The Roots’ Black Thought Joins Venture Capital Firm Impellent Ventures To Help Fund and Assist Black Entrepreneurs

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The Roots‘ lead lyricist and entrepreneur Tariq Trotter, better known as “Black Thought” has joined a venture capital firm as a general partner.

Impellent Ventures, which is an equity-centric venture fund that is run by founder David Brown and Philip Beauregard, has chosen artist, actor, writer, producer, creator, and co-founder of GRAMMY® Award-winning hip-hop band The Roots “Black Thought” as general partner of the venture fund.

In a written statement, Black Thought states, “I’ve been keeping an eye on the industry and looking for new ways to invest and diversify my portfolio. I also get to see a lot of investment opportunities before anyone else does because of what my brand means to founders. The combination of these elements made it natural to align with Impellent Ventures. Phil and I are longtime friends and our relationship led to my first visit to the Harvard Innovation Lab in 2016. Joining Dave and Phil has been a long time coming and a natural evolution of our shared interest in helping find and fund the next great generation of entrepreneurs.”

Impellent Ventures primarily concentrates on uplifting startup companies. The firm focuses on startups obtaining mentorship through a host of proven investors and successful business minds from established companies such as Paychex, Android, LinkedIn, DraftKings, Google, and more. Impellent Ventures gives close access to relationships and funds from Tier 1 hubs for entrepreneurs of color and trendsetters from underserved communities. The firm gives back as well as gives unparalleled support. The company will galvanize the growth of budding companies that are just starting out under the guidance of some of the industry’s most respected visionaries.

The firm has members of the team who are based in several locations across the country, Rochester, Boston, DC, LA, New York City and Philadelphia.  Impellent Ventures invests in technology markets widely across the country.

The company intends to allocate investments towards a mixed variety of sectors, including Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare Technology, Robotics, Consumer Goods, and Apps.

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