased bonus content. You can find more information at https://www.smilehospitality.co/ about real estate investment and Monopolizing the Game University.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

Kelli Jones is the Sixty8 Capital co-founder, managing director, and the first-ever Black, female VC in the state of Indiana. She is also the co-founder of Be Nimble, a not-for-profit social enterprise with the goal of advancing diversity initiatives to create a fully inclusive tech ecosystem in Indianapolis.

Be seen, heard, and funded is the tagline for Sixty8 capital, an early-stage $20 million venture fund shining a light on undercapitalized founders and innovators. Founders with billion-dollar ideas, but limited access to capital because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or proximity. 68 capital is the first Indiana-based venture capital firm dedicated to investing in startups led by Black, Latino, female and LGBTQ+ founders.

In this episode we discussed:

• Why she started Be Nimble and SixtyCapital
• How she is making the VC funding ecosystem equitable for undercapitalized founders
• How she identifies talent to invest in
• Her fundraising journey for Sixty8 Capital
• 5 Key pieces of advice for Black tech founders who are getting ready to fundraise

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I say dont keep good content to yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, let me and others know by rating, reviewing, and sharing this episode.

Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to unreleased bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

Rita is the mastermind, Founder, and CEO of the Onyx Family brands. Rita is the mastermind, Founder, and CEO of the Onyx Family brand and a self-made media giant. The Onyx Family had 7M total subscribers on Youtube, 81.3M average monthly views, and 4 billion total lifetime views. Rita appears in many of the Onyx Family productions but her focus has also been behind the camera establishing and managing new businesses under the Onyx Family umbrella, cohosting

The Onyx Life podcast, authoring fiction books for adults and kids, and writing non-fiction books based on the life lessons she and Mirthell have learned with over twenty years of marriage. Born in Los Angeles, California, this highly ambitious entrepreneur has proven that she lives the example of her inspirational mantra Dont wait for an opportunity, create it.

In this episode we discussed:

• Her entrepreneurship journey from nursing to founding an entertainment company; and
• How she built a multi-million-dollar entertainment company with no funding.
• The secret to creating sticky content in the social media world
• How to monetize your content into a company.

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you liked it, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with other people who need to hear it. Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to unreleased bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

In this episode we discussed:

• The benefits of revenue-based financing
• The advantages and disadvantages of different types of capital
• What is mean to bootstrap a business and why founders are doing so; and
• The hallmarks of success for a bootstrapped business

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you liked it, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with other people who need to hear it. Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

Chantel George is the founder of Sistas In Sales (SIS) - the largest global organization for women of color in sales. She founded Sistas In Sales out of a determination to promote, support, and encourage women of color in sales across all industries. Sistas In Sales partners with Fortune 500 companies, tech start-ups, and consulting businesses to help them attract, hire and retain women of color sales professionals. SIS also provides world-class training, networking opportunities, and above all else, sisterhood for this underrepresented community.

In this episode we discussed:

• How to grow a business using corporate sponsorships
• How to sell a concept to corporate sponsors
• How to pitch your event idea to corporations
• Things to include in your pitch and things to avoid

To my listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you liked it, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with other people who need to hear it. Click here to review: https://kite.link/where-E2-80-99s-the-funding-3F

Subscribe to the podcast on the ALIVE Podcast Network: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/wtf/ to get access to bonus content.

Keep tuning in on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more and follow or subscribe to the show to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, email whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and on LinkedIn at WHERE'S THE FUNDING? PODCAST.

Follow me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

Join me next Friday for another episode.

In this episode we discuss:
The Money for Life Formula
-Get Money
-Bank It (Store It)
-Spend It on Assets that Generate Cash Flow; and
-Repay Your Bank (You) With Interest
Four Pillar of a Sound Personal Economy
-Freedom from Debt to Others
-Ready Cash When You Neet It (Liquidity)
-Asset-Based Income
-Legacy of Wealth and Wisdom

The 4 Rules of Traditional Banks and Wall Street and Why they Work Against You:
Privatized Banking
Cash Flow Mapping; and
Quick Tips on Personal Finance
To learn more about Custis, visit his website Practical Wealth Advisors and follow him on LinkedIn. Follow the Practical Wealth Show Podcast on major podcast platforms and Practical Wealth TV on Youtube.
I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you liked it, leave a rating, a review, download or share this episode.
Join me next Friday for a new episode on the ALIVE Podcast Network and subscribe on your favorite podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more to get notified when new episodes drop.

To be a guest or sponsor the podcast, send an email to whereisthefunding@gmail.com.
Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

Despite the many challenges she kept going, remained steadfast, trusted herself, and believed in her vision. While she waited she learned how to be agile, resilient, and capital efficient. In 2021, her $3M+ series A raise put her in a small and celebrated group of African single female founders who raised more than $1M.

What you'll learn from Affiong in this episode:

• That being a pioneer and the first mover means building a market that doesn't exist and it takes time to build it and figure things out.
• How she survived the 9-year wait and what she did to build grit.
• Become internally driven; embrace radical self-love; become your own cheerleader while tapping into the cheerleaders around you; double down on the belief in your self-purpose; and become solutions-oriented
• Entrepreneurs should hustle smart, not hard. Target the right investors for your sector and ensure that you only approach investors that are interested in what you do. Make sure to focus on revenue growth and meeting at least 4 out of 5 of the criteria those investors look for.
• What she thinks are the key things that will help meet the agribusiness financing gap; and
• Three (3) lessons learned from her entrepreneurship and funding journey for female entrepreneurs.

Follow Affiong on LinkedIn. To learn more about ReelFruit visit reelfruit.com, follow on Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at ReelFruit.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

This investor is reducing barriers for African women entrepreneurs with her new franchising program. Ada Osakwe, the Founder & Chief Executive of Agrolay Ventures an early-stage VC fund, and Nuli, a food, and beverage company stops by WHERE'S THE FUNDING? to talk about why she invests in African women entrepreneurs, her own entrepreneurship journey, and her Nuli Amazon franchising program.

What you'll learn from Ada in this episode:

• How to fundraise with confidence.
• How her experience in the public sector influenced her to become an entrepreneur and investor
• How the current funding ecosystem and VC, in particular, excludes the majority of African women entrepreneurs.
• Why she is a champion for African women in agribusiness and why she invests in women.
• How she bounces back from crushing setbacks.
• Where she thinks she has the biggest opportunity to create change.
• A breakdown of how the Nuli Foods franchise is reducing barriers to entrepreneurship for women.

To learn more about Agrolay Ventures visit www.agrolay.com and www.nulilounge.com. Follow Ada on Instagram at Ada Osakwe (spell out name) and on LinkedIn.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

DEI influencer Aiko Bethea stops by WHERE'S THE FUNDING? to discuss the need for more transformational DEI in the current funding ecosystem and what needs to happen to make it more equitable. DEI as a field has been around since the late 1960s but has become a trending term since the summer of racial reckoning in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is a term used to describe policies and programs that promote the representation and participation of different groups of individuals, including people of different ages, races, ethnicities, abilities and disabilities, genders, religions, cultures, and sexual orientations. An analogy used to describe DEI is:

• Diversity is where everyone is invited to the party
• Inclusion means that everyone gets to contribute to the playlist
• Equity means that everyone has the opportunity to dance

The funding ecosystem and VC in particular have a DEI problem. It is plagued with inequality and a lack of (but growing in recent years) diversity of women investors and investors of color. The lack of diversity and lack of intentionality about creating more equity perpetuates a system that continues to be fueled by implicit and explicit biases that systematically deny funding to people of color specifically Black entrepreneurs and Black women entrepreneurs in particular faring the worst.

What you'll learn from Aiko in this episode:

• Transformational vs transactional DEI, what's the difference?
• Defining what transformational change looks like
• How money can be used as a facade to avoid more meaningful DEI work
• And what it will take to achieve racial and gender equity in the funding ecosystem

To learn more about Aiko, visit her website at rarecoaching.net, follow her on Facebook at rarecoach, on Instagram at rare_coach, and follow her on LinkedIn.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

The secrets to bootstrapping are revealed. Walle Mafolasire (pronounced Wall-AY Mafo-LAH-shee-ray) stops by WHERE' THE FUNDING? to share his bootstrapping journey and why you shouldn't if you don't have to, and what he thinks is the hardest part of bootstrapping.

Tom Preston-Werner is quoted as saying that "bootstrapping is a way to do something about the problems you have without letting someone else give you permission to do them". Wale didn't wait for VCs to give him permission to solve a major problem for many churches, nonprofits, and causes that were looking for opportunities to fundraise.

He solved the problem by bootstrapping the growth of Givelify when he struck out with VCs. Today Givelify is the most popular online and mobile giving platform with an easy donation app and a powerful donation management system.

What you'll learn from Walle in this episode:

• How to become the type of person that people want to take a risk on.
• When you don't have a plan B, plan A has a way of making itself work. Don't give up!
• Bootstrapping is what you do when all the doors are closed and you can't find a window.
• Why he did it and why he thinks that you shouldn't. Hint: it's really hard!
• What he considers the hardest part of bootstrapping and how he deals with it.
• Why he thinks it's important to put good into the world and how Givelify does that.

To learn more about Givelify visit givelify.com or download the app in the App Store or on Google Play.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

This spirited Jamaican-American is on a mission and success for her is non-negotiable. Keisha Manning stops by WHERE'S THE FUNDING? to talk about the tech company she is building, her funding journey, and why she thinks it will be a billion-dollar company. Keisha spent more than a decade as a BSN RN and has seen firsthand the devastating effects of short staffing in hospitals as a result of travel nurses quitting assignments due to unsafe housing conditions.

The idea for starting NursesBnB came when one of her traveling nurses quit because he spent five days sleeping in his car because he could not find adequate housing where he was assigned. For her, becoming a billion-dollar startup is non-negotiable and funding difficulties will not stand in her way.

In this episode Keisha discusses:

• Her fundraising journey and why she had to do an on-the-spot convertible note when she introduced the concept for NursesBnB at a healthcare convention.
• How the platform went viral with only an MVP and no marketing.
• Why it is important that NursesBnB stay true to its mission and have healthcare workers as investors.
• What's in store for NursesBnB 2.0 and how you might be able to become an investor.

To learn more about Nursesbnb, visit nursesbnb.com and follow nursesbnb on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at whereisthefunding_podcast and me, your host Michelle J. McKenzie on LinkedIn.

What you will learn from this episode:

• Often investors (or grant donors) do not like to be the first to invest in a business, they are often looking to see who else has supported the business and deemed it investible or fundable before deciding if they are interested.
• The first investor or funder often unlocks the door for more to follow.
• Rejection is a key component of fundraising. Handling rejection is the #1 skill which will help an entrepreneur. Pursuing grant funding is a numbers game. For every 20 proposals there are about 16 or 17 rejections and only 3 yes so do not be deterred by any.
• You have to get through the no to get to the yes.
• Due diligence is a two-way process.

Hadija Jabiri is the founder and managing director of GBRI Business Solutions and its EatFresh brand. GBRI brand EatFresh is a horticultural company that specializes in growing vegetables (French beans, snow peas, sugar snap, and baby corn) for both local and international markets. Currently, GBRI Business Solutions exports to countries like Ireland and the United Kingdom. Hadija received a total of $1M in funding so far from Development Finance Institutions, commercial banks, and investors such as USAID; MEDA; The Netherlands Embassy; and Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank.

Guest Contact: LinkedIn: Hadija Jabiri; Instagram: EatFresh Tanzania Facebook: EatFresh Tanzania; Website: www.eatfresh.co.tz Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, send an email to whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and turn on notifications.

If you like this episode, like, rate, review, download, or share it.

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Join us for the next episode!

Soon it became clear that she would need to expand her business. Today, Perpetuals Supermarket carries authentic goods for her community, but perhaps more importantly, it demonstrates that business growth and ownership is possible for a determined immigrant woman entrepreneur.

What you will learn from this episode:

• A well-structured working business plan with well-projected growth numbers is key when applying for commercial bank credit. A good business plan signals to the lender how serious you are about your business and that you have put significant thought into it.
• Financial accounting and organized ledgers aid the financial projections used for the business plan. It is also important to get a qualified accountant to help you organize your financial accounting records and do the projects for your business plan if you are not skilled to do it on your own.
• The 5 Cs of Commercial Credit:
  • Character: your past performance with your credit obligation, that is how you manage your personal and your business credit.
  • Capacity: is the business doing well? Does it generate sufficient cash flow? Are the projections from the business plan reasonable?
  • Capital: does the entrepreneur have anything to contribute to the deal, any cash set aside? In essence, a down payment on the loan like one would do when purchasing a house.
  • Collateral: whether you have property or assets to pledge to secure the loan.
  • Contingency: does what the borrower is asking for make sense?
• As an African immigrant not doing anything is not an option, - Perpetual Amoah
• It takes a network to scale a business, - Mballou Conde- Kouyate.

Guest Contact:

Website: https://kaneshiemarketusa.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaneshiemarketusa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaneshiemarketusa

WhatsApp: https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=18328916619

Phone: (443) 470-5185 Email: sales@kaneshiemarketusa.com or kaneshiemarketllc@gmail.com

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review, and share.

What you will learn from this episode:

• How Chindu is raising funds for Passbook Ventures to give diverse immigrant founders access to capital to achieve outcomes quicker and circumvent time theft (the time that they spend underfunded and looking for capital to achieve the results and scale that they are capable of) Passbook Ventures gender lens and why gender diversity has never been an issue for Chinedu.
• The diversity thesis: Underfunded founders tend to be more capital efficient and can outperform competitors because they are better equipped to operate in a lean environment
• There is talent everywhere and if you distribute capital in the same way that talent is distributed, then you would be able to get returns and the fund managers who are diverse have the highest access to those opportunities.
• How your personal branding helps fundraising outcomes.

Guest Contact: LinkedIn: Chinedu Enekwe Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram.

Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie.

Join us for the next episode!

Ayinde served as a speech contributor and message advisor to Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election campaign. A decade prior, he began his media career at the #1 revenue-generating radio station in the country, WTOP, before setting sales records for Clear Channel at KFI AM 640 (the #1 rated Radio Station in the United States) and CBS (Howard Stern), respectively. Ayinde started Thumb Radio with his business partner to stream every radio station on the planet to your cell phone in 2003. That technology later evolved into a partnership with his former employer, Clear Channel, which became the first iteration of the iheartradio app.

What you will learn from this episode:

• How the Nedl app is revolutionizing the airwaves
• How Black investors are creating opportunities for Black founders
• How the Google Black Founders Fund helped came with just-in-time support for nedl.
• Investors do not always know how to spot a good thing so don't be discouraged when they don't.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram.

Follow Michelle on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!

What you will learn in this episode:

• Own your awesome: as a woman you are confident and smart enough to bring needed solutions to the market as an investor, as an entrepreneur, or as both! High achieving women also experience imposter syndrome, the difference is that they dont allow it to stop them.
• Surround yourself with people who remind you frequently to own your awesomeness. How Hemas 35ver club is giving women access and opportunity to become investors and limited partners through initiatives and be a part of the funding solution for women founders.
• If you recognize a problem, dont just complain about the problem, become a part of the solution.
• Learn more about how Five35 Ventures is democratizing access for women to become VC investors and learn how you can play a role in investing in women founders as a limited partner and join the 35ver club!

Guest Contact: Email: hema@five35.ventures Website: https://www.five35.ventures LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/five35-ventures/ Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com. Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram

Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

https://anchor.fm/app

Stephanie Marshall is the founder & CEO of M3 Advisors, a boutique innovation consultancy focused on the intersectionality of market trends and tech disruption. From leading an innovation team at a Fortune 15 corporation through the challenging process of developing and marketing patented products to refining early-stage offerings at startups, Stephanie is an industry-recognized leader in successfully bringing innovative services to market. A passionate advocate of female entrepreneurship and innovation, Stephanie is co-founder and board president of Citrine Angels, a DC-based angel group of women investing in women. She also supports closing the funding gap via Portfolia, W Fund, Backstage, Gaingels, and others.

What you will learn from this episode:

• Why and how to join Citrine Angels is you are a female accredited investor.
• How Citrine Angels is making betting on women achievable for accredited women to become investors
• How female angels are closing the funding gap for women (VCs need to catch up!)
• Men's Role in Gender Lens Investing and Improving Access to Capital for Female Founders
• Why Storytelling Is Important When Fundraising
• What is required to build investor trust: authenticity, knowing your business market and understanding your numbers, honesty, etc.
• Things CA investors consider when evaluating a pitch: is an idea/business scalable? Is it disruptive in a value-added or unique way? What big personal or socio-economic problem is it solving for the market?
• The importance of giving grace or constructive feedback to promising founders when they miss the mark when pitching.
• The 3 Risks Citrine Angels look for when evaluating a pitch beyond a good story
  • Capital Risk: is the founder getting funding and how hard has it been to fundraise. Does the business require a ton of capital for execution and to be successful? Is there a chance the business could run out of money before the founder can raise again?
  • Product Risk: Product-market fit - is there a real problem that the business is solving, what is the addressable market for the problem? Is this the solution to that problem?
  • Execution Risk: How strong is the team and do they have what it takes to execute for success? Do the team members have the right background?
  • Once the 3 boxes are checked investors feel confident to move on to due diligence and perhaps ultimately write a check.

Join us for the next episode!

Latarshia (Tasha) Jones is a U.S. Navy Veteran and Founder of Twenty39, a data-focused professional services firm leveraging over twenty years experience primarily in the U.S. Federal, Defense, and Intelligence market space. Tasha is a recognized problem solver and data champion, adept at translating complex business and technical concepts into simple, mission-focused messages and implementations. From scaling multi-million-dollar, functional diverse global portfolios to spearheading multiple high-visibility project turnaround efforts for major IT systems and processes at the US Department of Justice, Ms. Jones is an industry-recognized leader in developing data-informed solutions, turning around off the rail projects and just getting the job done! As an ardent champion of entrepreneurship and innovation, Tasha mentors with FedTech a venture firm at the intersection of entrepreneurship, breakthrough technologies, and mission-driven organizations; and is a Citrine Angels board member, a DC-based angel group of women investing in women.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Why more women are needed as angels and other types of investors and the value of women investors supporting women founders.
• How Citrine Angels and flexible and beginner-friendly safe space for newer investors to come amongst other women that are like-minded.
• Citrine Angels use an SPV vehicle (single-purpose partnerships where a group of investors comes together to fund a specific opportunity. These were designed primarily for large deals that go beyond an investor's individual capacity for investment) that is utilized to allow women who may not have much money to invest in angel deals individually to participate and help create greater access to finance for women founders and gain the benefits of better terms by going in on a bigger deal using an SVP that they would have been able to do individually.
• What it means to be venture backable.
• What Citrine Angels look for from founders who pitch them.
• How crowdfunding campaigns (depending on how they are structured) could adversely impact raising VC or other funds later.
• Sales still are and will always be one of the best ways to fund your business organically before seeking an angel, VC, or other funding.
• Grants are also a good source of financing for early-stage businesses.
• How to get more information about Citrine Angels and join if you are interested.

Please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com with feedback, to be a guest or a sponsor.

In this episode we discussed:

• What the data trends from 2021 are signaling.
• What is required to overcome gender bias in the funding ecosystem and improve gender funding parity?
• What to expect in 2022 for African startups.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram.

Follow Michelle on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

https://anchor.fm/app

What you will learn from this episode:

• Mentorship is important for women entrepreneurs to thrive in addition to funding and FFI Angels provides both to its portfolio companies. Sharing knowledge and experience is a value-add to investing.
• Not to be afraid of fundraising but the process will be hard and you have to do your research and do the work that is required to fundraise
• Women +Health = Wealth and Healthy women make healthy economies
• Get in touch with FFI Angels if you are an African female founder (or a non-Africa-based female founder with a business that serves the African market) looking for seed capital, business, and moral support to help you grow and scale your business.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram.

Follow Michelle on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!

What you will learn from this episode:

• Why Raeesa started Level Finance.
• Why Raeesa accepted investment from FFI Angels when other offers were on the table.
• How FFI Angels support women founders and how to become an angel investor if you are also interested in playing in a role in bridging the gender funding gap.

Contact FFI Angels if you are an African female founder (or a non-Africa-based female founder with a business that serves the African market) looking for seed capital, business, and moral support to help you grow and scale your business.

Guest Contact: Raeesa Gabriels on LinkedIn. Instagram: levelfinancesa

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/levelfinancesa/ Website: www.levelfinance.co.za

We would love your feedback on the show and how we could improve so email us with your feedback.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

https://anchor.fm/app

What you will learn from this episode:

• Founders should look for investors who can help them well beyond just investing money but also provide wrap-around advising and networking assistance to help them and the business grow.
• How Chen uses her digital/online marketing expertise to help portfolio companies.
• Chen's tips on how founders can leverage social media and the difference in how to make connections online vs. in real life.
• Simple things an overwhelmed early-stage founder without a full team can do right now to improve their and the companys digital presence.

Contact FFI Angels if you are an African female founder (or a non-Africa-based female founder with a business that serves the African market) looking for seed capital, business, and moral support to help you grow and scale your business.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram.

Follow Michelle on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!

What you will learn from this episode:

• How Lucia and her husband were able to 3X their raise for AMP and their flagship program Take Back The Mic, when they moved from the US to Mauritius.
• Bias in funding ecosystems can keep Black and underrepresented founders underfunded and keep great ideas from flourishing and impacting the world.
• Learn more about AMP Global and Take Back the Mic!, which is disrupting traditional media by engaging with & amplifying great content and providing users with unprecedented access and brands insights into their audience.
• How the FFI Angels are helping to bridge the funding gap for women founders.

Contact FFI Angels if you are an African female founder (or a non-Africa-based female founder with a business that serves the African market) looking for seed capital, business, and moral support to help you grow and scale your business.

Guest Contact: Lucia Brawleyon LinkedIn. Instagram: takebackthemic Website: www.amp.it

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. We would love your feedback on the show and how we could improve so email us with your feedback.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review, and share.

--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

https://anchor.fm/app

What you will learn from this episode:

• Mentorship is nice but women need access to capital to complement that in order for them to make the financial investments needed to grow their business.
• Women themselves can act as barriers to accessing investment by not always having the confidence to ask for what they want or they feel the need to over-prepare before they make an ask compared to their male counterparts.
• A system change is needed that includes more women in decision-making roles such as women on the boards of funds and in C-suites and senior positions where decisions are made and also as investors to improve the ecosystem for more women to access capital.
• Women angel investors have a unique role to play by investing in more business sectors where you tend to find more women entrepreneurs such as in the beauty industry and the baby market for example.
• Support that women angel investors provide goes beyond funding to help women founders connect to other sources of capital and networks that can help them and their businesses to grow.
• Get in touch with FFI Angels if you are an African female founder (or a non-Africa-based female founder with a business that serves the African market) looking for seed capital, business, and moral support to help you grow and scale your business.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram.

Follow Michelle on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!

Key interview highlights:

• Busyness, exhaustion, and burnout are not signs of excellence! Weathering, the effect of premature biological aging impacts Black women at a higher rate than White women. Weathering is associated with health risks and is often caused by being repeatedly exposed to social adversity and marginalization.
• Omolara is helping black women doctors overcome what is called the Human Giver Syndrome - a framework for examining the inequality in the time and effort spent on childcare and housekeeping between men and women see Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle 12-week Medicine and Melanin incubator for black women in medicine to pivot from burnout into purpose and profit. Visit Melanin and Medicine to learn more.

Guest Contact: Email: hello@omolaramd.com FB: @melaninmedi LI: @omolaramd Twitter: @dromolara IG: @melaninmedicineco Youtube: Website: melaninandmedicine.co

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

https://anchor.fm/app

Dr. Loleta Robinson is a seasoned physician entrepreneur, startup advisor, venture partner with extensive healthcare technology and services expertise. She is the Founder and Principal of Fortis Industries, LLC, a firm specializing in blending data analytics, due diligence, and a strong industry network to identify and evaluate prospective healthcare investment, in-licensing, and partnership opportunities for various clients. Dr. Robinson calls on her extensive industry experience and relationships to help bring together venture capital and corporate innovation firms with appropriate healthcare startups and early-stage companies with the potential to significantly improve the quality of care. She also facilitates their collaboration via incubators, accelerators, and other entrepreneurial support organizations.

Key interview highlights:

• Mistakes health tech startups make when approaching VCs for funding VC start-up evaluation criteria Advice for Healthtech startups - your technology should not disrupt physician workflow
• Other non-dilutive funding options to pursue if you are not VC ready - grants and innovation hubs and accelerators. If you are in the US, think local and think State.
• Some states like the State of Maryland have great support and resources for entrepreneurs.

Guest/sponsorship requests: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram.

Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie Join us for the next episode!

Guest Contact: Franziska Reh on LinkedIn. Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. We would love your feedback on the show and how we could improve so email us with your feedback.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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As an emerging fund manager at Audax Ventures, a $15 million upcoming fund, Jessye believes that diverse tech entrepreneurs are the most untapped and undeserved asset management classes in Europe. She primarily leads Audax Alliance, the capital enablement platform backbone of her fund that is enabling access to European VCs and normalizing investment allocation into Black & PoC led seed-stage tech ventures across Fintech, Media, and Software verticals. In that line of work. She is hosting the first capital enablement summit the Audax Alliance Virtual Summit | Diversity Venture Capital Allocation - France | Luxembourg | Global.

The Audax Alliance Summit sheds light on a diverse set of capital allocators from Europe and the US intentionally investing in diverse founders in these geographies.

Key interview highlights:

• When looking for funding do the following:
  • Outbound research of the right VCs that are investing in your sector.
  • Look for alignment
  • If you are a diverse founder look for diverse fund allocators who can bring relevant experience and expertise to your business, e.g., women founders looking for women fund allocators who might have experience in their sectors
• In Europe, there is a misunderstanding of the market potential for funding diverse founders specifically in France and Luxembourg which is why Jessye is raising funds to address that market opportunity.
• Jessyes experience as a founder of color led her to organize the Audax Alliance to the VC fund that she is in the process of raising to capitalize diverse BIPOC founders who are solving global problems and bringing value to global consumers.
• Register for free to Audax Alliance Summit, September 18th, 2021: https://bit.ly/3ghz9ha
• Contact: Jessye Bimono on LinkedIn for more details.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/whereisthefunding_podcast/

Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

https://anchor.fm/app

Key interview highlights:

• It can be lonely in a NextGen leader in a family business if you dont have any peers in a similar position to share those particular struggles with in a what that they can really understand because they have also faced similar challenges Founders find it hard to let go and make room for NextGen leaders to make their mark on a business that the Founder started.
• Having a succession plan for a business is not only about the financial security of the family itself but also the employees and the ecosystem created around that business such as customers and suppliers who would lose if that business were to go under if the Founder passed and there was no succession plan in place.
• Succession plans take time and should be put in place as the business is being built and not at the point the Founder is ready to retire or unfortunately passes away.
• Succession planning is not a transaction, it's a transition.

Guest Contact: Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. We would love your feedback on the show and how we could improve so please complete this short survey.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!

Key interview highlights:

• Over 3.5 million dollars have been deployed to companies through the fund since March of 2020. 20 companies are presented within a year to members of the collective and if they are interested in a company they can invest via a special purpose vehicle.
• The Future Africa Fund enables limited partners to get diversified returns without having to take on deal-specific risk.
• Limited partners can commit a minimum of $25,000 per quarter and gain pro-rata exposure to all investments Future Africa participates in.
• Do not approach VC for funding if you are not prepared.
• VC funding isnt the only way to raise funding for your business.

Glossary:

Secondaries: Secondary investments are primarily purchases of funds that are three to seven years old with existing underlying portfolio companies. Sales are often driven by an investor's need for liquidity or an active approach in managing their private equity portfolio.

Limited partners: In the context of private equity, a limited partner (or LP) is a third-party investor in a private equity fund. They are passive investors with the income and expenses flowing directly to their hands to be taxed in the year when they accrue.

Special Purpose Vehicle: An SPV is created as a separate company with its own balance sheet. It may be used to undertake a risky venture while reducing any negative financial impact upon the parent company and its investors.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. We would love your feedback on the show and how we could improve so email us with your feedback.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

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Join us for the next episode!

Key interview highlights:

• Ed-tech only received 4.3% of the $305 million in investor funding that went to Kenya last year mostly to fintech, e-commerce, and health-tech.
• COVID and the demand for online learning platforms caused an increase in demand but also an increase in cost to service the spike in demand.
• Grant funding ($129K) has supported the company to build an MVP and launch to present.
• The current deficit of $700K to meet the needs of current customers.
• More funding goes to ex-pat founders in Kenya from foreign investors than to local Kenyan founders.

Guest Contact: Kiko Muuo on LinkedIn.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. We would love your feedback on the show and how we could improve so email us with your feedback.

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When a lack of capital halted her expansion, she turned to selling vacant land and completed 31 land deals in 14 months all while working full-time. With experience in multifamily and commercial real estate along with vacant land, Jantzen now focuses on wholesaling and owner-financing high-value land; and putting her capital to work with transactional funding, bridge loans, and joint venture partnerships.

Key interview highlights:

• Land flipping is more profitable than house flipping!
• You dont need bank financing to flip land!
• Land flipping can be done remotely with Google Earth, unlike with a house, you dont need to physically see land to buy it!
• Call the County office where you are buying the land to get all of the due diligence about the land before purchasing it.
• Visit the Fish and Wildlife Service (fws.gov) a U.S. government website for land maps all over the country.

Things to look out for when buying land:

• Ensure that no endangered animals inhabit the land or you will not be able to develop and that has endangered species on it.
• If you are in the U.S. Midwest, ensure that the land you are buying has water rights to rivers or other water sources.
• If you are buying land in a mountainous area, make sure that the land is buildable and not on a slope.

CONNECT WITH JANTZEN:

• www.FlippingWithoutRehab.com
• Email: FlippingWithoutRehab@gmail.com
• Facebook: /ThePlotSquad
• Linked In: /in/FlippingWithoutRehab
• Tick Tock: @FlippingWithoutRehab

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Help us grow: Please SUBSCRIBE, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

Key interview highlights:

• Mentorship is nice but women need access to capital to complement that in order for them to make the financial investments needed to grow their business
• Women themselves can act as barriers to accessing investment by not always having the confidence to ask for what they want or feel the need to over-prepare before they make an ask compared to their male counterparts.
• To improve the ecosystem for more women to be able to access capital systems change is needed to have more women in decision-making roles such as women on the Boards of funds and in C-suites and senior positions are banks where decisions are made also as investors.
• Women Angel Investors have a unique role to play by investing in more business sectors where you tend to find more women entrepreneurs such as in the beauty industry and the baby market.

Guest Social Media: Torera Abiola and Aysha Tegally

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

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Social Media:

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Michelle J. McKenzie

Join us for the next episode!

Key interview highlights:

• Supporting women (especially at the grassroots) is key in every aspect because women invest to make sure that their families are supported.
• AWEPGhana has 100 members composed of professional women and entrepreneurs who work with other women to build their capacity. AWEP is in 13 countries across the West Africa region. Marketing and packaging are major challenges to product-based entrepreneurs in Africa. Local solutions are needed to solve the quality packaging problem.
• The certification (organic, fair trade, etc.) process for entering international markets is also a major challenge. Financing qualification criteria are often a barrier to women accessing business financing. Quality work or product speaks for itself and brings you more customers.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. We would love your feedback on the show and how we could improve so please complete this short survey.

Guest/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

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Guest Social Media: Follow Comfort on LinkedIn Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram. Follow hosts on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie Join us for the next episode!

Key interview highlights:

• Necessity IS the mother of invention, at least in the SAYeTECH case. The need to reduce school attrition rates for students in Northern Ghana during the harvest season led Jeffrey and his co-founder to build local mechanized solutions placed in rural areas to help reduce drudgery for smallholder farmers and their families. A byproduct of the SAYeTECH mechanized harvesting machines is reduced post-harvest loss. Mechanization allows farmers to preserve more of their production and fetch premium prices on the market.
• Machines installed in 32 rural communities throughout Ghana create jobs and a circular economy in rural areas around the installation of the machines that helps to stem rural-urban migration You might have to change your initial business/product idea after you launch based on customer behavior and continue to innovate to ensure that you are meeting customer needs.

Follow Jeffrey of LinkedIn Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

Guest appearance/sponsorship request: If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts, and on our website agazella.com/podcasts. Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram. Follow me on LinkedIn Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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Key interview highlights:

• KWIDEX was launched with a $10,000 grant from VAI global. KWIDEX is a crowdfunding platform for agricultural SMEs that is helping to solve the financing problems in the agricultural sector. It links farmers and agribusiness to investors and gives funding opportunities to novice investors who are interested in making a return on investment and impacting the agribusiness sector.
• KWIDEX is a commission-based model that generates revenue by charging 10% on investments made via the platform and has so far had over $500,000 in transactions.
• The KWIDEX platform is open to investment from anyone in any part of the world. Projects on the platform can be funded via mobile money and bank transfer. Investors could make a profit of 15-30% between 3-12 months of investment.
• Over 2,500 farmers have already benefited from the platform. The KWIDEX fundraising goal is to raise $100,000 via investors for 10% equity.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Guest Social Media: LinkedIn: Seyram Mantey; Eugene Asiedu

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts, and on our website agazella.com/podcasts.

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Key interview highlights:

• The Black Opportunity is about creating access to opportunities and mass of wealth to black entrepreneurs all over the world and pulling a global conversation around venture capital. Europe operates within an ecosystem where a lot of things about race are less specific, unlike the US, with specific valid data that inform policies to track activities within VC and companies at large.
• Therefore, Venture capital is largely about the network ( who you know, how you know them, and your similarities). Best businesses are those who have access to such opportunities.
• The level of inclusion and equity in the VC ecosystem in Africa is low, black founders in Africa face biases, just as it is in the UK and US. Only 6% of African startups seeking funding receive $1M or more, the rest goes to non-black founders.
• The pattern matching practice among Venture Capital financiers creates a blueprint of what a successful founder should be, based on what has worked in the past. Black founders get left behind because they don't fit into the key signal.
• The global opportunity cost of pattern matching among others is the inability to maximize the societies' potentials to bring better solutions and better products that make the world a better place. Diversification of VCs is a big step to attracting a different set of founders and diversifying the venture capitalist network.
• The Black Opportunity is out now! Buy it on Amazon!

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

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Follow Tino on LinkedIn Follow me on LinkedIn Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram. Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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Key interview highlights:

• All investors take risks, but in different aspects and degrees; Private equities take a calculated risk by investing in companies with a good track record, growing but stable and promising.
• V.Cs invest in fast-growing companies with strong client attraction at an early stage. Angel investors take higher risk, as Investments are done with fair ticket sizes when founders are still quite unstable and without sizable revenue which is one of the reasons angel investors are crucial and critical for supporting start-ups.
• It is essential for founders to have a good networking approach and to understand the rudiments of fundraising as well as ways to connect investors, Part of which is getting coached for fundraising, connecting to incubators (most of which have serious investors with specialties backing them) and other entrepreneurs.
• The likeability of investors is higher when the business idea is scalable, can solve problems, create job opportunities, and have a strong founding team. Founders must be intentional and positive about their pitch. Confident, committed, strong, open to collaboration, and inquiring of feedback from investors.
• Founders should be resilient enough to go back with a better module when feedback is negative.

Connect with Umulinga on LinkedIn

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF (Africa Edition) podcast. We would love to hear your feedback on the show and how we could improve so please complete this short survey.

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In 2013 it started as Nigeria's first plant-based restaurant and is now the country's first mover plant-based food tech company. Hakeem has a Nigerian-German background and was a communication professional before VeggieVictory.

Key interview highlights:

• Entrepreneurship is a process that may not yield exponential results until after two years or more. The early stage is a period to network, invest energy, organic funds, and time to build the business and create traction.
• Organic funding (self-investment or investment from family or friends and then funds from business cash flow) at the start-up stage is important before pursuing external funding from investors.
• Investors often expect a founder to be 100% dedicated to their venture when seeking external funding. Investors want to feel confident that the founder is fully vested and dedicated to the success of the venture.
• Fundraising is a journey that requires getting trained to become investment-ready. Look for training or accelerators/incubators to get the skills needed to pursue angel, venture capital, or private equity funding.
• Grants are an alternative but be mindful because you cannot build a business on grants alone.
• Angel investors are easier to work with compared to development institutions, and venture capitalists. Angels offer small ticket sizes that give the right-size funding needed by some SMEs to evolve.
• Angel investment can convince other investors to invest in your business faster than if you have only been funded by grants.

Social Media: @veggievictory.com @vegchuncks.africa @Africavegannigeria

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF (Africa Edition) podcast.

We would love to hear your feedback on the show and how we could improve so please complete this short survey.

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Michelle J. McKenzie

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Key interview highlights:

• There are more voices for SMEs in developed countries like the UK and the USA. There is an absence of mid-cap firms in the African capital market compared to more developed markets in the US and the UK. In most of Africa, there are either large-cap traditional family-owned businesses that have been around for generations or small-cap businesses often characterized by tiny companies and early-stage start-ups with very few mid-cap firms.
• In addition to access to funding, technical assistance in developing executive teams and roots to market support is necessary to scale up micro-firms into mid-cap firms.
• When starting a new entrepreneurship venture:
• entrepreneurship does not require 100% certainty before venturing in;
• become a scholar of your business and make sure that you believe in your idea;
• make sure that you have enough runway (cash to pay your living expenses) for several months because your business might not be profitable right away and it might even take up to 5 yrs to reach break-even of profitability even if it is cash generative;
• finding funding is not as swift as imagined, therefore build relationships and a network for support
• prioritize your clients and suppliers to serve as brand ambassadors for your businesses--referral is vital for consistent growth of SMEs;
• a capable executive team/leadership structure is necessary to build the business and drive the mission
• Art is a valuable asset if more people understand the role that art can play in wealth-building as a viable alternative asset to cash and other forms of investments.

Guest contact info/social media: LinkedIn : @ Freda Isingoma Instagram : @Freda Isingoma

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

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Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie

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Key interview highlights:

Raising funds takes time whether you are raising investment funds or you are an entrepreneur looking for investment. Make sure you have a long runway; having enough funds to survive and mobilize the business for the first few years cannot be overemphasized! Fundraising by fund investors can be as equally strenuous. It takes a lot of time and effort to raise funds whether you are raising funds as an investor or as a founder. Emerging Market Funds like Baylis are looking for alignment around values and understanding the companies that they include in their portfolios Africa's primary source of capital is still the Development Financial Institutions. The appetite for investing in Africa is low and unevenly targeted to a few countries, mostly the Anglophone countries with a dearth of investment opportunities for Francophone countries. Only about 10% of private-equity deals from African funds raised ever earn any carry or hit the hurdle rate of around 8% above the hurdle rate one of the reasons being poor alignment between investment funds and recipients of investment funds Guest contact info/social media: Connect with Franklin on LinkedIn

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

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Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues.

Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram. Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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Key interview highlights:

• Many African business ideas fail not because they are not good but because they did not get sufficient support. Many African SMEs fail before the 3rd year because of insufficient interrogation of the business idea and the foundation that they were built on wasnt strong enough to last
• Youth-led African businesses need better institutional support and business development services, in addition, to access to finance, technical assistance, skill-building, and good governance/management training
• Access to finance is still a major challenge to growing good ideas into profitable businesses. In Kenya there are some Youth Entrepreneurship Funding Models that include:
• Group lending
• Government program-based funding (declared funds) that target youth
• Cost-share funding models promoted by development partners (bundled with technical assistance) where partial funding is provided and bundled with technical assistance and mentoring
• The entrepreneurship process needs to be demystified in terms of the timelines for business growth and profitability and the hard work that goes into creating a successful business.
• The importance of prioritizing customers by creating a great customer experience. Customers are not only a form of funding but also the best advertising. Happy customers are the best advertisers and repeat customers are good for cash flow.

Connect with Violet on LinkedIn: Violet Nyando

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

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Other wearable tech products include devices used by diabetic, kidney failure patients, and also hearing aids. Wearable Tech Ventures (WTV), is the official global ecosystem for Wearable Technology with the goal to develop and promote technological wearables and support 100staff by 2030. Basically, WTV is the main connector for expiring founders, current founders, investors, and corporations that can benefit to help the main industry. WTV features ICONPAN, an inclusive workshop, an avenue for tech and non-tech founders who come together to proffer solutions to everyday problems. Founders must have their stories together, be passionate about their businesses, recognize that they are their first investor, and build a successful track record, pitching, understanding essential principles such as executive summary, pitch tech as well as elevator pitch development before seeking external funds.

Unfortunately, people of color, especially females, are less privileged in raising substantial funds, unlike their counterparts. Therefore, Wearable Tech is reinventing the wheel by understanding the weak start of black female founders by creating a unique new generation team of Angels. Trained, certified, and licensed to score founder's ideas and allocate worthy funds between $500-$10,000. The WTV Angel Investment concept is a platform that allows 100 potential angel investors to help the ecosystem via the under-represented founders and gain knowledge as well, with a commitment of $1000 to WTV. It is important for investors to understand the risk associated with the route of funding they choose. To women in tech; You Are Enough. Be mentally prepared to face rejection with good fate, stay committed; Amidst all, allow yourself to recover and recoup when things get crammed up.

Connect with LaKisha Greenwade on all platforms @lakishagreenwade

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues. Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram. Follow me on LinkedIn: Michelle J. McKenzie--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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Key interview highlights:

• Where is the Made in Africa Product? How many black-owned and managed companies are earning at a minimum of $100 M in revenues? For African entrepreneurs, it is important to focus on creating Made in Africa products.
• There are too few products in the global market that are made in Africa. Black entrepreneurs (no matter where they are located) should focus on building businesses that can become blue-chip'' companies that sustain and thrive well beyond their founders' lifespan. The Bayi Foundation supports entrepreneurs in the US and Africa in product development and business services.
• The first person who buys into your product or business idea is YOU! Small business entrepreneurs MUST invest in themselves and their businesses as the first investor if they are serious about growing their business and attracting external investors. Many African entrepreneurs have an inability or unwillingness to pay for business development services that they need to grow their business, which is a major barrier to business development on the continent.
• Entrepreneurship is another name for a leader, leadership and entrepreneurship are intertwined. Follow the BAYI Foundation on Facebook and Instagram.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

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Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues. If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram. Follow me on LinkedIn Michelle J. McKenzie Join us for the next episode!

Key interview highlights:

• Molo Global is in the business of telling lesser told interesting, more nuanced, and diverse stories Bootstrapped initial capital investment to start Molo Global Publishing is an expensive business and the start-up costs are more significant.
• There is significant risk in publishing Understand all of your business costs when starting a business if you are bootstrapping your initial start-up costs Marketing and promotion are major costs that many entrepreneurs underestimate and do not factor into their costs.
• Check out Morgans new children's book Trip of Your Dreams out now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Consult the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies for funding for authors.

Guest contact info/social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-limo/

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast. If you would like to be a guest or sponsor the podcast, please contact us at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.

Where to find us: Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Help us grow: Please subscribe, stream, or download, leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes with family, friends, and colleagues. Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram. Follow me on LinkedIn Michelle J. McKenzie Join us for the next episode!--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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Key interview highlights:

- Microfinance is needed in America and other developed countries for underserved communities - Microfinance helps to reintegrate felons into economic life as entrepreneurs when they struggle to find formal employment

- The importance of proper business record keeping. COVID and the PPP process revealed to many small business owners the importance of proper record keeping to qualify for COVID relief support.

Guest contact info/social media: You can find John on LinkedIn if you would like to connect.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the WTF podcast.

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Social Media: Follow the WTF podcast on Instagram. Follow me on LinkedIn Michelle J. McKenzie. Join us for the next episode.--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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CEO of Naasakle International Naa-Sakle Akuete has an MBA from Harvard, but the best business professor she has ever had is her mother, Eugenia, Founder of Mother Shea and Chairwoman of Naa-Sakle International. Episode 13 of the WTF podcast featured the inspiring and resilient Eugenia Akuete, Naa-Sakles mother who started with a family business with $30 dollars and a lot of determination and conviction to help improve the lives of women in Northern Ghanas shea belt. Naa-Sakle joined the family business in 2014 when she established Naa-Sakle International to help her mother who had just defeated breast cancer and was then struck by meningitis and was in a coma for a number of weeks.

While her mother was in recovery, Naa-Sakle took reign of the business as it was, which focus mainly on the production of bulk shea with a business to a business approach started two finished product lines, Mothers Shea, a mass-market line available in over 900 Target stores and Eugenia Shea available in more up-scale clean beauty stores such as Detox Market, Credo Beauty, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. Naa-Sakle brought a new vision to the business and embarked on fundraising to support that vision. One of the most important things that Naa-Sakle learned when she joined the family business was that entrepreneurship cannot be taught in school. You learn it on the job! There was a lot she had to learn that her Harvard MBA did not prepare her for. Social Impact Funders: Rudolf Steiner Foundation (RSF Social Finance) MCE Social Capital (MCE Socap) The Palladium Group (Impact Investing) Vested World (Vested World Venture Capital Fund) IMP Key

Take-Aways:

Funding isnt everything sometimes businesses need investors who can help open doors and provide thought-leadership and business development growth.

You have to get comfortable asking for help when you are trying to grow a business. Your networks can help to introduce you to opportunities in their networks.

Networking is about relationship building and not just coming in cold for an ask without relationship building.

Tertiary relationships or the power of weak ties can be very valuable. More opportunities might come from your tertiary network than from your primary network, i.e. people who you network know who can introduce you to other people who can help you.

Subscribe, like, rate, review, and share your favorite episodes to grow the WTF listener community.

If you like the content of the WTF podcast, let us know and reach out to share your thoughts or pitch guests and show ideas at whereisthefunding@gmail.com.--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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Key Take-Aways:

• Accepting investment is a union, it becomes a marriage. Early investors invest in the founder more than they are investing in the business idea. Make sure that the relationship is mutual because not all money is good money.
• Funding is good but get into the mindset of building your business without needing funding. Build a business that has the best form of investment, which is revenues for organic self-investment to scale and grow there possible based on your business model.
• Women-focused funds: I Fund Women Conference to network and find investors in the tech space: AfroTech Black Women Talk Tech Women Tech Founders South by Southwest Black entrepreneur-friendly venture funds: Hustle Fund Precursor Ventures Harlem Capital Catalyst Fund Accelerators: BIG Backstage Capital Current Ventures: Nichelle founded Bold Startups to help organizations and individuals uncover Bold Startups and launch profitable service-based and online businesses.
• She is the creator of #MoneyMilestones, an online intensive program to help entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses, so they can be full-time and financially free! She has been helping entrepreneurs boldly launch and grow businesses since 2007 and managed two business accelerators, where entrepreneurs have made collectively over $3.6M in revenue within a few years. Nichelle is in the process of launching as the Co-Founder of Bramework, a software company that creates top-ranking blog posts in minutes for small businesses and is currently seeking funding for this new tech venture.

How to connect with Nichelle: Website: http://nichellemccall.com/ Email: nichelle@nichellemccall.com Social media: LinkedIn: Nichelle McCall-Browne Instagram: @Nichelle_McCall Twitter: @Nichelle_McCall

Come back to check out new episodes released every two weeks on Wednesdays.

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The banana plant holds a special place in the traditional medicine of the French Caribbean islands where it is used for its soothing, healing, and revitalizing cosmetics properties. The Kadalys brand won 8 beauty awards in 2 years. Shirly makes sure that she looks out for her entrepreneur community in the French overseas department to work together during the COVID crisis and produce hand sanitizers for distribution to the French overseas departments. Shirley talks about where she found funding for the research component of her business (she holds several patents for her banana research, go girl!) and support to grow the business.

The banana producers in the Kadalys supply chain are also shareholders in the business. Not only is Shirley breaking ground in her banana science research and eco-conscious production, but she is also exhibiting a business model that takes care of its supply chain and views them as business partners in what she calls benevolent capitalism. Shirley faced some challenges finding funding after the early-stage funding for banana science research.

According to her, the French Caribbean Island of Martinique is seen as a tourist destination and not an entrepreneurship hub. Therefore, there are few funds interested in funding entrepreneurs on the Island. She was however fortunate to receive investment from Josh Game with Junction Injunction dedicated to supporting African women entrepreneurs. Additional funding came from a LOreal entrepreneurship program Her products are coming to US stores soon so keep your eyes out for more news from Kadalys and make sure you pick up some products when they drop in US stores.

You can purchase Kadalys products now online at https://www.kadalys.com/en/ and a shop on Amazon is coming soon. Social media: follow Kadalys on Instagram and Facebook. Shirley can be found on LinkedIn where there is also a Kadalys company page.

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Drop us an email at whereisthefunding@gmail.com and tell us what you like about the show and what topics you want us to explore as it relates to funding for black entrepreneurs and particularly black women entrepreneurs.--- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

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