DRF Stands with the Black Community
Plus ways to become involved, an adieu to graduating partners, and more.
The Syllabus is Dorm Room Fund’s bi-weekly newsletter bringing you the latest news for student founders, as well as startup resources, portfolio updates, and job opportunities from our community of companies.
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We stand with the Black community #BlackLivesMatter
We are heartbroken at recent events and stand with the Black community — and with the members of our community, including student investors and founders, that are profoundly affected by systemic racism. Dorm Room Fund is working to take active steps towards anti-racist change within our organization and beyond, and to help the venture industry move in the right direction.
DRFers are pitching in to contribute to fundraising efforts and to amplify Black voices wherever we can. Here are some preliminary ways for you to become involved and better informed:
Female Founders Fund’s Anti-Racist Resource Guide for the Tech & VC Community outlines resources for your company, social media accounts and organizations to follow, ways to contribute to activism, and an extensive list of books, movies and podcasts to educate yourself.
Speak up and talk about what’s going on and about your experience with race in America — we love this guide from The National Museum of African American History & Culture.
BLCK VC set off momentum with their call to action to “Discuss, Donate, and Diversify,” in which they outlined some organizations dedicated to breaking down systems of oppression: Blck VC, NAACP, Minnesota Freedom Fund, Reclaim the Block, Know Your Rights Campaign, Black Visions Collective, Code2040, HBCUvc, /Dev/Color, Hidden Genius Project, DigitalUndivided.
Whether you’re a founder, investor, or employee, commit to providing support for Black peers — including time off, safe spaces to connect with other Black people, therapy, and asking what your colleagues need.
Good Luck to all our Graduating Partners! 👩🏽🎓🎓
Our dedicated partners have displayed incredible hustle, resilience, and leadership in their work with student founders time and again.
We’re excited to welcome them to the ranks as DRF alumni, and cheer them on as they achieve amazing things. Please join Dorm Room Fund in congratulating the class of 2020! Read more about our trailblazing graduates here.
Dorm Room Fund News
What we funded
⏳ Sleek, a company building a technology-driven platform that helps customers skip lines and crowds, and reduce long wait times. Read more here.
What we’re celebrating
🎉 Blueprint Investor Track received over 250 applications, and we could not be more excited for the opportunity to support a cohort of diverse venture investors through a comprehensive VC curriculum, mentorship, and access to our wide entrepreneurship community. Read more here.
💰 Floating Point Group, a DRF portfolio company which provides a platform for algorithmic cryptocurrency trading, raised $2 million in funding. Learn more about them here.
🎙️ Managing Partner, Justine Humenansky, was featured in a podcast discussing a VC’s top tips for young entrepreneurs. Tune in to the episode here.
Additional reading and resources
In partnership with Lesbians Who Tech & Allies, Fast Company released the first-ever list of LGBTQ women and nonbinary innovators in business and tech. Read more here.
Product Hunt celebrated over 30 Black makers and their products, websites and organizations in a nifty Twitter thread. Read more here.
Andreessen Horowitz introduced the Talent x Opportunity Fund. Read more here.
Bessemer Venture Partners released The Anti Portfolio, a list of now-successful companies they (unfortunately for them) had chosen not to invest in. The portfolio includes Google, Tesla, Snapchat and Facebook, among many others. Read more here.
Posicovidity Innovation Challenge is inviting the class of 2020 to share plans to build a better future post-COVID-19 for over $16,000 in prize money & other perks. Read more here.
Are you a founder? Fill out DRF’s survey about measuring success and expanding your team.
Job opportunities from our network
Senior Software Engineer @ First Round
Operations Associate @ Sym
Community Marketing Internship @ Notion
Program Manager, Venture @ All Raise
Investment Associate @ The Engine
If these aren’t a good fit, check out the Dorm Room Fund job board!
Thanks for reading
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Working on something big? Apply to be considered for an investment from Dorm Room Fund. Know a student founder we should meet or have comments, questions, or suggestions for the newsletter? Send us an email at info@dormroomfund.com.
Photo by Logan Weaver on Unsplash