Darrel Frater ✝️ @DarrelFrater Twitter profile

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Darrel Frater ✝️

2 years

Our job as VCs is to serve. We serve founders. We serve LPs. We serve our colleagues. We are servants of the startup ecosystem... Or at least we should be. If you are a "VC" and do not view yourself as a servant to others, you probably shouldn't be a VC. Have a great day 😊

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

4 years

I got $10K for a white male @Stanford student/grad looking to play the face of my startup for a few months. DM me if interested. Serious inquiries only.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

2011: "Software is eating the world" 2023: "AI is eating the world"

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

STOP PENALIZING FOUNDERS FOR NOT BEING FULL-TIME. Just because a founder has a FT job, doesn't mean they aren't serious about their startup. Building full-time is a privilege that many founders don't have the luxury of doing. Look beyond the surface, there's usually a reason.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

INVEST IN BLACK WOMEN FOUNDERS

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

The Lord has blessed us with a beautiful baby girl. Her name is Gianna Rose Frater and we like to call her Gigi ❤️ We're excited to bring you home today!

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

I need help evaluating this situation with a VC. It was soooo sus... I need other people's thoughts on this. Here's how it went. Me: *Sends cold email with link to deck* VC: *Views deck* Replies: "Thanks, but we want to see more traction" Me: *Checks Docsend* (Continued)

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 months

Who's raising? I am actively looking to make 2-3 $500K investments over the next few months into late pre-seed or seed companies.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

"If it's not on my calendar, it doesn't exist" Anyone else live by this rule or is it just me? 😂

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Underrepresented founders don't have "Friends & Family" rounds, we have "Accelerators & Strangers" - @limrtz

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

Applications for the next cohort of the @visiblehandsvc accelerator opens on April 5th. We invest up to $175K into underrepresented founders at the pre-seed (Idea, Pre-Product, Pre-Revenue, Ealry Traction) stage that get accepted. Who should I get to know? Tag them & let's meet.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

11 months

I'm thinking about launching a small rolling fund. Raise about $1M a year, write 10 $100K checks annually. Thoughts?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

16 days

Who's raising? I am actively looking to make 2-3 $500K investments over the next few months into late pre-seed or seed companies.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

We're having a baby! ❤️ My wife and I are excited to share that we're expecting a child January 2023.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

8 months

Does anyone know any founders building in Climate, Energy, Sustainability, etc. that would be interested in a $100K investment? I'd love to chat.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Investors are still punishing founders for not being full-time so let me say this again... STOP PENALIZING FOUNDERS FOR NOT BEING FULL-TIME. Building full-time is a privilege that many founders don't have the luxury of doing. YOU ARE RUINING THEIR LIVES WITH YOUR BAD ADVICE!

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Most "Successful" companies are successful not because the founders are smarter than you. It's usually because they have the resources to fail multiple times until they get it right. Most underrepresented founders barely have enough to get a true fair chance at building. If the…

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

If I launched a free community for founder, specifically focused helping members secure funding, is this something anyone would be interested in?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

11 months

TheClub was selected as a semi-finalist for the Black Ambition Prize! Who says VCs can't be founders too 💪🏿 #RareBreed

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

10 months

My daughter turned 6 months today ❤️

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

5 months

It's my birthday! 🎈 30 was such a phenomenal age: - I became a Father - I became a Homeowner - I moved to Oklahoma - I joined the team at Serac Ventures I'm so excited to see what 31 has in store! Thank you all for all of your love and support 🙏🏿

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

We need more founders to become VCs.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

The "startup advice" you read on this app typically don't apply to you. Most are speaking out of privilege. We're not playing the same game. Beware.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

The VC spent 25 seconds on the deck and stopped on slide 10 where they see an image of my [black] face (see attached). MY TRACTION SLIDE IS ON PAGE 12. How could he even possibly say he wanted to see more traction?? He didn't even see the traction slide! (Continued)

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Most investors aren't even smart enough to understand why your business will be successful. Don't waste your time trying to convince them. Find the ones that see the vision and are excited to partner with you.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

We're 1 month away from becoming parents! Does anyone have any advice for us first time parents? 😁

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

11 months

Being a founder first should be a qualification for becoming a VC.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Nothing can stop a founder that's truly mission driven. These founders will stop at nothing to create the change they want to see in this world. When you find one of these founders, BACK THEM. Period.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Founder, remember this: VCs invest in lines not dots. Application for BK-XL are now closed and I am now sourcing for our Visionaries Accelerator. We invest up to $200K into about 45 teams each cohort. Application open in April. We want to meet you NOW, not in April. Let's chat

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

We are hiring a Spring Intern to join our investment team at Visible Hands! - Part-time, 10-12 hours a week - Paid, $20/hour - Remote - Pathway to Full-time If interested, comment below and shoot me a DM. I'll send you the JD. RT to amplify for the right candidate to see!

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

AI is not going to replace people. People using AI will replace people not using AI.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

11 months

Happy 5 months to my little princess ❤️

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

INVESTORS TREAT SOLO FOUNDERS UNFAIRLY and it should stop in 2023 One thing I got a lot as a founder and hear from founders often today is the pressure they feel from investors to "find a Co-founder". I think this advice is terrible/unnecessary in 2023 for many reasons. 🧵

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Unpopular Opinion: If you're full-time in your startup and it's not making you any money, you should probably go get a job and build on the side. - Being a FT founder has been over glorified and oftentimes it is not wise or practical at all for your livelihood. It may feel like…

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Happy 3 months to my little princess ❤️

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

I have a lot of respect for parents that are also building a startup. Not an easy thing to do.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

11 days

Small personal win: I am excited to say that after about 3 1/2 years of reading the Bible, I've finally finished all 66 books, word for word, beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation. God is so good!

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Venture Capital is like a gated community. I'm just trying to give everyone access.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

Underrepresented founders are being overlooked by VCs at the pre-seed stage at alarming levels. If funding doesn't happen at the earliest stages of company building, how can we expect these founders to even make it to series A, B, C, D, and beyond? Change needs to happen.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

Did he stop viewing the deck because he realized I was black? I debated on if I should even post this, but I'm really curious to other's thoughts on this. Thoughts? @DonTayga @MacConwell @jctaylor9210 @wallstreetpaper @DelJohnsonVC @jodieous2020 @imthedronelord @nullagent

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

GETTING INVESTOR READY, the first step in fundraising that most founders miss Founder University Week #3 - Before you start raising it is absolutely necessary for you to prep to become "Investor Ready" This is a short guide to help you understand the steps to get there. 🧵

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

🎉Major Announcement! @VisibleHandsVC Closes Fund 1 at $10.5M to invest in underrepresented founders at the pre-seed stage!

Visible Hands

@visiblehandsvc

2 years

It’s official: we'd like to share that we just closed our Fund 1 at $10.5 million! 🎉 Over a year ago, we pinpointed our mission to highlight and invest in the limitless potential of overlooked founders. We're extremely proud of the progress we've made towards this mission. 🔻

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

11 months

If you've ever responded to any of my posts, I consider you a friend.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Founders, when you reach out to me, regardless if I invest or not, my goal is to help you be more prepared for the next investor you speak with. One of the ways I do this is by asking you for items that I believe you should have ready for any investor you speak with after me.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

10 months

Founders need connections and capital. That's it. Very few VCs can actually provide value outside of those 2 things. Those that try usually end up wasting founders time and energy.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

11 months

Happy Sunday Everyone! From my family to yours we pray that the next 6 months of this year brings you much peace and prosperity! 🙏🏿

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

4 years

I just reserved a #NikolaBadger 👌🏿 #NikolaBadgerReservation @nikolamotor @nikolatrevor

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

11 months

I can't wait for BK-XL Cohort II. Who's willing to come to Brooklyn to build?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

What would you build with a $200K investment?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

I want to invest in the founders that are building the future

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Founders: When you launch your product, your goal should be to iterate towards PMF (Product-Market Fit), NOT focus on growth at this time. A lot of founders make this mistake. 🧵

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Roselly, Gigi, and I have moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma! Thank you so much to everyone for your love and support on this decision. We hope that you all come visit one day! ❤️

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

7 months

I'm thinking about hosting an online pitch competition. If I personally donated $1,000 to a cash prize, would anyone be interested in participating? I would try to find sponsors to match my contribution and the goal would be to give a $5,000 prize to the winner. Thoughts?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Gigi says Hi 👋🏿

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Tomorrow is launch day for the Visionaries Accelerator applications! Who's applying?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

10 months

My new favorite picture 🥰

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Would you rather be a good entrepreneur or a good parent? - This is something I had to ask myself this morning when I had to made the decision to put development on pause for my startup. As an entrepreneur you have to make tough decisions. Last week my wife and I calculated our…

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

Unintentional I've recently been meeting a lot of VCs of faith and it's been amazing 🙏🏿 We need more investors that love God more than they love returns. I'm looking forward to getting in touch with more founders and VCs that are believers. If that's you, let's connect 👍🏿.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Lately I've been requesting product demos from founders instead of pitch decks and it has been extremely helpful for me to identify potential winners. One problem I see from many founders is the kind of Product Demo they send. Let me clarify on what a good Product Demo is 🧵

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

8 months

I meet so many underrepresented founders that would be Unicorns and Decacorns by now if they had the adequate funding they needed for their businesses... The industry really needs to do a better job at getting these founders funded. My investments alone isn't enough...

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

30 feels great 😁

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

7 months

My Angel Investing Thesis: Pre-Seed Technology companies creating economic mobility for individuals. Primarily US based. Writing checks between $5K - $25K. What do you think about it?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Gigi says you should apply to the Visionaries Accelerator

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

8 months

I'm getting really excited about my plans to getting into Angel Investing. Working on some things to get started soon! What's a decent minimum check size I should target to get started?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Twitter is the only place where absolute strangers will support you more than people you've known your entire life.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

6 months

I think Founders are finally starting to realized that there isn't much VC dollars out there for them and that they are better off just focusing on their customers. This is the sad truth, but at the same time a very good thing. This is the season where builders thrive. You got…

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

I believe VCs put too much emphasis on the Team Slide in a deck and its the primary source of bias towards or against founding teams. (🧵)

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

If you want life to be easy, don't become an entrepreneur.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Most VCs have no clue what they are doing. Don't pay them any mind. Just build.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

It's a Girl! ❤️🥰

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

I just got a glimpse of the future of venture capital @HBCUvc

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

If you haven't figured it out already, yes. We'll be looking for 20 founders to invest $200K each. Apply between May 1st - May 31st for our Visionaries Accelerator. Subscribe to our newsletter at to get notified when applications launch.

Visible Hands

Visible Hands is the most trusted platform for early-stage, underrepresented founders building high-growth startups.

www.visiblehands.vc

Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

What would you build with a $200K investment?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

As a newly married man who shares bank accounts with his wife, I now truly understand how beauty is a $511B Industry 😅 Who are founders building in the beauty industry at the pre-seed stage? I'd love to connect!

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Anyone in NYC want to meet up with me and a bunch of VCs and founders?

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Founders: The people with the money aren't smarter than you. They just have the money.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Anyone looking for a Co-founder or to expand your team? Drop your LinkedIn below and engage with others in the comments.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

I had a rough 2 days mentally as I have been putting a lot of capital into my startup. Thank you to everyone that checked in on me. Even though I am a VC, it's really difficult for me to get funding for my personal endeavors. I'm back, but fear did creep in for a little.

Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Entrepreneurship is hard. I'm only building part-time and at times it really stresses me out.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

7 months

One of my goals for when I launch my own fund is to eliminate the need for the founders I back to run a fundraising process. I will lead the deals and rally co-investors. That way the founders can avoid most of the tedious parts of fundraising and focus on company building.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Q: Darrel, what do investors look for in founders at the Pre-Seed stage? A: At the Pre-Seed stage it's primarily an assessment of Team, Customer, and Product. Here are some questions you would need to answer clearly. 🧵

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Founders, stop obsessing about the idea for your business. In 9/10 pitches I hear, the ideas are usually great! The problem usually lies within your execution and the articulation of it. Obsess over that and I promise you, you will succeed.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Let's just say it's been very long nights 😅 #GirlDad

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

13 days

Any founders looking for debt financing as a bridge while you're raising your next round of funding? I have a lender that can fund up to $2M in post-revenue companies. Happy to make an intro.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

It's incredibly difficult to serve customers when your own basic needs aren't met. Founders, please prioritize your own well-being first.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

On behalf of my wife and I, we would like to thank everyone for the love and support. We had a blast at the shower and are excited to meet our daughter Gianna Rose Frater in January 💕 Mommy and Daddy loves you Gigi!

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

A Happy Baby 😍 #ParentingInPublic Nothing melts my heart more than seeing her smile! People over index on the hardships of parenthood but don't speak out enough about moments like this. It's absolutely beautiful ❤️

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Applications to the Visible Hands Visionaries Accelerator are now open until May 29th: ⭐️ $200K Investment @ 5% ⭐️ 10 Week Virtual First Program ⭐️ 20 Underrepresented Founders Learn more and apply at .

Accelerator | Visible Hands

Our 10-week, virtual-first accelerator brings together a cohort of exceptional underrepresented founders to build venture-backed startups.

www.visiblehands.vc

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Happy Resurrection Sunday from my family to yours 🙏🏿

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

don't pay too much mind to VC feedback. They tend to not be very straightforward about the true reason why they are passing. The goalposts will always feel like it's moving. You're better off just staying focused on your customers. Serving them will never fail you.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

We at Visible Hands are preparing to deploy $4M into 20 teams through $200K checks each. This is literally a drop in the ocean compared to the money needed to change these stats. We need more funders backing diverse founders and more LPs with the courage to back them.

Del Johnson

@DelJohnsonVC

1 year

Funding for Black founders is at .69% of VC in Q1. And this is a smaller piece of a shrinking VC pie. Time to admit the Black founder community was completely led astray by grifter VCs and venture backed founders.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Founders, don't build your business in response to an investor's feedback. Build your business in response to your customer's pain.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

8 months

I'm interested in getting into Angel Investing. Any tips or resources that I should look into? More than being a VC, my dream would be to have enough money to angel invest full-time as a professional career. Open to any advice!

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Next time you think about building a mobile app, remember this very important tip: Design (ie: UI/UX in Figma) before you Build (Write Code) First time founders often skip this seemingly simple first step and it becomes a very expensive learned lesson. Luckily you follow me…

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Non-Technical Founders: Your first hire should probably be a UI/UX designer. They can help take the vision from your mind into visual designs. Have them design your product, website, and pitch deck. You can find affordable professional designers in communities like @Behance .

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

QUESTIONS TO ASK VCs (in your next investor meeting) Founders University #6 Don't assume that every VC you meet actually has the ability to invest in your company. Avoid wasting time with investors by asking these 5 questions in your next investor meeting. 🧵

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Your deck alone will never get you funded. Do not obsess over perfecting it, it won't get you very far. At the early stage, the most important elements of your business is: Customer, Product, and Team. See your deck simply as the platform to tell the story of those 3 things.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

VCs: Articulation can be used as evidence of intelligence, but it is not intelligence itself. Stop investing in these charismatic, fast talking founders (usually white, male, & privileged) and really start seeking out founders with grit and strong business fundamentals. Not a🧵.

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

Today is my 1 year anniversary at @visiblehandsvc and marks 1 year of officially working in VC. It's been a tremendous year for my career and for my personal life. Thank you to the VH team and the entire startup ecosystem for allowing me to serve in this capacity 🙏🏿

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

2 years

"White male investors find it hard to invest in BIPOC and Women founders and GPs because they think they are smarter than them and know their industry better than they do."

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

☎️ 1-800-Secure-the-Bag 💰 Calling all early-stage founders! If you’re raising now or in the next 3-6 months & need help sharpening your story, COMMENT with your: 1️⃣ Company Name 2️⃣ Location 3️⃣ And a link to your website @DarrelFrater & @surgieboi have teamed up to help…

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Darrel Frater ✝️

@DarrelFrater

1 year

Twitter Fam, I'm only going to say this once. Might even delete this afterwards... I AM A BUSINESS GENIUS, but you won't listen to my advice because I haven't made a Million (YET). You can either listen to my advice and become million/billionaires now or you can wait until after…

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