Women and entrepreneurs of color often face hurdles when it comes to securing funding from venture capital investors.
Now, a Miami technology organization aims to connect venture capitalists with promising tech entrepreneurs from underserved communities.
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Endeavor Miami recently partnered with DeepWork Capital in a move to funnel more capital to participants in EndeavorLAB, a cohort-based program for early-stage startup founders. The Orlando venture capital firm committed to conducting due diligence with selected EndeavorLAB entrepreneurs and agreed to attend and support demo days for those cohorts.
DeepWork also pledged to make presentations on topics relevant to Endeavor companies and leverage its network to provide support for those ventures.
"We believe that backing underrepresented founding teams often aligns with our thesis of investing in overlooked opportunities that can yield superior investment returns," said Kathy Chiu, co-founder and managing partner at DeepWork Capital.
The firm invested in seven companies led by diverse teams in the first seven months of 2023, she added. About half of DeepWork Capital's investments have been allocated to underrepresented founders since its founding in 2015.
Endeavor Miami hopes the partnership will help South Florida build a more inclusive technology ecosystem that champions women, Black, Hispanic and other founders from minority backgrounds.
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Nationally, a majority of venture capital funding is directed to startups led by white men. Companies led by female founders received just 2.1% of the capital invested in venture-backed startups in 2022, according to data from Pitchbook. Meanwhile, Black entrepreneurs receive less than 2% of all VC dollars, with Black women attracting less than 1%, Crunchbase reports.
Endeavor Miami is the first U.S. affiliate of Endeavor, a global nonprofit that has advised more than 1,000 businesses in 37 markets across the world. The Miami organization reports its entrepreneurs have gone on to collectively employ more than 5,000 people and generate $800 million in annual revenue.
"Endeavor Miami is dedicated to nurturing an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem, and our collaboration with DeepWork Capital will further catalyze the growth of founders that participate in our EndeavorLAB cohorts," Managing Director Claudia Duran said in a statement.
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