Here’s what to know as you prepare for KINETIC Conference 2022

One of the things that have become popular in recent times, is funding opportunities for Black businesses and founders, especially those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

KINETIC Conference is a newly created conference that seeks to help entrepreneurs find funding. Its first annual conference held on Saturday, April 10. But not to worry, there are many to come in the years to come so you can prepare ahead of time.

The organization is on a mission to create a world “where funding is available, accessible, and adequate for all people to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.”

The organization’s co-founder Kevin Johnson said the platform is passionate about helping entrepreneurs find funding in whatever industry they operate. According to a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation, it was seen that 9 out of 10, or 92% said that access to funds was a big challenge for startups, and 86% said that funds to grow business was challenging. The study showed that diverse founding teams tend to have higher returns when cash is returned to investors. Historically, these teams have earned 3.26x median realized multiple on IPOs and acquisitions. This is compared to a 2.50x realized multiple for white founding teams.

Johnson stated a fact that for most Black-owned businesses or Black-founded businesses, access to funds was the major challenge they faced at any stage of the business.

“A lot of times you can’t see what’ in front of your face because you’re blinded by the biases,” Johnson said about white counterparts responsible for investing stages. “Specifically implicit biases have been built up over hundreds of years. Investors need to realize what biases they bring to the table and just allow them to see what Black founders bring to the table.”

The team hopes that KINETIC-CON will change the mindset of both founders and investors that Black founders bring as much to the table as their white counterparts.

Concerning the 1st Annual KINETIC-CON, marketing for KINETIC and graduating MBA student at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, Morgan Franklin said the team was able to bring together a variety of experts. He added that the “energetic and supportive response to KINETIC and its mission has helped validate that we are solving the right problem.”

Some of the speakers featured at the conference include Philip Gaskin, vice president of Entrepreneurship, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; Kobie Fuller, General Partner, Upfront Ventures and Co-Founder Valence; Brad Feld, co-founder and partner, Foundry Group and Co-founder Techstars; Brittany Davis, General Partner, Backstage Capital, Abir Liben, Senior Associate Serena Ventures, amongst others.

“KINETIC is an online platform that helps entrepreneurs find, receive, and learn about funding. From early-stage venture capital and everything in-between. Our annual conference KINETIC-CON aims to facilitate educational discussions about funding to help entrepreneurs and funders create a better and more efficient entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially one that benefits entrepreneurs of color.”