Why 1863 Ventures picked GOODProjects cofounder Daniel Wright as its first COO

1863 Ventures has named GOODProjects cofounder Daniel Wright as its first-ever chief operating officer.

Wright joins the business development org as it recently set ambitious goals to generating $100 billion in new wealth by and for “new majority entrepreneurs,” which it calls minorities who have been marginalized when it comes to venture capital investments. The nonprofit has also committed to supporting 1,500 entrepreneurs who are working on scaling their ventures this year.

1863 Ventures began its search for a COO around the middle of last year after its board realized it needed to increase its internal capacity to meet external needs.

“While many great candidates surfaced, very few had the entrepreneurial background and understanding of the work, while having great operational skills,” Melissa Bradley, the managing partner of 1863 Ventures, told Technical.ly. “Late last year we learned of Danny’s transition from GOODProjects and engaged him on a consulting basis to help us ramp up our systems to onboard someone new to the firm.”

GOODProjects is a D.C.-based nonprofit that brings social impact organizations together to alleviate poverty across the District by providing resources like free youth programming, job readiness help, employment connections and other benefits.

Wright departed from the organization last December on what appear to be sour terms. He took to Instagram to share his thoughts on leaving GOODProjects, which he founded in 2016 and formerly led as CEO.

Bradley said after vetting Wright for a few months, it became clear that he was the perfect fit for the role.

“First, he has an entrepreneurial background which is important to better support our members,” Bradley said. “Second, he served a similar role at GOODProjects so his learning curve and ability to lead this work is minimal. And finally, he was a great culture fit as we are a tight knit team who have been together for over three years.”

Wright told Technical.ly that as 1863 Ventures’ new COO, he will immediately be focused on ensuring the team has the operational tools, systems and support needed to serve those 1,500 minority entrepreneurs this year. He will also be working closely with Bradley on creating strategic resources to bring more venture capital to minority founders.

Wright plans to bring his wealth of experience as a Black startup founder into his new role.

“Very often, start-up founders have a ‘whatever it takes’ approach to get the job done. My experience at GOOD over the last five years placed me in a position to serve a multitude of roles for the organization,” he said. “That experience as a servant-leader will now be applied to support 1863 Ventures’ mission of creating $100 billion in new wealth, and as a coaching soundboard for the countless entrepreneurs that come through our programs.”

In its first few years, 1863 Ventures reports that it has supported more than 2,500 entrepreneurs through its programming, and that those founders have an aggregated revenue of nearly $300 million.