Friends & Family: One’s You Can Depend On
Last week, we announced Friends & Family, a 12-week accelerator where 20 companies across the country will receive $20,000 in non-dilutive capital and have the opportunity to learn from some of the most successful entrepreneurs and investors in the country. We have been overwhelmed with the amount of public support and words of gratitude since the announcement. We’ve also had many people reaching out wondering, “why are you handing out $20,000?”
To understand this answer, you must first understand why we started our firm Slauson & Co. We believe that entrepreneurship has the power to change families, communities, and the way society operates. Entrepreneurship is a key component of the American Dream that has been sold all over the world. It’s worth taking a close look at who gets to participate in that dream.
Historically, value creation has been allocated to a very specific demographic. Providing clear paths to entrepreneurship, specifically access to capital and resources to those who have historically been left out, plays a critical role in helping to reverse the wealth gap and create a more economically inclusive future. I know this first hand.
I spent my formative years in South Los Angeles and was raised by a single, immigrant mother who started a business with no capital and no guidance. She knew she had to find a way to take care of my Grandmother and me. She worked multiple jobs during the day, while making VHS copies of Bollywood movies and renting/selling them to other Indian families to cover our basic needs. As her business grew, it earned the nickname “Bollywood Blockbuster,” eventually evolving to provide a broader range of video related services. From an early age, I knew what it felt like to not know where your next meal was coming from; but also, witnessed the evolution toward the freedom that comes when all the hard work begins to sustain itself over time.
Most of the kids I went to school with would hear about what their parents do, but they didn’t really see or understand the details of their parents’ work. My childhood was quite the opposite. I wasn’t just getting a chance to watch, but was put to work. My earliest memories consist of helping my mother with filling orders, dealing with customers, and riding my bike to make deposits at our local credit union. This was my model for how to work hard and make a living. My future was shaped by the entrepreneurial spirit ingrained in me through the sacrifices she made over the years.
Today, I co-manage a $70m+ early stage venture capital fund. Slauson & Co. is motivated by the idea that there are hard working, brilliant, and ambitious visionaries (from ALL backgrounds) across the country that simply don’t have access to the capital, guidance, or networks to bring their full vision to fruition. In our short history, we’ve noticed a funny thing that happens when you give qualified people a chance… they show up and deliver. So beyond the investments that we make from our fund, we want to provide more opportunities to more people. I can only imagine what my mother would have been able to accomplish if early on she had access to the capital and guidance we offer today.
Many of the founders we intentionally seek don’t have access to a financial safety net to take the personal and professional risks that come with starting a business. We cannot overstate the potential that is unlocked when a founder knows they can cover living expenses and invest directly in resources to execute their vision. Beyond the capital, it’s a founder’s network that can help open doors, provide advice, and make key introductions to help accelerate their growth. If these basic challenges are solved, the playing field becomes more level and these untapped, talented founders have a better chance to get noticed early. It would be a major step in the direction of economic inclusivity. In typical Silicon Valley circles, we often see this capital and mentorship coming from family members or friends with money.
We want to be your Friends & Family.
And we’re not the only ones. Our partners at Grid110 have been at this for the better part of the last decade. We are excited to work with them and extremely grateful to our founding donors: Ron Conway of SV Angel, the Annenberg Foundation, the Schultz Family Foundation, and Jim Goetz of Sequoia. Shout out to all of our Friends who have offered to share their personal journeys that led to their success with our inaugural cohort.
We believe that $20,000 coupled with a proven accelerator program and a phenomenal network of supportive mentors can really move the needle for a lot of promising entrepreneurs across the country. If you feel like this program was created just for you, you’re probably right.
You can apply for Friends & Family HERE. More information about the program, which kicks off January 2022, HERE. If you’d like to contribute, you can drop us a line to meetus@slauson.co.
