🤎 We want to welcome our new followers to the Fifteen Percent Pledge. Let’s get to know each other! 🤍
Get to know more about us and our mission to redirect billions in retailer revenue to Black-owned brands by swiping through our slides.
Then, introduce yourself to us and this community in the comments: What about the Fifteen Percent Pledge resonates with you and your story?
#FifteenPercentPledge
Caption by @nataliedggtt
Design by @crstnpark
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Announcing our new podcast, Friends and Family with Aurora James!
When a founder begins raising money for their business, they will often start with a “friends and family” round. While this is a viable option for some, not everyone has access to a network of deep-pocketed friends and family...
Enter our new podcast: Friends & Family with Aurora James. Whether you’re fundraising or bootstrapping, join Fifteen Percent Pledge founder, Aurora James, alongside some of the most inspiring Black founders as they share their wisdom to help you build your business and scale for success.
We’re so excited to be able to finally share this with you all. The trailer is out now, listen wherever you get your podcasts, and subscribe to be the first to hear when episode one drops.
Link in bio.
Everette Taylor was just 33 years old when he became the CEO of @Kickstarter , so he knows a thing or two about not letting imposter syndrome get the better of you. If you’ve been waiting for a sign to go for it - whatever that might mean to you - this might be it.
Dial into @aurorajames ’ call with @everette over on the pod 📞 Friends and Family Episode 3 - linked in bio.
Julia Collins is a serial entrepreneur who hasn’t just raised once or twice. She’s raised venture capital more than a dozen times. Dear listener, consider this episode your guide to the world of venture capital. This episode is sponsored by @Citibank . Listen now wherever you find your podcasts.
If you’re not familiar with the name Julia Collins, you might be familiar with the moniker she got in the press a few years ago, when she co-founded Zume Pizza. It was a VC backed tech company, that at one point in time, was valued at over a billion dollars. That very valuation helped Julia earn the title of the very first Black woman unicorn founder.
Listen now at the link in bio.
Black culture is American culture and that influence spreads to the music industry. When Black musicians do something, they don’t just do it well; they do it like it’s never been done before. Need proof?
Louis Armstrong, Michael Jackson, Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix, Missy Elliot, Beyoncé, Miles Davis, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin.
#FifteenPercentPledge#BlackMusicMonth#Blackculture
As in many situations in life, something being the loudest doesn’t make it right 😏 raising capital is no exception.
Julia Collins, aka the first Black woman unicorn founder, has raised 14 rounds, so she knows the world of venture capital inside out. She’s on the pod this month chatting candidly with @aurorajames about just what that can look like (and why VC life is not for everyone - and that’s ok!).
Listen to Friends and Family now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Juneteenth isn’t simply a new addition to the American calendar; it’s a powerful recognition of a long-overdue truth. On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Texas were told they were free. In 2021, the Juneteenth National Day Act was signed. Our annual commemoration arrived a century and a half later, and although awaited by many, as a young holiday, it’s only right to align on best practices 🤞🏽
Here’s our guide!
#FifteenPercentPledge#Juneteenth
Black as in a people, not a color. Black as in a community bonded by shared experiences and culture, not a color. Capitalize the B in Black.
#FifteenPercentPledge#Juneteenth
Photo: Binx Walton and Sage Elsesser for British Vogue September 2020. Photographed by Tyler Mitchell.
We’re feeling real sentimental this Father’s Day and want the feeling to linger. Build his fragrance collection with these Black-owned colognes.
#blackownedbeauty#fathersdaygifts
As we see the legal system in our country clamping down on grant programs for Black founders, it’s more important than ever that we continue the work of @15percentpledge . Over the past four years our team has tirelessly worked to create pathways and opportunities for Black founders and their small but mighty businesses. We’ve given grants, expanded shelf space, allocated investment capital and knocked down countless doors in the name of supporting Black founders in their quest to scale and thrive all over this country.
So earlier this week @aurorajames and I hosted a fundraising dinner at my home as we continue to galvanize support and inform our community of supporters.
Thank you to everyone who attended and Thank you all for the thoughtful questions and important conversation it made the night truly magical ✨
Event Production: @savioragency
Chef: @chefdas
Som: @loristhesomm
Florals: @truevinestudio
Photos: @jasonseanweiss
