North West London came alive on Tuesday 24th September 2024 with an urban vibe of distinguished VCs, a redefined prowess of a new type of cool, at the first in-person, 18th Blackout Tuesday event held at the European Headquarters of Phoenix Court Group.
An anticipated showcase of Founders, angel investors, VCs and other special guests gathered at Phoenix Court for the inauguration of the in-person Blackout Tuesday meet up: “Increasing Venture-backed Black Founders – A Journey from Seed to Series A and beyond.”
Guests to the VC HQ Phoenix Court Somers Town location, adjacent to King’s Cross were greeted with delightful oriental styled canapés, African Caribbean appetizers, sweet treats and refreshing beverages. There was an air of mystery as each Founder was asked to pick a theme coded colour that best reflected the stage of their business venture and our most immediate plans and priorities.
The Phoenix Court Group Blackout Tuesday VC Welcome Address
Saul Klein, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Phoenix Court Group, opened up the event with an impassioned speech highlighting the importance of philanthropic initiatives that reflect the VC fund’s roots in Somers Town, a more deprived central London hub than its counterparts in the surrounding London districts of Camden and Highgate. Klein called for more equity in VC and local communities, indicating that Somers Town children are more likely to receive free school meals, a whopping 50%, and the life expectancy in the region is 20 years less compared with the neighbouring and more affluent Highgate district. Klein pushed for a clear path to inclusion and admitted that the Phoenix Court Group VC fund partners had chosen Somers Town as the European Headquarters of its business operations to reflect the company’s ethos, trajectory, and DNA. “Where you stay reflects who you are and what you do,” Klein declared.
Remus Brett, General Partner of Phoenix Court Group arm LocalGlobe, Europe’s number one investor in unicorns at seed stage, and the Latitude fund that supports founders building the next Fortune 500 from series B and beyond, addressed the audience by welcoming attendees to the first in-person event. Since its conception two years ago in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the 2nd June 2020 is a landmark day in the calendar and the Latest Sale founder was intrigued to witness first-hand how the Blackout Tuesday VC movement, born to support Black and underrepresented communities and address systemic bias in the venture capital space, had developed.
Emphasizing the re-energized focus on a wider network of black representation that derives from within the VC ecosystem to include but not to be limited to black funded programme leads (Antoinette Ale, new Program Lead/Head of Community of Blackout Tuesday VC is a prime example), professionals and investors, Brett welcomed the changes on the horizon. He further directed guests to the entrepreneurial efforts championed by LocalGlobe Investment Team Partner Yvonne Bajela. Episode 10 of the Start Up Leap podcast where Bajela alongside co-host Maria Rotilu the Founding Partner of OpenSeed VC, recently interviewed CEO and Founder Oluwaseyi Sosanya of Gravity Sketch, a groundbreaking Augmented and Virtual Reality Tech startup for the design industry, showcases her passion for all things start up.
Note, the Start Up Leap podcast initiative that is geared up to support interviews with start up Founders who have taken the leap into embarking on their own business, is not endorsed by LocalGlobe or OpenSeed VC and all comments are independent of both VC firms, however the output deomstrates how Bajela has extended her reach and interest in supporting the Founder ecosystem.
Blackout Tuesday VC Partnership
In 2022, Blackout Tuesday became a partnership between Black Seed VC, Future Africa, Jolt International, Phoenix Court Group, Newton Venture Program, and the Next Economy Trust, committing to host quarterly programmes up to 2030, in order to learn, share and grow, pushing through the necessary changes required in the VC ecosystem to reflect the underlying objectives of Black communities.
With a penchant for artistic endeavours, the LatestSale.com Founder embarked on a journey of discovery to see how the partnership had evolved from the Black out Tuesday #11 tour of The New Black Vanguard featuring 15 international Black photographers’ contributions, that communicated their vision underpinned by art and fashion-inspired representations from a Black perspective. In celebration, Black stylists, models, make-up artists and creative directors came to the forefront to redefine image and creativity in front and behind the camera. Black Out Tuesday VC #18 promised to be just as engaging.
BlackOut Tuesday VC Founder Showcase #18
Moderated by the thought-provoking diligence of angel investor at Atomico and Co-founder of the 10 x 10 Capital investment fund Andy Davis, the first in-person BlackOut Tuesday VC Founder Showcase promised to be one with a difference.
The Founder panel shared insights around fundraising, talent acquisition and product leadership as they planned for their companies to scale from Pre-seed to Seed to Series A.
Josephine Philips Founder and CEO of UK-based repairs and alterations platform Sojo described how clothing repair pivot strategies evoked a focus on sustainable solutions for both business users and consumers alike. She explored how the extended life of garments may improve decision making for fashion label owners embracing the circular economy, and who are increasingly more committed to developing apparel with a greatly reduced returns rate.
Latest Sale Founder smiled as she remembered her regular trips to visit family in San Francisco. At the time, she would include an array of garments into her suitcase every year she visited the city to access this service and visit her favourite tailor during her month-long trips!
Avion Gray, former investment banker and co-Founder of Belong, spoke of her long term perspective surrounding personalized wealth creation in her quest to revolutionize personal finance and wealth building for generations to come, whilst Ivan Beckley, a UCL medical school qualified doctor and an NHS clinical entrepreneur, communicated some enterprising initiatives as CEO of Suvera, a healthcare company enabling virtual care for people with long term conditions in the UK. Beckley described how patients at risk could good enjoy good health for much longer through his tech enabled solutions for patient care.
What went down in the BLUE ROOM at Phoenix Court Group?
Founders networked with the Phoenix Court Group senior management team in an eclectic and somewhat surprising VCs den of pantone colours and casual vibrancy at the leading European VC backer to some of the world’s most successful start ups including Wise, Revolut and Zoopla. The seed and impact investment VC was named as one of the top UK investors for businesses powered by women as per the 2024 JP Morgan fourth annual top 200 Women-Powered Business report. Phoenix Court was immersed in female entrepreneurial spirt across all seven coloured themed break out rooms:
ROOM 1
Scaling an Early-stage Start Up
ROOM 2
Hiring and Leadership Transitions
ROOM 3
DEI in VC and Start Ups
ROOM 4
Investor Strategies and Market Trends
ROOM 5
Community Building and Marketing Engagement
ROOM 6- THE BLUE ROOM
Fundraising and Investment Strategies
ROOM 7
Navigating the Start up Eco System
An enthused Antoinette Ale, new Program Lead/Head of Community at Blackout Tuesday VC, proclaimed her desire to “set a new start for inclusion and equity” via the Blackout Tuesday VC hub and ushered the Founders into each sub group where Female Founders who dominated the BLUE ROOM of which the LatestSale.com Founder was a participant, continued to raise concerns. Then, after much debate, they finally agreed on a constructive way forward to improve diversity in VC funding.
Networking and collaborations continued throughout the event following the culmination of the breakout sessions with the only regret amongst attendees being that there was just not enough time!
Secret insights and a selection of revelations from the exclusive BLUE ROOM “Fundraising and Investment strategies” debate and post BLUE ROOM discussions will be communicated through a social media burst of activity on X and LinkedIn from Tuesday 1st October 2024 through Thursday 3rd October 2024.