In 2015, Black Americans had nearly $1.2 trillion in buying power. By 2016, Nielsen estimated that about 11.5 million Black millennials lived in the United States. Despite their economic influence and cultural presence, major media brands still viewed them as a niche audience. Many investors also doubted whether a company focused specifically on Black consumers could grow into a successful venture-backed business.
Morgan DeBaun had a different view of the market. In 2014, she started Blavity to serve a generation of Black millennials looking for content, community, and career opportunities that reflected their lives. Believing that this neglected audience was a major business opportunity rather than just a niche market, DeBaun raised over $12 million to grow Blavity into one of the largest Black-owned digital media companies in the United States. If her idea had not worked, she would have faced the same challenge as many venture-backed media startups: proving that a focused audience could become a sustainable, high-growth business.
Building for the Audience Silicon Valley Ignored
While working in Silicon Valley, DeBaun observed that Black consumers were often missing from product research, testing, and audience strategies. She also recognized a gap between events impacting Black Americans, especially the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, and how major media companies reported on these events. Established Black publications typically catered to older readers, while younger audiences were shaping culture and discussing news on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
DeBaun left her corporate job and spent about a year building Blavity without immediately seeking venture capital. When she later approached investors she thought would understand the market, every one of them in her initial target group rejected her.
Rather than replicate a traditional newsroom, Blavity created a platform that encouraged participation. It invited Black creators and readers to contribute stories, built distribution around social conversations, introduced events like AfroTech, and expanded into lifestyle, travel, and entertainment. By 2017, around 60% of Blavity’s articles and videos were submitted by readers and edited by the staff.
DeBaun also postponed institutional fundraising until the company showed audience demand. The funding then went towards engineering, data, content tools, and expansion instead of proving the audience’s existence.
By September 2016, Blavity was attracting about seven million unique visitors each month. In 2018, it secured a $6.5 million Series A after previously raising over $1.8 million. By 2021, Inc. reported that the company had raised more than $12 million. Today, Blavity states it is a multi-brand corporation reaching an average of 100 million consumers each month.
The Audience-First Strategy
Design Around the Excluded Customer
Do not start with an existing product category and ask how to make it more diverse. Begin with a customer whose behavior, language, and needs haven’t influenced the category. According to her, “As I was digging deep into the world of Silicon Valley, I realized Black consumers and Black audiences are never the target audience for these companies.”
Blavity made Black millennials the main design focus. The editorial voice, contributors, distribution channels, events, and advertising standards were all created for that audience.
Prove Trust Before Buying Scale
Venture capital should speed up proven demand, not create a false sense of it. DeBaun mentioned, “I bootstrapped the company for a year because I wanted to make sure that what we were creating was something that had value.”
DeBaun initially avoided outside investment. Blavity focused on building repeat readership, organic distribution, and audience trust. It sought institutional capital after ensuring there was demand for the product, using later funding for engineering, data, and content infrastructure.
Change the Investor Profile, Not the Core Thesis
Repeated rejections do not always mean the business is flawed. They may suggest the founder is pitching to investors whose return expectations, market knowledge, or values do not align with the company. According to DeBaun, “You can see it within 5 minutes if a VC is going to get it.”
After her initial investor group rejected Blavity, DeBaun paused fundraising to enhance the company’s performance. She later focused on investors who recognized that a culturally specific platform could generate both commercial and institutional value. This shift in investor strategy helped move funding conversations from justifying the market’s existence to examining Blavity’s performance metrics.
The Hardest Part of Scaling Blavity Wasn’t Raising Capital
One of DeBaun’s significant mistakes was treating Blavity as though it were still in survival mode.
Employees left critical reviews on Glassdoor, claiming she did not trust them to make independent decisions. DeBaun shared the feedback with her co-founders and board, then organized a company-wide listening session. One employee bluntly pointed out that she was “holding on too much” even though the company was no longer in immediate danger.
The correction was operational. DeBaun shifted from controlling operations to focusing on setting direction, communicating priorities, and allowing senior employees to decide how to achieve goals. She also recruited executives with more management experience as the organization grew.
The lesson learned was that the intensity of a founder can become a barrier to scaling. The behaviors that safeguard a young company can later hinder decision-making speed, management accountability, and talent retention.
Strategic Relationships
Funders
Blavity’s 2018 Series A was led by GV, with support from Comcast Ventures, Plexo Capital, and Baron Davis Enterprises. Earlier investors included MACRO, New Media Ventures, Base Ventures, Cross Culture Ventures, Harlem Capital Partners, and the Knight Enterprise Fund. GV partner John Lyman joined the board after the Series A.
Marlon Nichols was another early investor and board member. DeBaun has named him as an adviser she turns to when facing self-doubt or challenging decisions.
Founders Backed
DeBaun’s disclosed angel investments feature Golde, Cherub, Public, Mothercode, and Thimble Health.
Among the founders in that network are:
– Trinity Mouzon Wofford and Issey Kobori, co-founders of Golde.
– Dr. Manju Dawkins, founder of Thimble Health.
Strategic Access
The network offers three complementary advantages:
- Capital credibility: Institutional investors provide Blavity access to later-stage capital, governance expertise, and connections in Silicon Valley.
- Distribution: Blavity’s media brands give direct access to culturally engaged audiences that many corporations struggle to reach authentically.
- Deal flow and talent: AfroTech places DeBaun at the nexus of founders, engineers, corporate recruiters, investors, and Black technology professionals. This makes the annual event a consistent source of partnerships, talent insights, and investment opportunities.
Takeaway: Build a Proof Stack Before Your Funding Deck
Before reaching out to investors, gather evidence in three layers:
- Customer proof: Identify one clearly underserved customer and document their recurring problem in their own words.
- Behavioral proof: Track repeat usage, organic referrals, and the percentage of customers who provide content, feedback, or introductions.
- Economic proof: Show how capital will speed up an existing engine, rather than just fund ongoing experiments.
Then categorize potential investors by market thesis and strategic fit. Avoid spending months convincing investors who first need convincing that your customer deserves to exist.