Jessica Alba is the founder of The Honest Company. He was suppressed/Getty
One report found that nine black and Latina female founders achieved a valuation of $1 billion or more.
These entrepreneurs include Rihanna, Jessica Alba and makeup artist Pat McGrath.
Here are eight of the nine women who have achieved unicorn status.
Although black and Latina women raised more than 1 percent of all venture capital funding in 2021, that number dropped in 2022, when venture capital investment generally declined due to economic concerns, a recent report found regarding the state of underrepresented female entrepreneurs.
These founders face increased challenges to get funding because venture capital firms have shut them out and overlooked them.
The biennial report, which Project Diane and the organization DigitalUndivided released Wednesday, compiled data from more than 750 Latina and black female founders who received external funding. These companies received 0.85% of all venture capital in 2022, making it the second largest year for this cohort.
The report also found that there are now more than 350 Black and Latina women founders who have raised at least $1 million in funding, and at least nine Black and Latina women founders have reached a $1 billion valuation.
Here are eight Black and Latina female founders who have accomplished this feat, in order of highest current rating. Every company on this list has reached a $1 billion valuation at some point, but some have lost that value over time.
Toyin Ajayi, Cityblock Health – $5.7 billion
Toyin Ajayi, Co-Founder and CEO of Cityblock Health. Cityblock
Last rating: 5.7 billion dollars
Ajayi co-founded Cityblock Health with Iyah Romm in 2017. The company provides healthcare services such as annual checkups, therapy and childcare with a focus on serving marginalized communities.
Cityblock Health first achieved unicorn status in December 2020 with a $160 million Series C funding round. In September 2021, it closed a $400 million Series D led by SoftBank, which increased the company’s valuation to $5.7 billion. To date, the company has raised nearly $900 million in funding.
Ajayi became COO of the company in March 2022.
Flori Marquez, BlockFi — $3 billion
Flori Marquez, a co-founder and COO of crypto-finance firm BlockFi. BlockFi
Last rating: 3 billion dollars
Marquez co-founded crypto-lending platform BlockFi in 2017 with Zac Prince. Marquez is the company’s COO.
In 2021, the company announced a $350 million Series D funding round that valued the firm at $3 billion, TechCrunch reported. In total, the company has raised $956 million in venture funding, according to a report by venture capital fund Harlem Capital and Crunchbase.
In 2021, the company was preparing for an IPO, Forbes reported. In 2022, reports surfaced that the company was raising more funds at a $4.5 billion valuation. However, BlockFi filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after taking a $250 million loan from the disgraced cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Insider reported.
Julia Collins, Zume Pizza — $2.25 billion to $1 billion
Julia Collins is a co-founder of Zume Pizza. Steve Jennings/Stringer/Getty
Last rating: Between $2.25 billion and $1 billion
Collins co-founded robotics startup Zume Pizza in 2015 with Alex Garden. The company created robots that could make and deliver pizzas.
Zume Pizza first achieved unicorn status in 2018, when SoftBank invested $375 million in the startup, and reports valued the company at between $2.25 billion and $1 billion.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Collins left the company in 2018 and has since founded two more companies, Planet FWD and Moonshot Snacks.
In January 2020, Zume permanently shut down its company’s robotics division and laid off about 360 employees, Insider reported. According to its website, the company has moved on to developing products that replace single-use plastic.
Iman Abuzeid, Incredible Health – $1.65 billion
Iman Abuzeid, a co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health. Incredible health
Last rating: 1.65 billion dollars
Abuzeid is a co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health, which he launched in 2017 with Rome Portlock. The startup connects nurses and medical professionals with jobs in hospitals.
In 2022, Incredible Health announced an $80 million Series B funding round that gave the company a $1.65 billion valuation, Fortune reported. In total, the startup has raised $97.3 million in funding, according to Harlem Capital and Crunchbase report.
Rihanna, Savage X Fenty – $1 billion
Rihanna is the founder of Savage X Fenty. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Last rating: 1 billion dollars
In 2018, Rihanna founded her e-commerce lingerie line, Savage X Fenty, which sells underwear, loungewear and activewear.
Savage X Fenty achieved unicorn status in February 2021 when it raised a $115 million Series B round. In January 2022, the company raised a Series C funding round of $125 million, but its valuation was not disclosed. In total, the company has raised $310 million in funding, according to Forbes.
Rihanna is exploring a possible IPO that could value her company at $3 billion, Bloomberg reported last year.
Pat McGrath, Pat McGrath Labs — $1 billion
Pat McGrath is a makeup artist and the founder of McGrath Labs. Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
Last rating: 1 billion dollars
Since the 1990s, McGrath has been an influential makeup artist known for her work in fashion magazines and catwalk looks at fashion week shows. In 2015, she launched her own cosmetic brand called Pat McGrath Labs.
In 2018, private equity firm Eurazeo invested $60 million in Pat McGrath Labs, valuing the beauty brand at $1 billion, Business of Fashion reported.
Isabel Aznarez, Stoke Therapeutics — $360 million
Isabel Aznarez is Co-Founder and Head VP of Biology at Stoke Therapeutics. Stoke Therapeutics
Last rating: 360 million dollars
Aznarez is co-founder, senior vice president, head of biology at Stoke Therapeutics, a biotech company he co-founded in 2014 with Adrian Krainer.
Stoke Therapeutics filed for an IPO in 2019 at a $2.16 billion valuation, Insider reported.
Now as a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq, the company’s valuation is constantly evolving. At the time of publication, the company had a market capitalization of $360 million.
Jessica Alba, The Honest Company – $259 million
Jessica Alba is an actor and the founder of The Honest Company. Frazer Harrison/GettyImages
Current rating: 259 million dollars
Alba is an actor known for his roles in the films “Fantastic Four” and “Sin City”. In 2012, she founded The Honest Company, a retailer that sells baby, beauty and household products that exclude more than 3,500 materials and chemicals that the company says pose a potential risk to users.
The Honest Company first received its unicorn status in 2015 when it raised $100 million and received a $1.7 billion valuation. The company lost its billion-dollar valuation in 2017 in a $75 million funding round, Inc. reported.
In 2021, The Honest Company filed for an IPO, which valued the company at $1.4 billion. Now as a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq, the company’s valuation is constantly evolving. At press time, the company had a market capitalization of $259 million.
