Stacy Brown-Philpot, TaskRabbit’s former chief executive officer, secured $172 million for her new venture fund, Cherryrock Capital. The fund focuses on investing at the Series A and B stages in companies led by underinvested entrepreneurs.
Cherryrock Capital’s investors included JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as well as Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Ariel Investments’ Mellody Hobson, and former Meta Platforms Inc. chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, according to Bloomberg.
The fund’s launch comes at a time when several companies are scaling back their DEI efforts following President Trump’s executive orders. Brown-Philpot did not comment on President Donald Trump’s recent moves. “Administrations come and go,” she told Bloomberg. “I’m building something for the long term.”
When was Cherryrock founded?
Brown-Philpot founded the venture firm in 2023 with her partner Saydeah Howard during a difficult time for venture investing. She admits that fundraising took her significantly longer than she had hoped. All in all, it took nearly two years until she ended the first Cherryrock fund in January.
Brown-Philpot has had an extensive career. Before working at TaskRabbit, she led Alphabet Inc.’s online sales and operations in India. She serves on several boards of companies, such as P Inc., StockX, and Noom Inc., and is a trustee at Stanford University. Brown-Philpot was also one of the founding members of SoftBank Group Corp.’s Opportunity Fund, a $100 million investment vehicle focused on supporting underrepresented minorities.
The $172 million fund
Cherryrock Capital invests in companies across digital health, enterprise SaaS, fintech, future of work, and B2B2C that have early product market fit and are on a path to achieving over $100 million in revenue.
JP Morgan invested $10 million in the fund through its Project Spark initiative, which helps back funds run by diverse emerging managers. Goldman Sachs also invested via its asset management unit.
Cherryrock has already supported two businesses: health care startup Vitable Inc., which invested $7 million, and software company Coactive Systems Inc., which invested $10 million.
Image credit: Amber Hakim for Inc
#blacktech #entrepreneur #tech #afrotech #womenintech #supportblackbusiness #blackexcellence #technology #blackbusiness #blacktechmatters #blackowned #blackgirlmagic #blackpreneur #startup #innovation #hbcu #techtrap #blackownedbusiness #pitchblack #autographedmemories #blacksintech #shopblack #wocintech #nba #blackwomen #repost #hbcubuzz #blackwomenintech #startupbusiness #nails
Source link
