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X'This is a Turning Point in America.' Blavity CEO Calls on Investors to Put Their Money Where Their Mouth is

Minneapolis is burning. Just like Ferguson burned. Just like Baltimore burned. Just like countless other cities before them, swallowed by the rage of black protestors fed up seeing the lives of our brothers and sisters robbed by racism.
We are fed up because we are forced to fight a pandemic amid a pandemic. We are being disproportionately killed by systemic and overt racism at the same time — and are expected to accept these deadly conditions. Crisis after crisis, crisis on top of crisis, we have marched, kneeled, lobbied, voted and built our own spaces to find ways to navigate it all. And yet, we wake up each day, face the trauma and fight on.
Our rightful outrage and collective uproar have made it impossible for the world to ignore our struggles. The world — namely white people who have perpetuated the disparities that have held black Americans back for so long — must feel the pain and anger we feel when we witness black folks being mistreated in plain sight and black lives being taken so mercilessly.
Morgan DeBaun is the chief executive and founder of Blavity Inc.
It is time for non-black Americans, who have benefitted from a system that has always placed more value on their lives, to understand, speak up and DO something about the institutionalized racism that runs rampant. This includes individuals as well as companies who employ and profit from black consumers but have not taken actions or expressed words to show that they believe black lives truly matter.
This is a turning point in America. Accountability can not be avoided and demands have been made loud and clear for corporations near and far: Speak up against racism and take action to fight it. Release a statement denouncing racism and in support of basic human rights for black lives, give money to national black-led non-profits committed to creating social change, donate to bail funds for protestors. Amplify the voices and concerns of black Americans. Employ black people. Fund black entrepreneurs. Do SOMEthing. We all have a role and responsibility in this fight.
Black folks are in a constant state of mourning, from Breonna Taylor to Ahmaud Arbery to Tony McDade — millions of black men and women have been killed unjustly at the hands of white Americans. And the tragedy does not just rest in the loss of life, it exists in all the ways we are negatively impacted by these travesties mentally, emotionally and physically.
Erica Garner would have turned 30 years old last week. Instead, she died three years ago at the young age of 27 after suffering a heart attack. She died because her body could not hold the weight of the burden and pain she was forced to carry fighting for justice on behalf of her father, Eric Garner. She died after watching her father struggle to tell officers "I can't breathe" as one dug an arm into his neck and killed him. She died after using every ounce of energy in her to demand answers in the federal investigation of her father's death. She died, yet these same cops continue to walk free. Days after Erica's untimely passing, Blavity published the last essay she wrote on her relentless fight for justice.
"Now it's been three years later, and we're still waiting on justice," Erica wrote in the last line of her essay, published in January 2018.
NOW, it's been years since Erica's death, and we're still waiting on and fighting for the same thing. But we must fight on because Erica's death should not be in vain — and neither should the deaths of Eric Garner, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin and countless others.
Our pain serves a purpose. Destruction is necessary to make space for a new reality. A new world must eventually emerge because, as former President Barack Obama addressed in his statement this morning, we can not accept our current reality.
"It's natural to wish for life 'to just get back to normal' as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly 'normal' — whether it's while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park. This shouldn't be 'normal' in 2020 America. It can't be 'normal.' If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better."
For now, we must fight on.
We must manage our mental health in the process.
We must shower our black kids with affection.
We must hold the white people in our lives accountable.
We must support each other's businesses, health and overall wellness.
We must spread love to each other in unconditional ways.
We are all we got.
Morgan DeBaun is the chief executive and founder of Blavity Inc.
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Valence, a Network for Black Professionals, Acquired by Fintech Firm Greenwood
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
Valence, a Los Angeles-based networking platform for Black professionals, has been bought by digital banking platform Greenwood, the company announced Wednesday.
Atlanta-based Greenwood—which provides services intended to boost financial opportunities for Black and Latino people and businesses—said it will use Valence’s network to connect its community with professional development tools. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Since launching in 2019, Valence has raised more than $7 million in funding from investors including GGV Capital and Upfront Ventures. (Valence co-founder and chairman Kobie Fuller is a general partner at Upfront.) The startup has built features into its platform such as Pipeline, a database to help corporate recruiters find Black candidates, and BONDS, a mentoring program it launched last year to foster leadership skills in Black professionals.
“We’re being very targeted in how we can drive economic opportunity and wealth creation in the Black community," Fuller said in a statement. “Joining with Greenwood is a commitment to our community and accelerates our mission towards creating new paths to success for Black professionals and fuels our efforts towards closing the racial wealth gap.”
Fuller will join Greenwood’s advisory board, while Valence CEO Guy Primus will retain his role and take on the new title of vice president at Greenwood.
The deal comes after Greenwood acquired The Gathering Spot, a private membership network for the Black community, last month. The fintech company said it hopes the new acquisitions will help it build tools to close the racial wealth gap.
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
Creator Startup Jellysmack Adds High-Profile TikTokers to Its Platform
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
The creator economy startup Jellysmack is expanding its platform to include TikTokers, the New York-based company announced Wednesday.
Jellysmack’s A.I. technology, proprietary data and video editing tools had been limited to long-form YouTubers. The new initiative is meant to help TikTok creators spread their content across multiple platforms and explore long-form content creation. Additionally, creators already in their program can now explore short-form content syndication.
Jellysmack will distribute TikTok creators’ content across platforms such as Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Snapchat Spotlight. Short-form creators with at least 50,000 followers and 500 videos are eligible to apply for the program. So far, 30 high-profile TikTok creators, including Nick Smithyman and Lindy and Jlo, have joined the program.
“TikTok’s explosive growth has fostered a new crop of incredibly talented creators, but TikTok alone isn’t enough to make a living,” Jellysmack President Sean Atkins said in a statement. “Creators who can expand onto multiple platforms have a massive growth and earnings opportunity, and Jellysmack enables creators to do it all—with no extra work.”
The expansion is meant to help TikTok creators find new ways to grow their audiences and monetize their content. TikTok has previously faced criticism for what many see as its creator fund’s insubstantial payouts, though the platform has recently announced new ways for users to make money on their content.
Jellysmack reached unicorn status in 2021. It now has over 100 employees working out of L.A. and a number of local creators on its roster. It recently acquired a YouTube analytics company to bolster its creator program.
As creators navigate the increasing need to build audiences across multiple platforms, a handful of startups are competing on tools that can make their work profitable. Jellysmack and its Los Angeles-based competitor Spotter have both invested in licensing old YouTube videos in order to sell ads against them, while ventures like Creative Juice are finding new ways to fund artists working in the creator economy.
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Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
Snap’s Yellow Accelerator Cohort Features 3 LA Startups
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
Online dating startup Blink Date is testing the notion that love is truly blind.
Unlike Tinder and Bumble, Los Angeles-based Blink doesn’t show singles any photos of potential matches right away. Instead, the app pairs users in 10-minute, audio-only speed dates. It’s not until after the conversations that singles can see three unidentified pictures and tell Blink what they think of them. The app, still in beta testing, matches users only if there’s mutual interest.
“Through voice dates, we're enabling singles to actually find and build authentic connections,” Blink co-founder and CEO Taly Matiteyahu told potential investors on Wednesday.
Blink was one of eight startups—including three from Los Angeles—to pitch themselves to investors during Snap’s Yellow Accelerator Demo Day. The event is part of a 12-week curriculum run by the social media giant, which mentors early-stage startups on topics ranging from business strategy to fundraising. Snap invests $150,000 in each firm (Disclosure: Snap is an investor in dot.LA).
The accelerator’s fifth cohort covered a wide range of tech, from travel to gaming to online dating. Snap announced Wednesday that its next accelerator class starting this fall will focus exclusively on augmented reality—a strategic priority for the social media company.
Other L.A. startups in the current cohort included Bump, a fintech platform for the creator economy. Founded last year, the company helps creators track revenue from multiple sources, monitor expenses, access credit and manage their crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The startup has a waitlist of 350 users who’d pay $399 per year once the platform goes live, co-founder and CEO James Jones said.
“The lack of accurate tracking of revenue means that creators are denied access to traditional loans or traditional forms of credit because a creator’s revenue is considered too unstable, too unpredictable, and therefore they're too risky,” Jones said of the problem Bump seeks to solve.
Los Angeles-based Well Traveled is creating a paid membership club for travelers to connect and share recommendations. Founder Samantha Patil said members are using the platform more like a social tool rather than a trip-planning app, so users are logged in even when they aren’t about to book a getaway. The startup’s roughly 1,200 members are paying $150 per year.
“Consumers are craving communities that help connect them to each other and create knowledge sharing amongst their peers,” Patil said.
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Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.