Page 12 - aruba-today-20221108

A12 BUSINESS
Tuesday 8 November 2022

Brooklyn Nets owners start program for

minority-led startups

By GLENN GAMBOA
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Clara
Wu Tsai, co-owner of the
Brooklyn Nets, launched
the largest business accel-
erator for minority founders
of early-stage startups on
Monday.
Named BK-XL, the ac-
celerator will invest up to
$500,000 to 12 startups led
by Black, Indigenous and
other minority founders in
2023.
"Capital is one of the big-
gest impediments to
wealth-building, particular- In this photo photo provided by DKC News, Clara Wu Tsai, co-
owner of the Brooklyn Nets, stands in front of the Barclays Center
ly for BIPOC entrepreneurs," in Brooklyn borough of New York in 2021. Wu Tsai launched the
Wu Tsai told The Associated largest business accelerator for minority founders of early-stage
Press in an interview. "We startups on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. Named BK-XL, the accelerator
thought that investing in will invest up to $500,000 to 12 startups led by Black, Indigenous
this segment was how we and other minority founders in 2023.
could create wealth, not Associated Press
only for the entrepreneurs, the Barclays Center arena Tsai's Social Justice Fund
but also through all the dif- in Brooklyn, they have de- and the investment plat-
ferent jobs that they are cided to focus their eco- form Visible Hands.
going to create." nomic mobility donations Daniel Acheampong,
Increasing investments of and investments in the New general partner at Visible
venture capital in startups York City borough as well to Hands, said BK-XL will offer
run by minority founders maximize their impact. more than a monetary in-
became a priority for many "It will be a mix of grants, vestment.
during the racial reckon- loans and investments into Founders selected for the
ing that followed the po- this borough which I think program will receive free
lice killing of George Floyd. ultimately is going to result office space and a 10-
According to Crunchbase, in strengthening the com- week immersion program
only 2.4% of all U.S. venture munity and the building up on building successful busi-
capital raised between of people," Wu Tsai said. nesses, with mentorship
2015 to 2020 was allocat- Last year, the Tsais' Social help from Visible Hands,
ed to startups with Black Justice Fund launched the Tsai's investment firm Blue
or Latinx founders. Fund- "EXCELerate" initiative that Pool Capital, and other
ing to Black entrepreneurs provided no-interest loans partners.
quadrupled in the first half to Black-owned small busi- "Being a founder is a lonely
of 2021 to $1.8 billion. How- nesses in Brooklyn that journey," said Acheam-
ever, investments to minor- needed help recovering pong, adding that it's even
ity founders this year have from the COVID-19 pan- harder for minority found-
dropped steeply. demic shutdowns. Wu ers because there are so
BK-XL is part of Wu Tsai's Tsai said the investments few of them. "It helps when
plan to change that. The through BK-XL will help new you're doing it in the con-
accelerator is another businesses that are ready text of folks who can say,
piece of her racial justice to expand. 'Hey, I've been through
work, with her husband Joe For startups chosen for the your experience. I know
Tsai, to improve economic BK-XL program, the first the challenges of bias in
mobility for minorities. Be- $125,000 investment will be raising capital.'"
cause of their ownership in return for 7% equity in the Acheampong said that
of the Brooklyn Nets and startups, split between Wu kind of support – which he
calls social capital and in-
spiration capital – is as im-
portant as the investment
capital. "The partnership
here is something I'm really
excited about," he said.
BK-XL will begin taking ap-
plications on Dec. 5. Ache-
ampong said any kind of
BIPOC-led startup can ap-
ply, as long as they will be
based in Brooklyn. q