Brian Brackeen @BrianBrackeen Twitter profile

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Brian Brackeen

1 month

Excited to return to my hometown, get a great cheesesteak (Not from Pat's or Geno's, those are tourist steaks) and speak at @1phltech 's Innovation Weekend.

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Last Seen Profiles

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky "Pre-pandemic,~1% of all jobs posted on LinkedIn were remote. As of today, that number is ~14%...but that's not the fascinating part. What's fascinating is north of 50% of all job applications on a daily basis on LinkedIn go to that 14% of remote jobs"

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Black founders are overmentored and underinvested. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

5 years

Yesterday I met with a firm that needed $15,000 to get through the year to do $1mm in revenue. Today I met with a firm that needs $10k to fulfill a $500,000 contract with @comcast . Underrepresented founders are starved for the same amount of money spent on a coffee machine in SF.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Certified. Scientific. Facts.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

My name is Brian Brackeen, I'm a Venture Capitalist. I'm also a proud Black VC. I invest in the best founders to make a ton of money for my investors. Why do I mention? People often refer me bad deals that have Black founders. I don't run a charity. Send me the best deals.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

**FOUNDER TIP** Don’t hire a CTO early in the life of the startup. Hire a VP of engineering at best, or just Sr. Devs. The leader will emerge or you can hire a CTO later. Title inflation leads to bruised egos & unmet expectations.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

5 years

Dear twitter, Don't applaud the founder who raises 25mm, 100mm, even 1BN. No. Applaud the founder who took a one million dollar seed round of 5 investors and then sold the company for 80mm dollars. They are the real heroes. 🦸🏽‍♀️

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

We gotta stop picking the same 4 black people for everything.

The Verge

@verge

4 years

Reddit names Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel as Alexis Ohanian’s replacement

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Real reason Basel is so big? Finance people. People use art to hide their gains or generate losses, (legally) by buying art in December. Over 1BN in art is sold in 3 days. It’s lots of HNW, and family offices. That’s why it’s sponsored by UBS, it ain’t because they love Art.😊

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

“What if Google gets into this” is a lazy question by VC’s. Founders should question the investors sophistication if they ask that question.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Soooo we have BIG news 👀 @lightshipfound 🌊 has acquired @BlackTechWeek 🙌🏾 This July, Black Tech Week will bring together innovative minds, influencers, and thought leaders of color to focus on emerging, leading-edge technologies and ecosystem growth 🌱 in Cincinnati!

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

This is a painful truth. Investors are funded by teachers pension funds (and others) who’s money comes from women & minorities. Literally 70%+ of the funds in a teacher pension fund originated from women & minorities, and then investors deny capital to women & minorities. Sick.

Arlan 👊🏾

@ArlanWasHere

4 years

Friendly reminder that most white venture capitalists are deploying wealth that was originally created by Black people, while denying Black entrepreneurs this same capital. But y’all go ahead and keep telling us you’ll “track” our progress...

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Watching millionaires complain about middle class people getting a 20k break is gross.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Wow. Really?

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

5 years

It kills me to see startups in the first year with PR firms and no product market fit / pre-revenue. Kills me. Every dollar is so important and so is the time.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

One of the struggles for black founders is they don't have VC's that will lead rounds. That's why we are SUPER excited to announce we lead a round into @undockhq with participation by @BessemerVP , @ArlanWasHere & others. SUPER excited to be investors!

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

"Lightship has closed on $22 million for Lightship Capital Fund I, exceeding the original target of the fund. The firm has lined up an additional $23 million in commitments and is planning a second fund." Thank you for the support @secondmuse & @WSJVC

Lightship Capital Launches Fund for Underrepresented Founders in the Midwest

Cincinnati-based Lightship Capital, a rare venture-capital firm managed by black partners, is raising a $50 million fund to invest in underrepresented founders in the Midwest.

www.wsj.com

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

This is black population density in the US. I’ve never understood why San Francisco had been the focus of black tech entrepreneurship (at least in the minds of media & Bay folks) yet that’s not where we live. Why try to pull us all west vs serve us in the South & Midwest.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Air fryer. The hype is real. Don't fight it because it's popular. It's the iPhone of kitchen appliances. 😂

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** Don’t make vanity hires. Don’t make big corporation hires. Don’t make “I just want to do strategy.” hires. Don’t make “I can code a little, but I’ll mostly manage the engineers.” hires. Don’t make “I’m best with a sales team behind me.” hires. Hire DOERS. 🚀

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

5 years

and before privileged twitter responds... these are well run firms, yet cash flow can be a challenge for any founder even with a strong firm. Bootstrapped founders don’t have a Amex to put things on. They are underbanked, undervalued, & underappreciated but never underachieving.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

1 year

** FOUNDER TIP ** Start.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

5 years

Ask yourself why @bryce was able to find (and activate) a good % of folks focused on diversity in tech yet VC firms & large tech firms in SF can’t find anyone for boards, to invest in, or to work with in general. 🙄 @bryce has a superpower called trying.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** I’ve chosen to be a venture capitalist as an occupation. It is only that, an occupation. I’m not smarter than any founder, my opinion does not count more, I’m not your father or even anyone who deserves unearned respect. People give VC’s too much credit.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

VC has too many MBA’s & not enough college dropouts.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

10 months

@KrisBeKnowin @javeauriel He’s sadly 120% correct.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** Nobody wants to hear about your startup today. Too much news. Wait until Monday.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Do I need to say it? I think you guys know me well enough by now. 😂

Joshua Browder

@jbrowder1

3 years

Hosted 50 of the smartest pre-seed to Series B founders and investors for dinner last night with @cory . From fintech to crypto, amazing to meet and invest in so many amazing people.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Most entrepreneurs get most decisions right. The BEST entrepreneurs don't let less impressive folks, like investors who never built anything, talk them out of the right decisions.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

SO many people you think are dope are actually propped up creations of VC PR departments.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

9 months

@primetimesc2 If you look closely, he still pats the ball twice. 🏈

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** This looks about right.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Founders, VC's are constantly tweeting how "Hard". Their job is. Don't lionize these people in your minds. They take an easy job and make it hard. Find investors who think YOUR job is hard, and see you for the gifted risk taking individual you are.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** In every city there are older, semi retired “do gooders” who are truly nice people, yet they don’t invest & don’t understand your business. They are lonely and are using your meetings to fill their lack of friends. It’s tough, but stop wasting time with them.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Don’t celebrate large VC funds who have no minority partners or associates but rolled out a scout program for minorities. That’s not winning. That’s not equality. That’s tolerance.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

1 year

The @Techstars diversity fund managers & DEI team.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Total number of Black women surprised by this fact: O

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Some of my fellow venture capitalists are racists. Here is how you fix it.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** CHRISTMAS FOUNDER TIP ** Delete anyone who’s “Rooting for you from the sidelines.” from your life. What you are doing is hard. It’s big. It’s a hell of a task. It takes a village of people ACTIVELY helping you to create something great. Everyone else is wasting your time.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Epic.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Let’s normalize the fact that people with southern accents are just as smart as people with other accents.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

How long do you wait on a Zoom meeting before you drop? (No show) My current limit is 6 minutes. Fair?

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Today I realized that I’ve joined the most exclusive club on the internet. A club that includes @jack , @ArlanWasHere , and countless others with their own opinions. Such an honor.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP **

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

6 years

I know founders who partied w/rappers, threw fun launch parties @ CES, SXSW, etc. All of those founders are out of the game Founders who work, & work, are still in. Not all of us “hard workers” have won, but we are still in the game. This life is not about fun. It’s about legacy

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

1 year

There isn't a single DEI talk at @BlackTechWeek . That's by design. "No DEI talks" are something that we are proud of. Black Tech Week is for founders to grow their businesses & themselves. Not for corporations to give the same DEI talk we have all heard 1,000,000,000,000 times.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

For younger people with a MBA, it takes 2-3 years of unlearning before they can be successful in startups. They lack brevity, they have a tough time with ambiguous decision making, they use PowerPoint & Ariel font. 😩 You will get there, as soon as you forget what you learned.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

“In 2013, only half of all venture capital dollars in the US were invested outside the Bay Area. Today, over three-fourths of venture capital is invested outside of Silicon Valley.” The trend is clear.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

If only someone had warned us. 😞

Drew Harwell

@drewharwell

4 years

New: Detroit police wrongfully arrested Robert Williams in front of his two young daughters after a bad facial recognition search. He was interrogated and in custody for 30 hours. Now he's suing. A case that could help shape the future of police face scans

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

6 years

Where are people moving from other states? Hint: FL, FL, FL, FL, FL, FL....

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

A live look at Silicon Valley venture capitalists voting on a minority or woman’s deal…..

The Daily Show

@TheDailyShow

3 years

These Republican senators want you to know they admire and respect Ketanji Brown Jackson, which is why she can f**k off

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

I keep getting diversity event invites from Silicon Valley organizations who I fight with constantly to get them to fund minorities. Keynote, panel, then a movie or dinner. Then they go back to doing nothing the next day. Whew. Exhausting.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

5 years

This. Is. Not. Good. (btw, I don’t agree that they bought twitter, but they certainly bought the right to influence it)

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Good lord. Did they fire the Latina and give that one job to the black guy? 😑 I think the future of minorities in venture is starting our own funds. Waiting on change at the big firms is insane.

VCFamilia

@FamiliaVc

4 years

VC firms reported 4% Black investment professionals (compared to 3% in 2018) and 4% Hispanic / Latino investment professionals (down from 5% in 2018) 🙃😢 Why we do what we do @BLCKVC @Deloitte @nvca

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Closed on my first house in Tulsa last week. Many more investments in the community to come. 🏡

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Lots of bad news for TechStars coming out soon. I’ll leave it at that. I’ll say this though, they raised a bunch of money for DEI efforts and then gutted those efforts. If you want to support Black founders, then support Black funds & Black accelerators.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

In the future Black VC won’t be a few funds, it will be an asset class. No more waiting for Silicon Valley to change, let’s do it ourselves.

BLCK VC

@BLCKVC

4 years

Today, we are excited to be announcing the Black Venture Institute! We are building structural solutions to structural problems. This is about education & access. Shout-out to our partners @SalesforceVC , @OperatorCollect and @BerkeleyHaas

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** If you use “LLC” in your business name online, don’t pitch me. Nobody told you that you don’t list your incorporation type in your marketed name? Are your friends really friends? Do you need better friends? 😂

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

My life would be so much easier if I didn’t waste so much time with people who pretend to care about diversity or minority founders but really don’t. So. Much. Wasted. Time.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Over-mentored and under-invested. Stop this vicious cycle. Send a check. 💰

Anthony Frasier

@AnthonyFrasier

3 years

When a VC offers POC mentorship instead of funding 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

5 years

I worked at Apple and owe much of my success to it, & @Jason ‘s criticism here is 100% correct. Apple’s financial success can’t make it immune to criticism. Apple should have bought @Tesla years ago, Tim humbly moves back to operations where he shines, and bet everything on Musk.

CNBC Halftime Report

@HalftimeReport

5 years

“You have to fire Tim Cook. It’s a disaster…I think it’s time for him to pass the baton...the major problem is they believe that any company that innovates out there is not as good as theirs" 🔥🔥🔥 from @Jason on $AAPL

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Your daily reminder that those who say it’s a pipeline problem are liars.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

11 months

The largest challenge in my career is... "researchers found that when venture capital funds are managed by a person of color with strong credentials, professional investors judge them more harshly than their white counterparts with identical credentials."

Race influences professional investors’ judgments

In their evaluations of high-performing venture capital funds, professional investors rate white-led teams more favorably than they do black-led teams with identical credentials, a new Stanford study...

news.stanford.edu

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

A founder with no product market fit has raised more money than 90% of all Black venture capitalists.

villi

@villi

2 years

I spoke to a founder today who raised a $50M Series B who is in this situation. They still have $30M in the bank with very little (and shrinking) revenue. Clearly no PMF and no idea how to make it work. Tough road ahead.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Is there a website to find founders or cofounders for startups? Maybe one that allows you to search for women or minorities? I’ve got a strong healthcare play.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

*FOUNDER TWEET* Unless your startup is less than a year old, don't debate equity in full %'s. Start to think about equity in the number of options that vest over a 4 year period with a 1 year cliff. (aka, if they suck and you fire them in the first 4 months they get nothing)

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

His ignorance is our entire fund thesis. Hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of opportunity are lost to his bias / racism. You wonder why LP’s don’t see the risk in backing fund managers like this one.

Paul Judge

@pauljudge

4 years

The guy in this video runs a VC firm. If he thinks a group of African American males are out of place in the gym, imagine what happens when someone diverse shows up to his firm looking for investment. This is why diversity & inclusion are important in VC & investment community.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

We make $500,000 investments at the accelerator stage. That’s one of the highest amounts in the country and THE highest for women and minorities. 💰 💰 Please share this post, we want tons of applicants. We have the capital to invest in your idea. 💡 Come build with us.

Lightship Foundation

@lightshipfound

3 years

Time to apply! Join the Lightship team for two 6-week work sprints in Cincinnati or Tulsa. Programming is comprehensive and gives early-stage entrepreneurs the guidance, capital, and resources they need to scale. Apply here 👉🏾

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

6 years

Really humbled and honored to be on this cover. Black Enterprise is one of magazines my grandparents on both sides used to read. This one means a lot. I wish my whole team cold be on it. Shoutout to @THEDawnDickson , who DEFINES grit, smarts, and savvy. #miamitech

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

** FOUNDER TIP** When investors tell you "VC is about getting to know founders over a long period of time." Delete them from your phone. Find the VC who is HOT for your idea and can't wait to invest in it. You. Don't. Have. Time. To. Wait. For. Their. Comfort.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

So much advice on twitter from folks who never did the thing they are advising about.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Wow. The VP loves my friend @Sifill_LDF !! This has ZERO to do with me but I’m still so proud. 😊

Vice President Kamala Harris

@VP

3 years

Congratulations to Sherrilyn Ifill for all that she has accomplished as Director-Counsel of the @NAACP_LDF . Her fearless leadership and willingness to fight for what is right serves as an inspiration to us all.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

** FOUNDER TIP **

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Is a startup running .NET a startup you would invest in?

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

I’m old enough to remember when her mediocre boss had problems with her and Google sided with him. Love seeing my sister in the ethical AI struggle continue to shine. Proud of you @timnitGebru .

60 Minutes

@60Minutes

2 years

Timnit Gebru founded the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, which analyzes the risks of AI systems. Gebru says there needs to be more oversight in the world of AI chatbots.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Diversity helps executive teams to make better decisions. Don’t believe me?

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Great to welcome SO MANY FRIENDS to Tulsa. Tonight’s dinner is for Black GP’s, LP’s and our visiting Miami Meets Midwest group. Wow.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

I think we have perverted entrepreneurship in such a way that performative pitches get more funding / pitch competition wins than more successful businesses.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Very excited to be back! (Don't worry, I'm still investing full time @lightshipcap , but I'll be helping out at Kairos quarterly and setting direction.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Investors on the West Coast ask us why we take submissions for investment vs warm intros “like everybody else”, as if they are crushing it with women & minority founders. 😂 There is a problem with the current model, yet people are wedded to it. Someone help me understand. 🧐

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** Do NOT announce anything for the next 24 hours. The internet is saturated. 😂

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Imagine only accepting warm intros AND having no diversity in your portfolio AND having no diversity on your team AND thinking it’s a pipeline problem. YOUR pipeline filters out women & minorities. It is a pipeline problem, one that you created & defend.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Let’s be real. @a16z didn’t do any real diligence on the Flow deal right? They just wrote the check. Right??

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Please God. Help my people to stop building "Black Marketplace" businesses. Amen. 🙌🏾 Literally there must be hundreds of them, if not thousands. None with traction, none differentiated, all who "scanned the market, and found no one with traction" so they start another one. 😞

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Convicted felon Martin Shkreli could raise a 100mm fund in weeks whilst Black fund managers like @MacConwell are doing literally 1,000+ meetings to raise a fund.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Not loving what I’m seeing from scout programs. Just confusing minority founders even more. Can’t write checks, can’t do meaningful rounds, can’t make the VC fund lead a deal. Just noise & wasted meetings. I heard that from THREE founders today.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

1 year

Please. Please. Please. Stop listening to LLC twitter / IG if you are a startup looking to raise from VC. Over 50% of the founders in a Bootcamp I taught this week had LLC’s, and literally all of them are changing to Delaware C corps now.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

If you see a founder get engaged… go back & look down their feed. You will find a recently completed series A or B or exit, every time.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

You can always tell the difference in advice between someone who actually DID a thing vs advice from someone who read about doing a thing. That’s even more true in VC.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** Black founders are setting up shop in expensive SF or NYC, & unable to raise enough after the seed round, then run out of money. They scream about the “opportunity here” all the way to zero. Build where you can afford to live until you get to product market

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

Who is this man? He lives life with a zeal I wish to attain. “Screw your camera phone, I’m enjoying the moment with my own eyes.”

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

5 years

Founders who think they will get a investment by ignoring or mistreating VC associates and play nice with VC Partners have ZERO idea of how the process works. Associates will kill your deal, and rightfully so if you’re acting like an entitled ass.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

Quibi apologists are exhausting. They burned 10 million a day.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

I'm old enough to remember people DEBATED ME HEAVY about Clubhouse's 4BN valuation, and how "The folks at a16z are pretty smart."

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

7 months

She's better at Philanthropy than 90% of Philanthropic orgs, and not just because of the amounts... but the democratic nature of her investment selection, geographic non bias, and not killing her grantees with endless forms for a few bucks. Godspeed.

MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million, more than doubling her planned gifts to nonprofit applicants

The billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday she would give $640 million to more than 360 organizations in response to an application process she launched last year.

apnews.com

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

I’ve seen it for months. No budget for diversity in 2023. No budget for minority funds unless they are led by Serena Williams or Kevin Hart. No budget for minorities in accelerators unless it’s led by white GP’s like TechStars. Essentially, it’s back to business as usual.

Nancy Dahlberg

@ndahlberg

2 years

Tech Companies Are Quietly Defunding Diversity Pledges And Industry Layoffs Are Hitting Black And Brown Workers Hardest—Experts Say The Message Is Clear - Essence

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

4 years

At one point in my company the investors (Angels) forced 9 board members on me. We had a 15 person company and a 9 member board. (7 Seated, 2 Observers)... Founders.. don't make the mistakes I did.. push back... especially on Angel filled boards. No more than 3!

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

3 years

Moving from NYC to SF or SF to NYC (in tech) is so blah. Do something different with your life! Be bold! Miami, Medellin, Tulsa, Nashville, Mexico City, Singapore, Istanbul, Bentonville, literally ANYWHERE. You & your talents are better served in other geographies.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** It's been a while, I want to say, you are NOT crazy.. you are just talking to the wrong people. Don't let comfortable people, non risk takers, corporate people, owes you $500 people, MBA people, or family, advise your dream. Keep searching for your tribe.

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Brian Brackeen

@BrianBrackeen

2 years

** FOUNDER TIP ** It is ok to bootstrap.

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