100K Ventures
Members of the 100K team with entrepreneurs in Flint, Michigan.
- Robert Wolf, a former top Wall Street executive and fundraiser for former President Barack Obama, is bringing together a group of industry leaders, high-profile athletes, journalists, and entrepreneurs to launch an accelerator for startups.
- The new accelerator group, named 100K Ventures, will focus on assisting startups in Flint, Michigan, a town that became known for its crisis with lead-contaminated water.
- Several influential figures, including three-time NBA champion Draymond Green and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, are backing 100K Ventures.
A veteran Wall Street executive is bringing together a group of industry leaders, top athletes, notable journalists, and entrepreneurs to launch an accelerator that invests in startups in a city not widely known for tech entrepreneurs: Flint, Michigan.
Robert Wolf, the former chairman and CEO of UBS Americas and a top fundraiser for President Barack Obama's campaigns in 2008 and 2012, is partnering with Phil Hagerman, the founder of Skypoint Ventures in Flint, to create an accelerator named 100K Ventures, they announced on Wednesday.
It's an effort to help revitalize Flint, a former auto town that has been beset by a slew of financial problems and a crisis with lead-contaminated water in the past few years.
The accelerator will invest in early-stage companies vetted by 100K Ideas, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting local entrepreneurs.
Notably, 100K Ventures is backed by figures including three-time NBA champion Draymond Green, former NFL star Victor Cruz, and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
"We've all seen and read the sad and tragic stories of what has happened in Flint," said Soledad O'Brien, a former CNN anchor who's a founding member of 100K Ventures. "The truth about Flint is that it's a city with a deep history of innovation, including the very beginnings of the auto boom in this country. My partners and I believe that with some time and effort that spark can be reignited."
Over time, 100K Ventures aims to expand the accelerator platform to other underserved communities in this country, the announcement said.