Black founders are seeing a decrease in funding amid economic downturn

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Black entrepreneurs saw a decrease in funding this year.

Black startups received $324 million in VC funds in the second quarter, a steep decrease from the $1.2 billion received in the first quarter and less than the $866 million raised in the second quarter of last year. Funding at all levels is not moving in the right direction.

This isn't a surprise; valuations are falling and deal volume is decreasing as investors pull back from 2021's excesses

In times of economic distress, some investors may retreat to their networks to fund what is considered safe and familiar to them, and those networks are often not filled with a lot of Black founders.

Conwell said that people tend to default to what they know. The decrease in funding is not surprising during the economic downturn. The safe thing to do is not to invest in founders of color.