1 of 50 US Companies to recieve $100,000 in Non-Dilutive Capital
Sheffie Robinson, is one of 50 founders selected for Google for Startups program focused on high potential startups from Black entrepreneurs based in the U.S.
Vicksburg, MS — September 21, 2021 –Shamrck, an AI-driven platform for workforce development that helps middle and high school students gain career experience, today announced it was selected to join the second cohort of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund , a $10 million initiative designed for Black founders, who are building great companies yet are often locked out of access to the funding that is critical to their success.
“I’m excited to hear that Vicksburg’s own Sheffie Robinson has been awarded this entrepreneurial honor,” Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs, Jr. said. “I believe this is a testament to honesty, hard work, and determination to succeed, and I’m excited to see Google supporting her efforts in our community.”
Last year, Google for Startups gave 76 Black-led startups up to $100,000 in non-dilutive funding, helping them keep their doors open, pay their employees, and focus on building their businesses. With this second $5 million investment in the U.S. Black Founders Fund, 50 more founders across the United States will receive $100,000 in non-dilutive capital, meaning founders do not give up any ownership in their company in exchange for funding. The fund also includes technical support from tools and teams across Google, including as much as $120,000 in donated search Ads from Google.org and up to $100,000 in Google Cloud credits. Last year, founders who received awards went on to raise more than $50M in capital and 80% of recipients used the funding to create jobs.
So happy to meet some of the inspiring founders who are receiving awards as part of our second @GoogleStartups Black Founders Fund. Huge congrats to all 50 founders selected this year! https://t.co/cfWs51kUAh pic.twitter.com/hh10DUaHeE
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) September 21, 2021
Shamrck creates personalized learning plans for students based on their interests using machine learning and provides them with local resources to adequately prepare them for their future careers. The company is one of a select few high-potential startups that the Google for Startups team has selected for this year’s nationwide cohort.
“The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund will help us reach more schools to provide them with pivotal resources and vital data to help their students become more engaged in school and their future,” says Sheffie Robinson, founder, Shamrck. “The support will be used to grow our community success processes to help lighten the load of guidance counselors while enabling them to better address student needs.”
“The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund embodies our mission of helping underrepresented founders grow their businesses. We are excited to continue the fund and contribute funding to Black founders, with no strings attached. Black founders currently receive less than 1 percent of total VC funding,” says Jewel Burks Solomon, Head of Google for Startups US. “We heard loud and clear from the 2020 fund recipients that Google for Startups and Goodie Nation have been crucial to their success not only through funding, but through community, mentorship, network connections and technical expertise.”
“Our advisors will be working with the founders to discuss business pain points, offer introductions to customers and investors and provide regular therapy sessions and forums to support recipients emotionally and professionally,” says Joey Womack, CEO of Goodie Nation.
Shamrck seeks to use the data gained from assisting students on their career exploration journey to provide predictive analytics and success metrics back to school systems to help them make smarter decisions to address student needs in career and technical education. It is their hope that they can impact the success of future generations by helping schools better prepare students for their futures.
ABOUT SHAMRCK EDUCATION
Sheffie Robinson founded Shamrck Education to focus on career preparedness for high school students. Shamrck Education creates personalized learning plans for students based on their interests using machine learning and provides them with local resources to adequately prepare them for their future careers. The process helps the education system bridge gaps between state requirements for school and real-world core competencies, ensuring students have access and experience in their career of interest.
ABOUT GOOGLE FOR STARTUPS
Google for Startups works to level the playing field for startup founders and communities to succeed by bringing the best of Google’s products, connections, and best practices to startups. Paired with a deep commitment to create diverse startup communities, many of our offerings are designed specifically to provide underrepresented founders with access to resources and opportunities. We support startups everywhere to build something better. Because when startups succeed, we all succeed.
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