The PS27 Ventures venture capital fund and foundation are helping female, minority and veteran-led small businesses discover success. On the venture capital side, PS27 Ventures recently launched the Rhea Fund. The PS27 Foundation supports entrepreneurs through programs and connections they have made within the community.
In addition to giving founders money, the PS27 Ventures and Foundation work with small business owners. “Think Big and Start Small,” is PS27’s motto. Founders need the skills to grow their companies and must be aware of their timing and growth strategy. Through their funding and educational offerings like Leadership Week, they are helping female, black and veteran founders realize their dreams.
Hear all about it — PS27 Foundation’s Leadership Week
The PS27 Foundation just started its application process for its highly popular and productive seventh annual Leadership Week. The event begins on October 24th and ends on the 27th in Jacksonville, Florida. Watch as 15 startup teams of 2-4 people from around the world learn new strategies and mindsets for growth.
About the program
The four-day program begins with a day of emotional intelligence training. It then moves into interoffice and external communications, learning to speak to employees and about the brand. Next, the third day is filled with teamwork exercises. Throughout the first three days, teams have a chance to speak with industry professionals. These professionals then buff out their presentations for the fourth day.
On the last day, the top-performing teams have the opportunity to present their businesses in front of a panel of venture capitalists, “Shark Tank” style, competing for a $10,000 cash prize. Once the competitive event is concluded, Leadership Week ends with a celebratory finale. Participants can then review what they have learned with staff. They can finally solidify connections they have made, and enjoy each other’s company before heading home.
The program was such a resounding success that the PS27 Foundation initiated the Female Founders Forum. They are also launching a Black Founders Forum in the summer of 2023. These forums are one day and have speakers on ways for small businesses to “Think Big and Start Small.”
The foundation also reaches out to the community by supporting and attending local business-related events. They also provide support and engage by sitting on the boards of other non-profit organizations. Their community efforts have led to added excitement and external support for their educational programs, allowing them to offer externally funded scholarships to participants of Leadership Week. The scholarships are all-inclusive, except for travel to and from Jacksonville. All Leadership Week applications are qualified to apply for a scholarship as well.
PS27 Ventures Rhea Fund
The Rhea Fund is a 20 million dollar allocation slated to support female, black and veteran entrepreneurs, primarily in the Southeastern United States. Since its inception, funds have already been distributed to three businesses, including levAR, Hazlnut and Ryze.
The fund typically supports small businesses in purpose-driven consumer goods, FinTech, HealthTech, SaaS and sustainability niches. These businesses usually have two to 10 employees, a product or service that has gone to market and are at the stage where they are considering scaling up.
Benefits of PS27 Funding
The primary benefit of PS27 funding is that the group is an active investor. They also have weekly meetings and access to accounting, marketing and media assistance. Because of their hands-on approach, PS27 Ventures likes to work with entrepreneurs that are open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Overall, they treat their funded businesses and their staff like family, everyone is on a first-name basis and everyone is happy to help.
Joining the PS27 Family
PS27 understands that every business has growing pains. In the name of diversity in the small business community, PS27 has decided to extend assistance to female, black and veteran business owners through funding and educational programs. Female, black and veteran founders worldwide can apply to and join the PS27 Foundation for Leadership Week. Similar founders in the Southeastern US can apply to the Rhea Fund for support ranging from $250K to $1 million. Visit the PS27 Foundation website to learn more about their education programs and the PS27 Ventures website to learn about funding.
Want to read more about crowdfunding? Check out our article on Six Things That Successful Crowdfunding Projects Have in Common.
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