Audacity Fund

Audacity Fund Research Document Investment Thesis Audacity Fund is a mission-driven crypto venture capital firm founded in June 2021 by Erikan Obotetukudo, making her the first Black woman to launch a crypto venture fund. The fund is focused on investing in Black and African-led crypto startups building for the next 100 years of technological and economic transformation. Audacity believes that Black and African communities have historically been the drivers of multi-billion dollar companies and multi-trillion dollar economies, yet their value and intellectual property are often leveraged without extending benefits back to them. Audacity aims to center the value of Black and African communities worldwide through crypto and blockchain technology. The fund's core thesis is that founders with access to multiple cultures and communities have an unfair advantage in building viral technologies that tap into high-value, yet overlooked markets. This includes both geographic and cultural diversity as a competitive advantage in crypto and web3. Sector and Market Focus Primary Focus: Web3 and Cryptocurrency Audacity Fund I was specifically focused on decentralized finance (DeFi), with a broader web3 orientation for subsequent investments. The fund concentrates on opportunities where crypto and blockchain technology can create economic empowerment for underserved and overlooked markets. Key Priority Areas: Fintech and Crypto Convergence - Bridges between traditional finance and crypto, particularly in emerging markets Supply Chain Digitization - Tokenization and decentralization of multi-billion dollar supply chains (diamonds, coffee, chocolate, logistics) Cultural Asset Tokenization - Intellectual property and cultural assets including music, film, sports, and fashion Africa-Focused Infrastructure - Land, real estate, cities, nations, and identity solutions for Africa Geographic Focus: Black and African founders globally (diaspora inclusive) Specific emphasis on Africa as "the fastest growing tech market in the world" with a once-in-a-generation opportunity for blockchain adoption International scope - founders with access to multiple markets and communities Stage and Check Size Investment Stages: Audacity Fund demonstrates flexibility across stages, having invested in both Pre-seed (Afropolitan, 2022) and Series A (Roll, 2021) rounds. The fund appears to be stage-agnostic, focusing on the quality of the founding team rather than a specific stage. Check Size Indicators: Based on portfolio activity, the fund appears to write checks in the range of $250K-$1M, with participation in larger rounds alongside co-investors. Recent Activity and Fund Status Recent Investments: Afropolitan (June 2022, Pre-seed, $2.1M round) - Social content platform for the African diaspora Roll (September 2021, Series A, $10M round) - Web3 creator economy platform Fund Status: The fund appears to be between deployment phases with focus on deep support of existing portfolio. Website indicates evolution to Audacity Assets, described as "a holding company creating venture-like returns on culture." Portfolio and Track Record Verified Portfolio Companies: Afropolitan - Pre-seed investment (June 2022, $2.1M round), social content platform serving African diaspora Roll - Series A investment (September 2021, $10M round), Web3 creator economy platform Co-Investors Include: IDEO CoLab Ventures, Electric Capital, Graywall, Hashed, Atlantica Ventures, Animoca Brands, LongHash Ventures, Ingressive Capital, Savannah Fund The fund's portfolio is highly curated, focusing on founders building solutions at the intersection of culture, community, and crypto. Early portfolio companies demonstrate focus on creator economy and financial inclusion in emerging markets. Team Leadership: Erikan Obotetukudo - Founder and General Partner First Black woman to launch a crypto venture fund Co-founder and President of Crypto for Black Economic Empowerment (CBEE) Founder of KIN, a community of Black and African builders solving global problems Former Relationship Manager at LinkedIn advising on growth for asset management, hedge funds, and PE/VC firms Traveled 24+ countries tracing value of multicultural communities, reached 4M+ people Youngest and first Black board member of the Henry Kravis Leadership Institute Background in community building, cultural economics, and relationship management Bayo Okusanya - Team Member Princeton Envision non-profit background Active in NPC Labs and Smart Capital network Backing and Network: Audacity Fund I benefits from support by founding investors including CBEE members, crypto industry executives (Meltem Demirors, Vinny Langham, Kathleen Breitman, Jalak Jobanputra), and traditional crypto VCs (Electric Capital, IDEO CoLab Ventures, Graywall) Decision Process and Investment Approach The fund operates on a community-driven model using Syndicate Protocol, enabling syndicate-based investing where communities collectively invest. This suggests distributed decision-making with input from the CBEE community, emphasis on relationship and community alignment, and long-term commitment to supporting founders beyond capital provision. Support extends beyond capital to include access to global developer talent, community within CBEE network, and focus on founders serving overlooked, underbanked markets. Current Evolution The domain audacity.fund now points to Audacity Assets, described as "a holding company creating venture-like returns on culture." This suggests evolution from pure crypto VC to broader culture-focused investment vehicle, potential expansion to non-crypto cultural investments, maintained focus on Black and African creators and entrepreneurs, and new website with expanded investment thesis forthcoming. Audacity Assets appears to be reshaping its positioning while maintaining core values around culture, community, and Black/African economic empowerment. Founder Preferences Audacity invests in founders with Black and African heritage or diaspora connection, access to multiple cultures and communities, vision for solving problems in overlooked and underserved markets, commitment to economic empowerment and community building, and crypto/web3 expertise or cultural innovation. Institutional Context CBEE (Crypto for Black Economic Empowerment) - 20+ countries represented, 6 continents, highest-grossing NFT artists demonstrating economic impact model for underbanked communities using crypto. Syndicate Protocol Infrastructure - Enables DAOs to collectively invest in crypto assets, combines crypto, culture, community, and asset management with democratic decision-making and community-as-investor model.