Beverly Hills, CA – On May 1st, 2023, the Funding Diversity and Impact event was held at O’Melveny and Myers LLP in Beverly Hills, attracting a wide range of high-caliber founders and investors. The event was co-hosted by Axel Tillman and Kaustav Chaudhuri, Co-founders and Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) of Pitch Global, a global platform for investors and entrepreneurs.
The Funding Diversity and Impact opened with a keynote speech by Trish Halamandaris, Director of UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator, who spoke on the topic of Female Entrepreneurship. Halamandaris presented statistics highlighting the significantly lower number of women founders accessing start-up funding and the lower amount they apply for compared to their male counterparts. She encouraged women founders to educate themselves and reach out for mentorship to gain access to investor funds and grants available to women starting their businesses.
The event also showcased three DEI projects that aim to level the playing field for marginalized communities:
The California Inclusivity Fund presented by Axel Tillman, Co-founder and EIR at Pitch Global, aims to address the significant disadvantage faced by Black, Latino, and Women Entrepreneurs in obtaining funding. Tillman and Chaudhuri are Investment Directors in the California Inclusivity Fund, working with private/public partnerships to raise $100M for the Fund.
Chris Horton, Founder of the New Business Equity Project (NBEP), presented the National Black Entrepreneurs Project (NBEP), a new initiative aimed at helping Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals acquire existing businesses instead of starting from scratch. The initiative, called “quantifiers,” aims to increase the chances of success for marginalized communities and support local economies by preserving jobs and taxes.
Rachel Carlsen, founder of the CPA-led 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization Create Impact, discussed how to create an organization with minimal mistakes and learning curves.
Carlsen’s speech emphasized the ability to create an impact and make a difference in the world, and she shared anecdotes from her childhood, including her first company at nine years old and a candy company at thirteen. Carlsen’s nonprofit organization aims to empower socially conscious entrepreneurs, humanitarians, and nonprofit organizations by acting as fiscal sponsor and social impact partner.
Other presentations included IBM’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program by Samir Mehta and How to Create Impact in Emerging Markets by Newton Paskin, the former Head of LATAM. Paskin emphasized creating impact through diversity and promoting inclusion for all stakeholders, and he highlighted the importance of responsible capitalism.
The event also featured a very insightful interview conducted by O’Melveny & Myers (OMM) Partner Nate Gallon with the Head of NGK Capital Thomas Kluz.
The Funding Diversity and Impact event successfully tackled important topics related to DEI and entrepreneurship. The event was well-attended, with high-caliber founders and investors who engaged in discussions and networking opportunities.
Being the official Media partner of the event, The Los Angeles Tribune awarded Leadership Recognitions to three individuals nominated for awards by Pitch Global based on their leadership and contribution to the Start-Up community and Pitch Global projects: Co-founder of Pitch Global Kaustav “KC Wisdom” Chaudhuri, Founder of the New Business Equity Project (NBEP) Chris Norton and Founder of Create Impact Rachel Carlson.
Participating companies and organizations included Niterra Ventures, IBM, Milton Institute, Impact Fund, California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, Fontvieille Capital, Tie SoCal, National Black, Entrepreneurs Project, Marketing Completion Fund, Copernic Space, Legacy Ventures, M&D Ventures, Mindful Capital Partners, Portal, Production For The People, Reinventure Capital, Scrum Ventures, Preface Ventures, and The Los Angeles Tribune.
About the Organizer
Pitch Global, founded in 2015 by Kaustav Chaudhuri (also known as KC WISDOM), aims to provide entrepreneurs with a platform to present their innovative ideas to a qualified investor audience. However, it offers much more than that. Pitch Global provides a judgment-free environment for aspiring entrepreneurs to gain experience and feedback to develop their perfect pitch. Attendees, including mentors and investors, are always paired with startup companies, and everyone leaves with valuable lessons learned.
Pitch Global has a proven track record of helping startups progress from early pitches to investment-attracting pitches. The company’s principals, KC WISDOM and AXEL TILLMANN, are US government-funded mentors/EIRs, authorized to select startups with the potential to create jobs and mentor them. Some of the companies that Pitch Global has mentored and matched with investors, such as Tutorfly, Realkey, Plethy, and Genobank, have raised significant capital.
Building relationships with various foreign governmental institutions seeking insights from Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach, Pitch Global also offers a Master Class Series and a specially designed Accelerator program. The latter gives access to serial entrepreneurs and experts from the aforementioned regions, who provide valuable insights to help companies make informed decisions about building a presence in the US market. Beyond the Silicon Valley mindset, Pitch Global inspires companies to think of the right way to build their business.
About O’Melveny & Myers (OMM)
Law360 has called O’Melveny & Myers (OMM) a “California Powerhouse,” noting that “clout in the technology and entertainment spaces” has “made the 130-year-old firm an undisputed heavy-hitter in the California market.” OMM’s entertainment and media practice handles some of the most groundbreaking transactions and closely watched cases in the industry. They are on the cutting edge when it comes to the growing US-China filmmaking space and the convergence of technology, media, and entertainment, assisting clients in complex joint ventures, film financing, capitalization, and a range of general commercial matters, from worldwide antitrust cases to cutting edge copyright and trademark cases, sports litigation, appeals, and major class actions.
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