Very early on Thursday, eager AfroTech participants entered a conference hall to witness a particular event: Hannah Bronfman, a renowned angel investor with over a million social media followers, engaged in a dialogue with Morgan DeBaun, founder and CEO of Blavity. 

Bronfman is known as a wellness content producer, an author, and an investor with stakes in more than 70 firms, including beauty brands like Topicals and Sienna Naturals. Her most recognized achievement is the creation of the health, beauty, and fitness platform HBFIT, which ceased operations last year after running for eight years. 

During AfroTech, she expressed that she acquired substantial knowledge as a founder; she narrated her path and the valuable lessons she learned throughout. She illustrated how handling co-founder disagreements was one factor leading to HBFIT’s closure. She highlighted the value of community and recommended attendees leverage their networks — either for advice or just to connect. 

By tapping into her network, she discovered avenues for advising and mentoring founders, which naturally led to becoming an angel investor in their ventures. Soon, she was building her investment portfolio through angel investments and earning equity in brands she collaborated with as a content influencer. The AfroTech panel’s exclusive audience, composed of all-access VIPs, media, and senior executives, was eager to learn. Black investors constitute less than 5%, and despite initiatives to demystify and broaden the industry’s appeal for the next wave, it remains largely obscure. 

The discussion between Bronfman and DeBaun extended to the notion that many could venture into investing if they aspired to. Boosting Black investor numbers could at least contribute to identifying more successful Black entrepreneurs, experts assert. This is among the motives driving Bronfman to focus on founders who are often overlooked and receive insufficient funding. Qualification criteria for accredited investors are steep, requiring either an income above $200,000 or a $1 million net worth. However, the financial aspect wasn’t an issue for this audience of corporate leaders in Big Tech. Their need was more about direction — an initial step. 

Bronfman suggested initiating dialogue with people within their circles, emphasizing that many around them might already be investors yet haven’t included them in any opportunities. “Invest only what you’re comfortable with parting with,” she advised them. 

In addition, Bronfman offers networking opportunities, mentoring, and a hands-on approach not typically associated with institutional investors. She welcomes unsolicited emails, enjoying informal discussions that aren’t solely money-focused. 

“There’s great strength in reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, I admire your career, and I’d love the chance to chat with you,’” she shared. 

Simultaneously, she’s setting her sights beyond her angel investing role in the coming years: with aspirations of transitioning into an institutional investor. 

Over recent years, she’s been orchestrating special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to participate in larger funding rounds. This strategy enabled her support for companies like the unicorn Kindbody and emergency contraceptive provider Julie. Launching her own fund has been an idea she contemplated for a while, but it was the reaction to P&G acquiring the Black-owned hair brand Mielle — when consumers criticized the Black founders for selling to a white corporation — that spurred Bronfman to advance to the next phase. 

“We lack holding [companies] created for the culture,” she mentioned, referring to the absence of Black-owned conglomerates for Black brands to transition into. “Where’s our Black LVMH?” 

Her ambition is eventually to establish that entity. But initially, she intends to seek raising a fund, possibly targeting Series A, with aims to allocate between $1 million and $3 million per investment. “And maybe, someday, I’ll achieve that holding company vision.”