This year, I’ve begun a deep dive into unlearning and re-learning ecosystem building through the lens of what is desired by Black innovators versus corporate social responsibility initiatives such as “Diversity and Inclusion.”

At the start of the year, HBCUvc created a new vision statement that reads:

To build a global innovation economy where Black, Indigenous, and Latinx innovators can boldly create, fail, invest, and thrive

We aim to direct how capital is formed and distributed to achieve our vision. The HBCUvc team and I are working to refine our mission, curriculum, and programs to strategical align with this new vision. I want to create a framework that articulates our model of change anchored in this vision. I also plan to share our development process along the way.

Models that I’m inspired by:

• Praxis’ model of Redemptive Entrepreneurship
• Creative fund structures with shared prosperity models such as Upside Partnership and London-based Kindred Capital. Both firms share ownership of their fund (or carry) with founders that they’ve invested in
• Evergreen fund structures
• Bell Hooks’ Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center

Any other models that I should check out?