Black entrepreneurs have statistically always had more problems with access to venture capitalists to help garner the necessary capital needed to expand their business. According to previous reports, despite leading the pack in business creation and entrepreneurship, black women business owners receive 1% of all venture capital funding.
Previously, we reported about entrepreneur Shontay Lundy behind the Black Girl Sunscreen brand. News came out this week that the founder will be expanding her brand with a lucrative $1 million boost with the help of a new female investor.
Black Girl Sunscreen is the only black-owned sunscreen brand in Target and is now available in over 200 stores around the country. According to a new report published by Forbes, after spending months vetting potential partners, Lundy partnered with a new investor, raising her company’s valuation to $5 million.
Since the start of the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, Lundy and her team have gone into overdrive ensuring that they had what they needed to keep the company afloat amid the public health crisis. While brick-and-mortar businesses have been temporarily closed under quarantine restrictions, the brand has managed to use its digital storefront to keep up with costs. Lundy still plans on launching a new product later this year.
In an interview with Forbes, Lundy offers advice to aspiring business owners to take advantage of free resources when they are pursuing investing opportunities. She states that her advice to entrepreneurs and “other minority businesses looking for funding is to take advantage of grants and available resources, participate in pitch competitions to learn how to sell your business and gain exposure, have buttoned-up financials; and put yourself in environments to meet investors/high-net-worth individuals.”
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