Jacksonville, FL, May 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The PS27 Ventures venture capital fund and foundation are helping female, minority and veteran-led small businesses discover success. On the venture capital side, PS27 Ventures recently launched the Rhea Fund — and the PS27 Foundation supports entrepreneurs through programs and connections they have made within the community.
[PS27 Leadership Week Class of 2019]
In addition to giving founders money, the PS27 Ventures and Foundation work with small business owners on how to “Think Big and Start Small.” “Think Big and Start Small,” PS27’s motto, means that founders need the skills to grow their companies and must be aware of their timing and growth strategy. Through their funding and educational offerings like Leadership Week, are helping female, black, and veteran founders realize their wildest dreams.
Hear all About it — PS27 Foundation’s Leadership Week
The PS27 Foundation just started its application process for its highly popular and productive seventh annual Leadership Week. The event begins on October 24th and ends on the 27th in Jacksonville, Florida. It is held in a local hotel where 15 startup teams of 2-4 people from around the world learn new strategies and mindsets for growth.
[Founders engage during ACLX flight simulator team building training at PS27 Leadership Week]
The four-day program begins with a day of emotional intelligence training and moves into interoffice and external communications, learning to speak to employees and about the brand. Next, the third day is filled with teamwork exercises. Throughout the first three days, teams have a chance to speak with industry professionals and buff out their presentations for the fourth day.
On the last day, the top performing teams have the opportunity to present their businesses in front of a panel of venture capitalists, “Shark Tank” style, competing for a $10,000 cash prize. Once the competitive event is concluded, Leadership Week ends with a celebratory finale. Where participants can review what they have learned with staff, solidify connections they have made, and enjoy each other’s company before heading home.
The program was such a resounding success that the PS27 Foundation initiated the Female Founders Forum and is launching a Black Founders Forum in the summer of 2023. These forums last for one day and are filled with speakers on the best ways for small businesses to “Think Big and Start Small.”
[PS27 encourages founders to THINK BIG and start small]
The foundation also reaches out to the community by supporting and attending local business-related events. They also provide support and engage by sitting on the boards of other non-profit organizations. Their community efforts have led to added excitement and external support for their educational programs, allowing them to offer externally funded scholarships to participants of Leadership Week. The scholarships are all-inclusive, except for travel to and from Jacksonville. All Leadership Week applications are qualified to apply for a scholarship as well.
PS27 Ventures Rhea Fund
The Rhea Fund is a 20 million dollar allocation slated to support female, black and veteran entrepreneurs, primarily in the Southeastern United States. Since its inception, funds have already been distributed to three businesses, including levAR, Hazlnut and Ryze.
[Rashad Hossian and Andree Werner Co-Founders of RYZE Superfoods a PS27 Portfolio Company]
The fund typically supports small businesses in the purpose-driven consumer goods, FinTech, HealthTech, SaaS, and sustainability niches. These businesses usually have 2-10 employees, a product or service that has gone to market and are at the stage where they are considering scaling up.
The primary benefit of PS27 funding is that the group is an active investor. Each team is assigned a captain accomplished at overseeing business growth. They also have weekly meetings and access to accounting, marketing and media assistance. Because of their hands-on approach, PS27 Ventures likes to work with entrepreneurs that are open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Overall, they treat their funded businesses and their staff like family, everyone is on a first-name basis and everyone is happy to help.
[Jim Stallings PS27 Founder and CEO]
Joining the PS27 Family
PS27 understands that every business has growing pains. In the name of diversity in the small business community, PS27 has decided to extend assistance to female, black and veteran business owners through funding and educational programs. Female, black and veteran founders worldwide can apply to and join the PS27 Foundation for Leadership Week. Similar founders in the Southeastern US can apply to the Rhea Fund for support ranging from $250K to $1 million. Visit the PS27 Foundation website to learn more about their education programs and the PS27 Ventures website to learn about funding.
Contact Information:
Christine Caven
Director of Communications
Christine@ps27ventures.com
561.503.6695
