An Atlanta entrepreneur whose company focuses on the stories of diverse founders is adding one more resource for them.
Geekz Ventures is a pre-accelerator program headquartered in Atlanta for Black- and Latinx-led startups. Its inaugural cohort is set for the first quarter of 2023. UrbanGeekz founder and CEO Kunbi Tinuoye, whose news site covers technology and entrepreneurship among the African-American and Latinx community, founded the program.
The program is industry agnostic but focuses on media entertainment and mobile tech startups. Tinuoye is looking for five to 10 early-stage startup founders to participate in the first class. Applications are now open.
Creation of the program comes as racial disparities within Atlanta’s tech ecosystem continue. Last month, Atlanta Inno reported that out of the 25 largest venture deals in Atlanta so far in 2022, three went to Black founders. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported previously that in 2021, Black founders received around 12% of the record amount of venture capital that poured into Atlanta startups.
Tinuoye was inspired to start the program primarily based on her own experience raising capital and scaling as a startup founder.
“When we launched, very few brands focused on tech and diversity,” said Tinuoye. “Things are better now that we're an established brand, but the first years were tough.”
Atlanta is home to an array of accelerator programs geared toward alleviating minority founders. Some of which include the It Takes A Village pre-accelerator by the Atlanta Tech Village and Zane Access by venture capital firm Zane Venture Fund.
While it intends to one day have a hybrid model, the program’s first cohort will be virtual. Once it's ready for in-person sessions, Tinuoye said she hopes to use one of the city’s co-working spaces, such as the Atlanta Tech Village or the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, as a way of introducing founders to Atlanta’s startup ecosystem.
Tinuoye hopes for the program to provide its graduates with micro grants. As a nonprofit, Geekz Ventures is looking for local donors and funders. The amount of the grants will depend on the amount of donations received.
“Mentorship isn't enough. It's always great to get a check, even if it's not huge, it may be the first one they get,” said Tinuoye. “It sends a powerful message to a founder that we believe in you and someone is willing to bet on you.”
The program will include general mentors focusing on customer discovery, market fit and raising venture capital as well as specialized mentors that will focus on specific industries. Atlanta Ventures Partner Kathryn O'Day and media finance company FilmHedge founder and CEO Jon Gosier are among the mentors already involved.
“[Kunbi] is an entrepreneur herself and has a front line supporter of tech and entrepreneurship through Urban Geekz.” said O’Day in an email. “There's no one better to launch a pre-accelerator with a media, entertainment, and connectivity focus.”
Aside from her work at UrbanGeekz, Tinuoye has already played a role as a mentor in Atlanta’s startup ecosystem. She’s volunteered as a lead mentor for The Farm, an accelerator by Comcast NBCUniversal accelerator based in The Battery.
