Coded by Kids launched a new pitch competition for early-stage Philadelphia startups with underrepresented founders.
The nonprofit’s pitch competition is designed to secure funding for underrepresented founders who may not have otherwise received growth capital from traditional avenues. The reality of venture capital for underrepresented founders is bleak: Black and Latino founders have raised only 2.4% of VC funding invested in startups since 2015, and women and minority founders are capitalized at a rate 80% less than businesses overall, according to Crunchbase.
Coded by Kids founder Sylvester Mobley has a long history of supporting equitable tech growth in Philadelphia. Beyond his nonprofit, which supports tech education for young people of underrepresented backgrounds, he started his own venture capital firm — Plain Sight Capital — which invests in and supports early-stage tech startups founded by underrepresented entrepreneurs. Plain Sight Capital launched a $50 million fund last year.
Early-stage capital such as friends-and-family rounds and angel investors have oftentimes eluded underrepresented founders, said Alex King, co-managing partner of Plain Sight Capital and co-organizer of the pitch competition. While local investors like Ben Franklin Technology Partners have improved the funding situation for underrepresented founders, more work has to be done to support them, he said.
“The gap is somewhat closing, but we have a long way to go,” King said.
The competition offers awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for five startups that show potential to use technology to quickly scale their companies. Three early-stage startups will be selected for cash prizes — $25,000 for first place, $15,000 for second place and $10,000 for third place — and two more “emerging founders” with startup ideas will be selected to receive $5,000 each and services from the event’s sponsors, King said.
The early-stage startup prize pool is designated for companies that may have already gone to market with their product, have a team established and are raising capital. The $5,000 prize will be reserved for founders who may be working or still in school and have an idea for a scalable venture.
“We see ourselves as the launch pad for entrepreneurs, and we didn't want to limit individuals who didn't necessarily have a product in place,” King said.
Registration for the pitch competition is free and ends on Feb. 27, and the pitch event will happen March 31. Approximately 10 entrepreneurs will be selected as finalists.
Entry is currently limited to Black and brown founders based in Philadelphia, King said. Future pitch competitions could expand eligibility to underrepresented founders beyond Black and brown entrepreneurs.
The pitch competition is funded by the City of Philadelphia’s department of commerce, Coded by Kids, Plain Sight Capital and 1Philadelphia, a Coded by Kids initiative that promotes equitable technology and innovation growth.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Comcast NBCUniversal, the Pennsylvania Alliance for Capital and Technologies, Brevity, the African American Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Cozen O’Connor will serve as partners and judges for the competition.
