Meet the Graduating Class of Founder Gym Cohort 2: The Fundraising Basics

Mandela SH Dixon

Published in

FounderGym

13 min readApr 25, 2018

The fact is: there’s money out there, but it’s not getting to us: underrepresented founders.

And people are fed up.

There’s conferences about it.

There’s articles about it.

There’s definitely tweetstorms about it.

In general, there’s a lot of talking about it.

We wanted to take a different approach. We wanted to take action and DO something about it.

So in January 2018, we launched the inaugural Founder Gym Cohort, training 26 underrepresented founders across 4 continents in just 4 weeks on how to raise venture capital.

During those 4-weeks, members of Founder Gym cumulatively raised over $1MM and soon after, several founders, like Amy Nelson, went on raise to significantly more.

Now, four months later, we’ve graduated our second class of underrepesented founders — nearly double the original cohort size at 43 — and today, we’re excited to announce who they are. But before we do…

Here’s a quick breakdown of Cohort 2 as a whole:

Gender

Female: 52%
Male: 43%
Trans Male: 2%
Trans Female: 2%

Race

Black: 64%
White: 24%
Asian: 14%
Latinx: 10%
Middle Eastern: 2%

Age

Twenties: 24%
Thirties: 52%
Forties: 21%
Fifties: 2%

Parenting Status

With children: 50%
Without children: 50%

Geography

Bay Area: 21%
NY Area: 17%
Boston: 0%
Other areas in the U.S.: 57%
Outside the U.S.: 5%

Immigrant Status

Native to the country they reside in: 83%
Immigrated to the country they reside in: 17%

Employment Status

Full-time founder: 57%
Part-time founder and full-time employee: 29%
Part-time founder and part-time employee: 14%

Product Stage

Product in the market: 69%
Product in private beta: 21%
Product in development: 10%

Technical Ability

Engineer: 21%
Designer: 12%
Other type of technical ability: 14%
Non-technical: 52%

Previous Fundraising Experience

No previous fundraising experience: 41%
Family and/or friends: 38%
Incubator and/or accelerator: 7%
Venture capitalists: 7%
Angel investors: 5%
Pitch competition: 2%

Meet the Graduates of FG Cohort 2

Adetayo Adesanya

Company: Agbara Life, a wearable tech benefits corporation that creates designer powered accessories and apparel with the mission to bridge the technology gap in under-resourced areas.
Location: Oakland, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Ava Pipitone

Company: HostHome, an accessible housing platform for the LGBT community.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Bianca Jeanty

Company: MiMConnect, (Minorities in Media Connect) is the LinkedIn for mid-to-senior level professionals of color that provides a direct pipeline between forward-thinking companies and diverse candidates.
Location: Elizabeth, NJ
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Boyede Sobitan

Company: Oja Express, a marketplace for small grocers that sell cultural specific groceries.
Location: Chicago, IL
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Chanel Melton

Company: Rose Gold Dropship, a community-driven, curated marketplace that highlights ethically, consciously made products and the stories behind them.
Location: Hollywood, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Damien Peters

Company: Wealth Noir, a media and financial services company targeting high-income African American Millennials.
Location: Oakland, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Darren Harris

Company: PANN, (Pan-African News Network) is a mobile application made for sharing news that takes place within the Black community.
Location: New York, NY
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

De’Angelo Wisdom

Company: Agbara Life, a wearable tech benefits corporation that creates designer powered accessories and apparel with the mission to bridge the technology gap in under-resourced areas.
Location: Oakland, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn

Delores Brown

Company: Agbara Life, a wearable tech benefits corporation that creates designer powered accessories and apparel with the mission to bridge the technology gap in under-resourced areas.
Location: Pleasanton, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Derrick Ashong

Company: Amp.it, an interactive digital media platform that helps brands know who’s watching their content and why, so they can own their audience.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Eric Warner

Company: Style Trail, connects shop owners to talented beauty professionals to fill their empty booths.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Erica Peterson

Company: Moms Can: Code, an online community for moms who code.
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Faseeha Khan-Jensen

Company: The Level Market, the world’s first e-commerce platform aimed exclusively at the $100B humanitarian industry.
Location: Denver, CO
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Faye Hayes

Company: PlayLoops, a one-stop-shop for social justice organizations to create narrative-shifting GIFs using our proprietary design tools.
Location: Oakland, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Jasmine Shells

Company: Five to Nine, a SaaS B2B platform that provides company employees access to a marketplace of curated events and perk benefits in order to enhance work culture and productivity.
Location: Chicago, IL
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Jelica Baker

Company: Saddle Shoppe, an e-commerce startup that features luxury equestrian brands that suit both style and technical advancements for the modern rider.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn

Jessica Estrada

Company: Hue for Every Man, specializing in men’s premium grooming products marketed to the poly-cultural male demographic.
Location: Hollywood, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Jibril Sulaiman

Company: Spendwith, a platform that empowers people to organize shopping based on cultural identity.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Karisa Peer

Company: Mother Squad, a video chat support group platform that gives new moms a space to connect from the comfort of home — via computer, tablet, and/or smartphone.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Kati Radziwon

Company: iFlipd, a platform that lets students rent textbooks by the week.
Location: Portland, OR
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Kedar Reddy

Company: PlayLoops, a one-stop-shop for social justice organizations to create narrative-shifting GIFs using our proprietary design tools.
Location: San Jose, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitte

Kimberly Moore

Company: CarpooltoSchool, the first product in the market available on web and mobile, exclusive to the parent community to meet, coordinate and see their children arrive safely to their destination.
Location: Washington, DC
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Kishau Rogers

Company: Time Study, a software provider on a mission to eliminate time sheets.
Location: Richmond, VA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Kyle Frazier

Company: Hue for Every Man, specializing in men’s premium grooming products marketed to the poly-cultural male demographic.
Location: Hollywood, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Lauren Elliot

Company: CandleLit Box, a subscription service that offers a practical approach to self-care through stress management and unique discovery of personal care products.
Location: Ozone Park, NY
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Lennie Carter

Company: TruCircle, a web and mobile video chat tool that allows behavioral health professionals to connect with their patients in a safe and secure way.
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Luther Lawoyin

Company: Lucy, a Nigerian e-commerce, wholesale and retail technology company that provides B2C and B2B sales of branded merchandise via web portals.
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Makazi Mtingwa

Company: Funderdust, a crowd-funding platform which seeks to promote tech startups traditionally excluded from venture capital and angel investing.
Location: Laurel, MD
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Marie Condron

Company: Arsenal, a consumer-driven marketplace for discovering and sharing favorite beauty and personal care products from people you trust and admire.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Max Goodman

Company: HostHome, an accessible housing platform for the LGBT community.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Michael Purnell

Company: Sievent, a VR ticketing platform that lets fans buy virtual tickets and have an immersive front row experience at any event right from their home.
Location: Sacramento, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Netta Dobbins

Company: MiMConnect, (Minorities in Media Connect) is the LinkedIn for mid-to-senior level professionals of color that provides a direct pipeline between forward-thinking companies and diverse candidates.
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Quincy Ewell

Company: PANN, (Pan-African News Network) is a mobile application made for sharing news that takes place within the Black community.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Ryan Boyd

Company: Shelfspace enables people to have their luggage sent from the hotel to the airport on-demand via mobile app, allowing them to move freely in their down time before their flight.
Location: New York, NY
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Sama Jashnani

Company: DownToDash, a millennial focused app that connects people in the same location based on what they are down to do, whether it’s workouts, sports, movies or other activities.
Location: New York, NY
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Sandeep Purwar

Company: Bevov, a new all-in-one recruiting platform that uses machine learning, sourcing and automated testing to help you find the Top 5 candidates.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Sara Campbell

Company: Arsenal, a consumer-driven marketplace for discovering and sharing favorite beauty and personal care products from people you trust and admire.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Summer Suleiman

Company: The Distillery, a media platform that covers the challenges entrepreneurs endure as they start and grow companies.
Location: New Orleans, LA
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Tammy Bowser

Company: Rodexly, an app created to make your network both searchable and monetizable.
Location: Frisco, TX
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Tegan Spinner

Company: Lokalist, a marketplace for local used goods that enables instant price negotiation between buyers and sellers, and integrated payment processing.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Tes Macpherson

Company: Plan Social, enables volunteer groups to harness untapped potential in terms of volunteers and sponsors, currently focused on school PTAs.
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Winston Frazer

Company: Danae Prosthetics, an app that engineers 3d printed parts in the cloud for lower limb amputees to customize their prosthetic legs.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Get connected: LinkedIn and Twitter

Shoutout to the FG Cohort 2 Peer Trainers

There was so much talent in Cohort 2 that for the first time, Founder Gym hosted Peer Training sessions. Select cohort members stepped up to train their peers on popular startup topics. Thank you to these amazing founders:

Meet the Incredible Trainers of FG Cohort 2

During the cohort, 12 venture capitalists and 7 venture-backed founders trained FG founders on the nuances of raising venture capital. We’d like to thank them for their candor, consideration, and commitment in helping us bridge the knowledge, network, and capital gap for underrepresented founders.