Candice Matthews Brackeen

As an innovation focussed venture capital investor and economic development leader, Candice Matthews Brackeen works to influence outcomes for entrepreneurs who are typically underfunded and outside of access to the networks necessary to scale. Her motivation to make change in this space was originally inspired by her own experiences as a woman and tech founder of color determined to find support in her local ecosystem and continues to be driven by her desire to create structures for the support of minority innovators.

Candice’s approach to building an inclusive ecosystem in Cincinnati began as a small weekly meet-up including several of her peers facing similar difficulties and quickly led to her challenging small business funding inequities across the state of Ohio. Candice’s efforts ultimately influenced legislation around an ongoing, dedicated allocation of Ohio’s Small Business Administration (SBA) funds to minority-led businesses across the state. She also led local corporations and universities including Kroger, Procter and Gamble, and the University of Cincinnati to meaningful engagement with the startup community, creating opportunities for innovators to access their labs, technologies, and other key resources.

Candice’s local weekly meetups became the catalyst for Lightship Foundation, where she now shares entrepreneurship education programming and ecosystem-building guidance across a dozen US cities and has led tech founders to more than $100 million in funding. Her journey continues to represent the truth that social impact can be both measurable and profitable.