FELECIA HATCHER

CEO, BLACK AMBITION, MIAMI

Founded by Pharrell Williams, the Black Ambition Opportunity Fund invests in underrepresented entrepreneurs by providing capital, mentoring and access to resources and opportunities. Hatcher for eight years has connected entrepreneurs with more than $100 million in funding. She's been honored as a 2014 Obama White House Champion of Change for STEM access and diversity, a Harvard Young American Leader and a Black Enterprise TechConnect Game Changer. Before Black Ambition, she co-founded Black Tech Week and the Center for Black Innovation. She was a marketing executive for the Minnesota Lynx/Timberwolves and was a marketing and brand manager for Sony, Nintendo and McKee Foods. She’s on the Amazon Black Business Accelerator Advisory Board, the SXSW Diversity Advisory Board and the Beacon Council. Her five books include “Start a Business on a Ramen Noodle Budget” and “The C Students Guide to Scholarships.” A C-student herself in high school, she secured $130,000 in scholarships to attend Lynn University. She started her first business there. In 2013, she started a nonprofit, Code Fever, that teaches Miami kids how to code. “Access is something that I didn’t have, and it’s really important,” she says. In April, Black Ambition started a 10-week virtual program, the Fundable Founders Learning Lab, backed by $1 million from an anonymous donor, for entrepreneurs.