Why 1863™?
We accelerate black and brown entrepreneurs from high potential to high growth through rigorous leadership training and strategic market access.
Our thesis is that entrepreneurship is becoming an increasingly viable pathway for the New Majority to build wealth. Our goal is to facilitate this trend by reducing barriers and risks for these founders across the nation.
Founder
1863 Ventures
Participants receive free, non-dilutive instruction from industry experts on a wide variety of topics framed around key best practices, systems & processes.
After instruction, participants apply their learnings in real-time to their business. After each program, they receive one-on-one support from both the 1863 team and Brain Trust in order to refine their strategy and implementation.
Core to our programs is improving operational efficiency, reducing execution risk and catalyzing growth through our rigorously developed, process based curriculum.
This curriculum is composed of six key areas of focus. Marketing, Sales, Fundraising, Finance & Accounting, Product, and Operations.
In addition to rigorous process development and management, all 1863 program participants gain access to our Brain Trust of experts across multiple sectors and disciplines.
CEO of Chigami Studios
& Adorned by Chi
We have programs designed to support brands in any sector or industry. Each is specifically crafted to launch participating brands to the next stage of entrepreneurial success.
Whether you're at the growth stage, and are preparing to scale existing systems and operations, or if your pre-growth and looking to establish those long overdue processes in the first place, we've got you. Here are a few of the brands we've worked with so far.
vTech Solutions, led by Vishakha Vaddoriya, is a fully managed cloud solutions that take away the pain of IT infrastructure management. Their clients include Dept of the Navy, Dept of Education, International Monetary Fund, Cisco, Lenovo, McAfee & more.
STAR Enterprises, helmed by Naoimi Brown, is a professional staffing solution that works diligently to accommodate the scheduling & budgetary needs of all their clients such as Marriott, Smithsonian, Wework & Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
Jacque Amadi is the head magical girl of Adorned By Chi & Chigami Studios, an anime lifestyle and fashion business. Using her platform to represent black women & men, she's changing the anime landscape and is preparing to adapt her book for tv & movies in partnership with Madison Wells.
Michelle Jimenez-Meggiato is the co-founder of The Pizza Cupcake, a family-owned, small business that transformed super yummy pizza into a super convenient cupcake-shaped snack that can be enjoyed on the go. And as of 2020, Pizza Cupcake will now be sold at all MLB stadiums.
Naa-Sakle Akuete, CEO of Eu’Genia Shea & Naasakle International LLC, produces a line of high-quality shea butters and advises governments and NGOs about shea butter standards, fair trade, and sustainability.
Fashionista, Genevieve Gralton, created Underbares. A lingerie brand that truly understands that women want to feel both comfortable and beautiful in their own skin. Heralded by Vogue & Refinery29 as one of the most comfortable lingerie brands around.
Medhaul, founded by Erica Plybeah, provides transit solutions that improve the quality of care for our most vulnerable communities. They allow hospitals, patients, and medical transportation providers to book medical transportation to and from various locations, while streamlining the management of day-to-day transportation ops.
SpenDebt, founded by Kiley Summers, is designed to assist people to pay off debt leveraging micropayments through everyday transactions. Partnered with several brands such as Capital One and more.
Angel Investor
Our objective is to improve the state of innovation & entrepreneurship for both New Majority founders and ecosystem builders alike.
Whether you're a corporate brand, non-profit, venture capitalist, or something in between, we have a variety of both pre-packaged and custom services that can be rapidly deployed nation-wide.
We pride ourselves on delivering meaningful & measurable outcomes for partners in all industries and sizes. Meet some of the amazing brands we've worked with and the outcomes we've produced.