Google’s Black Founders Fund invests in Utopia Spa, a Durham startup!!
Utopia Spa and Global Wellness, a Durham company that provides on-demand spa services, is one of 50 startups in the U.S. set to receive a $100,000 investment from Google, as part of an initiative to support companies started by Black entrepreneurs.
The funding, which doesn’t dilute the ownership of the founder, also comes with perks, like as much as $120,000 in donated search advertisements and up to $100,000 in Google Cloud credits.
Naya Powell, founder of Utopia Spa, said the investment is critical as her startup tries to grow during the lingering pandemic.
“The timing could not have been better, because we’ve been operating extremely lean,” Powell said in a telephone interview. “We really needed it, so I’m so excited about where this is going to take us. I think it will catapult us to the next level.”
Google launched its Black Founders Fund last year in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The company said it decided to start the fund because of a recognition that many Black entrepreneurs face significant barriers to receiving investment capital for their startups.
