Green Book Ventures
Empowering the Next Generation of Black-Owned Start-ups
We Believe Genius Is Zip Code Agnostic
Green Book Ventures (GBV) invests in companies that can accelerate the growth of Black-owned companies.
GBV is an unprecedented collaboration of best-in-class Black finance executives, who are also business owners. We have teamed to narrow the Black wealth gap while providing investors with the potential for outsize returns. The “force multiplier” of our alliance creates a new business marketplace ecosystem specifically designed to meet the unique needs of Black-owned firms.
We apply the same bottom-up investment approach to the companies we invest in, so that they can accelerate the development of Black-owned businesses.
MISSION
Close the wealth gap by investing in companies that can accelerate the growth of Black-owned companies.
According to McKinsey & Company, closing the wealth gap could result in over $1 trillion in additional real GDP by 2028.
Black businesses represented 10% of job growth between 2002 and 2016. They supply 20% of the Black workforce and that percentage could be higher with effective support to enable revenue and profitability expansion.
INVESTMENT
STRATEGY
We apply a disciplined, bottom-up investment approach to the 15-30 companies we invest in — such as operations-related firms — that can expedite the growth of Black-owned businesses, many of which may be undervalued due to suboptimal efficiencies. The companies we invest in provide advice, capital, and key resources.
VALUES
01
RACIAL EQUITY
Equity initiatives such as strengthening voting rights and dramatically reducing incarceration, while re-investing funds in education and life skills programs, work to our collective benefit as a nation.
02
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Financial strength is critical if we are to broaden the economic base of our country. Such empowerment will stimulate economic growth and higher employment while growing GDP.
03
COMMUNITY BUILDING
Impactful communities provide a sense of safety and belonging. Ultimately, this leads to community members sharing a passion for personal improvement and continued learning.
04
SUSTAINABILITY
Environmental quality is necessary for healthy communities of color. Clean air and nontoxic environments can be achieved by consciously using capital resources to benefit under-resourced communities.
05
INCLUSIVE CAPITALISM
Reimagining how capitalism can be shaped to benefit the broadest cross-section of American society.
COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGES
Connectivity to Black businesses throughout the U.S. We are also uniquely positioned to identify and invest in companies that can speed the development of such businesses.
Uncommon access to an expanding ecosystem of companies and organizations, e.g., capital/ risk management, professional/civic organizations, governmental agencies, affinity groups, and many more.
Ecosystem Collaboration: integrating partnerships that enable startups, investors, and limited partners to better serve and engage Black businesses.
Our name, Green Book Ventures, pays homage to The Negro Motorist Green Book, which was a travel guide to help African-American motorists avoid social obstacles prevalent during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation. The Green Book listed businesses that accepted African-American customers, and as a result, facilitated the success of Black businesses.
By investing in companies that can speed the growth of Black companies, we seek to be a 21st century version of the original Green Book.
TEAM
Consortium of managing members, venture partners and senior advisors who have more than 180 years of collective experience. The team has allocated more than $5 billion of investment capital and executed more than $11 billion in corporate transactions over their histories.
MANAGING MEMBERS
We are committed to developing scalable models for resolving the racial wealth gap.
Lawrence is a founding partner and managing member of Green Book Ventures. He is responsible for the overall direction of the firm, and serves on the investment committee. Lawrence has over 20 years of investment experience. He is also a founding partner of Bivium Capital Partners, a $1.6 Bil. assets under management investment firm. Prior to founding Bivium, Lawrence was employed at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York in the Investment Management Division. He was one of the first members of Goldman Sachs' external manager selection team and was involved in all aspects of the development of the group's fund of funds business. Lawrence worked on a number of the firm’s outsourced CIO client portfolios. Lawrence also spent of portion of his time evaluating minority owned investment companies as part of the firms’ Urban Investment Group for allocation of Goldman Sachs & Co. capital. Currently Lawrence serves on the boards of Bivium Capital Partners, Beacon Rose Partners, Xprize Racial Equity Alliance Task Force, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area and Play Marin. Lawrence attended Cornell University where he received his BS from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and his MPA from Cornell University School of Public Affairs.
Les is a founding partner and managing member of Green Book Ventures. He is responsible for the overall direction of the firm, and serves onthe investment committee. Les has over 30 years of investment experience. He founded Attucks Asset Management in 2001 and grew that firm to over $3.5 Bil. in assets under management. Prior to Attucks, Les founded Columbia Capital Management in 1996 as an independent financial and investment advisor to governmental entities. Les served as Deputy General Counsel for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority of Chicago as well as General Counsel for Comptroller of the City of St. Louis with additional responsibilities as Fiscal Manager of External Finance. Les serves on the boards of the National Association of Securities Professionals (past chairman), the Marshall Faulk Foundation, the MOBILE Care Foundation, eta Creative Arts Foundation, and the Business Leadership Council. Les received his AB degree from Princeton University, and his JD and MBA from Northwestern University. Les is a licensed attorney in the states of Illinois and Georgia.
Glenn is a founding partner and managing member of Green Book Ventures. He is responsible for day-to-day management and operations of the firm and serves on the investment committee. Glenn is the founder of Obsidian Investment Advisers, LLC, a $25 million registered investment adviser. Glenn has over 22 years of investment experience. Prior to founding Obsidian, Glenn spent over 10 years in international business management, operations and finance, working with British Petroleum, General Motors, and Microsoft. Glenn is also an experienced corporate turnaround artist, having traveled around Europe, AsiaPac and LatinAm restructuring several underperforming divisions during his corporate career, and more recently taking this knowledge to the local small business community as an active angel investor. He is also involved in local small business investment and competitiveness issues and has often provided testimony to legislatures on private equity and economic development issues. An experienced corporate Director, among several positions over the years, he served on the Board of the Bank of Washington, a community bank where he was Chairman of the bank's Asset Liability Committee (ALCO). He currently serves on the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Exam Maintenance Committee, which develops and manages question content of FINRA Series 63, 65 and 66 exams. Glenn also serves of the boards of the Alpha Light Fund and Alpha Omicron Boule Foundation. Glenn attended Cornell University where he received his BS in Electrical Engineering, and his MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
VENTURE PARTNERS
