A CONVERSATION ON FUNDRAISING FOR BLACK FOUNDERS AND CEOS WITH FINTECH.TV AT THE NYSE.
It is with great honor and appreciation that our vision has been recognized, as we were part of history being made at the NYSE in honor of Black history month. Our founder and Chief Executive Officer Castleigh Johnson had the opportunity to chat with Emmy award winning Journalist and Anchor, Alicia Nieves at Fintech.TV. Their conversation summarized ways in which My Home pathway as a business aims to create equity within the homeownership space, by allowing lenders and mortgage originators an opportunity to generate revenue while also boosting social impact that will inevitable close the gap seen in homeownership statistics among different ethnic groups.
Johnson highlighted the challenges he has come across since starting on this Journey together with fellow founders. He mentioned the lack of access for black founders in particular and this seems to be a result of the VC community being driven by relationships that make it difficult for Black Founders to enter the networks within a start-up space. This is also in contradiction to the fact that black owned businesses show an outperformance at start-ups but somehow capital is still narrow.
My Home Pathway Founder, Castleigh Johnson. Photo from Fintech TV Interview.
Fintech TV Interview - My Home Pathway @ New York Stock Exchange
Founders face many challenges such as the narrow access to capital when attempting to crack into the venture capital market, exacerbated by the relationship-based nature of the environment. This dynamic has made it difficult for startups to compete with established firms, even though statistics show relative outperformance from black-owned businesses.
Castleigh also spoke of the opportunities the company has enjoyed with regards to capital and funding, the company has been able to raise one and a half million dollars in funding. He also went on to extend his gratitude to all the investors and VCs who have shown great faith in the company and its mission to uplift the black community, as he speaks of how the journey hasn’t been an easy one and also emphasizing on Lack of Access to be the main barrier.
In closing, Mr. Johnson reiterated the need to create an awareness among the community that about the importance of having an open market allowing access to minority groups. He further stressed that it is not only about capital but extensive support, introduction to investors and fighting through difficult negotiation, since the aim is not to reverse-discriminate but rather broadened inclusivity in order to compete globally.
An evidently disheartening occurrence within the database and statistics shows that black businesses have been awarded just 1.2% of the available funds and only 29% of loans have been approved to black business owners. This contradicts observed performance at startup level and the people are speaking up, asking the VCs and Investors to focus on the issues that need to change. Founders are saying “we’re out here and we’re trying to find you, please find us too”, they’re encouraging venture capitalists to be more creative, quit the pattern recognition movement and tap into other networks, allowing a dual approach between themselves and founders.
We at My Home Pathway are standing up with our fellow founders including all other black business owners who are facing stark challenges in attempts to penetrate the market. We need to put in the works and implement the action through our innovative and creative work ethics, follow due processes in order close the gap through feasible policies and programs and maximise the benefits internally so that we all allowed to efficiently participate. So, as we celebrate Black History Month, we believe that a lot of progress has been made as a country and a community to create opportunities within our market space, however there still lays great room for improvement, going forward.
From: Success Team at My Home Pathway
