Amid the attack on venture capital investments to Black businesses, Hello Alice has come out on top.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the fintech platform — created by Elizabeth Gore and Carolyn Rodz — that has helped small businesses through capital, had been named in a class-action lawsuit filed by America First Legal, Mitchell Law PLLC, and Ashbrook Byrne Kresge LLC in October 2023. The company was targeted for partnering with Progressive Insurance Co. to offer up to $25,000 in grants to 10 Black-owned businesses.
“We were founded on the principle of equality, with the aim of ensuring that everyone — women, men, people of color, U.S. Veterans, and more — have an equal opportunity to launch their businesses and pursue the American Dream,” Hello Alice shared at the time in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “From Texas to California to Florida to New York, small business owners are the most trusted voice in America and a critical engine of our economic growth. Today our vision and the businesses we support are under attack.”
More than six months since the ordeal, Hello Alice has double downed on its commitment towards small businesses, announcing it has closed a Series C funding round, bringing its total valuation to $130 million, a press release mentions.
In addition to QED Investors and Mastercard, investors include Backstage Capital, Guy Fieri, Golden Seeds, Harbert Growth Partners Fund, How Women Invest I, LP, Lovell Limited Partnership, Tyler “Ninja” and Jessica Blevins, and Tamera Mowry and Adam Housley.
“We are thrilled to hit the milestone of 1.5 million small businesses utilizing Hello Alice to elevate the American dream,” Gore and Rodz said in the press release. “There are more entrepreneurs launching this year than in the history of our country, and we will continue to ensure they get the capital needed to grow. In closing our Series C, we welcome Mastercard to our family of investors and continue to be grateful to QED, How Women Invest, and our advocates such as Guy Fieri.”
The investment will scale Hello Alice’s capital resources and create more artificial intelligence-driven financial health tools for small businesses.
“With Hello Alice, we’re investing to provide support to small business owners as they look to access capital, helping to address one of the most cited business challenges they face,” Ginger Siegel, Mastercard’s North America small business lead, said. “By working together to simplify access to the products and services they need when building and growing their business, we’re helping make a meaningful impact on the individuals who run their businesses, the customers they serve, and our communities and economy at large.”
