Venture capital firms Archives

Published on July 6, 2018July 6, 2018

NAS Venture Capital Firm Invested in Online Pharmacy Bought By Amazon for $1 Billion

When it comes to having an eye for startups, Nas knows how to pick them. PillPack, a door-to-door pharmacy service backed by the rapper’s venture capital fund, scored big last week when Amazon acquired the company for $1 billion.

Amazon shared the news on June 28, with plans to finalize the deal as soon as this fall. PillPack was founded by TJ Parker, a second-generation pharmacist and Elliot Cohen, a computer scientist, the Chicago Tribune reports. The company ships consumers their medications across the country.

Nas’ Queensbridge Venture Partners was an early investor in 2014. Fox Business reports the fund raised $8.8 million for the startup. Since then, the company raised a reported $118 million in private capital before Amazon’s acquisition. This marks the second time Amazon purchased a company supported by the rapper. In March, Amazon acquired Ring, a smart doorbell company for $1 billion. The rapper made $40M in the deal.

nas

“PillPack’s visionary team has a combination of deep pharmacy experience and a focus on technology,” Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer said in a press release.“PillPack is meaningfully improving its customers’ lives, and we want to help them continue making it easy for people to save time, simplify their lives, and feel healthier. We’re excited to see what we can do together on behalf of customers over time.”

The owners raked in $100 million each in the deal. There’s no telling what Nas and his company scored, but we’re sure it’s another pretty penny.

The Queensbridge Venture enterprise has great taste in startups. Nas has placed investments in companies like Genius (formerly Rap Genius), Lyft and SeatGeek.

Source: VIBE

Published on February 26, 2018February 26, 2021

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Black Owned Venture Capital, Private Equity & Angel Investment Firms

Less than 1% of American venture capital backed founders are Black and the percentage of Black people in decision making roles within the venture capital arena is not much higher. This lack of diversity within investment firms ultimately translates to a lack of diversity in the companies that they invest in.

The good news is that there are a growing number of Black owned venture capital and other investment firms run by people of color who understand that Black founders present a large and untapped market.

These investors make it a point to include Black startups in their portfolio, and in some cases, focus solely on underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Black Owned Venture Capital, Private Equity & Angel Investment Firms

Collab Capital is an investment fund leveraging financial, human, and social capital to help founders build sustainable, technology enabled businesses

Collab Capital Managing partners Barry Givens, Jewel Solomon Burks and Justin Dawkins

Black Star Fund is an angel/venture fund that focuses primarily on early-stage technology companies.

Serena Ventures focuses on early stage companies and giving them the opportunity to be heard.

GenNx360 Capital Partners is a private equity firm that focuses its investments in industrial and business services companies in the U.S. middle market.

Daphne Dufresne-Managing Partner – GenNx360

Authentic Ventures is a seed and early stage Venture Capital Firm that believes that a strong, inclusive network of founders, operators, and investors can accomplish great things.

Lindsay Lee, Founder & Managing Partner of Authentic Ventures

Impact America Fund is an investment company that funds market opportunities that use technology to enhance the lives of all Americans.

Kesha Cash – Founder and General Partner – Impact America Fund

645 Ventures is a seed to Series A VC firm that applies a data-intensive approach to investing in top software and Internet companies.

Nnamdi Okike, Co-Founder & General Partner – 645 Ventures

Backstage Capital is a venture capital fund that invests in new companies led by underrepresented founders in the U.S.

Arlan Hamilton –
Founder & Managing Partner – Backstage Capital

Harlem Capital Partners is a diversity focused venture capital fund that invests in early stage companies focused on tech-enabled services, retail, and real estate.

Harlem Capital co-founders, Henri Pierre-Jacques and Jarrid Tingle.

Precursor Ventures operates as an early-stage venture capital firm. The company invests in seed and early-stage consumer, digital health, education, Fintech, hardware, and SaaS companies.

KICVentures is an investment holding company that creates, invests and manages several portfolio companies in the health-tech sector.

Dr. Kingsley R. Chin — Managing Partner & CEO – KICVentures

Fairview Capital Partners is a leading venture capital and private equity investment management firm. They implement innovative fund of funds, co-investment, and customized investment strategies for institutional investors.

JoAnn H. Price – CO-FOUNDER / MANAGING PARTNER of Fairview Capital Partners

The Bronze Venture Fund makes and manages innovative investments that align strong financial returns with positive social impact.

Stephen DeBerry – founder and chief investment officer – The Bronze Venture Fund

DiverseCity Ventures (Sacramento, CA) invests in scalable, technology-enabled companies that have a social, economic, or environmental impact and high potential for outsized returns.

Cross Culture Ventures invests in and develops companies that fuel shifts in cultural trends and behaviors within an increasingly diverse global marketplace.

Marlon Nichols – Co-founder/ Managing Partner- Cross Culture Ventures

Vista Equity Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm focused on financing and forwarding software and technology-enabled startup businesses.

Base Ventures is a seed-stage fund investing in technology companies.

Reinventure Capital is a growth-stage equity and debt investment practice focusing on founders of color and women.

Edward Dugger III –
founding partner and President – Reinventure Capital

Syncom Venture Partners is a leading venture capital firm primarily focused on growth stage investments in emerging and underserved segments of the media and communications industry.