🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Collide’s new fund leans on community roots and corporate support

• The founders helped build and grow two large Black entrepreneurship ecosystems. AfroTech is a conference and media platform for Black tech professionals. BLCK VC is a network supporting Black venture investors, which gives them access to founders 1.
• That network helped them win institutional backing for their first US$66 million fund. Collide said it was the first fund backed at once by Amazon, Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Twitter, now known as X, also invested 1.
• Collide also cites “top-quartile returns” from its proof-of-concept Fund Zero, plus strong early performance from Fund I 2.

How venture capital is sizing up emerging managers

• Venture capital firms often raise a second fund using “paper returns” called Total Value to Paid-In Capital (TVPI). The metric can be inflated 3.
• Collide’s fundraising also leans on its ties to distinct communities. Those ties can bring a defensible source of startup deal flow that standard metrics miss 4.
• Early checks from Amazon, Alphabet, and Twitter, now known as X, link the fund to large corporate networks 1. Companies can use emerging venture funds to reach more diverse innovation pipelines. Those relationships can also help portfolio companies 1.
• The firm moved from writing US$25,000 checks to managing more than US$170 million. That arc offers an example for diverse venture managers who want to turn community-building into an institution-ready venture firm 2.