Justin Dawkins

Justin Dawkins co-founded Goodie Nation and Collab Capital to change the face of tech by closing financial and relationship gaps for Black entrepreneurs.

"To some, entrepreneur-turned-investors are simply changing sides of the capitalism table," tech entrepreneur Justin Dawkins wrote. "However, what if entrepreneurs stayed on the ‘problem-solving' side of the table? What if entrepreneurs saw a problem in the capital market and decided to do what they do best; build a product that solves it?"

That's exactly what he did in 2018 with Jewel Burks Solomon and Barry Givens when they founded Collab Capital, an investment firm by Black founders and for Black founders. "We are setting out to shrink the wealth gap by helping Black founded businesses overcome the funding and network challenges that often stifle their growth," he continued. In 2021, Collab finished raising $50 million in venture capital with partners like Apple, Goldman Sachs, Google, and PayPal.

Before Collab, Dawkins led and launched several Atlanta-based technology consulting and digital marketing companies, including his own and social analytics startup SoClick and Inflex Digital Studios. The Georgia State graduate focused on leveling the playing field in tech as Atlanta's first Google digital coach and co-founder of Goodie Nation, a nonprofit that addressed the relationship gap for underrepresented innovators without access to wealthy and well-connected strategic networks.