Additional News About Our Portfolio Companies
Unity Partnership, Naperville Police Fitting 100 Schoolkids with Super Heroic Shoes Created by Nike Air Monarch II Designer
Chicago Tribune, September 2019
Want to Help Those in Need? Take Some Tips from an MIT World Champion
MaRS, September 2019
5 Up-and-Coming Ohio Companies We’re Watching This Year
Endeavor Louisville, September 2019
21 of the Coolest Things to Happen to the Kids’ Shoe Market This Year (So Far)
Footwear News, September 2019
Meet Diishan Imira: The CEO Changing the U.S. Hair Extension Market
Enterprise Podcast Network, September 2019
The Hustler’s Guide to the Hair Business
a16z, September 2019
Seven Elder Care Startups Preparing for an Aging Population
BostInno, August 2019
Blockchain is Leveraging VR Tech to its Natural Position
Bitcoinist, August 2019
Entering Virtual Reality and Blockchain with CEEK VR’s Mary Spio
Coin Central, August 2019
Mayvenn is Helping Stylists Earn and Women Save with Their Free Install Program
Essence, August 2019
ConnXus Named Among Ohio’s Most Promising Startups
Cincinnati Business Courier, August 2019
PawnGuru Brings 3000 Year Old Industry Online
Harvard Blockchain Lab, August 2019
Super Heroic to Develop Nerf Apparel and Footwear Line
Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, August 2019
‘Hero for a Day’ Shoe Giveaway Will Connect Police, Kids in Need
Daily Herald, August 2019
How He Got Silicon Valley to Invest in Hair Extensions
CNN Business, July 2019
Mayvenn’s Hair Extension Business Model Drives Sales and Success
WWD, July 2019
How Seeing His Parents Navigate College Helped This Founder Find His Passion
AustinInno, July 2019
Mayvenn Provides Free Hair Extension Installations for its Customers
Black Enterprise, June 2019
The 25 Hottest Startup CEOs in America: Diishan Imira
I’m Programmer, June 2019
Serena Williams Invests in Hair Company Mayvenn to Change the Way You Get Your Extensions Installed
BET, June 2019
How One Man Hustled His Way to $100M
Medium, June 2019
Slime-inspired Nickelodeon X Super Heroic Shoes to Debut Nickelodeon Slimefest
The Toybook, June 2019
Melvin Hines Jr. Gives Tutoring a Digital Upgrade
Lumina Foundation Focus, June 2019
Care Academy’s Helen Adeosun: A Drive for Success, a Compulsion for Caring
Lumina Foundation Focus, June 2019
Upswing’s Melvin Hines Jr.: Always Racing to Connect with Success
Lumina Foundation Focus, June 2019
Austin EdTech Startup Upswing Raises $2M to Help Students Graduate
AustinInno, May 2019
Upswing Raises $2M to Improve Dropout Prevention Services
EdSurge, May 2019
CEEK VR Launches 4D Headphones with Haptic Feedback for Virtual Reality
Auganix, April 2019
Women Tackling Traditionally Male Dominated Industries: Mary Spio
Forbes, March 2019
Student Success Efforts at Winston-Salem State U Boost Learning Outcomes
Campus Technology, March 2019
How a Diverse Mix of Brands, Investments is Fueling Foot Locker
Footwear News, March 2019
Female African American Innovators that Are Changing the Game
Ladies Love STEM, February 2019
#HowIGotHere: Jason Mayden
LinkedIn, February 2019
Top U.S. Hispanic Business Leaders: Sean Salas
Hispanic Business Journal, January 2019
Super Heroic, Bringing ‘The Batman Effect’ to Children’s Shoes
PYMNTS, January 2019
Sky’s the Limit: Foot Locker Invests $3M in Kids Sneaker Bran Super Heroic
The Root, January 2019
Why Foot Locker is Investing in Kids’ Sneaker Brand Super Heroic — and Its Mission
Footwear News, January 2019
Profit with Purpose: Corporations Step Up Social Engagement
Teneo, November 2018
Essence Ventures’ First Investment is in Mayvenn’s Hair-products Platform
ImpactAlpha, November 2018
Black-owned Beauty Startup Mayvenn Raises $23M
Black Enterprise, November 2018
With a New Deal for Customers and a Fresh $23M, Mayvenn Extends its Hair Care Business
Tech Crunch, November 2018
To Dine For with Kate Sullivan: Jason Mayden
PBS, November 2018
The Ebony Power 100: Jason Mayden
Ebony, October 2018
The 5 Coolest Shoe Innovators in Kids Footwear
Safesize, September 2018
Camino Financial Grows from California to Fund Latinos Across the Country
El Diario NY, September 2018
Startups of the Week: Mayvenn
San Francisco Chronicle, August 2018
The Moneyed Mayvenn
Beauty Independent, August 2018
Mayvenn Raises $23M to Give the Hair Extension Industry a New ‘Do
The Hustle, August 2018
The Human Hair Extension Biz
Forbes, August 2018
Meet a Company That Helps You Find Diverse Suppliers
Conscious Company, May 2018
This Ex-Nike Designer’s Sneakers Turn Kids into Their Own Superheroes
Fast Company, April 2018
Jason Mayden, CEO of Super Heroic and Former Designer at Jordan Sneaker
Breaking into Startups, March 2018
Can Big Data Change a Wicked School Truancy Problem?
EdSurge, March 2018
PawnGuru Raises $2.5M Series A, Plans Expansion into Latin America
Xconomy, March 2018
Jason Mayden Q&A: The Story of a ‘Super Heroic’ Sneaker with a Cause
Sports Illustrated, March 2018
How ConnXus Is Helping the Fortune 500 With Supply Chain Diversity
CincyInno, November 2017
A Startup That’s Capitalizing on the Untapped Hair Extensions Market
Marketplace, November 2017
Giving Homeless People a Hand Up with Technology
Huffington Post, November 2017
Jason Mayden Creates High-tech Shoe for Kids
ABC 7 Chicago | Windy City Live, October 2017
Tech Tackling Homelessness
Tech Crunch: Bullish, September 2017
ConnXus: Vendor Snapshot (Part 3) — Summary & Competitive Analysis
Spend Matters, September 2017
ConnXus: Vendor Snapshot (Part 2) — Product Strengths & Weaknesses
Spend Matters, September 2017
ConnXus: Vendor Snapshot (Part 1) — Background and Solution Overview
Spend Matters, September 2017
Michigan Company Brings 21st Century Technology to Age-old Pawn Shop Business
WUOMFM | All Things Considered, September 2017
Innovation Crush: Jason Mayden – Becoming Heroic
Innovation Crush, September 2017
Former Lead Jordan Sneaker Designer Raises $7 Million for His New Business, Super Heroic
Black Enterprise, August 2017
A Team of Ex-Nike Designers Created the Ultimate Sneaker for Playtime
Business Insider, July 2017
Super Heroic’s Playground Sneaker Line Makes Kids Feel Like Superheroes
Highsnobiety, July 2017
Former Jordan Brand Designer Debuts Playground Sneaker Line for Kids — and It Comes With Superhero Capes
Footwear News, July 2017
Super Heroic Aims to Empower Youth & Encourage Play
Nice Kicks, July 2017
Super Heroic’s Packaging is on Another Level
Concept Kicks, July 2017
Four Growth Strategy Lessons from Diishan Imira
ICA, June 2017
Entrepreneur Jason Mayden Gets Superheroic
WNYC | All Things Considered, June 2017
Cincinnati Startup ConnXus Partners with Global Software Giant
Cincinnati Business Courier, March 2017
Can He Unlock the $9 Billion Weave Market?
Ozy, March 2017
HandUp: How “Kickstarter for the Homeless” is Revolutionizing the Sharing Economy
Business.com, February 2017
Less Digging, More Acting With Schoolzilla’s New Data Dashboard
EdSurge, January 2017
Inside the Hidden Economy of Pawn Shops
benzinga, January 2017
HandUp Just Expanded its Gift Card Program for Homeless People in SF
Tech Crunch, December 2016
The Art of the Hustle: Diishan Imira
The Art of the Hustle, December 2016
ConnXus Connects Black-owned Tech Companies with Dollars
Ebony, November 2016
Latino Small Businesses Courted by Fintech Firm’s Lending Site
American Banker, November 2016
Schoolzilla Acquires Decision Science Labs to Help Districts Make Smarter Spending Choices
EdSurge, October 2016
Mary Spio: Sense of Wonder
Future of StoryTelling, September 2016
ConnXus Named VentureOhio Early Stage Company of the Year
VentureOhio, September 2016
Meet Diishan Imira, the Black Hair King of Silicon Valley
Essence, June 2016
Using Data to Run Great Schools
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, June 2016
ConnXus Raises $5M to Fix the Supplier Diversity Glitch (Part 2)
Black Enterprise, June 2016
Rod Robinson Solves Supplier Diversity Disconnect with ConnXus (Part 1)
Black Enterprise, June 2016
How PawnGuru Helps Sellers and Pawn Shops Compare Prices Online
Forbes, April 2016
Profitt Report: New Website Takes the Guesswork Out of Pawning, Selling, Buying
Fox66 News, April 2016
The Truth Behind Hair Distribution in the U.S.
Essence, March 2016
This Startup Helps Latino Businesses Get Funding
CNN Money, March 2016
Pawn Shop Startup is Changing the Way People Buy and Sell Items
MLive, March 2016
Rose Broome Uses Crowdfunding to Offer Hope to Homeless
SF Gate, March 2016
PawnGuru Takes Process of Buying, Selling, and Negotiating Online
Xconomy, March 2016
Detroit-based Startup Remakes the Pawn Shop Experience
The Michigan Daily, February 2016
Meet the Online Hair-care Millionaire
Ebony, February 2016
Mayvenn is Helping Black Hairstylists Get Paid
Beautifully Brown, January 2016
The 25 Hottest Startup CEOs in America
Business Insider Australia, December 2015
An Up-close Look at Homelessness in Silicon Valley
Triple Pundit, November 2015
Southfield Digital Startup Links Buyers and Sellers with Local Pawn Shops
dBusiness, October 2015
Founder and CEO of ConnXus Rod Robinson Discusses How Government Resources Help Entrepreneurs
Commerce.gov, August 2015
Hair-extension Startup Finally Wins Over Sand Hill VCs
San Francisco Chronicle, July 2015
Crowdfunding App Gives Homeless a “Hand Up”
San Jose Inside, June 2015
Why Serena Williams, Andreessen Horowitz are Investing in This Company That Sells Hair—Yes, Hair
Business Insider, June 2015
Software is Eating Your Hair
CNBC, June 2015
Who Do You Trust?
Andreessen Horowitz Blog, June 2015
Andreessen Horowitz Leads $10 Million Investment in Mayvenn
Wall Street Journal, June 2015
Camino Financial: Small Business Finance for Latino Entrepreneurs, by Latino Entrepreneurs
Latin Post, May 2015
How One Entrepreneur Raised $3 Million in Venture Capital Funding by Selling Hair Extensions
Black Enterprise, March 2015
Why Google Backed This Uber-Cool B Corp
Forbes, February 2015
Local Pawn Shop Guru Gains Traction Across the U.S.
Michipreneur, January 2015
A Crowdfunding App for the Homeless, HandUp Raises $850,000
Wall Street Journal, July 2014
Founders to Watch in Oakland
Women 2.0, April 2014
Meet 6 Entrepreneurs Who Use Tech to Change the World
ReadWrite, January 2014
Homeless in the Tech Economy
Salon, November 2013
Today’s Most Innovative Company: HandUp Aims to Leverage Text Messaging to Help the Homeless
Fast Company, August 2013
Why One Charter School Company Founded an Ed-tech Startup
Venture Beat, July 2013