Founder Gym has trained the most Black women to raise $1 million. Now we’re launching a NEW Black Women Cohort to train even more.

Founder Gym is the #1 program teaching underrepresented founders how to raise capital to scale their tech startups.

Results 🏆

• $106,000,000 (and counting) raised by FG Graduates

Founder Profile 📌

• Pre-seed and seed stage
• Founder’s representation in the overall population is significantly less than it is in the startup ecosystem.
• Example: 50% of the U.S. population is women, but less than 11% of venture dollars in 2020 went to companies with at least one woman founder. (Source)

Program Launch 🚀

• FG Cohort 1 launched in January 2018
• Founder Gym is 3 years and 3 months young

Program Reach 🌎

• 15 cohorts
• 516 graduates
• 25 countries
• 6 continents

Community Composition 📊

• 58% Women
• 41% Men
• 1% Gender Queer or Non-Binary
• 71% Black
• 12 % White
• 10% Latinx
• 9% Asian
• 3% Middle Eastern

Black women who graduate from Founder Gym are winning like never before.

Kathryn Finney, Lauren Maillian, and Digital Undivided’s ProjectDiane Report states that only 93 Black women have ever raised $1 million or more. 1 out of 10 of those Black women have graduated from Founder Gym.

Some of the biggest and boldest Black voices in the world back Black Women who graduate from Founder Gym.

• Beyonce‘s BeyGOOD Impact Fund has funded Black women who graduated from Founder Gym.
• Daymond John, investor on Shark Tank, has invested in a Black woman who graduated from Founder Gym.
• Issa Rae, creator of the HBO hit show Insecure, has invested in a Black woman who graduated from Founder Gym.
• Yvonne Orji, actress on the HBO hit show Insecure, has invested in a Black woman who graduated from Founder Gym.
• Arlan Hamilton and her firm Backstage Capital have invested in 10 Founder Gym Graduates. 50% of them are Black women.
• Bozoma Saint John, executive at Beats by Dre, Apple, Uber, and Netflix, has invested in a Black women who graduated from Founder Gym.
• Tristan Walker, Founder of Bevel (acquired by Proctor & Gamble), is on the Board of Directors of a Black woman who graduated from Founder Gym.
• Jewel Burks Solomon and the Google for Startups U.S. Black Founders Fund awarded funding to 15 Founder Gym Graduates. 53% of them are Black women.
• Techstars, the largest accelerator in the world, has invested in 17 Founder Gym Graduates. 35% of them are Black women.

Black women who graduate from Founder Gym are paving the way.

• The youngest Black woman to raise over $1 million is a Founder Gym Graduate (she was 23 years old and has since raised $2.6M).
• The first Black woman in the state of Tennessee to raise over $1 million is a Founder Gym Graduate (she has since raised nearly $5m).
• The first Black woman in the state of Louisiana to raise over $1 million is a Founder Gym Graduate (she has since raised over $10m).
• Black women Founder Gym Graduates have won notable pitch competitions, including SXSW and AnitaB.
• Black women Founder Gym Graduates have been named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women List.

This is a BIG deal because Black women receive the least amount of investment capital out of all founders.

Founder Gym is doubling down on helping Black women succeed.

Applications are now open for Founder Gym’s inaugural fundraising cohort specifically designed for Black women who want to raise money to scale their startup. FG Fundraising Cohort 17 is for all Black women, including trans women. The cohort operates for six weeks, from June 7th through July 16, 2021, and the deadline to apply is May 7, 2021. FG Cohort 17 is 100% virtual, so founders can participate from anywhere in the world.

FG Cohort 17 Trainers are Black Women investors, founders, lawyers, and industry experts.

• Arlan Hamilton, Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital and Author of It’s About Damn Time
• Phaedra Ellis-Lamkin, Co-Founder & CEO of Promise, a $23m series A startup backed by First Round Capital, Kapor Capital, and Y Combinator
• Nmachi Jidenma, Head of Scouts and Partnerships at Sequoia Capital, a top three venture capital firm in the world
• Mandela SH Dixon, CEO of Founder Gym, Silicon Valley’s #1 Fundraising Coach for Underrepresented Founders
• More trainers are being announced in the coming weeks!

FG Cohort 17 is packed with more trainers than ever before and brand new programming.

In addition to our proven curriculum, two new trainings have been added to FG Cohort 17 for Black Women:

New Training #1: Developing a Winner’s Mentality

• In life and in business, you teach other people how to treat you, and when it comes to fundraising, it’s imperative that you teach people to treat you with respect. Fundraising is a negotiation between a founder and an investor, and being confident in yourself, your company, and your vision for what you and your team can accomplish is imperative to being successful at fundraising. In this session, you will hear from a seasoned founder who knows who she is (and who she’s not) and commands every room she is in. You will walk away from this session informed and inspired to walk in your truth and step fully into your power.

New Training #2: Pitching Angels and Scouts

• There are many sources of capital to scale your tech startup, and one of the best places to look is amongst angel investor groups and VC scout programs. As more tech founders and employees generate wealth, they are now becoming angel investors, and as more VC firms compete for the best deal flow, they are now starting scout programs. During this panel, you will hear from angels and scouts about best practices on finding, pitching, and closing them.

Click here to apply to the cohort by the deadline May 7, 2021.

Black women who have received scholarships to participate in Founder Gym have gone on to achieve amazing things.

• A Google for Startups x FG Scholarship recipient was selected as one of the Top 3 Picks during TechCrunch Disrupt.
• A Kapor Center x FG Scholarship recipient was selected for Emerge, an accelerator program created by SoftBank Investment Advisers and WeWork Labs.
• A Prosper Portland x FG Scholarship recipient was selected for Sephora’s 2021 Accelerate Program.

Now is your chance to help the next generation of Black women secure the capital they need to scale their companies and make HERstory.

Join Sequoia Capital, Google for Startups, Shopify, Teach for America, Microsoft for Startups, Kapor Center for Social Impact, Prosper Portland, Bronze Valley, and many other great organizations who have stepped up to sponsor the Founder Gym tuition for underrepresented founders, so they can access the training, network, and community they need to advance their business goals.

Click here to sponsor a founder by the deadline April 28, 2021.

Attend a free training.

On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the Founder Gym Team will lead a free training that is open to the public. It will cover four key questions:

• When should I raise?
• How much should I raise?
• What’s the best process to raise?
• What should Black women, specifically, consider when raising?

Click here to register for the free training by the deadline April 13, 2021.

Founder Gym is serious about helping founders succeed.

Email partnerships@foundergym.com if you are interested in locking arms with the leading program for underrepresented founders and join the movement to democratize access to capital for entrepreneurs everywhere.

For more information about the Black women Founder Gym Graduates featured in this article, click here.

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