SHOPPE BLACK

Thanks to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012, entrepreneurs can raise up to $5 million per year from individual investors. These investments can be made via campaigns on SEC-approved equity crowdfunding platforms.

Black entrepreneurs who have historically struggled to raise funding from traditional financial institutions now have another option to raise the capital needed to start and grow their businesses.

For aspiring investors, it no longer takes thousands of dollars to start investing in early-stage companies like wealthy families do.

All you need to do is join platforms such as The 10K Project, a community of everyday investors who actively fund Black-owned businesses.

The 10K Project, founded by Cheree Warrick and Tawana Rivers is building a community of those not only buying Black but also investing Black.

We recently caught up with Tawana to find out more about the platform.

What inspired you and Cheree to create The 10K Project? 

We were leaders in another group that uplifted the Black community. Each week, we would have conversations regarding how Black people could break into the blockchain industry by building businesses.

One of the primary concerns people had was a lack of capital. Cheree continuously said, “If 10,000 of us came together and invested $100 each into the business, that’s $1 million. We can fund our OWN businesses.”

One day, Cheree said it again for the umpteenth time and I asked her, “When are you going to do something about it?” She said that she couldn’t do it alone so four of us joined her as the founding members of The 10K Project. And here we are!

Briefly explain the importance of creating an ecosystem of Black investors.

We oftentimes hear phrases such as “it takes a village,” “each one teach one,” “we’re better together,” and “we must circulate the Black dollar longer;” however, most people aren’t sure how to implement them. We want to help people build generational wealth.

At The 10K Project, we aim to not only let these sentences be catchphrases. Instead, we live them! We bring together 3 groups of people:

1. Entrepreneurs who have great ideas and want to raise capital for their businesses,
2. Investors who have as little as $100 to invest in Black founders, and
3. Experts who can help these entrepreneurs grow their companies (e.g. project managers, sales consultants, construction professionals, etc)

We bring together people from all socioeconomic backgrounds who want to uplift and invest in the Black founder. Within our organization, we say “We buy Black. Now we can invest Black, too.”

If we want to truly OWN and DOMINATE industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, healthcare, and technology, then we MUST invest in each other. No one is coming to save us, so we must save ourselves.

What are some things a business should have in place in order to have a successful crowdfunding campaign?

To successfully manage a crowdfunding campaign, entrepreneurs must have a winning crowdfunding campaign plan, a knowledgeable team who understands legal compliance, investors, a legally compliant crowdfunding platform, and experts to guide you through your campaign. 

We offer entrepreneurs more information regarding how to successfully launch and complete an equity crowdfunding campaign at www.roadtocrowdfunding.com.

Fill in this blank. “We need to see more Black businesses that ____”

Have equal amounts of resources as our counterparts. Most Black businesses aren’t able to maximize growth due to a lack of resources. And resources are more than cash. It’s team members, mentors, access to credit, access to networks, etc.

The 10K Project is more than just access to capital. We are a community of individuals who work together to help the entrepreneur succeed. If the entrepreneur needs staff, then he or she can access our Expert Directory and find the skilled talent they need.

If the entrepreneur needs access to profit acceleration resources such as marketing, product placement, and business efficiencies, our Knowledge Center has recorded webinars and individuals to help.

As Black businesses receive the resources needed, they hire more people within the community, grow revenues, give back to our nonprofits, mentor more of our children, and uplift our economic standing globally.

Where do you see The 10K Project in 5 years?

We will be an investor network with 1 million members.

Within 5 years, we will be THE place where entrepreneurs raise $5 million (the legal limit for Regulation CF governed by the SEC) within 48 hours…and we will do this over and over again.

We want to expose our investor members to opportunities that can help them build generational wealth. And we want to have a major economic impact globally (including the Caribbean and Africa). 

Sign up here to join The 10K project and start investing Black!

Tony O. Lawson

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