ISO Local Proprietors for LocallyGrownNews.com: Hyperlocal online communities

[Michelle Ferrier]

 If you're interested in what Patch.com is doing, but want to own your own business at the end of the day...

LocallyGrownNews.com has been enjoying a growth spurt this past summer as we launched sites in Greensboro and Winston-Salem. And we've been cultivating larger visibility for the project at several regional conferences. Now, it's time for us to reach out to those who've expressed interest in the site and see if you're interested in jumping into this project.

LocallyGrownNews.com is looking for "proprietors":
1. Those passionate about local community and local economy;
2. Those passionate about local food;
3. Those interested in all things sustainable and green;
4. Those that have great skills in writing and marketing.
5. Those with an entrepreneurial dream.

We're cultivating an initial cohort of a handfull of sites to launch this fall. Are you ready to grow?

Take a look at the site, then email me if you're interested. info(at)locallygrownnews.com

Michelle Ferrier
Proprietor, LocallyGrownNews.com

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Michelle Ferrier [mailto:mich...@michelleferrier.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 01:14 PM
To: jtm-d...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [JTM-Detroit] 1% of Internet Startups by People of Color Receive Venture Capital

I cross-posted this link on the Digital Journalism Task Force (NABJ) listserv, but thought it was most appropriate for our intrepid group of entrepreneurs. Don't be disheartened...let's find and create our own angel/venture capital networks for the North Carolina conference!

Mike Green posted this summary on the DJTF listserv as an introduction:

A report by a relatively new research firm reveals that Blacks represent just 1
percent of all venture capital invested companies, while Whites make up 87
percent and Asians 12 percent.

http://www.cbinsights.com/blog/venture-capital/venture-capital-demographics-87-percent-vc-backed-founders-white-asian-teams-raise-largest-funding?utm_source=CB+Insights+Newsletter&utm_campaign=948c9ab4eb-Newsletter_Seed_Is_New_Series_A&utm_medium=email

When we write stories about Blacks being under-represented in business
ownership, perhaps we might look into the sources of funding, which might reveal
that Blacks aren't getting through the door with angels and venture capitalists
or Blacks are overlooking this major area of business development. This
distressing trend suggests Blacks will once again find ourselves at the back of
the business bus in the next generation. If the data are correct, that strongly
suggests a need to form our own business incubators, entrepreneurship training
centers and angel and venture capital groups. In an era of media
entrepreneurship, it seems prudent to address this issue.

NABJ does a good job of keeping an eye on the diversity meter of media
companies. I think it might also be a good idea to shed a spotlight on the
industry that provides funding capital for media companies to form and grow.
That investment isn't going to Black-owned startups and existing businesses.

Minus a media spotlight, this funding trend has no chance of being addressed.

Unfortunately, the universe of angel and venture capital funding is strange and
unfamiliar to most of us in journalism. That means it remains relatively unheard
of by the masses, despite literally hundreds of billions of dollars flowing
through the hands of angels and VCs directly to Whites and Asians each year, who
use the funds to start and grow businesses while Black entrepreneurs struggle
with their bootstraps.

http://www.cbinsights.com/blog/venture-capital/venture-capital-demographics-87-percent-vc-backed-founders-white-asian-teams-raise-largest-funding?utm_source=CB+Insights+Newsletter&utm_campaign=948c9ab4eb-Newsletter_Seed_Is_New_Series_A&utm_medium=email

mike green
medford, or.

 

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