By Kallan Louis
One South Florida-based consulting company is establishing itself as a powerful resource for cash-strapped Black tech startups.
Eric A. Williams is the president and CEO of Alistair Chanelle Group, a Miami-based tech advising company serving as a one-stop-shop for Black and Latinx tech founders. Williams started the company in 2020 after more than 20 years in various tech roles for companies including AOL, Johnson & Johnson and Tata Group.
“The capital is just not reaching us,” said Williams.
Venture capital investors spent a record $300 billion on tech startups in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from Crunchbase. However, Black tech founders rarely get access to much. Less than one percent of tech startup funding is dispersed to Black founders.
“So we’re capital starved, even though we have great ideas like everyone else,” remarks Williams. “If you’re capital starved, you can’t really find a resource like myself that you can pay early on to help you be successful.”
Prior to Alistair Chanelle Group, Williams founded ijura, a cloud-based mobile cybersecurity platform. Tata Group invested $2 million, which was used to pay team salaries, legal counsel services, infrastructure, among other things. Williams exited the company after the product went to market. His experience opened his eyes to the hurdles Black founders faced without significant financial support. He felt compelled to do more to assist people in the industry that looked like him.
“I got lucky. I had a corporate venture-backed partner,” recalled Williams. “At this point in my career my motivation is to help others thrive and share in their success.”
Alistair Chanelle Group develops equity-based partnerships similar to tech accelerator programs. It provides guidance and resources from the white paper phase to product launch. The company has serviced half a dozen startups since launching in 2020. Its portfolio includes Florida-based, Black-owned companies Fit:match.ai and NurseBnB.
Williams’ passion to support Black tech entrepreneurship can be traced from his upbringing. Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, he loved to take electronics apart to tinker with. After completing high school, he came to the U.S. and enrolled at Howard University. He earned a degree in information systems and a masters degree in computer science engineering. He is involved in local and international established efforts supporting Black tech entrepreneurs including TechStars, Black Men in Tech and A Thousand Black Voices. He highly encourages entrepreneurs to apply or register for opportunities like these for resources and mentorship.
As Miami’s tech innovation boom continues to expand with tech giants relocating to the area, Williams challenged Black investors to take action so the Black tech ecosystem can also reap benefits.
“Until we have our community focused on literally coming together to say ‘How can I be deliberate? If I have $5,000 or $10,000 instead of buying Google stock or Facebook stock, or whatever the case may be, can I move that to black innovation? That will be the key for our innovators to become billionaires.’”
