Lessons - From Running Billion Dollar Brands to Funding Black Founders | Keenan Beasley - Venture Noire Founder & P&G/L’Oréal Exec

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Success Story with Scott D. Clary

Episode: Lessons - From Running Billion Dollar Brands to Funding Black Founders | Keenan Beasley - Venture Noire Founder & P&G/L’Oréal Exec
Date: September 6, 2025

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Overview

In this Lessons episode, host Scott D. Clary dives into a candid conversation with Keenan Beasley, the founder of Venture Noire and former executive at P&G and L'Oréal. The discussion centers on lessons from scaling global brands, and more importantly, the challenges and opportunities for underrepresented founders—particularly Black entrepreneurs—seeking to build scalable startups. Beasley breaks down the critical pillars for entrepreneurial success: curriculum, community, and capital. He shares insight into how systemic wealth and network gaps create barriers, why dense ecosystems accelerate founder growth, and practical strategies to democratize access to resources and early-stage funding.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Three Resource Pillars for Entrepreneurs

(01:25 – 01:36)

• Curriculum: Structured, relevant knowledge for startup founders.
• Community: Often overlooked, yet crucial for mutual support, safety, and resource sharing.
• Access to Capital: Vital for scaling but especially tough for underrepresented groups.

“When I look at, when I think about an entrepreneur curriculum, the knowledge, access to capital is obviously important. I feel like community is something that isn't focused on enough.”
— Scott D. Clary, (01:36)

The Power of Density & Ecosystems

(02:06 – 03:32)

• Beasley draws an analogy to strip malls: just as businesses benefit from proximity, so do founders.
• Diverse communities lack the “density of creation” found in places like Silicon Valley, which means less opportunity for shared learning, resource pooling, and talent circulation.
• When startups fail, being in a dense startup environment means talent isn’t left adrift; they find new opportunities locally.

“A lot of what I think was lacking in…minority communities was that density of creation. So there was no Silicon Valley with diverse Black and brown entrepreneurs. So we have to build those ecosystems.”
— Keenan Beasley, (02:17)

“That’s the unknown thing about, you know, Silicon Valley. You join a tech company up in San Francisco...that company fails, you got a thousand other startups…that you can jump over to.”
— Keenan Beasley, (03:10)

Where Do Incubators Fall Short for Underrepresented Founders?

(03:41 – 04:39)

• Traditional incubators (e.g. Y Combinator) often serve people with existing networks, confidence, and access.
• Barriers stem not solely from racism or lack of intellect but from systemic issues—confidence, lack of relatable role models, and especially early funding.

“A lot of it is confidence. So what I found was, you know, a lot of these minority entrepreneurs just were insecure in the process because they didn’t know anyone else who had gone through it...There was no one in proximity.”
— Keenan Beasley, (04:39)

The Critical Role of Early-Stage (Friends & Family) Funding

(04:39 – 06:20)

• Most startups aren’t VC-funded; they rely on friends and family.
• The U.S. wealth gap means minority founders lack access to these early funds, so taking personal financial risks is disproportionately dangerous.

“The thing that leads our venture space is not VC capital, right?...The bulk of that is coming from friends and family and personal loan. Well, when you have a wealth gap…that has a real impact…Because there isn’t an accredited investor in your family to give you a friends and family wealth.”
— Keenan Beasley, (04:53)

Lowering Barriers vs. Changing VC Culture

(08:41 – 09:44)

• Beasley’s approach: lower the cost of starting up and resource accessibility, rather than waiting for VCs to overhaul their biases.
• Practicality: equipping minority founders with immediate, scalable resources is more actionable than lobbying for large systemic VC change.

“You don’t have to change…the whole culture of a certain VC group that doesn’t invest in underrepresented [founders]. You…enable them with the tools and resources you already have at a much cheaper…rate.”
— Scott D. Clary, (09:19)

• VC world is formulaic; it prefers founders with familiar backgrounds (e.g. Stanford dropouts).
• Beasley: Invite VCs to workshops, expose them to innovation in minority communities, and help diverse founders “package and sell” ideas in ways the VC world understands.

“I had to address that in a different way. And part of what I feel the responsibility within Venture Noire is to make the process of entrepreneurship in the underserved community…more familiar with that investment community.”
— Keenan Beasley, (09:44)

The Limits of Venture Capital for Service Businesses

(11:09 – 11:54)

• Service businesses, common first ventures for minority founders due to low capital needs, typically don’t fit the VC model (which demands scalable tech/exponential growth).
• Illustrative example: Beasley points to his own founding of an agency—“my agency would never raise venture capital.”

“A service business does not require venture capital because it doesn’t scale in the same way…You look at a lot of minority founders, they don’t have the right businesses for venture capital.”
— Keenan Beasley, (11:24)

Finding and Supporting Entrepreneurs

(12:11 – 13:31)

• Entrepreneurs “find us,” driven by curiosity and need for support.
• Venture Noire fosters partnerships with universities (USC, TCU, University of Chicago) and organizations (including West Point).
• Emphasis on forming diverse, complementary teams (pairing technical experts with cultural leaders/trendsetters).

“The great thing is the entrepreneurs find us because they’re just so curious....We need to do more events, more activities...So colleges, absolutely. But then…people with real expertise…that would do well in a startup environment.…And then I think you have your influential leaders...Now I’m pairing them with a technical expert and now you have a really cool team to build from.”
— Keenan Beasley, (12:11, 12:53)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On community:

  “It comes from the philosophy really that, you know, density breeds success.”
  — Keenan Beasley, (02:06)

• On family resources:

  "That 25, 50, $75,000 to get you started doesn’t exist. Right. So now you have to figure out...I just took that 250 year gap now just went to 253 years or 260 years, right. So it’s very detrimental."
  — Keenan Beasley, (05:36)

• On matching VCs’ expectations:

  "If you’re a Stanford dropout and you want to start a company, you’ll probably get a million dollars, right?...The minority communities, you don’t have that familiarity."
  — Keenan Beasley, (09:49)

• On building the right founding teams:

  "People that start trends, they may not have the technical ability, but they have the means to get reach and attention, which is also needed for success. Well, now I’m pairing them with a technical expert and now you have a really cool team to build from."
  — Keenan Beasley, (13:11)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:25 — Introduction of Venture Noire’s three pillars: curriculum, community, capital
• 02:06 — Why density and shared ecosystem matter for founder success
• 03:41 — Points of failure for underrepresented founders in incubator/VC systems
• 04:39 — The confidence gap and effects of the wealth gap on early funding
• 08:41 — Lowering entry barriers vs. changing VC culture
• 09:44 — Making the entrepreneurial process familiar to VCs; the formula of VC investing
• 11:09 — Why many minority-founded businesses don’t fit the VC model
• 12:11 — Where diverse founders are found and how Venture Noire builds teams

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Conclusion

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, diversity in tech, or venture funding. Keenan Beasley shares practical wisdom about overcoming systemic barriers for minority founders, stressing the game-changing roles of ecosystem density, lowering entry costs, and building networks that bridge founders to both community and capital. The conversation not only inspires, but also offers concrete strategies for supporting underrepresented innovators on their startup journeys.

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Transcript

[Host/Announcer]

Success story is a Square partner. Now your favorite neighborhood spots run on Square. You know, I was just at Panther Coffee here in Miami last week. And beyond the incredible cortado, what struck me was watching them seamlessly handle the morning rush. The barista mentioned they've been using Square to manage everything from inventory to building their loyal customer base. It's so much more than just that little white card reader that we all recognize. Square knows that local businesses can be big businesses. And as things get more complex, Square meets you at every opportunity. So whether or not you're expanding, expanding to new locations, building a loyal following, even covering cash flow gaps, Square's powering all the behind the scenes stuff that matters. They knock out today's to dos and they unlock tomorrow's what ifs. If you're ready to see how Square can transform your business, go to square.comgo/success to learn more. That's square.com go success square. Meet you there. In this Lessons episode, explore how community confidence and access to resources shape entrepreneurial success for underrepresented founders. Discover why density and shared ecosystems accelerate growth. Understand how wealth gaps and limited networks create barriers to early funding. And uncover strategies that lower entry costs and connect diverse innovators with capital and opportunity.

[Interviewer]

But as you, as you built this out, like I was looking on the site and you said for Venture Noir, there's three, three resource pillars. Curriculum, community and access to capital.

[Guest/Entrepreneurship Expert]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer]

Is that. When I look at, when I think about an entrepreneur curriculum, the knowledge, access to capital is obviously important. I feel like community is something that isn't focused on enough. Is this the community in your mind? Is it like an incubation program? Is it somebody who's gone through the same life experiences? Is it somebody of the same color, understands cultural background or nuances? What's community that you would bring to the table? Because that's the one piece that I, I don't know.

[Guest/Entrepreneurship Expert]

Well, no, no, it's, it's a great question. It comes from the philosophy really that, you know, density breeds success. So it's, it's the idea of a strip mall. Right. So, you know, here, here in America we have strip malls where, you know, you have one company that's doing well. Well, those companies that are around it tend to get some of that, you know, fall off traffic. Right. And they tend to have better sales revenue because of that, just from sheer proximity. So a lot of what I think was lacking in, in the, you know, underprivileged or underserved or minority communities was that density of Creation. So there was no Silicon Valley with. With diverse black and brown entrepreneurs. So we have to build those ecosystems. And what ends up happening is you start to rise. Then collectively, together, you share experiences, you share resources, tips, but you also can share talent. Right. A lot of times the failure rate of an entrepreneur is incredibly high. But in order to recruit those people, they need to feel like, hey, well, if that company doesn't work out, is there another job nearby that I can get? That's the unknown thing about, you know, Silicon Valley. You join a tech company up in San Francisco, right? Or in Menlo Park. Yeah, hey, that company fails, you got a thousand other startups that just raise capital that you can jump over to.

[Interviewer]

You walk down the street.

[Host/Announcer]

Another job.

[Guest/Entrepreneurship Expert]

Absolutely. So that's part of what that community is. Right. It's a way of sharing resources, but it creates a bit of safety and familiarity.

[Interviewer]

And, and why. This is. This is a big question. I guess I don't want to. I don't want to make this question too big, but when there's a Y Combinator or in Toronto, where I am, there's Creative Destruction labs and there's a whole bunch of other types of. Of these types of programs, Y Combinator is probably the best known. At what point does an under. An underserved or an underrepresented group fail at getting into a Y Combinator? Is it when they're very young and they didn't have the educational circumstances to facilitate that or enable them to get to the point where they felt confident or competent enough to apply? Is it at the very last point where there's, you know, maybe perhaps not the ability?

[Host/Announcer]

I don't know.

[Interviewer]

I want to say racism at that level where they're not being accepted, Are they getting accepted, but they just don't feel like they have a lot of peers represented in the same group? Like, what's the point that the traditional venture capital or incubator programs fail underrepresented individuals?

[Guest/Entrepreneurship Expert]

A lot of it is confidence. So. So what I found was, you know, a lot of these minority entrepreneurs just were insecure in the process because they didn't know anyone else who had gone through it. There was no one in proximity, so there wasn't the entrepreneur in the family. There wasn't, you know, the aunt or the uncle that they could call on to talk about the process. So it's this foreign land. And a lot of what was happening in that foreign world of entrepreneurship, there were these early stages of capital that were not afforded to some of these groups. Right. And the thing that leads our venture space is not VC capital, right? Less than a percent of, of all companies received venture capital dollars. The bulk of that is coming from friends and family and personal loan. Well, when you have a wealth gap and in the United States that is, you know, 250 or so years, that has a real impact on being able to serve that community. Because there isn't an accredited investor in your family to give you a friends and family wealth. So that 25, 50, $75,000 to get you started doesn't exist. Right. So you now have to figure out, well, now I have to take out a personal guarantee. Well, if I take out a personal guarantee and I fail, which 90 plus percent of us do, well now that has a huge impact and a setback. So now I would just, I just took that 250 year gap now just went to 253 years or 260 years, right. So it's very detrimental. So you know, you have to figure out ways to build that confidence, which is why, how can we lower the cost of barrier, right? The, the, the entry point of entrepreneurship? Why Combinator and those groups don't address that.

[Host/Announcer]

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[Interviewer]

That's an interesting way of putting it. So you're lowering the cost, you're giving them the resources because you have the ability to offer these at scale as opposed to going and fixing all the venture capital out there and trying to funnel it more towards, more towards young, black or under underrepresented entrepreneurs. And I think that's an interesting way of putting it, or not putting it, but actually helping facilitate. Because all I see all over Twitter is just, I hate referencing Twitter. I'm sorry it's not an educational resource but I see a lot of anecdotally, a lot of people speaking about, well, VCs have to invest more and VCs have to invest more in underrepresented and I was actually going to ask you how do we do that? I don't know if you have a thought on how, how do we actually facilitate that, but you're taking the other, you're taking the other route, which I think is actually a very smart way because it's a quicker, it's a quicker thing to action. You don't have to change, you know, the, the whole cultural of a certain VC group that doesn't invest in underrepresented. You just, you can enable them with the tools and resources you already have at a much cheaper, almost like wholesale rate is the best way to put it.

[Guest/Entrepreneurship Expert]

Yeah, I mean look, venture capital is, is a formula, right? So there's, there's A way to hack that. And so they're investing in very like minded companies and, and a profile of people. You know, if you're a Stanford dropout and you want to start a company, you'll probably get a million dollars, right, Just, just by saying you want to start a company. And you know, the, the minority communities, you don't have that familiarity. So I had to address that in a different way. And part of what I feel the responsibility with Invention Noir is to make the process of entrepreneurship in the underserved community and make it more familiar with that investment community. So invite those venture capitalists into workshops. Let them see the innovation, right, the creativity, the thought. Now let's give that then innovator the process and the formula and how to package and sell that idea. And that's just part of the work that we have to do. And it's tough but you know, I can give you. Look, I don't want to go on too much of a tangent, but I think what you also find in a lot of minority based communities is the easiest thing to start with very little capital is a service business. A service business does not require venture capital because it doesn't scale in the same way.

[Interviewer]

Well, eventually probably venture capital because they want that, they want that exit.

[Guest/Entrepreneurship Expert]

Exactly. So, so that's why when you, when you look at a lot of minority founders, they're just, they don't have the right businesses for venture capital. You know, now if you, you transpose that with, you know, a guy like my friend Rodney Williams with Litzner, it's a technology right, It's a beacon ticket. So people get that. It's told in a very clear narrative that is modeled after a lot of what Silicon Valley has done in the past. I'm not going to say it's ever easy to raise capital, but he has a much more, a much better chance than somebody that is starting an agency. Like was my first business, my agency would never raise venture capital.

[Interviewer]

And where and whereabouts like where are you finding entrepreneurs? Is it, you know, what's your best audience that will have the best chance of success? Is it people in universities or are there individuals that are later on in their career? Where are you sort of finding your, your group?

[Guest/Entrepreneurship Expert]

I think the great thing is the entrepreneurs find us because they're just so curious. So a lot of, you know, the work that we're doing and why we are constantly trying to raise sponsorship dollars is we need to do more events, more activities and that people can then, yep, they can find us and they reach out. So we've done some great things with colleges, have a great partnership with USC, we've worked with TCU with internships, University of Chicago, etc. Um, I've even done some talks at West Point. And you don't believe they have an amazing entrepreneurship community there. So colleges, absolutely. But then I think there's people with that real expertise from some of these companies that would do well in a startup environment, right. That I think they could really start to shape a culture because they have that technical expertise. So I'm also looking at bringing some of those folks over. And then I think you have your influential leaders, right? Your cultural leaders that I call it. Right. People that start trends, they may not have the technical ability, but they have the means to get reach and attention, which is also needed for success. Well, now I'm pairing them with a technical expert and now you have a really cool team to build from. So yeah, we look everywhere.

[Podcast Outro Host]

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[Host/Announcer]

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