A Phoenix company and one of its founders have been selected to participate in a Google-sponsored intensive accelerator program to boost Black startup founders.
Resilient Software Security, which was founded in 2021 by Damilare Fagbemi along with Brook Schoenfield, is the only Arizona company on the list of 10 top-tier startups named this week by American Underground and Google for their eighth annual Black Founders Exchange.
Resilient describes itself as a company that helps software-as-a-service and blockchain startups get needed verification of their security strength and compliance so they can close corporate or institutional deals.
The partnership between Google and the American Underground startup hub based in Durham, North Carolina, offers a weeklong in-depth experience for Black founders building high-growth ventures.
The collaboration offers hand-on mentorship, along with direction from some of the leading industry experts and investors across the country.
Since 2023, the 55 companies the previously participated in the program collectively raised upwards of $30 million in venture funding.
“The Black Founders Exchange is a flagship program for the American Underground, and each year we design the curriculum to ensure it tackles the current challenges that Black founders are facing,” Tim Scales, executive director at the American Underground commented. “
The American Underground program is one of eleven Google for Startups tech hubs in North America. While supporting more than 200 startups and scale-ups across the country, the company puts an emphasis on supporting those who self-identify as persons of color, women, veterans, and LGBTQ+.
With $500 million in total funding raised, and more than 3,750 new jobs created, American Underground will look to continue to set the standard when it comes to increasing resources for their founder's needs.
Here are all 10 startups selected for the 2023 Black Founders Exchange:
- Artifact AI, Durham, North Carolina
- Cadence Cash, Raleigh, North Carolina
- Elroi Enterprise Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Layman, Ltd., New York City
- ReferAll, Miami
- Resilient Software Security, Phoenix
- Shades of Color, Saint Louis
- Tribaja, Philadelphia
- Voiceblocks, Detroit
- Words Liive, Washington, D.C.
