The economy is showing few signs of improvement, and that's bad news for entrepreneurs and investors. There are a lot of questions up in the air about whether or not the dry powder VCs will make it to the market. There will be more layoffs if the pressure on valuations continues. Is there anything in store for Artificial Intelligence?
Even as the market looks to the future, some trends are bound to stay, like interest in artificial intelligence, and will continue to be under scrutiny. The lack of funding for minority and women entrepreneurs is probably not going to change.
We spoke with three active black investors to find out how minority investors plan for the future. The creator economy is a hot spot for Xfund's vice president. She expects to see continued movement in the creator economy as more people venture out to build their own brands and rely on new tools for content creation and monetization.
As fast-growing tech darlings begin to cut back on overhead expenses, I believe we will see a strong shift towards companies relying more on sales.
The investors were not optimistic about the capital allocation to black founders.
Richard Kerby doesn't think there will be a huge change in funding next year. A lot of the narrative that investors put out about investing in more Black founders was just talk and not a lot of substance.
We talked with one another.
Which sectors will you keep an eye on, and which trends do you think will take off? What's the reason?
I've always been interested in the applications of artificial intelligence. I am excited to see how artificial intelligence can contribute to scaling previously human-led areas of business, such as sales, social media, marketing and content development.
As fast-growing tech darlings begin to cut back on overhead expenses, I think we will see a shift towards companies using more sales and content creation tools as a substitute for previously redundant teams.
What is the most important political issue you are keeping an eye on, and how will it affect you as an investor? Would you support a startup that deals with these issues?
The lack of political oversight for tech and financial products is one of the reasons why there is a deep undertone. Many of our institutional and consumer investors are starting to feel the effects of a lack of oversight around everything from crowd funding to digital currency.
Ultra-heightened valuations and unrealistic expectations of exit potential have been caused by the lack of oversight by investors. The everyday angel investor gets the short end of the stick every time.
Do you think next year will see a change in the percentage of venture capital going to black entrepreneurs? What is the reason or why not?
I don't think next year will be any different. As institutional funds tighten their purse strings or begin to seek criteria for Black founders, I am very worried that the number will fall in 2023.
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