TiE Atlanta and Zane Venture Fund are partnering together to support each other’s focused efforts in closing the access gap to experts, mentors, and funding between minority-owned businesses in the Southeast US.

Zane Venture Fund aims to catalyze the proliferation of world-class organizations led by diverse founders and teams building tech-enabled solutions by providing capital access and support to companies that can capitalize on support from Zane to scale their business. And TiE Atlanta's newest program, ACCESS, sets the stage for business owners to present their product or service to established angel investors from TiE Atlanta.

“Our programming arm, Zane Access, is focused on closing the ‘access’ gap for diverse entrepreneurs – access to expert resources with deep functional expertise as well as capital “ says Zane Venture Fund and Zane Access  founder and managing partner, Shila Nieves Burney.

The partnership with TiE Atlanta and ACCESS will allow us to collaboratively fill the Southeast ecosystem with investable companies that can grow and scale. From our Pre-Capital program aimed at ensuring entrepreneurs are capital ready, forums that bring resources to the founders’ backyard, and Zane Access U program focused on university entrepreneurs, we are excited to join forces with an organization like TiE Atlanta with such a rich history in the entrepreneurial and funding community that will help build a robust pipeline and deepen support our founders after existing from our robust programs.”

Zane Access’ Pre-Capital program provides both deep and wide to support to founders to become capital ready, with a keen focus on financial performance, marketing, operations, and leadership development, is currently accepting application through May 29. With the partnership, upon completion of this program, founders have the opportunity to showcase their companies to TiE Atlanta for capital investment consideration and a coveted spot in Startup Runway.

Further investments of an additional $50,000 will also be provided to at least two more companies. All companies that qualify for TiE ACCESS will be mentored by real-life entrepreneurs who represent the lifeblood of TiE and want to give back by building the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The TiE ACCESS program aims to pave in-roads for minority- and women-owned businesses to build their companies and networks not only here in Atlanta, but at an international scale, thanks to TiE Global’s international impact.

TiE is now accepting applications until May 22. Qualified participants will be announced by June 5, 2020; and screened and approved participants will go through a qualifying round on July 11, 2020. The finalists will be announced on July 14 and will present to investors on August 19, 2020.

TiE Atlanta Angels is the angel investment group of TiE Atlanta and has made over $4 million investments into 17 companies since August 2017, with a primary focus on high growth entrepreneurial startups across all industries. The angel group has worked on a disciplined investment model and has invested in companies seeking Seed through Series A funding. Through this model, TiE Atlanta Angels has become one of the fastest growing, high impact angel groups in the Southeast.