We're going to need a bigger boat...
An invitation to invest in the next phase of our journey.
In 2022, Bison Venture Partners successfully raised $52,000 in startup capital from 162 investors through a crowdfunding campaign. The minimum investment was $100, the average investment was $300, and the largest individual contribution totaled $2,000. Nearly 63% of our investor pool had completed their first investment ever into a privately-held business. We successfully onboarded 100+ everyday people into the private markets, which were previously reserved for upper class elites.
As graduate students at Howard University, we set out to disrupt America’s trillion dollar blind-spot; an overlooked opportunity to invest in undercapitalized multicultural communities, in the pursuit of outsized economic returns.
We embarked on an audacious adventure reminiscent of a whaling voyage.
“Whaling was one of the largest and most important industries in America during the early nineteenth century. In it, New England whaling agents looked a lot like venture capitalists…
The payoff distributions in the two industries are strikingly similar. Whaling agents intermediated between the wealthy individuals who supplied funds and the captains and crew who undertook voyages, just as VCs intermediate between limited partners and entrepreneurial teams in portfolio companies…
In the United States, whaling was one of the earliest kinds of enterprise to grapple with the complexities of risk capital intermediation, organizational form, ownership structure, incentives, team building, and principal-agent tradeoffs…
Although 65.5 percent of whaling voyages were profitable, very few were exceptionally so, with just 1.7 percent of them achieving profit rates in excess of 100 percent. Similarly, only 2.9 percent of VC funds had net IRRs in excess of 100 percent…
In 1830, the Loper completed what the Nantucket Inquirer hailed as the “greatest voyage ever made." Operated mostly by a [B]lack crew, the Loper returned to port with 2,280 barrels of sperm oil from a short fourteen and a half months at sea.”
- Excerpts from VC: An American History, by Tom Nicholas
Over time, the problems we set out to solve through our company have only gotten larger, as wealth and inequality gaps continue to widen.
“Only around $942 million — or just 0.32% of total U.S. venture funding — went to startups with a Black founder or co-founder last year, per Crunchbase data. That’s one of the lowest shares in years, and down more than two-thirds from just three years prior.” - Mary Ann Azevedo, Crunchbase Data: Venture Dollars For Black Startup Founders Stay Scarce Despite AI Funding Boom
To put it plainly, $300 billion was invested into startups last year, and nearly 0% was invested into companies led by founders who look like me.
In 2026, Bison Venture Partners faces a reckoning; raise significant working capital to build modern infrastructure and scale operations, or close the company.
Today, we’re doubling down on our capital raise by accepting commitments from our growing community. Without you, we wouldn’t have gotten this far, and the truth is, we can’t go further without you.
Please take 15 minutes to review the videos below to learn more about our augmented vision, strategy, and path forward.
We’re now a technology company, installing a competitive advantage into every venture we have the privilege of working with.
For Bison Venture Partners to not only survive the AI revolution, but to lead it, we’re going to need a bigger boat; equipped with the crew, equipment, and provisions necessary to weather the impending storms ahead.
Without investment, we’re two men hunting whales in a sailboat.
Analyze our full campaign on Wefunder, and if you have the means, consider an investment to upgrade our capabilities and accelerate our expedition’s success.
This is an opportunity for equity.
To help us achieve our goal, please share this post with your network.
Your Captain,
Garry Johnson III
Managing Partner
Bison Venture Partners
Legal Disclaimer: We are ‘testing the waters’ to gauge investor interest in an offering under Regulation Crowdfunding. No money or other consideration is being solicited. If sent, it will not be accepted. No offer to buy securities will be accepted. No part of the purchase price will be received until a Form C is filed and only through Wefunder’s platform. Any indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind.