Why Black entrepreneurs flock to Martha’s Vineyard every August
Sign at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, Massachusetts
Cindygoff | Istock | Getty Images
Martha’s Vineyard has long been a summer vacation destination for Black families, but August in the Massachusetts beach community is becoming an important hub for Black entrepreneurs, investors and financial firms, too.
“I would say the magic of it is really about introducing your network to someone else’s network,” said Calvin L. Butts Jr., founder of East Chop Capital, a private equity firm named after a neighborhood on the island. “We found great success raising capital there, we’ve had our portfolio companies speak as well, we’ve done very, very well with deal flow.”
A wide range of companies including Disney, Cisco, Goldman Sachs, McDonald’s, Google, Ford, Mckinsey and CNBC parent company Comcast are hosting or sponsoring business-focused events on the Vineyard this month.
The Black Economic Alliance is hosting an event called “The Gathering,” bringing together corporate leaders to discuss ways to help increase the opportunities for Black employees and companies.
“The Vineyard is a spot to capture an audience who wants to have an intellectual and financial conversation about how to uplift Black culture,” said Melissa Bradley, general partner of the BEA Venture Fund.
Diageo and Estee Lauder. The honorees are business and political leaders who are helping to shape August on Martha’s Vineyard as a place where culture and commerce meet.
“Over the last five or so years, a lot of companies are realizing that there is a wealth of successful, accomplished, driven Black professionals, who decide to come to the Vineyard in August,” Goldson said.
“You can come to the vineyard for rest and relaxation,” she said. “But every year here there is also a growing legacy, where Black ambition and aspiration are celebrated in a very unique way.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of CNBC.
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