BLAZE: Ignite Black Female Entrepreneurial Growth!

WHO WE ARE

BLAZE GROUP LLC provides 3,800+ Black female entrepreneurs with an ecosystem of access to knowledge, capital and mentorship - critical resources that Black female entrepreneurs lack relative to their counterparts, stagnating business maturation and scale.

Founder Casey Richardson is a Black woman who spent a decade structuring multi-billion dollar finance solutions for clients around the globe. She is uniquely positioned to create and advocate for sophisticated tools targeted to Black female entrepreneurs who are struggling to be seen, prioritized and empowered by companies. 

WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

There is little data that exists on Black female entrepreneurs, making it harder for companies, corporations and governments to best serve this historically-excluded demographic.  

Although Black female entrepreneurs are the fastest-growing group of women-owned businesses, they still face recurring challenges, which could be combated by data insights which better steer the firms and gatekeepers that we partner with. The challenges include:

• Double biases - Black women still face a double bias due to both their race and gender. This in turn creates difficulties when it comes to obtaining funding, reaching out to potential partners, and even networking. 
• Lack of representation - Very often, Black women are "the only" in business meetings. As such, they are often talked down to, and must constantly prove their worth, qualifications and drive. These often find the lack of representation intimidating and discouraging.
• Networking Challenges - Commercial business networking events are attended by very few Black women, if any, which can deter them from making the right connections. Lack of access to these networks can prevent viable businesses from surviving and thriving.

USE OF CROWDFUNFING CAMPAIGN PROCEEDS

Your funding will help BLAZE GROUP LLC commission research studies that will grant our firm (and the world at large) insights into the hurdles, motivations, experiences and proclivities of Black female entrepreneurs. Data is a powerful tool that will transform our effectiveness in product development, partnership deals and the deepening of client relationships.

Anticipated outcomes:

1. Public research studies that can be consumed by commercial institutions that intend to better serve Black female entrepreneurs, deepening their market penetration and delivering the resources to Black female entrepreneurs need (in the forms they need them in)
2. New models and scientific frameworks created by BLAZE GROUP LLC that will allow us to be a thought-leader and much-needed voice in the business management consulting and coaching arena 
3. Increased satisfaction rates of Black entrepreneurs who are currently leveraging antiquated business tools provided by the SBA and other groups. We anticipate measuring current and future resource satisfaction levels in our studies. 

THE URGENCY OF NOW

According to the Harvard Business Review, 17% of Black women are in the process of starting or already running a new business (compared to 15% and 10% of white men and white women, respectively). Despite this early lead, only 3% of Black women are running mature businesses. 

In fact, Black women-owned businesses made average annual revenue of only $24k in 2019, compared to $218k for White women-owned businesses and $143k for women-owned businesses overall. The disparity in these figures are not due to a lack of trying on the part of Black female entrepreneurs.

• More than three-fourths of Black female entrepreneurs have at least a college degree (compared to slightly above one-fourth of Black women in the general population). Even still, Black women continue to lack resources, networks and funding. We believe our research studies and newly developed frameworks will improve the effectiveness and desired outcomes for those who serve this audience.   

COMPANY MILESTONES TO DATE

• January 2021 - Launched digital signature course and coaching / consulting services. More than 1,500 Black female entrepreneurs in-network to date. 
• February 2021 - Awarded brand partnership in the BlackCEO 2021 Virtual Conference (+15k entrepreneurs in attendance). Also, began summit partnership discussions with Grow with Google.  
• March 2021 - Secured first fintech partnership with Kiva.org, offering interest-free loans of up to $15,000 to members of the Blaze Women's Network (backed by a endorsement from Casey Richardson as a Kiva Trustee)  
• June 2021 - Launched Blaze Knowledge Academy, which houses masterclasses, courses, and downloadable resources. 1,077 members enrolled to date.
• December 2021 - hosted the Blaze Virtual Summit | Winter 2021, with boasted 900 registrants, 41 speakers sessions (TED Talks, workshops, panel discussions) and a virtual vendor marketplace. 

MEET THE TEAM

To all of the backers of this fundraising, thank you. Thank you for seeing, valuing and edifying millions of Black female entrepreneurs by sowing into BLAZE GROUP LLC.