| “Time is ticking,” Bradley says, referring to the goal's 2030 deadline. In 2024, Bradley rebranded 1863 Ventures as New Majority Ventures, transitioning from a nonprofit accelerator to a for-profit company focused on helping women and people of color scale their businesses and unlock that $100 billion. What stands out about Bradley is her candor. She’s real. Bradley can examine a business plan, and if it doesn’t work, inform an entrepreneur to quit and get a job. Harsh words? Perhaps. But sometimes brutal honesty is required. Bradley provides that honesty. In this case, she was honest and upfront when admitting that 1863’s nonprofit model wasn’t working. So, she pivoted. “What I realized was we did not have the capacity by running various accelerator programs to get to the critical mass required to get to $100 billion,” Bradley says. “So, I could have kept doing what I was doing and fallen short. I could have said, ‘Wait, let’s try something different and go all-in, and really try and hit that goal.’ So, 1863 was an accelerator. We still do acceleration but in a very different way. Now, we are a for-profit company.”
According to investment management firm Fairview Capital Partners, there are more than 1,000 women and minority-owned private equity and venture capital firms in the U.S., of which 168 are Black-owned. In its 2025 Market Review report, the Connecticut-based firm also cites that the median target size of those Black-run funds is $70 million, down from $75 million the in 2023. During the discussion, Bradley and I delve further into the other high-level role – running BEA’s Entrepreneurs Fund – and the task of raising $50 million while navigating the anti-DEI landscape. It’s an insightful conversation for founders and those seeking to raise capital during this challenging period in the venture capital sector. I’m covering VC these days, especially as we approach Black Business Month in August. Hard to believe that it’s next month. Time is really ticking. My One Interesting Read: With the Trump Administration’s push to pass the Big Beautiful Bill and tax cuts that could raise the national debt by $3.3 trillion, a look into how U.S. fiscal policy has run amok, with few seeming to care via the Financial Times.
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