P33, a local group that aims to boost Chicago's tech sector, announced that Tifair Hamed has joined the company as chief marketing officer.
Hamed will lead all marketing and communications functions and will report directly to Brad Henderson, the company's CEO.
Hamed comes to P33 after most recently serving as head of social media marketing for Burrell Communications, where she led the strategic direction for the McDonald's African American consumer segment across brand initiatives and retail.
"What stood out that distinguished her in the interview process was her ability to bring compelling stories and bring people from diverse backgrounds to life," Henderson told Chicago Inno. "She's just a gifted storyteller."
While Black, Hispanic or Latino, and women-identifying startup founders have historically raised a much smaller share of venture capital and private equity funding than their white and male peers, several local organizations and incubators are looking to change that, including P33.
The amount of venture capital raised by underrepresented founders in Chicago increased 159% between 2019 and 2021, according to research from World Business Chicago, in partnership with Chicago:Blend and Fifth Star Funds. Through the first half of 2022, the proportion of startups involving women, Hispanic or Latino, and Black founders that raised any amount of venture capital rose to 23.3% from 8.2% in 2019.
However, the down market has made it even more challenging for Black and Latino founders, according Tessa Flippin, founder of Capitalize VC, a fund focused on investing in Black and Latino founders developing e-commerce infrastructure technology and consumer brands. Black startup founders raised an estimated $2.3 billion out of the $215.9 billion in U.S. venture capital allocated in 2022. That's about 1% — a slight drop from the 1.3% raised in 2021, according to TechCrunch's analysis of Crunchbase data.
That being said, for Henderson and P33, which first launched in 2019, Chicago lost little momentum in providing more opportunities to underrepresented founders.
"Our sense is the data will show that 2022 was the best year ever, on the backs of the year before being the best year ever," he said. "Last year we encountered more very capable aspiring founders and they raised more money. Our best guess is in 2023 we further accelerate the momentum, and while the gap we have to close is massive, I feel like over the past few years, the data shows progress each year and that 2023 is going to be our best year yet."
