Felecia Hatcher, chief executive officer of Pharrell’s Black Ambition, has never seen womanhood as a setback.
“Historically, [women] have been knocked down and punched in the gut in every way possible, but that is a testament to our resilience — we always get back up, we show up and show out,” she said in conversation with WWD executive editor Tara Donaldson.
It was while watching an episode of Max’s “Lovecraft Country” in which character Christina Braithwhite — played by Abbey Lee — poses a question to Ruby Baptiste (Wunmi Mosaku), that Hatcher had one of the most course-altering epiphanies of her career.
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“[Braithwhite] asked, ‘Who are you, uninterrupted?,'” recalled Hatcher of that scene. “I had never heard that question before in my entire life, and I’ve worked for some of the top companies in the world.”
Women, Hatcher said, must not only identify — but face — the many interruptions they encounter before they can answer this question.
“If at any intersection in your life, the light wasn’t red, it was never yellow — it was only green. Who would you be? What would you build?” she said. “You have to ask yourself, ‘what are the interruptions that I take into every room, every board room, every conversation?'”
For women of color, there are even more interruptions to consider.
“Racism is a massive interruption — bias in funding is a massive interruption, sexism — I can go through all the ‘isms,” she continued.
Her hope, she said, is for women “to define what our lives are like uninterrupted, and then never let those things stop us from a pathway to achieving that.”
The support of other women has been pivotal to her own journey toward doing so, and as a result, Hatcher’s work at Black Ambition strives to offer Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs the highest quality — not just quantity — of support possible.
“I used to be a big ‘the pie is big enough for everyone to get a slice’ person,” said Hatcher, who once shared as much with her mentor, only for him to help her realize she could be thinking even bigger.
“When you eat your slice of the pie, at the end of that consumption, you’re well fed, but nobody else is well fed,” she said. “What he said is that you should actually be striving to eat from the garden — because when you eat from the garden, at the end of your consumption, you have fruit or seeds. And you can plant those seeds, and other people get to eat as a result of your consumption.”
To date, Black Ambition has invested more than $10 million in 65 companies — by November, that number will reach 100 companies — and supports 250 entreprenuers annually through its mentorship program.
“We know wealth has a need for speed, and it’s really weird that corporations, investors and foundations have gotten comfortable wasting the time of Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs,” said Hatcher. “[Entrepreneurs] need the money faster, they need the mentorship faster, they need the resources faster, and if you cannot do that — get out of their way.”
What sets Black Ambition apart, too, Hatcher said, is its holistic approach to support.
“We have therapists for our entrepreneurs, because if you’re building an entrepreneurship support program that does not prioritize mental health, you are actually doing a disservice to Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs,” she said.
Capital, mentorship and a safe environment — all at the highest level possible — are the pillars of the work Black Ambition is doing.
“If everyone steps into our genius, we have an infinite garden where everyone is well fed,” said Hatcher. “Connect [entrepreneurs] with the resources they need and then kind of get out of their way, because they’re brilliant people.”