On the latest episode of the Stocks, Bonds & Cocktails podcast, our host Marsha Barnes sits down with business investor Arian Simone, to discuss how to begin investing in businesses.
This Week's Cocktail: Tequila Negroni
Arian Simone attended Florida A&M University as a business major and began her career in investing by raising capital for her law-based retail store. At the time, Arian noticed that there were very few Black women investors in the space, which motivated her to become that representation she knew was so very much needed. Today, Arian currently runs a twenty-five to thirty million dollar venture capital fund, Fearless Fund, where she invests in the businesses of women of color.
Arian credits her entrepreneurial nature and financial literacy to her family. Her mother was an engineer, her father was an entrepreneur, and her grandmother was always actively learning about ways to be financially savvy. The topic of investing was always a conversation in her household. “My grandmother had stocks, bonds, and three houses – mind you, from cleaning houses… I was just amazed and intrigued by what that path looked like. I know through investing you build wealth, not necessarily through entrepreneurship, but through investing.”
Arian recalls her journey into investing having a “steep learning curve.” But credits her success to the help of knowledgeable mentors like Rodney Sampson and Tracy Gray. Today, Fearless Fund provides $250,000-$500,000 of initial checks to businesses owned by Black women and leaves forty percent of its portfolio to follow up on these investments.
Listen as Arian shares what information business owners should know before approaching investors, how the everyday person can begin investing in small businesses, how to become an accredited investor, and so much more.
Watch below and be sure to subscribe to the Stocks, Bonds & Cocktails podcast