Michael B. Jordan, Serena Ventures, MaC Venture Capital Partner To Give HBCU-Bred Founders A Chance To Win $1M

Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic — a college basketball showcase — is bringing Historically Black College and University (HBCU) culture to television screens across the nation.

Airing on Dec. 18, the TNT broadcast will feature a doubleheader competition of Hampton University versus North Carolina Central University and Howard University versus North Carolina A&T University.

The inaugural Legacy Classic is set to bring viewers into a full-blown HBCU experience, and now, the event is also creating opportunities for current HBCU students and alumni.

According to a press release provided exclusively to AfroTech, the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic has partnered with MaC Venture Capital and Serena Ventures — tennis legend Serena Williams’ investment firm — to create a Startup Pitch Competition for HBCU founders.

“At MaC we like to say that talent is ubiquitous but access to opportunity is not,” MaC Venture Capital General Partner Michael Palank said in an official statement shared with AfroTech. “Two of our partners are HBCU alumni and we could not be more excited to uncover and support the amazing entrepreneurial talent we know is thriving at these universities.”

Starting Oct. 18, participants will be able to submit investor decks and business proposals through Nov. 18 for the chance to be awarded up to $1 million in structured safe investments from both firms. During the halftime of the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic Basketball Showcase Finals, the winning founders will be awarded by Jordan and Williams.

“HBCUs are an integral part of our educational ecosystem and have long been centers of entrepreneurial excellence,” Serena Ventures General Partner Alison Stillman, CFA said. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Michael B. Jordan and MaC ventures on highlighting the brilliant student and alumni founders.”

Invesco, Thirty Five Ventures, Harlem Capital and Cake Ventures will serve as the competition’s Advisors.

Executives from MaC Ventures, Serena Ventures, Invesco, Thirty Five Ventures, Harlem Capital Partners and Cake Ventures will all continue to advise the winning founders after the competition to ensure longtime success.

The inaugural Legacy Classic will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Tickets for the HBCU basketball showdown can be purchased via Prucenter, Ticketmaster and Prudential Center’s Box Office.

Partial proceeds from the event will go toward organizations with the mission to advance HBCUs, as well as the local Newark community.

To apply for the Startup Pitch Competition, click here.

Source: AfroTech

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Google’s provider of at-home Covid-19 tests is now a $3 billion company traded on Nasdaq

Xona Space Systems fully funds GPS-alternative demo mission

Alternative financing startup Pipe snaps up Stripe and HubSpot execs, expands to UK

Mayor de Blasio Launches $37 Million Violence Intervention Employment Program

Wild Earth Launches Cell-Based Pet Food As It Raises a Fresh $23 Million

To commercialize, voice tech must first solve its ‘cocktail party problem’

Silver Lake, Endeavor Invest in Tempus Ex as Larry Fitzgerald Joins Board

PredictionStrike Raises $1.7 Million In Capital And Launches New Mobile App

Stoke Space stakes its claim in the launch industry’s rush to fully reusable rockets

Athlete-Turned-Techpreneur Gerome Sapp’s $1.8M Yeezy Prototype Sneaker Purchase Is Giving Back To The Culture

Gerome Sapp Is Using His Status as a Former NFL Player to Invest in Sneakers

Fractional Ownership: From Sneakers to Jets

Are Sneakers the Next Asset Class Investment? Rares CEO Says Yes!

EIGHT COMPANIES JOIN CATALYST ACCELERATOR’S DIGITAL ENGINEERING FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS: MODELING AND SIMULATION COHORT

BK Climate Tech Startup One of 15 Awarded a Spot in Nationwide Apple Accelerator

The Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2021

McDonald’s links with esports giant FaZe Clan to spotlight diversity in gaming

State of New Mexico expands child care assistance with new program

Spora Health Raises $3 Million Seed Plus Funding Round Led by Refactor Capital, M13, and MaC Venture Capital, Appoints Dr. Louis Capponi as Chief Medical Officer

Low-waste economy hits its groove

FinTech Female Fridays: Meet VP, Marketing & Communications, Yasmin Moaven

Your TikTok Stream May Soon See AI-Supported Product Placement

Corporate boards still aren’t diverse enough

ED-Tech Firm Encantos Aims To Improve Remote Learning

Ryff raises $11.7M for its real-time brand integration

Whisper’s AI-powered hearing aid system is making its way to Android

Physical stores go hybrid with micro-fulfillment centers

Canadian Conversational AI Design Tool Voiceflow Raises $20 Million In Series A

There are many misconceptions about Africa; Platform Capital’s Africa Walk is changing that

The Greatest Esports Teams in Terms of Value

Visiting US investors explore business opportunities in Nigeria

Facebook, Ajua sign agreement to empower African SMEs

Octane AI Raises $5 Million to Help Shopify Merchants Personalize Ecommerce Experiences

Edge Delta Announces Live, Interactive, Open Environment for Free and Unlimited Exploration

Investors don’t expect the US startup funding market to slow down

Startups and newcomers disrupting primary care

Funding To Black Startup Founders Quadrupled In Past Year, But Remains Elusive

VNSNY CHOICE And Arine Address Member Health Needs With Technology-Enabled Comprehensive Approach During COVID-19 Pandemic

Arine partners with the California Right Meds Collaborative, a pharmacist-provider program of the USC School of Pharmacy

Social Impact a Focus of the 2021 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards

This photo-sharing app may be an Instagram killer

Social Media for Kids: Zigazoo is The Next Big Thing

2 women entrepreneurs — one in tech, one in food — reveal what worked in getting investors on board and raising millions for their businesses

Early learning hub created with foundation’s $100K grant to help providers share services

The British CEO of Pipe, a startup that’s reached a $2 billion valuation in less than a year, says he’s locked out of the US because of a crisis-level backlog in immigration processing

OTT Ad Tech’s Biggest Challenges (and a Few Solutions)

How Virtual, Cloud-Based Technologies Are Powering the Next Industrial Revolution

Something Ventured Part 2: It’s ‘Up And To The Right’ For Sote Founders And Their African Logistics Platform

STATE OF BLACK ENTRPRENEURSHIP AND FUNDRAISING 2021

How One Company Combats Predatory Loans And The Never Ending Cycle Of Debt For Black Women

Black-Owned Media Collective Launches to Help Brands Meet New Ad Commitments

Camila Cabello, Paris Hilton, and Priyanka Chopra Invest in Avatar Startup Genies

This startup is training doctors to deliver better care for people of color

Edge Delta raises $15M Series A to take on Splunk

Firefly Supercharges Out-of-Home Advertising Network Through Acquisition of Curb Taxi Media

Revolutionizing Maternal and Child Healthcare with Melissa Hanna

18 investors and VC firms funding innovative startups in the creator economy and influencer industry

$JOBS No Experience Necessary: New Koch Collaboration with Catalyte Removes Barriers to Transformative Careers

Encantos Appoints Anna María Chávez as Chief Impact Officer

FOOD & WINE Names the 25 People, Products, and Movements Transforming the Way We Eat and Drink

Sneak pic: A close-up of new ‘anti-selfie’ Poparazzi app and the future of digital photo-sharing

WATCH: Harlem Capital Juneteenth Event

How The Vision Of This Female Founder Has Created Unrivaled Access For Black Voices In Media

Podcast: Marlon Nichols — MaC Ventures

VCs boost investment in Black- and Latinx-owned fintechs

Business leaders can fuel the next generation of Black innovators and entrepreneurs. Here’s what it will take

Growing the MaC Family — Welcoming Zhenni Liu

Yobe uses AI and microphones to isolate voices in a crowd

Accelerating innovation: transforming voice-based products for the future

Startup Shorts – Yobe is Tracking the DNA of Sound with MATLAB

Encantos’ Learning App Will Be Powered by a Network of Creative Educator-Authors

Black, Latinx and female entrepreneurs are still ignored by most venture capitalists

Venture Diligence at the Seed Stage

The funding gap for Black founders of social apps

BLCK VC: Board Service on Venture-Backed Companies

Tik Tok for Tykes: The Social Streaming Company Driving The Next Evolution in Kids’ Media

A social media app that’s truly safe for kids? Celebrities bet on Zigazoo

How majority Black VC firm MaC Venture Capital raised a $110 million fund: A founding managing partner outlines the firm’s journey

Four strategies for getting attention from investors

Constructing a Venture Fund Portfolio Model

Closing on $110M, MaC VC is changing the face of venture capital

MaC Venture Capital Closes $110M Fund Aimed at Diverse Founders

MaC Venture Capital’s founders on their $110 million inaugural fund

MaC Venture Capital Raises Inaugural $110 Million Seed Fund

MaC Venture Capital Raises Its First Fund Of $110M To Invest In Seed-Stage Companies

MaC Venture Capital Raises a $110M Inaugural Fund to Invest in Visionary Tech Leaders Building the Future

Majority Black venture capital firm announces $110 million fund to invest in entrepreneurs of color

MaC Venture Capital Announces $110 Million in Inaugural Funding

March Forth: Changing the Game in Venture Capital

Pipe, which aims to be the ‘Nasdaq for revenue,’ raises more money at a $2B valuation

Marlon Nichols x Just Go Grind Podcast

Preveta Raises $2M To Coordinate Care For Early Disease Detection

MaC Venture Capital Raises a $110M Inaugural Fund to Invest in Founders Building the Future We Want to See

Co-founded by a leader of SpaceX’s missions operations, Epsilon3 wants to be the OS for space launches

How VC Investor Marlon Nichols Went From The Basketball Court To The Boardroom

Normalizing venture capitalism in the Black community

Culture as Currency with Marlon Nichols, Managing Partner at MaC Venture Capital

Black Venture Capitalists Look to Even the Playing Field With Diverse Investors

Marlon Nichols will discuss how to secure seed funding at TechCrunch Early Stage 2021

10 VCs say interactivity, regulation and independent creators will reshape digital media in 2021

Venture Unlocked Episode 15 – Marlon Nichols

Elevator Pitch Ep. 8: ‘Imagine If Jimi Hendrix and Beethoven Got Together for an Epic Jam’

SALT Talks: Marlon Nichols | Managing Parter, MaC Venture Capital

Marlon Nichols’ Journey Into Venture Capital

Elevator Pitch Ep. 1: What Could You Build With Another $500,000?

The State of Tech & Culture: The Gaming Takeover

Listen Here: The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan x Marlon Nichols

Marlon Nichols x No Bull Business’ #ImaLittleBuzzed on Diversity and Inclusion

‘Diversity is an Interesting Thing’: MaC Venture Capital’s Marlon Nichols on ‘Diversity Theater’ and What He’ll Do with New Funds

Listen Here | Marlon Nichols on the I’m a Little Buzzed Podcast

How do you make VC more diverse? Maybe start with the training schemes

Listen Here | Marlon Nichols on Investing in Cultural Trends on the Be Atento Podcast

We’re Tired

Listen Here | Marlon Nichols on the Season Premiere of the Founder Clinic Podcast

Goldman Sachs Announces 2020 Launch With GS Black and Latinx Entrepreneur Cohort

Listen Here | Marlon Nichols on The Road Untraveled Podcast

Watch | Marlon Nichols x Black Angels Miami

‘You Haven’t Seen The Pain’ Yet | Marlon Nichols in Protocol

Watch Here | Raising Venture Capital Funding During COVID-19 Webinar

Registration Now Open | Raising Venture Capital Funding During COVID-19 Webinar

Goldman Sachs Seeks to Help Black and LatinX Founders Accelerate their Growth

Guidelines for Managing Through This Pandemic and Economic Downturn

Marlon Nichols, Investing in The Future For The Rest Of America

Launch With GS Black and Latinx Entrepreneur Cohort

Deconstructing the Pipeline Myth and the Case for More Diverse Fund Managers

Listen Here: MaC VC Managing GP, Marlon Nichols on the Founder Fundamentals podcast

LA Venture Podcast features MaC VC General Partner, Mike Palank

Marlon Nichols Joined other leading VCs as TechCrunch Battlefield Judge

Marlon Nichols, Icon Mann

The State of Tech & Culture: Conscious Consumer

Marlon Nichols on Culture as a Currency

Moving Up Podcast featuring MaC VC’s Marlon Nichols

In the Arena, featuring Marlon Nichols

Marlon Nichols named to Aspioneer’s Revoltionary CEO’s, 2019

NASDAQ premiers new show “The Breakthrough” with guest Marlon Nichols

Marlon Nichols featured on the cover of The Jamaica Observer

Startup Grind’s VC Corner with Marlon Nichols, Cross Culture Ventures

Forbes: Marlon Nichols Is Changing The Face of Venture Capital

Breaking into Startups: Venture Capital Deep Dive w/ Cross Culture Ventures’ Co-Founder Marlon Nichols

The State of Tech & Culture, Culture A$ Currency

State of Tech & Culture: UNperfect Parent

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