We were lucky to catch up with Brian Zwerner recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brian, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
After spending the last five years as a venture capital investor in the Atlanta market, it was clear to me that diverse founders in our city needed support getting their companies out of the starting blocks. Most of these founders did not go to the traditional startup pipeline schools like Stanford or Harvard, and most of them did not work at big tech giants like Google or Apple. These founders did not meet the pattern matching that early-stage venture investors look for when writing a check before a company has launched its product and achieved some revenue success.
I founded W3 Studio, a 501c3 nonprofit, to support the amazing Black, Latinx, and women founders in Atlanta that are building emerging tech startups. Helping these people achieve their business dreams is what drives me and fulfills my purpose.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about your organization before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
At W3 Studio, we support early-stage diverse tech founders in several ways. Our goal is to assist them with education, resources, connections, and funding to allow them to build their products and find their first customers.
We work with groups of 5-6 founding teams in our Immutable pre-accelerator program. Founders spend 5 weeks with us in twice weekly two-hour sessions learning everything it takes to get their business live. We cover founder economics and motivation. We discuss finding co-founders and early employees. We talk about ways to vet business ideas and define a launch product. We review funding options and go-to-market strategies. We advise on pitching the company to investors and business partners.
We also assist founders in our community with important connections to get their business running. This might be introductions to investors. It can also be bringing founders to corporations that might be customers or distribution partners. We help founders find employees and interns. Additionally, we host events to bring together people in our diverse ecosystem to create opportunities.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that have impacted my business journey are grit, curiosity, and commitment. My career has seen many twists and turns from capital markets and investment banking to startup founder to venture investor to nonprofit leader. There have been many obstacles along the way and places where I could have been knocked off course. My grit has enabled me to stick with it and never give up. My curiosity has allowed me to enter new areas and find the knowledge and resources required to succeed. My commitment to excellence and to my community has allowed me to make an impact.
For others that are early in their journey, I advise you to find work areas that you are excited about and put in the hard work to build your knowledge base. Listen to podcasts, attend in-person or virtual events, read newsletters, and look for other opportunities to learn and grow. Reach out to people in the industry and volunteer to help first before asking for something in return. Stay the course and keep committed to your long-term success.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
W3 Studio is looking for corporate partners that believe in supporting diverse entrepreneurs here in Atlanta. If that is your company, please reach out to me on LinkedIn or via our website to discuss ways we can work together to help these amazing founders build exciting companies.
We are always interested to connect with Black, Latinx, and women founders in our city that are building emerging tech startups. Today, we focus on companies in web3, blockchain, AR/VR, metaverse, and AI sectors. If that is you, get in touch.
If you are an individual that believes in our mission, we would love to have you join our community as a donor or mentor. Hit us up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://w3studio.us/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-zwerner/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianZwerner
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bzwerner/videos