There are few Black venture capitalists with more experience than Marlon Nichols, co-founder and general partner of the culturally-themed fund, Cross Culture Ventures.
Nichols leads Cross Culture Ventures in identifying game-changing entrepreneurs who are creating next-generation tech and consumer companies such as Warby Parker, Lyft, Dropbox, Uber and Spotify.
“Our thesis is cultural investing. For us, what that means is studying popular culture to get to what’s driving consumer behavior and then ultimately predicting where consumers are going to spend their capital in the future,” Nichols said during a GHOGH Podcast.
Digital media pioneer Jamarlin Martin launched the GHOGH Podcast Franchise — Go Hard Or Go Home — at SXSW 2018, aimed at multicultural millennials.
Jamarlin talks with Marlon about the fund he started with Troy Carter. They discuss the burger-flippin’ robot, Flippy, and socially responsible investing. Marlon offers advice to founders seeking investment, and answers questions about whether there is too much “shut-up-and-dribble” in Silicon Valley.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
On robots displacing workers:
Marlon Nichols: Instead of complaining about Flippy and those jobs going away, we’ve got to focus on what’s going on, what’s the next opportunity, how do I get trained up to do that and how do I put my family in the next tax bracket up as a result of this. It’s also incumbent upon the consumers as well as the workers to figure out what’s next, what kind of training do I need. I’ll plug one of our companies called Catalyte based out of Baltimore. They’re essentially a tech consultancy (that is) changing the face of software engineering. They’re doing this by recruiting from Craigslist and community colleges as opposed to the MITs and the Stanfords of the world, and they’re leveraging artificial intelligence. They give basically an aptitude test that says, ‘Are you going to be a good coder? Do you have the aptitude for this?’. If yes, they train you for six months and then hire you.
On lessons he learned working at Intel Capital as a venture capitalist:
Marlon Nichols: I think it’s the lessons you learn at every big company. You’re never going to completely get to do what you want to do and there’s going to be a lot of bureaucracy. So you learn how to navigate that to make a space for yourself that you feel comfortable in.
On why some potential investors choose not to invest in his fund:
Marlon Nichols: A lot of diverse communities typically drive global culture. It starts from a smaller place, but it bubbles up and it becomes popular culture. So we do a lot of studying in diverse communities. A potential LP doesn’t necessarily understand that, or it’s a new concept and they’d rather be more risk-averse and sit it out and see how this one goes, and then come in. I think in general money managers tend to try to mitigate risk as much as possible. You don’t want to lose your client’s money, right? So you try to take as much risk out of it as possible. And here you have something new, you have a team that doesn’t look like every other team that you’ve invested in this space. So these flags are going off, maybe not necessarily warranted, but they’re going off.
Hear more of Marlon Nichols on Episode 8 of the GHOGH Podcast.
Episode 15: Clarence Wooten, a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur, sold his first tech business for $23 million. He discusses his new venture — STEAM Role — meritocracy, and common mistakes founders make. He also talks about Bitcoin’s long-term prospects and how blockchain has opened up new capital-raising opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Episode 14: Barron Channer, founder of Miami -based Woodwater Investments, talks about turning down Harvard Business School, and whether Black-on-Black murders need to be prioritized over police-on-Black murders. He also debates what is to blame for the Black murder rate in Chicago and whether most U.S. police departments are racist in the second of a 2-part podcast.
Episode 13: Barron Channer, founder of Miami-based Woodwater Investments, shares how he got to work for billion-dollar real estate developer Don Peebles. This Wharton MBA’s business focuses on real estate development and tech. He revisits how Barack Obama handled Rev. Wright in the first of a 2-part podcast.
Episode 12: Keenan Beasley, co-founder and managing partner of New York digital analytics company BLKBOX, talks about his early mistakes, how NY and Silicon Valley investors differ, and the advantages of getting experience in an industry before trying to disrupt it. The Westpoint grad and former P&G brand manager also discusses M&A activity involving Richelieu Dennis, Byron Allen and Robert Smith.
Episode 11: Travis Holoway, founder and CEO of peer-to-peer lending startup SoLo Funds, discusses Mark Zuckerberg as a liberal tech version of Donald Trump, Jake Tapper’s double standards on CNN towards Black leaders, and whether Silicon Valley has “negro helpers” who set the community back.
Episode 10: Karen Fleshman, the founder of Racy Conversations, talks about women of privilege exploiting civil rights and diversity movements, and whether Kamala Harris can be trusted on criminal justice reform. She also discusses Facebook’s problems, and whether these can be primarily sourced to Mark Zuckerberg’s and Sheryl Sandberg’s values and ethics.
Episode 9: Felecia Hatcher and Derick Pearson talk about Black Tech Week, economic empowerment, and the potential impact of Atlanta landing Amazon HQ2. They also discuss the politics of diversity favoring women of privilege, and whether or not Silicon Valley is the global capital of white supremacy.
Episode 8: Marlon Nichols, co-founder of Cross Culture Ventures, talks about the culturally-themed fund he started with Troy Carter. He discusses the burger-flippin’ robot, Flippy, and socially responsible investing. Marlon offers advice to founders seeking investment, and answers questions about whether there is too much “shut-up-and-dribble” in Silicon Valley.
Episode 7: Tayo Oviosu, founder and CEO of leading Nigerian mobile payments company Paga, discusses bitcoin prospects, superior Nigerian academic performance in the U.S., and why Nigeria is the African economic opportunity. The podcast also touches on Elon Musk, Aliko Dangote, and whether Oviosu would ever run for president.
Episode 6: Rodney Sampson, founder of HBCU@SXSW and the Atlanta-based Opportunity Hub, discusses investing in Atlanta blockchain startups and the importance of connecting HBCU endowments to Black tech. He covers the intersectionality of oppression, discrimination, and holding SV leaders accountable for inequality.
Episode 5: Angela Benton talks about starting NewMe Accelerator, building her personal brand as a single mother while battling cancer, and whether or not most of the “diversity” gains in Silicon Valley will go to privileged white women.
Episode 4: Detavio Samuels, president of Interactive One, leads a $30M digital media business that in 2017 acquired Bossip, Madamenoire, and HiphopWired. He discusses Richelieu Dennis’ acquisition of Essence, Facebook’s recent fumbles, and whether Complex Media is a culture vulture.
Episode 3: Arlan Hamilton talks about Backstage Capital, the VC fund she dreamed up while she was homeless. She talks about the Silicon Valley establishment and about Tamika Mallory, who attended Saviours’ Day with Louis Farrakhan.
Episode 2: Rodney Williams, founder and CEO of Lisnr, talks about raising $10 million in venture capital, HBCU endowments that invest in black tech, and how to fire loyal employees you like.
Episode 1: Brian Brackeen talks about his path to starting his facial recognition firm, Kairos, how blockchain can be applied to the NFL, and whether Disney’s’ “Black Panther” is revolutionary.
