
The GingerBreadCap team rocking Ezza Nails‘ tagline in the comfiest sweatshirts ever! Our fave nail salon in Chicago had just opened two more locations when the coronavirus pandemic hit, forcing co-founders Ale Breuer and Kim Marsh to temporarily close all three. They quickly pivoted to offer select at-home nail care products and branded gear on their website, and a crowdfunding campaign #SupportOurSquad to help out their nail techs during the shutdown. Their “tough as nails” spirit continues to inspire us every day.
Dear Friends,
What the coronavirus pandemic has shown the world, is just how interconnected we all are.
From food to transportation, how we work, raise our families, what we do in our spare time–every aspect of our lives. And no more so than our health, and the health of our planet, which are inextricably tied to issues of equity and justice.
“COVID-19 has revealed an essential truth: that clean air is fundamental to a healthy and prosperous future for us all.”
Davida Herzl, CEO of San Francisco-based Aclima, one of the innovative companies in the GBC portfolio, made that simple observation in a keynote speech she delivered (virtually) at a recent tech conference. Aclima provides hyperlocal air quality data to government, business and climate scientists. In her keynote, Davida addressed the economic and health inequities caused by air pollution in communities of color–inequities that make the coronavirus so much deadlier, especially for Black, Hispanic/Latino and Indigenous people, as health statistics clearly show.

Davida Herzl of Aclima: “The connections between air pollution, public health, and environmental justice are clear,” she notes. To better understand why, we recommend you spend 10 minutes watching Davida’s address. Watch the video.
There is a clear connection, studies also show, between a lack of investment in communities of color and poorer health outcomes. We believe more investment in Black and Latinx founders is essential to building healthier communities, closing the wealth gap and helping to end the systemic racism that plagues our society. The coronavirus crisis and recent protests across the country against racial injustice have only deepened our commitment to be part of the solution.
COVID-19 has also shown us the true grit, resilience and courage it takes to keep a business going, in good times and bad. It’s especially true if you’re a female founder of color, as a new report from All Raise shows (check out their infographic on Medium — and speaking of All Raise, we’re proud to announce that Ita has joined the All Raise-New York chapter’s steering committee).
What keeps us going is the inspiration we get from the founders in our portfolio–and those who we’ve supported through our COVID-19 relief grants (find out more by watching our sizzle reel)–who’ve learned how to pivot, shift gears, batten down and find ways to persevere through these strange and uncertain days. Find out more about what they’re doing on the GingerSnaps blog.
From the whole team at GingerBread Capital, we wish you health, peace and ever better days ahead. Thanks for being a vital part of our community.