WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020
AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO THE MIAMI HERALD
17BB
THE FINANCE REPORT
Now is Perfect Opportunity to Support Young, Brilliant Professional Leaders
BY KEVIN CADETTE Celebrating Legacy magazine’s “40 under 40” is an opportune time to shine a light on young excellence. As a community we not only need to shine a light and support their ascendance, but for those in corporate America, we need to support their careers with mentorship and guidance regardless of their level. And for those with their own ventures, we need to invest in them, especially the ones who are going to be creating more jobs, and more opportunities for our community. For the corporate trailblazers, a growing body of data clearly demonstrates that diverse management teams drive strong returns. Companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity at the management level are 33 percent more likely to drive industry leading profitability. Diversity of thought gives companies an edge over competitors. It’s good business for corporations to support diversity at all levels. For the entrepreneurs, the business owners, and the job creators, they chart their own path to wealth — and they need our support. How many people do we all know that are simply brilliant, but don’t have the opportunity to bring their passions, expertise or genius to life. Too often our entrepreneurs are undercapitalized where their
counterparts from other groups are openly given the capital and opportunity to give their businesses a fair chance to bear fruit. We not only need to support businesses as patrons, we need to invest in them. If we do not, who will? For those entrepreneurs looking to fly high with high growth ventures, we know access to capital is not equitable, particularly for founders in the Black community. There is a clear misallocation of capital and yet the statistics show that we are more likely to outperform or perform on par with entrepreneurs from other ethnic groups. For those at the earliest stages where friends and family are the first investors, angel capital is here too. Venture capital will most likely give you a pass because you may be too early, but realistically it will be a challenge even if you are more established. Venture capital firms have historically invested less than 1 percent of their capital in startups with Black founders. We need the same access to capital as offered to White founders (87 percent) and Asian founders (12 percent). Black Angels Miami is where you can find Angels investors, and a clear opportunity for entrepreneurs to have a fair shot of attaining capital. For those thinking about being investors, BAM is there to support you taking those first steps. BAM does not require its members to invest. We simply want to make sure that angel investors are exposed to spectacular early-stage companies that need their help. There are many ways to support the brilliance in our community. To the “40 under 40” – shine on!
Black Angels Miami: Supporting Brilliance with Capital. Enabling investing for a higher reward. Website: www.blackangels.miami Twitter: @ blackangelsmia n
