Black Travel Founders Wary of Investment If It Means Loss of Control
Skift Take
Venture capital has definite appeal for founders looking to scale faster, but some black travel entrepreneurs would rather avoid that discriminatory world.
Black startup founders face systemic financial constraints that don’t hinder their white counterparts, but this isn’t stopping young travel companies like Black & Abroad from slow and steady progress. Founders Kent Johnson and Eric Martin, based in Atlanta, said the company is completely bootstrapped, and they don’t want to lose control through outside investment.
The fear of losing control may be familiar to entrepreneurs of all backgrounds, but it has special meaning in the black travel movement. The value of these travel experiences can be intangible, social, political, and even emotional: travel that revolves around exploring black identity in a safe space.
For Black & Abroad, that product line includes group and private trips, events, activities, merchandise, and tourism consulting, with plans to scale those trips and focus on connecting the global African diaspora. Johnson and Martin feel that their brand could suffer significantly from offering equity to outside investors who don’t align with their values.
The Value of Black-Owned
“People want the Black & Abroad that they met in April of 2015. They don’t want some whitewashed version of it. This is for us, by us,” said Martin. “Once you give up that control, especially for this type of com
