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Jun 20, 2023

We are proud of our twenty-year track record of providing an launching pad for entrepreneurs and small companies everywhere to be noticed and prosper. Black Connect is a nationwide non-profit organization which encourages entrepreneurship in Black communities. Black community. Their mission is to eliminate the wealth disparity between racial groups in America by increasing the success percentage and the number of black-owned businesses.

This is why we that we donated $100,000 to Black Connect as a part of our 2020 commitment to support organizations working toward eliminating racial disparities. Since the beginning of 2020, when we committed $500,000, we have contributed $375,000 to the social justice budget.

We talked to Black Connect's chief executive and National President, Angela Majette, about how the organization is creating an ecosystem of resources to help and encourage Black business owners to succeed.

Angela Majette: There were several factors that led to my choice to start Black Connect. It started with my personal experiences as an entrepreneur; when I started my business many decades ago, I searched around for an organization modeled like Black Connect and couldn't find any, and so the idea of creating what today is Black Connect has been in my thoughts for 20 years.

Like leaders such as Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey, I believe that the ability to achieve economic independence by owning a business, is the foundation of not just Black riches and civil rights, but also for Black Americans. When my son called me from college to tell him he was planning to open a business, and that he had many questions about business which I could respond to, I considered every one of the entrepreneurs from the beginning that do not have a family member or close friend to call for advice. It was time to start Black Connect.

The first two initiatives that I designed were our pro-bono legal assistance program and FeverPitch.

I focused on legal services for businesses as every major business choice comes with a legal ramification. As a lawyer analyst and small business owner, I was well aware of the gap that was present for both legal aid for those in need and in the nonprofit space with respect to Black entrepreneurs as well as small business owners.

Over the last 20 years, as an accountant and a legal analyst, I have worked closely with many business owners and entrepreneurs while collaborating with attorneys in legal litigation for businesses, formation of businesses and other transactional concerns. I've seen first-hand that many of the legal issues that entrepreneurs and business owners are faced with can be avoided or minimized with proper legal advice from the beginning.

I created FeverPitch the national pitch competition, because less than 2% of venture capital flows to Black entrepreneurs. Black entrepreneurs are often excluded from the strict regulations that regulate the majority of pitch contests. FeverPitch is our most anticipated event and it's an ideal opportunity to get corporate sponsors involved in our mission. Employees of our corporate sponsors serve as judges for the contest and offer helpful feedback to the entrepreneurs. FeverPitch is an always a thrilling moment for us at Black Connect and we're currently gearing up for FeverPitch 2023. It's a joy to collaborate with such a diverse group of innovative and driven entrepreneurs.

We started to concentrate on marketing because 96% of businesses owned by Blacks do not have employees. This means that many small-sized businesses owners are unable to pay for a marketing team. For growth the business must be able to generate profits, however having no employees means that the business owner is left with little or none support for sales or marketing. Small-sized businesses heavily rely on marketing via social media, which was once considered to be the most efficient and cost-effective form of marketing for small businesses. However, the dynamics of marketing via social media has evolved: social media platforms are saturated; consumers are leery of fake news; and the cost for social media marketing is rising.

Many companies spend up to $4,000-$7,000 per month on advertising on social media, and it's not a surprise that constant feedback we get directly from Black Connect customers is marketing on social media does not result in an increase in sales due to the fact that Black small-sized business owners do not have the necessary spending power.