S3 Ep22: How We’re Helping Black Founders Raise Capital to Build Successful Businesses | Himalaya Rao

<div>NEW EPISODE ALERT | BLACK FOUNDERS MATTER (BFM)<br> <br> I'm honored to bring <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/#"><strong>Himalaya Rao-Potlapally</strong></a> - Managing Director of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/#"><strong>The BFM Fund</strong></a> - to the podcast! She's a unicorn if I've ever seen one. <br> <br> She has a passion for bringing that knowledge to BIPOC communities with the goal of creating access and empowerment. Her interest and passion has led her to many different roles and industries including <strong>#BFM</strong> which is a seed-stage venture fund focused on Black and innovative entrepreneurs. <br> <br> She started her career as a Social Worker in Hunts Point. She<br> launched several businesses, including CarBar. Over the last few years, her<br> passion has led her to be one of the Managing Directors and General Partners of the Black Founders Matter Fund which is a $10mm seed-stage fund focused on highly scalable Black-led deal flow within the United States. Prior to becoming a GP, she got an MBA and specialized training in Venture Finance and worked in seven different firms as an Associate, Deal Lead, and eventually Fund Manager.<br> <br> She was an adjunct professor at Portland State University teaching MBA and MSF students about venture investing. She’s also excited about co-launching Venture Partners, an educational non-profit, in partnership with VertueLab and NVCA’s Venture Forward/VC University. <br> <br> In this episode you'll hear me and Himalaya talk about the<br> following and more: <br> 1 - What is the BFM Fund <br> 2 - Fundraising for Women of Color <br> 3 - The Pathway to Economic Development <br> 4 - No Generational Wealth 00:07  <br> <br> 00:07 - Guest intro <br> 00:25 - How Shauna met Himalaya <br> 02:05 - Shauna Talks about Himalaya’s achievements <br> 3:40 - What is Black Founders Matter (BFM)? <br> 05:01 - Breaking into the VC spaces as a woman of color <br> 07:40 - Other Venture Capital initiatives<br> 15:34 - BFM and the Bank Of America equity inves