Da 5 Bloods Trailer: The 'Time Has Come Today' for Spike Lee's 1st New Joint Since His Oscar Win

Whenever a filmmaker wins an Academy Award, fans and industry folks alike sit at the edge of their figurative seats and await the newly decorated artist’s next work.

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Big Ballerina Energy: Misty Copeland Talks 'Swans for Relief' and 80 Years of American Ballet Theatre

Misty Copeland, who became American Ballet Theatre’s first African-American principal dancer in 2015, is still putting in work.

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Nick Cannon Graduates From Howard University With A Degree In Criminology

There’s more to Nick Cannon than “Wild ‘N Out.”

The host of multiple TV shows, Cannon, 39, has just graduated from Howard University and he proudly tweeted his accomplishment.

“I graduated from Howard University @howarduniversity1867 today! Received a degree in Criminology/Administration of Justice and a minor in Africana Studies! Had the opportunity to speak at the virtual ceremony, Masters and Ph.D. is next! #HU2020,” he tweeted along with a video of himself wearing his cap and gown.

He also spoke during a Howard University virtual graduation ceremony of his intentions to earn his master’s degree and Ph.D. next.

Back in 2016, the “Drumline” actor announced that he had enrolled at the HBCU. He tweeted at the time,  “Nelson Mandela once said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,’ and with that said I have officially enrolled at Howard University.”

He continued, “I am always seeking new challenges and continual growth and decided to obtain my first college degree from an institution that had a proven legacy of producing great minds. I have friends, mentors and colleagues who attended Howard University. I look forward to this new journey in my life and am excited about the possibilities ahead.”

Cannon has a lot of things on his plate. Besides hosting “Wild ‘N Out,” “Lip Sync Battle Shorties,” and “The Masked Singer,” he is also gearing up for the release of his upcoming documentary.

Go head @NickCannon ! Congrats to THE Howard University 2020 graduates #HowardUniversity pic.twitter.com/b5tqV7lLAA

— Sira Jenay (@Simply_Sira) May 8, 2020

“Strong Enemies: The Untold Case of Dr. Sebi” is about controversial natural healer Dr. Sebi who claimed to have the cure for AIDS, Revolt TV reported. Hip-hop artist and community activist Nipsey Hussle had started the documentary prior to his death. Cannon vowed to see the project to completion.

Cannon also has a nationally syndicated daytime talk show coming up in September. He recently signed on as the morning host at Power 106FM in L.A. as well as agreeing to the third season of  “Caught on Camera with Nick Cannon,”  Hip Hop Vibe reported. Cannon previously hosted “America’s Got Talent.”

On top of all of this, Cannon opened a vegan soul food restaurant in Los Angeles at the end of April. The VTree Hollywood is located inside the 100-year-old Japanese restaurant Yamashiro, according to Vegan News.

For the restaurant venture, Cannon partnered with acclaimed plant-based chef Chef Velvet. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, VTree Hollywood is only offering curbside orders and take-out for now, Black Enterprise reported. Chef Velvet has a popular vegan restaurant called  Veltree in Charlotte, NC.

“My goal is to be the most powerful person in the media,” Cannon said in a statement announcing his new venture. “Being able to have a multi-platform empire is really what I have been focusing on. Create household legacies and brands, from radio to digital to daily television. I just feel like I can really do things (that) no one else has ever done before.”

This article was originally written by Ann Brown for The Moguldom Nation.

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‘The Bachelorette’ star Hannah Brown says n-word while rapping song

“Rockstar” by Da Baby featuring Roddy Rich is a hit song. The guitar-heavy song entered the Billboard charts in early May at number 9 and is another Top 10 hit for the rapper. 

The popular song has landed one TV star in hot water. 

READ MORE: ABC’s First Black ‘Bachelorette’ ties the knot during in romantic ceremony in Cancun

Hannah Brown was rapping along to the song on Instagram Live and as she mouthed the lyrics, she said the n-word. 

Initially, The Bachelorette star was defensive. She posted a video where she said, “I did?”

When it was shared with her that she did indeed say the racial slur, she continued to deny using the vulgarity:

“I don’t think I said that word, but now I’m like … Oh, God. I’ve never used that word. I’ve never called anybody that … You can think I’m something that I’m not, but I’m not that.”

As backlash intensified, Brown finally admitted that she said the word and issued an apology. 

“I owe you all a major apology,” the reality TV personality said in a statement in an Instastory. “There is no excuse and I will not justify what I said. I have read your messages and seen the hurt I have caused.”

Hannah Brown Apology n-word usage (Screenshot from her Instastory)

She continued, “I own it all. I am terribly sorry and know that whether in public or private, this language is unacceptable. I promise to do better.”

Another Bachelor star, Bekah Martinez slammed Brown for using the word. She wrote that “We’ve got to hold people accountable to do better otherwise we’re continuing to prioritize the feelings of white people (and someone we ‘stan’) over ending our country’s loooong history of casual racism and flippant anti-Blackness.”

Martinez claims that Brown used the n-word, but previously skipped over the f-word. 

READ MORE: Lizzo wants to be the next ‘Bachelorette’ and has a NSFW hot girl request for the men

While she didn’t mention Brown by name, Martinez slammed celebs with “access to privilege, knowledge, and education.” 

She said in an Instastory post, “You can’t say the n-word just because Black people say it. Black people reclaimed the use of a word that was used for centuries to oppress and dehumanize them.”

The post ‘The Bachelorette’ star Hannah Brown says n-word while rapping song appeared first on TheGrio.

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6 Tips to Get Your Pitch Noticed by VCs

Zooming in on possible VCs is only the tip of the iceberg. You’ll need to focus on creating a winning pitch to get your startup noticed by the right VC for your startup. 

Here are six tips you can follow to make sure you’re as ready as you can be to face those investors.

Make sure your startup has what VCs are looking for

Some VCs will tell you on their website what they’re looking for in your investment pitch, but as a general minimum, you’ll need to know at least the following:

First, customers. Depending on the nature of your startup, your customer base can be very broad or very niche. This matters to VCs because they want to see what the market potential for your business might be. 

Don’t worry if you have a niche market—many businesses thrive and dominate their niches. Let VCs see that your startup can do just that and even has the capacity to expand into future markets if applicable.

Next, VCs will be looking for your Minimum Viable Offer (MVO). This is an offer, many times a prototype or beta version, that provides the least amount of benefits to merit a sale from your target customers. This doesn’t have to be perfect—it only has to show VCs that you can solve a very specific problem for customers extremely well. 

Yet another thing you’ll want to iron out is your founding team. Knowing your founding team also helps you craft your startup’s story. Why were you founded? What made all of you come together? What makes this team potential leaders for a growing business? 

Last but not least, if applicable, talk about any existing employees you already have or plans for the kinds of employees you want to hire once fully funded. 

If you’re on a tight budget, you might be able to save money by working with remote workers around the world—just figure out the logistics of how to work with them and pay them accordingly through different payment sending platforms. 

Include details like this in your pitch to show prospects how much you’ve thought out your startup operations.

Build a pitch deck and presentation

You’ll need to design a beautiful and clear pitch deck to help you illustrate compelling points, data, and numbers that VCs have to pay attention to. Refer to this post to see what information you can use to help you build out your pitch deck. 

As a general rule of thumb, remember these tips:

• Start your pitch by illustrating a problem, then introduce your startup as the solution.
• Use charts and graphs to highlight statistics and data best. 
• Include projections visually and be sure to know how you came up with those numbers.
• Keep the deck branded. As early as now, you can show VCs that you’ve got a brand that’s waiting to reach the hands of your customers.

Perfect your elevator pitch

Your elevator pitch is the one-liner explanation of what unmet need your startup aims to solve in the world. This is a statement you’ll want to have when you introduce your startup as a solution to the problems you’ve enumerated in your pitch.

This helps VCs understand in a very succinct way what it is your startup does. But it also holds another use: in case your meeting or pitch is cut short, an elevator pitch makes sure you can relay your startup’s purpose in as little time as possible.

Look into the right VC

Getting the right VC is often like getting a role at a TV audition; sometimes it’s just about the right fit.

Don’t take it too personally if you get a rejection from what you thought was a promising VC. Many times, investors are looking for specific startups, either in a certain industry or with certain values.

Consider this an opportunity: if you find the perfect VC, you’ll also benefit from their ability to meet your startup’s specific needs.

Send proposals to a few prospects at a time

As a rule of thumb, treat your startup proposal like a job application. You don’t want to keep all your eggs in the same basket, so send out proposals to a few prospective investors at a time.

Only move on to new VCs once you’ve heard from all your prospects. 

Trust the process

In this interview with Rand Fishkin, founder of software companies Moz and SparkToro, he mentions that early-stage failure in his first startup helped him to get monumental success in his business later on.

We can learn from Fishkin’s experience, and treat the VC pitching process as feedback. If your proposal is rejected right from the onset, try to gather why you didn’t even make it to the pitching stage. If your pitch is turned down, try to ask prospects what they were looking for that you simply didn’t provide.

All these can only strengthen your future pitches to future VCs. So trust the process.

Key Takeaways

Getting your pitch accepted by investors can be a difficult process, but if you’re equipped with the right tools, mindset, and information, it doesn’t have to be. Follow the tips above to boost your chances of getting your pitch noticed by VCs.

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