Nine Black CEOs Who Built Venture-Backed Companies That Went Public

Over my 25 years in venture capital, I’ve worked as an operator, investor, allocator, and advisor. I’m always impressed by how much the industry impacts the world. It feeds my curiosity about the history of venture capital. By exploring it, I aim to uncover ways to find (or create) opportunities for talented individuals to flourish.

Venture Capitalists (VCs) look to invest in paradigm shifters. The ultimate success indicator is a portfolio company’s initial public offering (“IPO”). It’s the moment when private risk meets public validation, creating a rare, high-profile outcome. The resulting financial success is often measured in multiples rather than percentages.

The exploration included research from Dan Rutter and the University of Florida. He has a database of 4,288 venture-backed companies spanning a 50-year period from 1975 to 2025. I performed AI-supported analyses of each entry and cross-referenced the results with other sources. Finally, I did deeper research on the final companies.

I’m spotlighting nine Black CEOs who founded or led venture-backed companies that went public.

The early-stage VCs watched their company’s value grow between 10X and 1,000X from the initial investment to the IPO. As public companies, a couple were acquired for billions. It’s the kind of performance that is worthy of recognition.

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Media & Culture: Breaking the Hub Mentality

Robert L. Johnson and Sheila Johnson co-founded BET in 1980 in Washington, DC. Breaking the Silicon Valley trend, it received backing from a local venture capital firm, Syncom Venture Partners. Together, they showed that Black audiences represented a massive, underserved market. When BET went public in 1991, it became the first Black-controlled company on the NYSE. The company and fund put D.C. on the map for new media businesses.

Viacom acquired BET for ~$3 billion in 2001, propelling Johnson to become the first Black billionaire. He later became the first Black majority owner of an NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, before selling his stake to Michael Jordan. Today, Johnson manages a $5 billion portfolio spanning fintech, automotive dealerships, lodging, and private equity. His philanthropy includes the Liberian Enterprise Development Fund and Malaria No More.

In the same year and in the same town as BET, Cathy Hughes founded Urban One (formerly Radio One). Hughes and her son, Alfred Liggins III, grew it into the largest Black-owned radio network in the U.S.

Liggins began as a single-station account manager. After 14 years, he became CEO and took the company public in 1999. This milestone made Liggins III the second Black CEO to IPO, and Hughes the first Black woman to chair a publicly traded company.

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Liggins has his own series of accomplishments beyond the IPO. As CEO, he orchestrated a $1.3 billion deal with Clear Channel and partnered with Comcast to launch TV One.

Early in her career, Hughes created the beloved “Quiet Storm” format on Howard University’s WHUR-FM. She’s a board member of a Mississippi-based boarding school founded in 1909 by her grandfather. She’s a vocal advocate for food and housing security, and mentors women in media. Liggins has leveraged their TV and radio network to promote economic empowerment and health & wellness issues prevalent among their audience.

BET and Urban One share Syncom Venture Partners as early VC backers. Founded by Herbert Wilkins, Sr. and Terry Jones, Syncom was a groundbreaking Black-owned venture firm. Its first fund achieved about a 7X return, and its legacy continues through alumni like Elliott Robinson, a Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners.

The Modern Era: Deep Tech and Scale

Dr. Ted W. Love founded San Francisco-based Global Blood Therapeutics in 2012 and took it public in 2015. The drug discovery company focused on sickle cell disease (SCD), a condition that disproportionately affects Black communities. Before starting GBT, Love and Amgen founder George Rathman transformed another public company, Hyseq, into a full-scale drug developer.

Early backers included Third Rock Ventures and healthcare specialists Deerfield Management. They were handsomely rewarded when, three years after founding, the company IPO’d at 15 times the early-stage valuation. In 2022, Pfizer acquired GBT for $5.4 billion, an 8X premium to the IPO price. The sale further validated the commercial viability of addressing underserved healthcare markets.

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Love serves on the board of Gilead Sciences. He is active in efforts to tackle poverty and health inequities, including Life Sciences Cares Bay Area.

In cybersecurity, Corey Thomas took the helm as CEO of Boston-based Rapid7 in 2012, steering the 12-year old company to an IPO in 2015. Under his leadership, the firm became a global security analytics powerhouse. A Vanderbilt honors graduate with a Harvard MBA, Thomas built his career at AT&T, Deloitte, and Microsoft.

Thomas heads the Rapid7 Cybersecurity Foundation. The organization aims to introduce cybersecurity career opportunities to underserved and underrepresented communities. Early venture backing for Rapid7 came from Bain Capital Ventures.

Ralph Clark was a trailblazer in public safety tech. In 2010, he joined SoundThinking, formerly known as ShotSpotter. Founded in Fremont, California, he transformed the 14-year old company into a scalable govtech leader, navigated complex procurement cycles, and took the company public in 2017. Despite debates over the company’s product, Clark maintains that SoundThinking’s gunshot detection product helps save lives by reducing police response times.

A recipient of the Northern California EY Entrepreneur of the Year award, Clark’s journey was supported by early investors that included Band of Angels and Labrador Ventures.

Data and Modern Infrastructure

Alex Karp founded Palantir in 2003 in Palo Alto, California. It has grown to be one of the most consequential (and valuable) defense and enterprise data platforms today. Its 2020 direct listing, 17 years after its founding in California and relocation to Denver, CO, reflected an evolution in venture liquidity models. Palantir continues to soar as a public company and has made an immense impact on the intersection of data and national security. Palantir’s early backers included Founders Fund and In-Q-Tel.

Karp, who has a Black mother and a Jewish father, has shared his views on his identity, belonging, and sense of connection, but would prefer to be viewed “as me.” His desire to recognize his heritage and maintain his individual uniqueness is a familiar balancing act for many. Karp backs many philanthropic efforts, including the Neurodivergent Fellowship, the Code4000 Partnership, and Change100.

Robert Reffkin founded New York-based Compass to modernize residential real estate through technology. Reffkin, a McKinsey and Goldman Sachs alum, took Compass public in April 2021, making him the youngest CEO on this list and the 2nd shortest to IPO (9 years). Compass is one of the largest residential real estate brokerages in the country, with a 6% market share.

Reffkin, who was raised by his Jewish mother, has spoken openly about growing up Black, and the value of mentorship. He counts early investor Ken Chenault and the late Vernon Jordan among several influential mentors. An avid marathoner, Reffkin ran 50 marathons in 50 states to raise $1 million for his nonprofit, America Needs You, which supports first-generation college students. Compass’s early VC backers included Thrive Capital, Founders Fund, and Alpaca VC.

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The last person on the list, and the most recent IPO, is Roy Banks and Utah-based Weave Communications. Banks joined the 11-year old company in 2019 and led it to its 2021 IPO. The company’s unified platform is designed for small to medium-sized healthcare providers, offering patient communications, engagement, and payments.

Banks stands out because of his long operating history. He has decades of experience growing enterprise software companies like Authorize.Net and Barracuda Networks, and is a five-time CEO.

He credits his U.S. Navy service for shaping his discipline and people-first leadership style. He’s active in the Utah community, advocating for the “Silicon Slopes” tech scene and supporting Living Color Utah. Banks often advocate for inclusion as a means for driving more innovation.

The Opportunity

Each trailblazer has a story that could, alone, fill a book (and some have). As a group, they do not conform to the typical venture capital profile. Considering the small numbers, they are more dispersed across different regions and possess extensive business experience. They have innovated across a broad range of industries. All have used their platforms and positions to promote access and empowerment for the underserved. Their experiences and achievements are inspiring.

Looking across the landscape today, I am sure there are many entrepreneurs out there with the talent, skills, and vision to achieve the highest levels of success. VCs that build a competency in funding non-traditional founders stand to deliver significant returns to their firms and investors.

This article was originally published on LinkedIn, and UrbanGeekz has permission to republish it