Melissa Bradley
General Partner, 1863 Ventures
Washington, District of Columbia
Invests in
Skills
Education
- AU
- GU
Lists including Melissa
Investments
Bunifu Learning
Total Funding:
Peoples Pharmacy
Total Funding:
Health Resources Solutions
Total Funding:
Terra Rossa
Total Funding:
Plum Good
Total Funding:
ARMR Systems
Total Funding:
Mac's Tire Service
Total Funding:
Poly Platform
Total Funding:
Henna Sooq
Total Funding:
SOAR Community Network
Total Funding:
Experiences On Demand
Total Funding:
Oyin Handmade
Total Funding:
Code Super Powers
Total Funding:
Fresh Food Factory
Total Funding:
Et Oliva
Total Funding: $170K
Work Experience
Advisory Council Member
2023
https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/organization/sba-initiatives/investment-capital-advisory-committee
Board Member
2023
2023
Board Member
2023
2017
Managing Partner
2017
1863 Ventures accelerates New Majority entrepreneurs from high potential to high growth by bridging entrepreneurship and racial equity. Founded in 2016, 1863 Ventures assists New Majority entrepreneurs grow their businesses through rigorous programming, consistent coaching, personal and professional mentoring and access to capital. We are an independent, Black-led nonprofit organization that delivers business development programs designed to bridge the gap between entrepreneurship and equity. Our programs seek to accelerate new majority entrepreneurs from high potential to high growth. Our vision is to create $100B of new wealth and economic power for and by the New Majority.
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
2015
Sidecar Social Finance (SSF) is a social impact agency that provides impact investing advisory and capital services to individuals, institutions, and social enterprises.
Professor of Practice
2012
Over the last two years, she was commended with the Entrepreneurship Faculty Excellence Award, the Joseph F. LeMoine Award for Undergraduate and Graduate Teaching Excellence, the Peter W. Gonzalez, Jr. Award for Excellence in Adjunct Faculty Teaching, and The Ideas Worth Teaching Award, which celebrates exceptional courses that are preparing future business leaders to tackle society’s largest challenges and create a more inclusive, just, and sustainable version of capitalism. Melissa has produced two major research projects, Small Business Survivability Study for New Majority Entrepreneurs and Cost of Being a New Majority Entrepreneur.
2021 - 2022
Founding Director
2021 - 2022
Responsible for launching the inaugural Center for Black Entrepreneurship (CBE) at Spelman and Morehouse Colleges. The CBE supports the entrepreneurship minors at both schools as well as an online certificate course in entrepreneurship.
2019 - 2022
Co-Founder
2019 - 2022
Company acquired by Zen Business
2016 - 2018
Managing Director
2016 - 2018
Project 500 is a business development program to help diverse businesses scale in terms of revenue, staff and investment retained. Our goal is to recruit and retain up to 500 businesses to receive hands on training, capacity building, mentoring and networking to advance the economic success of their businesses and their communities. We seek to accelerate new majority entrepreneurs from high potential to high growth.
Co-Chair
2016 - 2018
NACIE is a federal advisory committee that was created as part of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. The Council advises the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on issues related to accelerating innovation and expanding entrepreneurship, with an additional focus on employer-driven job skills training.