Startup Funding | Learn From Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors And Ceos Of Disruptive Companies

Compassionate, Zealous, Visionary and Inspiring are just a few of the words that describe Jasmine Crowe, an HBCU alumna and MBA graduate who is working to make the world a better place one cause at a time. Jasmine’s goal is to foster change and create awareness about the leading socioeconomic issues and challenges of today, like poverty, education, and hunger. In 2011 she founded BlackCelebrityGiving.com (BCG) . The idea for the site came from the vivid awareness of a lack of media coverage for black celebrities doing positive things to impact our communities. BCG is the frontier in providing content of celebrity philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, and causes that directly correlate with the black community. Today lead by Jasmine, BCG has hosted activations in more than 20 US cities and the UK and Haiti and has collected and donated over 2 million items to causes worldwide and fed over 40,000 people through the Sunday Soul Homeless feeding initiative. She is the creator and executive producer of Chang

Felicia has over 20 years experience in the medical field with 10 of those being in Physical Therapy. After the near death of her 2-year-old son in 2002 to a choking incident that rendered her unable to help, Felicia invented a disposable CPR template called The CPR LifeWrap.This non-technical template provides the bystander with an attached one-way mouth barrier, visual hand placements and simple CPR instructions that can be in any language. Felicia is aggressively working with various businesses on getting the LifeWraps in schools, homes, hospitals with eventual licensing with first aid kit companies and AED brands."The CPR LifeWrap Empowers you to save a life no matter how old you are".

Alysse Daniels created Adventures With Mariah based on inspiration from her great-grandmother, Mariah Cutberth. Alysse is on the path to inspire children around the world to have the courage and to follow their dreams!  The original Mariah was born in the low country of South Georgia, outside of Savannah, in 1902. She was born poor and worked on a farm. From a young age, she dreamed of something better for herself and her future family. She wanted an opportunity for an education. So, at the young age of 15, in 1917, she migrated to Manhattan, New York by herself. When she arrived she joined the “Georgia Club”.     In that age, a lot of African Americans migrated to the North from the South, in search of a better life. So, there were clubs in New York named after each southern state. Once you joined the club, you were a part of a new family, and you could eat some down-home fried chicken and drink some sweet tea! Mariah was able to go to school and become a nurse’s aide.  She married and had one daughter (Alys

Roshawnna:                  Hi, I'm Dr. Roshawnna Novellus, host of Startup Funding and producer of the EnrichHER Initiative. We have another awesome entrepreneur today, Marissa with Toss, and I can't wait to hear all about what she's doing and how she's positively impacting the City of Atlanta. Marissa, can you tell us more about Toss and how the idea came about? Marissa:                  I ended up in a class my last semester of college learning JavaScript and fell in love with the coding life and had the idea. I was going to school at Iowa State University and graduated and knew I needed to be in a bigger city. Two years ago, I moved to Atlanta, just uprooted my life and haven't looked back.                                     I started getting into the entrepreneurial scene and going to meetups and different events, talking to people about the idea. Slowly but surely, people recommended me here and there. A lot of people got excited about it. It's a personal styling application. It uses what you own, b

Roshawnna:                  Hi. I'm Dr. Roshawnna Novellus, host of Startup Funding and producer of the EnrichHER Initiative. I am so excited to be highlighting so many awesome entrepreneurs from Atlanta. Today we have Jen from the Atlanta Beer Boutique. Jennifer:                  Hi. Roshawnna:                  Welcome. Jennifer:                  Thank you for having me. Roshawnna:                  Of course. Can you tell us more about how you came up with this idea? Jennifer:                  Sure. I've been drinking beer for a long time. I won't divulge how long, but my father actually got me started drinking beer. I used to ... He used to let me sip a little bit of his beer when he poured it. I was like five years old, so I've been on this beer thing for 38 years. A long time. Roshawnna:                  You told us now. Jennifer:                  I know, right? Busted. Papa's busted. I really got into beer interning. I used to have internships in Boulder, Colorado in the '90s, and that was when t

Roshawnna:                  Hi, I'm Dr. Roshawnna Novellus, host of Startup Funding and producer of the EnrichHer Initiative. I am so excited to be highlighting so many fabulous entrepreneurs from the city of Atlanta. Today we have Diamonde from Blossom. Diamonde:                  Hello. No I'm excited, I really am excited. I like talking. Roshawnna:                  Tell us more about Blossom and all of the awesome work you're doing here in Atlanta. Diamonde:                  So Blossom is a digital television destination for women of color by women of color and it simply came from the fact that I was working in television production myself for actual networks and I would pitch my own ideas and I was rejected so many times. Granted I have no problem with rejection but God was like, "Girl just do it yourself if this is what you really want to do." I've just always been passionate about creating an opportunity for women of color to tell their story and have equal opportunity to do the work that others get

Jenn Graham is a social innovation designer that blends business strategy, behavior change theory, the art of storytelling and the power of design to build issue-based campaigns and community-based interventions that drive positive social change. Honored to feature Civic Dinners on #StartupFunding EnrichHER EnrichHER Edition: https://goo.gl/LACU8p   Roshawnna:    Hi. I'm Doctor Roshawnna Novellus, host of Startup Funding. Today, we are in the midst of our Enricher Initiative. We have Jenn of Aha! Strategy, who has this awesome program called Civic Dinners. Can you tell us more about Civic Dinners and what you're up to? Jenn Graham:    Absolutely. Thank you for having me, by the way. Civic Dinners is all about bringing people together around the table face-to-face to have conversations that matter. In today's day and age, when civility has hit a crisis level, we need more forums to bring people together face-to-face. What we hope to do is make significant challenges and the big issues of our time more accessi

On this episode of StartUp Funding hosted by Dr. Roshawnna Novellus we have Dr. Tye and Courtney Caldwell who share their experiences on starting a new revolutionary system ShareShare which aims to change the way barbers, cosmetologists and beauty professionals do business. It comes as a solution for barbers who need access to professional salon space on demand. ShareShare is a B2B platform in the form of a free downloadable app. Dr. Tye and Courtney Caldwell who are based in Dallas are tech visionaries and pioneers, business professionals, philanthropists and entrepreneurs who aim to help beauty professionals around the world build efficient, passion filled businesses. They discuss on how they discovered a need and how they were able to solve that need by birthing Share Share and by doing that, disrupted the B2B business industry by building a first of its kind platform that allows stylists to find and book empty saloon space on demand. “Managing people is the way to run a business,” says Tye who holds a doc

Chris Gilmore is a corporate attorney with Morris, Manning and Martin LLP where he focuses his practice on the representation of companies and investors in the virtual capital, private equity, and merger, and requisition. Transactions in a technology field. His clients range from startups raising a seed round to major capital firms providing series A and B funding to providing equity and Certegy buyers. He received a bachelor in political science with the minor in accounting in North Caroline state University and his Juris Doctor (J. D.) from Vanderbilt University law school. Roshawnna and Chris discuss:   [1:56] Chris shares the story of his beginnings as a corporate attorney. [2:55] Chris explains why he choose law even as someone that came from Atlanta. [3:47] he described the connection between political science and the startup community. [4:35] He shared his experiences that made him interested in startups. [6:37] He vividly explained the kind of deals that are very popular in Atlanta. [7:52] He explaine

Today’s episode of StartUp Funding with Dr. Roshawnna Novellus features Jason Crain who is a co-founder and COO of Partpic a visual search technology built for hardware based in Atlanta Georgia. The marketing and Spanish graduate turned technology entrepreneur serves on a number of boards including Scholar Made Charter Schools, Atlanta Dream Academy, and The Scholarship Academy. Crain, a Kansas City native, discusses on how his experience working in various Technology firms set the tone for his entrepreneurial career, helping him realize the various opportunities available in the Technology industry.  He talks about the challenges of building a business and solving problems by know that the answers are not far away. He goes on to talk about fear of the unknown sharing how he overcame that fear saying “it’s the unknown that has been the fuel for me” adding that “entrepreneurs are professional problem solvers.” “When you are confident about the business that you are building then it’s very easy to turn around t

Andrew Gowasack is the type of startup CEO that understands the value of listening. Throughout his informative conversation with Roshawnna, Andrew reiterated this point throughout various contexts within his founder journey. In many ways listening is the foundation of Trust Stamp. Andrew talks about the incredible importance of customer discovery and how the diligence that he and his business partner put into this in the early stages has reflected in the market fit that Trust Stamp has been able to demonstrate. Rather than tell the customer what they should want, Andrew and his team at Trust Stamp have done the work to understand their customer’s needs. Through what Andrew describes as ‘micro-services’ Trust Stamp has created a rock solid service that continues to grow at an incredible rate. Andrew is an engaging speaker with thoughtful insights to share about the founder journey. His conversation with Roshawnna is peppered with helpful tips aimed at helping the listener to be the most successful person that

This episode of StartUp Funding features Ryan Wilson co-founder and CEO of The Gathering Spot. This lawyer turned co-working space owner shares his entrepreneurial journey from identifying a need to raising $3 million in funding.  Wilson, an Atlanta native, discusses the struggle of finding a place to work and hold meetings when he was working in the community while attending Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center. This struggle birthed the idea for The Gathering Spot. He goes on to share the many lessons he learned such as what to pitch instead of your business idea, developing a working business model, knowing your business inside and out as well as, understanding the industry landscape and your competition. “Get started, listen to feedback from potential investors and don’t get discouraged” is just some of Wilson’s advice for other start-ups looking to raise funds. Additional recommendations include: making time for doing things you love, an excellent book to read, the best advice he’s

Roshell Rosemond Rinkins is the type of entrepreneur that is interested in more than just personal gain. Roshell wants to see her product empower and enliven its users. Roshell is the woman behind Liquid Courage, a unique line of beauty products that aim to compliment the modern woman on the go. Liquid Courage comes on the heels of Roshell making the decision to exit the corporate world. Leaving behind the certainty and stability of a corporate role to embark on the journey of an entrepreneur is never easy. Roshell has worked against the odds to make Liquid Courage a success, and in her discussion with Roshawnna, she outlines insights in to how she made it happen. Roshell is the type of hard-working, DIY entrepreneur that so many young people yearn to be. The wisdom that she shares in this podcast is invaluable, and a special deal offer from Roshell for Liquid Courage products is the cherry on the cake for this great conversation!  Roshawnna and Roshell discuss:  3:00 Roshell discusses how she got her start

James Jones was able to do what so many people working within Corporate America dream of: break away and begin a career as a successful entrepreneur. With RaceIQ, James and his team have taken cutting edge securities software and applied to the the automotive industry. Throughout his conversation with Roshawnna, James shares insights in to how RaceIQ is working to provide solutions for the future of ransomware. James’ career journey has seen challenges, just as everyone’s has. Throughout his time working as an entrepreneur and subsequently investor, James has struggled to maintain the ever elusive healthy work/life balance. Developing and maintaining a structure for setting and hitting his goals in this regard is just one of the many insights that James shares in his discussion with Roshawnna. James’ enthusiasm for innovation and technology shines through when he speaks about his work and the pride that he takes in it. He has weathered the storm of startup instability to become an entrepreneurial success and

Thiago Olson is the type of guy that makes everything look easy. The center of national attention as a teenager that built a working nuclear reactor, Thiago went on to found Stratos and subsequently lead the company to an exit. Oh, and he has had a planet named after him. No big deal right?? Perhaps the greatest surprise in talking to Thiago about his career is that despite how he makes it look, his path has not always presented a smooth ride. He has faced the same daunting circumstances and ups and downs that we all face in our careers. For budding entrepreneurs, the wisdom that Thiago shares offers a valuable guide for realizing your goals and vision. In Thiago’s mind the future is bright. Have a listen to what he is excited about now in the world of tech and to hear some of his predictions for which industry trends have staying power!  Roshawnna and Thiago discuss: 3:00 Thiago shares the story how he got started as an entrepreneur and investor, what drives him in his role   7:00 Thiago relates how an exper

Deen took a standardized test as a kid which recommended that he become a venture capitalist.  As a youth, he started a successful Ebay business after he paid his grandmother to buy him goods on her various vacation overseas. While at Howard University, he continued to excel in entrepreneurship throughout his tenure. In fact, his efforts helped his fraternity reach new heights in their fundraising goals. After meeting the perfect investor for his company in a casino in Las Vegas, he knew that it was time to move into running the company full time. Although he's still near the beginning of growing this current venture, the sky is the limit for this millennial entrepreneur. Roshawnna and Deen discuss: 2:00 – Deen talks about his background and the describes his company, Base. 4:30 – Deen discusses what aspects of Base excite him right now. 5:30 – Deen outlines what makes Base unique. 7:00 – How a traumatic experience in Deen’s life led to the inspiration for Base. 9:00 – Deen talks about how he knows that he w

Jay experienced entrepreneurial success through real estate and his magazine publication in Florida. But something told him that he could help more people. He started meeting creatives at different conferences and networking events and discovered that many artists, do not have a platform to distribute their craft. So, he became lean. He downsized his home and sold his car so that he could make their dreams come true. Now he's on the verge of launching the RYSE platform globally. The passion that Jay Jackson brings to his multi-media platform, Ryze is impossible to ignore. In this discussion with Roshawnna, Jay speaks with pride about the work that Ryze has done and about what the future holds for the platform.   Jay’s journey has led him on many twists and turns. He discusses how he was able to turn the bumps in the road in to learning experiences that allowed him to get to where he is today. A huge proponent of attention for merit, Jay believes that the young people of today should admire the grit, determina

He graduated from the University of Georgia and started his first business from his college apartment. After pitching his company 725 times over 8 months, he was finally able to raise the capital he needed to expand his business. Now Chris is a serial entrepreneur, podcast host and mentor. As a highly motivated and highly successful person, Chris Michael Harris has amazing insights to share about the ideas, actions and belief systems that have gotten him to where he is today. Chris was made for entrepreneurship. His drive for more than a pay-by-the-hour job led him to follow a career path that isn’t for the faint of heart. Still, Chris believes that everyone has a talent that can be monetized. Those that haven’t used it yet may just lack the confidence to let it shine.  Chris has created a lifestyle around his work and his enthusiasm for his chosen career path is contagious. The insights gained in a listen to Roshawnna and Chris’ conversation would be hugely beneficial to the budding entrepreneur and successf

Born in the projects in Atlanta, he always had a strong love for family. Years later he attended Stanford University and majored in symbolic systems. Though he always has a love for sales and community investment, he looks forward to the reset afforded by extended vacations and service trips to Haiti, India and Costa Rica. His vision is for an inclusive world and now he is an entrepreneur, investor, and community advocate.

Tanya Van Court is a great example of a person that struck out on a dream to become a success. From modest beginnings as the flash of an idea that was born out of a comment that her daughter made, Tanya has been able to grow iSow into a viable business that has a great ethos and a lot of heart.    Tanya was able to recognize that our society teaches children terrible financial values. The materialism that we learn young follows us into adulthood and can lead to disastrous financial health for some people. Tanya has created a solution to excess in iSow and the success that iSow has enjoyed so far is evidence that it is a learning tool that really works. Tanya is an incredibly engaging speaker and the wisdom and insights that she shares in this great conversation with Roshawnna will make your day! Roshawnna and Tanya Discuss: 2:00—Tanya shares her background and talks about the beginnings of her company, iSow. 5:00 – Tanya details the ethos of iSow.com, which aims to teach children important financial values.