A proud recipient of the Google Black Founders Fund, Cyber Pop-up attended an alumni summit for the program in July. The Founders Fund is a Google for Startups initiative, launched in 2020, that provides mentorship, network building, and financial awards for companies with Black founders or CEOs. In reference to the fund, Google stated "funding Black founders empowers entire communities. Access to capital and support leads to greater economic opportunity”. Along the same lines of community building, this alumni summit brought together a diverse group of business leaders to meet and share their experiences as Founders Fund recipients and beyond.

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“Being a part of the first Google Black Founder Fund connected us to people, tools, and opportunities that propelled Cyber Pop-up from just a wild dream to a very clear reality. The number of amazing founders, investors, and industry supporters in my network has at least doubled as a result. It's the gift that never stops giving." - Dr. Christine Izuakor | Founder and CEO | Cyber Pop-up

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The summit brought together business leaders across many industries who are creating groundbreaking products and services. Representing Cyber Pop-up, Dr. Izuakor attended the community-building summit and loved how it fostered “deeper connection amongst founders and covered topics beyond the typical focus of fundraising, growth, hiring, product, etc. We spent time digging into mental health and wellness, self-care, combatting imposter syndrome, and more”. In addition to Google, the summit was coordinated by Visible Hands, an organization that funds and supports diverse startup founders.

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Dr. Izuakor praised how “connecting with fellow Founders who are building amazing companies around the world is invaluable. It allows me to see how others are approaching common challenges, how we can learn from each other, and how we can draw inspiration from the unique journeys of such a diverse community”.

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The Black Founders Fund is doing important work in bolstering the startup ecosystem and supporting Black innovators. Google noted, “The goal of the fund is to increase economic opportunity for promising Black startup founders. We hope this funding and support can catalyze the growth of Black-led startups, foster innovative solutions to tough problems, and ultimately generate wealth for these communities". This admirable initiative has already aided many startups in the 3 years since its conception. Among its alumni are Laine London, Musicbuk, and ShearShare, and there will surely be many more successful startup stories in the years to come.

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Cyber Pop-up is proud to continue collaborating with Google as we work to secure the world, one pop-up project at a time. To learn more about Cyber Pop-up visit www.cyberpopup.com

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