ECOSYSTEMS FOR MISSION-DRIVEN FOUNDERS
Ecosystems for
mission-driven founders
Mentorship at the intersection of funders and ecosystem builders
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Cultivating Futurist Economies
We build entrepreneurial ecosystems through community, capital, connectivity, and culture. We help founders grow while remaining true to the mission and vision that inspired their entrepreneurial journey.
Powering Imagination
Cinematica Labs was founded on the belief in the power of imagination to create real and lasting change. The future we build is limited only by our imagination.
Access + Mission Alignment
Our access and depth across well-being, tech, media, and investment is geared specifically for underestimated, mission-driven founders.
Our
Approach
Culturally Relevant Mentorship
We offer mentorship to founders by tapping into our deep network of entrepreneurs and investors who are aligned with our mission. We design each curriculum and train mentors to center founder well-being and intersectional cultural competency.
Sustained Founder Support
We provide founders the tools to experiment using our mission & vision toolkit for internal alignment across these 3 pillars. We provide long term support to founders post- accelerator including sustained founder peer support and new relationships across fundraising, founder growth, and business growth.
Portfolio-Mission Alignment
Our offering resonates with high profile individuals and organizations seeking not only to scale a portfolio of startups, but also drive towards mission and vision alignment to convert a startup portfolio into a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Lab
Partners
Founded by Pharrell Williams, Black Ambition is catalyzing the narrative and resources to close the racial wealth gap. In 2022, Cinematica Labs + Black Ambition created a program in which 242 Black, Latinx(e), and HBCU-affiliated founders and 37 culturally competent mentors deepened their mission alignment and entrepreneurial toolkit. We're returning in July 2023 to continue our efforts to close the opportunity and wealth gap. This groundbreaking organization has provided more than $5 million in funding and resources to entrepreneurs.
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Wolverine Angels
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Black Ambition Founders support a more equitable economy
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BOMESI is a unique mentorship program supporting Black-owned publishers. Since Ida B Wells and beyond, Black Publishers have played a critical role in our society. Cinematica partnered with BOMESI to provide 14 entrepreneurs a culturally adaptive mentorship experience by engaging Mentors at the top of the brand, media, and marketing fields, helping the publishers grow their businesses while deepening their connection with their unique audiences.
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Wolverine Angels
...
Black Ambition Founders support a more equitable economy
"insert founder feedback here"
THE LAB
Team
Builders. Investors. Facilitators. Learners.
Shane
Kelly
In addition to CEO of Cinematica Labs, Shane teaches the Venture Lab course at the USC Marshall School of Business where he guides students to make $50k startup investments out of the USC Marshall Venture Fund. He serves on the Investment Committee for Cap Table Coalition and is Investor in Residence for HBCUvc. Shane’s work in tech, media, and investing has been featured by TenOneTen’s LA Venture Podcast, Google Developers, and Forbes. He has led funds and syndicates for Wolverine Angels and CrowdSmart’s Titan Fund to invest in startups including Neurable, Air, and Syntiant. Previously, he served as EIR for Techstars Los Angeles. In his NYC days, Shane helped capitalize a slate 20 motion pictures generating over $250 million at the box office.
Nydia
Cardenas
Nydia started her career at a non-profit focused on economic development in the Latinx community. Next, she was a Senior Analyst for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. After interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs, she was inspired to pursue an MBA and learn the tools of big business and bring them back to the small businesses driving economic development in communities. After graduation, she did just that in Detroit where she launched her own consulting company and taught business planning in English and Spanish to community entrepreneurs. As VP of Customer Success at CrowdSmart, a cutting-edge startup using human-powered AI to improve decision-making, Nydia worked to reduce the bias in traditional investing. As in any good startup, she wore many hats and leveraged daily her superpower for building processes.
Marcia
Chong Rosado
Marcia’s work in venture ecosystem building, startups, nonprofits, and innovative financing has been noted by Amplify Latinx, HBCUvc 31 under 31, Boston Business Journal, Harvard Law & Policy Review, and Forbes. Marcia is a Director at Cinematica Labs, focused on building mission-oriented entrepreneurial ecosystems in partnership with Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition and others. Prior to Cinematica Labs, Marcia led Village Capital’s Future of Finance Practice and its accelerator programs for financial health focused startups in the U.S. Marcia was an early employee of Third Sector and created the first Social Impact Bonds in the U.S. Marcia has been involved in community movements focused on Latine/Latinx investment power and on uplifting BIPOC and diverse founders.
Trivia
Edwards
Trivia Edwards is a native of Jackson, Mississippi and attended Jackson State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Finance. In 2021, Trivia was selected as an HBCUvc fellow where she was introduced to Venture Capital. She is currently a Venture Fellow at Supply Change Capital where she is learning to invest in the intersection of food, culture, and technology. She is also a fellow at Cinematica Labs where she supports the development of mission-oriented entrepreneurial ecosystems through mentorship programs in partnership with Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition and others. Prior to her current roles, Trivia worked as a financial analyst at Comer Capital Group and the Black Bank Fund where she worked on municipal and corporate debt transactions to help revitalize the black banking industry.
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