Black Operator Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in technology companies led by Black founders, specifically aiming to close the Series A funding gap. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Black Operator Ventures James Norman and Sean Green to learn more.

Background Of The Founders

James Norman and Sean Green are the Co-Founders at Black Operator Ventures (Black Ops VC), an early-stage VC firm investing in exceptional tech companies led by Black founders. Norman serves as the Managing Partner, overseeing the firm’s overall strategy and relationships with LPs, while Green is the General Partner, leading the portfolio to maximize returns and deal flow.

The firm is based in Oakland, CA, and closed its $20 million inaugural fund in 2021. So far, Black Ops VC has invested in 15 tech startups, including EdVisorly, Cyphr, and ChurchSpace.

Both Norman and Green are 3X founders who bring decades of hands-on startup tech experience and operational insight, giving them a unique ability to discover and invest in the best tech founders. In addition to Black Ops VC, Norman is the CEO of Pilotly, an AI-powered market research platform used by industry giants like Amazon and Netflix that’s designed for the media and entertainment spaces to gather audience feedback on video content.

Norman is also Partner at Transparent Collective, an accelerator that provides intense programming, resources, and capital to overlooked founders. Green is the Founder and CEO of ARTERNAL, an AI-powered CRM and inventory management platform specifically designed for art galleries, dealers, auction houses, and collectors.

Evolution Of The Firm’s Thesis

How has your firm’s thesis evolved over time? Green said:

“Black Ops VC’s thesis has evolved alongside the realities of the fourth industrial revolution, where AI is no longer optional but foundational for companies. Initially, the firm focused broadly on backing exceptional tech founders, but we have since sharpened our lens to prioritize companies that are AI-native at their core. This shift reflects a clear view that venture-scale outcomes are increasingly unattainable without deeply embedded AI capabilities. We expect Fund II to be fully aligned with an AI-native investment strategy.”

Favorite Memory

What has been your favorite memory working for your firm so far? Norman reflected:

“One of my favorite memories was the moment Sean called me about starting the fund and less than a day later, we stayed up for two straight days building our first deck. That intensity and shared belief really set the tone for everything that followed with Black Ops VC. Another standout moment was when we realized how natural our partnership and dynamic was, and that we weren’t fully articulating to the market how we operate as 1+1=3. It reframed everything for us and that our edge isn’t just what we do inside the firm, but how every part of how we operate is intentional and strategic to the success of the fund, our LPs and portfolio.”

Significant Milestones

What have been some of your firm’s most significant milestones? Norman cited:

“Some of our most significant milestones include achieving our first seed-to–Series A graduation, which validated both our thesis and our ability to back founders who can truly scale. Another major moment was expanding the team in 2023, bringing on Antonia Dean as Partner and having Dontae Rayford step in to be our head of platform. We also marked an important institutional milestone by welcoming Norman’s alma mater, the University of Michigan, as an LP. Together, these moments reflect both our growth as a firm and the strengthening of our ecosystem around founders.”

Investment Success Story

Would you like to share any specific investment success stories? Green highlighted:

“One investment success story we’re especially proud of is our backing of ChurchSpace, where Black Ops VC led the company’s $1.2 million oversubscribed round. The company is transforming underutilized church real estate into economic engines for communities through event, logistics, and last-mile delivery infrastructure. What made this investment especially meaningful was that it perfectly reflected our strategy around closing the Series A gap for Black founders. By helping founders raise fully subscribed seed rounds with the right governance, operational structure, and investor support, we’re giving companies like ChurchSpace the velocity needed to hit the metrics required for a successful Series A raise.”

Metrics About The Firm

Can you discuss total AUM or any other notable metrics? Norman revealed:

“Our inaugural Fund I was a $20M vehicle, which laid the foundation for our strategy and portfolio construction, and Fund II is currently in progress. Given the stage of our investments, it’s still early to speak to realized returns or dollars returned. However, on a forward-looking basis, our on-paper projections indicate a strong trajectory, with roughly 20% of the portfolio tracking toward fund-returner potential. These early signals reinforce our conviction in both our thesis and the caliber of founders we back.”

Industry Focus

What are some of the industries that your firm is focused on? Green noted:

“We’ve historically been industry-agnostic, focusing more on backing exceptional founders than targeting specific sectors. That said, SaaS has been a natural area of affinity given our own lived experiences as operators and builders in the B2B space. More recently, we’ve been particularly excited about the rise of agentic platforms and tools, which we see as a critical layer in the evolving AI ecosystem. While we remain flexible in where we invest, our interest tends to follow where we see the most transformative technological shifts emerging.”

Differentiation

What differentiates Black Operator Ventures from other firms? Norman emphasized:

“What differentiates Black Ops VC is that we’re not just investors, we’re also active operators building in AI alongside our founders. As a firm led by two 3x tech founders, Sean and I have both transformed our own companies (ARTERNAL and Pilotly) from traditional SaaS models into AI-native, agentic businesses, giving us firsthand insight into what it actually takes to make that shift. That operating experience shapes how we support founders, from deploying agents to recalibrating sales and go-to-market strategies in real time. In an era where founders increasingly expect their investors to understand and build with AI, we represent a new model of VC; one that’s evolving with the same velocity as the companies we back.”

Challenges Faced

What are some of the challenges you faced while working at the firm? Green acknowledged:

“One of the earliest challenges we faced was building the right team to effectively execute our fund’s strategy, which we addressed by being intentional about bringing on operators who were deeply aligned with our vision and could add leverage across the portfolio. More recently, navigating the fundraising environment has been a key challenge, especially amid heightened volatility and capital disruption under the current administration. We’ve overcome this by staying disciplined in our thesis, doubling down on conviction around AI-native companies, and leaning into our operator-led differentiation. That clarity and consistency have helped us continue to build momentum despite broader market uncertainty.”

Future Goals

What are some of your firm’s future goals? Norman concluded:

“One of our key future goals is to build a strong pipeline of operators so that as we eventually transition out of our own companies, there is always a current, active founder within the partnership. We’re also focused on successfully closing Fund II and continuing to scale the platform we’ve built. At the core of it all, our mission remains the same: backing the most AI-native companies led by Black founders. Long term, we want to institutionalize an operator-led model that continues to evolve alongside the founders we serve.”