NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR), the company changing how the world works together, announced today the twelve founders selected to participate in the third annual Future Collective Business Accelerator Program. The Future Collective is an accelerator designed for early-stage U.S. and Canada-based Black entrepreneurs at pivotal moments in their business journey. Each founder will receive funding, coaching, and tools to scale and grow their business. Fiverr hosts the Future Collective program in partnership with 1863 Ventures, an independent, Black-led nonprofit organization founded to help underrepresented entrepreneurs move from high potential to high growth.
Despite recent strides made among Black founders, there remain unique challenges that these entrepreneurs face when building and growing their businesses. A 2023 study from Goldman Sachs found that 37% of Black business owners have difficulty accessing new capital and financing – 14 percentage points higher than their non-Black peers. The Future Collective program grew out of Fiverr’s commitment to enabling a more equitable playing field for these entrepreneurs who face systemic structures, cultural barriers, or life circumstances working against them.
“We are so proud to have the Future Collective as part of the Fiverr ecosystem. Since the start of the program in 2021, Fiverr has doubled down and intensified its focus on empowering Black entrepreneurs,” said Micha Kaufman, Founder and CEO of Fiverr. “Each year we have enlarged the group receiving funding and training, and we are growing an impressive network of alumni.”
The twelve businesses that comprise Fiverr’s 2024 Future Collective cohort are:
- Talent Poole is a consulting practice that helps companies elevate their hiring processes, fostering more inclusive and equitable company cultures.
- Wanderstay Hospitality is a hybrid hospitality brand that has both a 24-bed hostel and a 10-room boutique hotel in its portfolio.
- Three Keys Coffee is an award-winning craft coffee roastery and cafe that provides a multi-sensory coffee journey inspired by jazz music.
- Postal Petals® ships bloom boxes nationwide for DIY flower arranging, promoting wellness through creative exercise and therapeutic practice.
- Peak + Valley is a mindful company that creates mushroom and herbal supplements for holistic wellness, all sourced from regenerative farms across the world.
- Orijin Bees is a multicultural children’s company dedicated to promoting inclusivity in play, with a focus on centering and celebrating Black and Brown children.
- Mino Care is a holistic virtual perinatal healthcare center offering access to a range of customized, culturally safe healthcare services.
- Midnight Comics is Atlanta’s first and largest Black family-owned indie comic book and manga publisher.
- Evan Alexander Grooming specializes in crafting premium, all-natural grooming products tailored for the modern man.
- BrickRose Exchange is an award-winning technology company focused on designing immersive virtual experiences for enhancing employee engagement and fostering community connections.
- Best, Periodt. is a mission-driven menstrual care company making period products sustainable, fun, comfy, and cool for the first time.
- Brilliant or BS? is a tabletop game publishing company that helps people create memories through games that are easy to learn, unpredictable, and guaranteed to bring laughs.
Each of the Future Collective fellows will receive funding from Fiverr through a combination of Fiverr credits and a cash grant, 6 live workshops from 1863 Ventures supplemented by Fiverr sessions and 1:1 coaching over 6 months, along with additional business resources and networking opportunities.
“The Future Collective program impacted my business by giving me more resources than any other organization,” said Ryen Williams, founder of Under Her Empire and Future Collective alumni. “The grant and Fiverr credits, mentorship, and best practices have made such an impact and will continue to do so for me as a first-generation entrepreneur.”
You can learn more about the 2024 Future Collective cohort and follow their journeys here. Alumni stories and testimonials can be found in the program Impact Report.
About Fiverr
Fiverr’s mission is to change how the world works together. We exist to democratize access to talent and to provide talent with access to opportunities so anyone can grow their business, brand, or dreams. From small businesses to Fortune 500, over 4 million customers worldwide worked with freelance talent on Fiverr in the past year, ensuring their workforces remain flexible, adaptive, and agile. With Fiverr Business Solutions, large companies can find the right talent and tools, tailored to their needs to help them thrive and grow. On Fiverr, you can find over 700 skills, ranging from programming to 3D design, digital marketing to content creation, from video animation to architecture.
About 1863 Ventures
1863 Ventures is a leader in providing culturally competent accelerator programs, non-dilutive financing, and mentorship to New Majority founders (i.e., individuals who have been historically marginalized). The District of Columbia-based organization supports over 3,000 entrepreneurs across the United States, leveraging capital investments, owned curricula, grant support, as well as corporate & philanthropic partnerships to scale businesses from high potential to high-growth profitable companies that generate jobs and wealth for their communities. Learn more at 1863ventures.net.
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