Skip to content
Why OYA is Fundraising With Seed at the Table
Hey guys! Mitch here - founder + CEO of OYA Femtech Apparel. I'm so excited to announce that OYA hasย partnered with Seed at the Table:ย a mission-driven equity crowdfunding platform committed to connecting diverse entrepreneurs with non-accredited investors.ย Why?ย We wereย frustrated with the lack of diversity in the investor community, and found that the values of Seed align with ours! We are incredibly inspired by their mission to help BIPOC entrepreneurs and investors alike to get a seat at the table, and if you want to hear more aboutย the impact it has on BIPOC entrepreneurs,ย read on belowย ย 
_
How Seed At The Table's Suzen Baraka And Morgan Means Are Helping BIPOC Entrepreneurs Widen Their Capital Pool
What oftentimes stands between an entrepreneurโs innovative idea and the act of them starting a business is the lack of funding โ especially for Black and brown communities. Seed At The Table is anย equity crowdfunding platformย thatโs working to bridge such funding gaps while empowering Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs.
As previously reported byย AfroTech,ย the initiative not only helps provide Black and brown entrepreneurs with access to capital, but also allows non-accredited investors to invest in businesses that are founded by those who look like them.ย ย
โPrior to the pandemic,ย BIPOC-owned businessesย were already the least likely to receive access to capital,โ Seed At The Table co-founder Suzen Baraka told AfroTech. โWhen they went out for funding, they were either denied or they received less than what they needed in order to start up. I think thatโs why Seed At The Table is necessary because we are a team of subject matter experts in our respective industries and weโve all come together to serve and empower our community. We do that by providing access to capital for these small businesses and BIPOC-owned companies. And we give them time to sort of rightsize their business and I think thatโs so important during times like these.โ
The Seed Family
Ahead of Seed At The Tableโs launch earlier this year, the teamโs overarching vision for their platform came to a consensus. While led byย Black professionals,ย who are all successful in their respective fields, they took the motto of building up with your circle to the next level to fulfill their community-driven mission.
While Baraka comes from a legal and compliance background and fellow co-founder Morgan Means works in the tech industry, what makes Seed At The Table thrive cohesively across all sectors is that each member of the Seed Family utilizes their 9-to-5s to mold their roles within the platform. What unifies each team member even further is their shared purpose of serving and empowering their communities by helping them establish successful businesses.ย
โWe were all kind of wondering, how can we impact our community and help people get to that level where they feel like their businesses are being funded? And that they feel comfortable and have resources that they need too,โ Means said.ย
Resources For BIPOC Entrepreneurs
Along with access to funding,ย BIPOC entrepreneursย are provided mentorship andย financial literacyย resources to further ensure their businesses stay on the right track.
While BIPOC entrepreneurs overall are who the platform is dedicated to serving, BIPOC women are a prime focus for Baraka and Means. The two are a part of the movement in providing them opportunities to make financial decisions and investments that pay off.
ย
Keeping Seed At The Table's Mission At The Forefront
As their platform is still in its infancy stage, Seed At The Table is already reaching triumphant milestones. Within just their first six months of being fully operational, they have crossed the threshold of over $300,000 raised across their first five campaigns.ย Reaching such an accomplishment early on speaks volumes to the platformโs community impact and the trajectory for what is to come.ย
โWeโre just highly focused at being great at what weโre doing,โ Baraka said. โEspecially with so many partners, everything we do is mission driven. If weโre not forwarding the mission, then weโre not doing what we set out to do. I think the focus first and foremost is moving the mission forward. Weโve already hit so many milestones in just our first six months, but itโs because weโre a team of people who are capable, smart and our heart is really in what we do. The relationships that weโre building โ particularly with our issuers โ theyโre so important to us and we want to make sure that our issuers have successful campaigns. Thatโs where a majority of our focus goes.โ
Credit: AfroTech