Kesha Cash Built the Largest VC Firm in America Run by a Black Woman — Then Backed a Unicorn

Let me tell you about Kesha Cash.

Sixty-five million dollars, twenty-five companies, one unicorn and three exits — built without a warm introduction or a family office bankroll behind her.

The Work

Cash is founder and general partner of Impact America Fund, the venture capital firm she launched in 2013 and is reported to be the largest VC firm in America run entirely by a Black woman. Under her, Impact America has grown to $65 million under management across two funds, with a portfolio of 25 companies, a unicorn and three exits by acquisition.

The thesis is blunt: technology-enabled companies serving low- and moderate-income communities in the United States represent billion-dollar opportunities that traditional investors overlook. The first fund closed at $10 million in 2014; the second at $55 million, backed by 67 limited partners including foundations, family offices and institutional investors. Sixty-two percent of the portfolio’s founders are people of color; 46% are women.

Her landmark bets tell the story. Esusu, the rent-reporting fintech that helps renters build credit, crossed a $1 billion valuation in 2022 — the crown jewel of the portfolio. Mayvenn, an early pre-Series A investment, has paid more than $20 million in commissions to a network of roughly 50,000 hair-care professionals, most of them women of color. And CareAcademy, which she led a $9.5 million Series A for, serves nearly 800,000 caregivers and was acquired in 2025.

The Roots

Cash grew up on a farm in South Carolina before her family moved to Orange County, California, where they lived in a one-bedroom apartment on a Section 8 voucher. Nobody in her family had been to college. She went anyway — studying applied mathematics at UC Berkeley, then earning an MBA from Columbia.

She spent a decade at Merrill Lynch, consulting for inner-city small businesses in Los Angeles and working in impact investing at Bridges Ventures in London. In 2010 she co-founded Jalia Ventures with impact investor Josh Mailman, a $5 million seed fund for mission-driven companies led by entrepreneurs of color. That vehicle made early bets on Red Rabbit, Schoolzilla and ConnXus — which was acquired by Coupa Software in 2020 — and gave her the track record to raise institutional funds of her own.

Why You Should Know Her

Because Cash invested from lived experience long before “lived experience” was an industry buzzword. She understands the customers her portfolio companies serve because she was one of them. And she’s proving the point the whole market needs to hear: that underserved communities aren’t a niche — they’re a market, and the founders closest to them are best positioned to win it. That’s why Kesha Cash belongs on your radar.

Quick facts

• Role: Founder & General Partner, Impact America Fund (founded 2013)
• Assets under management: $65 million across two funds
• Portfolio: 25 companies, one unicorn (Esusu) and three exits
• First fund: $10M (2014); second fund: $55M, 67 limited partners
• Education: UC Berkeley (applied mathematics); Columbia (MBA)
• Earlier: Co-founder, Jalia Ventures (2010); Merrill Lynch; Bridges Ventures

📸 Photo: Courtesy of Impact America Fund.

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