The black and brown athlete-led venture capital fund adds additional tech and consumer products to its portfolio after a successful first six months

PISCATAWAY, NJ, US, April 14, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Broad Street Ventures (BSV), the first athlete-led venture capital fund fully funded by black and brown investors, announced today that three-time Super Bowl Champion Duron Harmon (NFL free agent) and Super Bowl Champion Jacoby Brissett (Miami Dolphins) are new investors in the fund, joining co-founder Malcolm Jenkins (New Orleans Saints) among other NFL players and industry leaders. BSV also announced a slate of new early, growth and late stage tech and consumer products to its investment portfolio, including Udemy, Dapper Labs, Therabody (Theragun) and Preziba.

Ralonda Johnson, CIO of Malcolm Inc and co-founder and general partner of Broad Street Ventures, said the fund’s first six months have exceeded their expectations. “At Broad Street, we are very excited about the caliber of companies we have invested in. We are staying committed to our strategy of investing in high quality tech and consumer product companies alongside the top 20 VC’s and are thrilled about some potential exits we expect in the near term that should make our investors very happy. Our mission continues to be focused on providing access and opportunity in Venture Capital to black and brown investors as means to build generational wealth,” said Johnson.

Broad Street Ventures is a $10 million vehicle that allows black and brown investors access to some of the best tech and consumer product deals, as less than 1% of American venture capital backed founders are Black. The fund is being professionally managed by Mrs. Johnson and Jenkins along with a team of advisors. Their initial investment portfolio includes companies like Airbnb, Epic Games, Turo, NoBull, Automattic and ZenWtr.

Other Broad Street Ventures investors include Devin and Jason McCourty (New England Patriots), Jordan Matthews (San Francisco 49ers), Rodney McLeod (Philadelphia Eagles), Sharrie Williams (television broadcaster), Ralonda Johnson (Malcolm, Inc) among others who chose not to be disclosed.

Broad Street Ventures has provided added value through hosting virtual seminars for prospective and current investors to educate them about venture capital entry, angel investing, risk capital and emerging areas, among others. April is financial literacy month and BSV plans to host at least two virtual seminars for prospective athlete and industry leader investors.

JACOBY BRISSETT, SUPER BOWL CHAMPION, QUARTERBACK FOR THE MIAMI DOLPHINS & 2021 WALTER PAYTON MAN OF THE YEAR FINALIST

“The culture in the NFL is that it’s taboo to talk about money. During my years with the Patriots, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon became my big brothers so we talked a lot about community work, financial literacy and other personal things that guys don’t normally discuss in the locker room. I’ve carried the relationship and they came to me with this opportunity. After joining a couple of zoom calls with Ralonda and speaking with the McCourty’s and Duron, I thought it was a great opportunity. It is the first time I have seen players helping each other out with a business investment. This is special,” said Brissett.

DURON HARMON, 3-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION & NFL FREE AGENT SAFETY

“What attracted me most about BSV is that it’s giving me an opportunity to be more than an athlete. In doing so, it’s giving those who come after me, that look like me, a chance to see that with one Avenue, you can venture off onto other avenues; in my case, beyond the field. I love that I can show the next generation that we can create generational wealth if we can learn to budget strategically and plan with purpose, something that a lot of people of color in underserved communities unfortunately know nothing about,” said Harmon.

ABOUT BROAD STREET VENTURES

Broad Street Ventures, co-founded by General Partner Ralonda Johnson and two-time Super Bowl Champion Malcolm Jenkins in October 2020, is a $10 million investment vehicle funded entirely by Black and Brown investors including a small group of fellow NFL players. Broad Street Ventures focuses on early, growth and late stage investments in consumer products and tech companies. The fund is being professionally managed by Johnson and Jenkins along with a team of strategic advisors. Broad Street Ventures is based in New Jersey.

ABOUT MALCOLM INC

Malcolm Inc. is the holding company for two-time Super Bowl Champion and three-time Pro Bowl Safety Malcolm Jenkins’ off the field business portfolio, philanthropic and brand partnerships with a diverse and robust roster of companies in Media, Tech, Apparel, Restaurants, Real Estate and Education. Collectively, the executive team brings over 65 years of operational, entertainment, philanthropic and investment experience. The slate of companies in Jenkins’ portfolio include LISTEN UP MEDIA, a multimedia production company with the mission to showcase and distribute content that seeks to entertain while creating social awareness around systemic issues in society; BROAD STREET VENTURES, a $10 million investment vehicle funded entirely by Black and Brown investors including a group of fellow NFL player​s; DISRUPT FOODS, a multi-unit franchise developer and operator of quick service restaurants aiming to level the economic playing field for Blacks and Hispanics through franchise ownership; E&R REAL ESTATE GROUP to expand black ownership of land and real estate across the U.S., DAMARI, a custom clothing company including ready-to-wear and made-to-measure men’s and women’s suits, and THE MALCOLM JENKINS FOUNDATION, a 501(c)3 public charity founded in 2010 by Jenkins with a mission to effect positive change in the lives of youth in underserved communities. For more information, visit https://malcolminc.com/.

Kristi Roehm
8 Degrees PR
kristi@8degreespr.com