Investor Profile: Collab Capital — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Collab Capital is an Atlanta-based venture capital firm built by founders, for founders — and it invests primarily in Black founders. In 2024, startups with a Black founder or co-founder received just 0.4% of US venture funding, about $730M out of $314B, per Crunchbase data cited by Inc. That gap is exactly why Collab exists: to make the path smoother for Black innovators chasing startup funding. The firm now manages over $125M in assets — among the largest funds ever raised by an entirely Black-led firm committed to Black founders.

Investment thesis

Collab invests in early-stage, tech-enabled companies addressing what it calls the “building blocks of shared prosperity” — workforce, healthcare, and community infrastructure. Its founders, who lived the founder journey themselves, centre founder ownership and community outcomes: they believe perspective and proximity are power.

Sectors and stages

The firm backs seed and early-stage companies in technology and tech-enabled sectors — across healthcare, HR tech, fintech, and consumer platforms. It is based in Atlanta but its portfolio spans 16 US cities, and its founders have created more than 500 jobs across the portfolio.

Fund size and cheque size

Collab’s first fund closed at $51M in 2021, with backing from titans including Apple, Goldman Sachs, and Google. Its second fund closed at $75M, bringing total assets under management to $125M+. Its first investment was $500,000 into Hairbrella in 2020; it later anchored Digiteyez with a $750,000 initial investment plus $600,000 in follow-on funding.

Notable portfolio

The firm’s portfolio counts more than 40 companies. Standouts include Hairbrella — the Atlanta rain-hat company Collab first backed with $500,000 and that has since become profitable and the best-selling rain hat on Amazon, on track for $14M in 2025 revenue — and Digiteyez, a digital eye-description company Collab anchored through multiple rounds. Others include SparkCharge (EV fleet charging), River Health, Goodr, EmployeeCycle, Culina Health, FilmHedge, ImIn, Myya, LoanWell, and Revry.

Partners

Collab was co-founded in 2019 by Jewel Burks Solomon and Barry Givens, alongside Justin Dawkins. Solomon founded Partpic, a visual-recognition startup sold to Amazon, then spent three years at Amazon and three as head of Google for Startups in the US. Givens built Monsieur, a robotic bartending system whose technology he sold in 2017. Both managing partners came to venture through building companies, not banking.

Programmes, credits and perks

Collab’s support is famously hands-on: founders co-work with Solomon and Givens at the firm’s Atlanta office, join whiteboard sessions, and attend an annual retreat featuring speakers such as Ben Chestnut of Mailchimp. Founders credit the partners with real operating help — from financial tutoring that unlocked first commercial contracts to go-to-market guidance from people who have built and sold companies themselves.

How to apply for funding

Collab Capital does not publish a standing public application form. The honest route in is through collab.capital, ideally with a warm introduction — the partners are deeply embedded in the Black founder ecosystem, and many investments began through those relationships. Come ready to show how your company tackles a consequential problem.