LABJ Insider: How This LA Business Is Connecting Startup Founders With $100M Worth of Support Services

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In the midst of last summer’s social justice protests, numerous companies expressed support for minority-owned businesses, and people have been watching to see whether they’d follow their social media posts with real action — and money.
 
Helping forge connections between Black business owners and major corporations’ resources is Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, who on Oct. 21 announced the launch of BrainTrust Founders Studio and the $100 million it secured in soft-value investments.


“There are corporations that have resources and tools, and they don’t even know how powerful those are for founders,” Bracken-Ferguson said. “With the best intentions, there’s no output because they don’t know how to get involved. This is how they can help.”


BrainTrust Founders Studio is an online platform that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to match startup founders with resources. Some of the corporate partners include New York City-based JPMorgan Chase, which is providing professional financial guidance and funding; San Francisco-based Salesforce, which has provided a year’s worth of licenses for its customer relationship management solutions; and Melbourne, Australia-based Afterpay, which is providing payment solutions and marketing support.


The membership-based program, which helps participants set and achieve goals, specifically caters to Black beauty and wellness company founders.

 
Bracken-Ferguson said she leveraged the network she has spent a career building. She has a background encompassing executive and entrepreneurial roles developing brands. For this initiative, her goal was to pull partners together to invest in founders at scale.

 
It’s a model that has potential for companies to emulate in any industry.
“I believe it comes down to genuine intentions — about understanding the need from the community I’m serving, really thinking through with partners what we need to do,” Bracken-Ferguson added. “I couldn’t do this by myself. It will take a brain trust and community.”

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Stephanie Barbaran
Stephanie Barbaran joined the Los Angeles Business Journal as managing editor in 2019 and started serving as interim editor in Sept. 2021. She was part of the LABJ team that won Alliance of Area Business Publishers awards in 2021 (Best Ancillary Publication, Large Tabloid: 2020 Wealthiest Angelenos; Best of Show: Most Improved Publication). Barbaran has worked as a writer and editor in B2B publishing roles, as well as a content strategist and SEO content specialist for companies and content marketing agencies. Her focus in leading teams is to prioritize quality and purpose in content production, aiming to provide high-value, engaging materials to tell compelling stories for print and digital audiences. She was raised in West Los Angeles and studied journalism at Rutgers University-Newark.

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