? TBT NEWS: ARIAN SIMONE TURNED “I NEED AN INVESTOR” INTO “I AM THE INVESTOR”
Today's story rotates into venture capital and Black women controlling investment capital.
Arian Simone is preparing to release her new book Fearless Freedom: A Manifesto for Unlocking Wealth and Equality for All on October 6, 2026, and Fortune published an exclusive excerpt today, October 1 examining the journey behind the investment firm she built. Fortune
Long before becoming an investor, Simone was an entrepreneur trying to finance her own business. She has recalled sitting on the floor of a retail store she was preparing to open and making herself a promise: one day she would become the investor she had been searching for. Fortune
She eventually did.
Through its first venture fund, Fearless Fund invested nearly $26 million across 36 companies founded by women of color, according to Simone's newly published account. Fortune
That is an important transformation:
ENTREPRENEUR → CAPITAL BUILDER → INVESTOR → CAPITAL ALLOCATOR
? WHY THIS MATTERS
We talk constantly about Black entrepreneurs needing access to capital.
But there's another side of the equation that deserves just as much attention:
Who controls the capital?
Building thousands of Black-owned companies matters.
Building more Black investors, venture funds, banks, family offices and investment institutions matters too.
Because the person writing the check helps determine which ideas get the opportunity to become companies.
Simone's path provides a larger wealth-building lesson:
BUILD → EARN → INVEST → FUND OTHERS → CREATE ECONOMIC CAPACITY
The ultimate evolution of entrepreneurship isn't necessarily earning enough money to retire.
It can be reaching the point where your accumulated knowledge, relationships and capital allow you to finance the next generation of entrepreneurs.
That's when personal success begins becoming infrastructure.
?? TBT COMMUNITY: Which would create more long-term Black wealth—10,000 additional Black-owned businesses or 1,000 additional Black investors capable of financing those businesses?
#TBTNews #ArianSimone #FearlessFund #BlackWomenInvestors #BlackBusiness #VentureCapital #Ownership #WealthBuilding
Sources: Fortune's exclusive excerpt published October 1, 2026; Fearless Fund's current leadership information; and prior Fortune reporting documenting Simone's transition from entrepreneur to investor. Fearless Freedom is scheduled for publication October 6. Fortune
