We are designing and developing a sustainable, data-driven system that will be used to describe, explain, and accelerate the reach and effect of first-mover capital investments (FMCIs) for minority-led start-ups and the impacts of these investments on subsequent venture investment. These FMCIs, including family offices, smaller foundations, government grants, other seed investments, and angel investors, play a critical role in the minority entrepreneurial ecosystem, but their roles and impacts have been largely unexplored and have not been leveraged effectively. We propose to change this situation in a collaboration with several practitioner and academic partners.

Through a systemic research around this first-mover capital audience, we will:

• identify engagement models
• compare data and insights across different geographical regions
• identify data gaps, and
• pinpoint future opportunities for research and levers for change

We expect our findings to drive greater awareness, and stimulate investment in, minority founders. Our learning goal is to have identified needs, data, resources, and interventions that can be used to better define critical elements for intervention within this complexity and address the wicked problem of inequitable flow of capital to minority entrepreneurs in the private market.