Hollywood powerhouse, comedian and entrepreneur Kevin Hart makes the world laugh both onstage and on camera. But behind the scenes, he’s a serious entrepreneur building a multiplatform media empire. He is also the founder and managing partner of HartBeat Ventures, an early-stage VC firm with a focus on lifestyle, media and technology.
What’s more, Hart’s investment company seems to accomplish this while maintaining a focus on inclusion — financial inclusion specifically. These are just some of the reasons why we’re thrilled that Kevin Hart; his venture firm’s president and co-founder, Robert Roman; and Michael Elanjian, J.P. Morgan’s head of digital investment banking and digital private markets, will join us onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt on October 18–20 in San Francisco.
Venture funding inequity remains a big issue. Forbes reports that while companies with white founders receive 77% of VC dollars, less than 10% go to women founders and less than 1% to Black founders. Ensuring financial inclusion is complicated. It requires a multifaceted approach to fight against homogeneous networks, deceptive warm intros and the basic need for more fluency across different demographics. Hart and Roman will discuss these complexities, and Elanjian will give us a look at how institutions are breaking down barriers.
In addition, we’re curious about Hart’s brand and how it’s expanded over the years. We’d also like to hear where, with all its different business, he plans to take his company moving forward.
Just part of Kevin Hart’s impressive Hollywood CV includes eleven No. 1 box office films that have grossed more than $4.23 billion in global revenue. A successful entrepreneur and chairman of HartBeat, a global, multiplatform media company creating entertainment at the intersection of comedy and culture, Hart’s on a mission to keep the world laughing together.
As the founder of HartBeat Ventures, Hart has partnered with or invested in various companies, including Gran Coramino tequila; plant-based, quick-serve restaurant Hart House; Fabletics Men; JPMorgan Chase; Hydrow; Nutrabolt; Sam’s Club; Old Spice, Brüush; Tommy John; and Therabody.
Hart continues to develop, star in and produce feature films, television shows and podcasts via HartBeat for his various partners, such as Netflix, Peacock, Sirius XM and Audible. He is currently touring nationally with his eighth hour of stand-up material entitled “The Reality Check Tour.”
Over the years, Robert Roman, president and co-founder of HartBeat Ventures, has invested in notable companies such as Airbnb, Hydrow and C4. A leading financial advisor in the entertainment and sports industries, Roman focuses his holistic service model on creating and maintaining efficiencies within his clients’ finances.
Roman has more than 20 years of experience in wealth management, providing financial services to families through multigenerational, forward-thinking solutions. In 2011 he founded Legacy Private Client Group, where he built a platform that facilitated holistic solutions. Legacy PCG quickly became one of the fastest growing wealth management firms in California and the U.S.
Michael Elanjian builds new digital businesses and capabilities for JPMorgan’s clients. He is also the founder of Capital Connect, a platform that provides fundraising, networking and data to founders and investors. Acquired by JPMorgan in 2022, Global Shares, which offers cap table and share plan services, is also part of Elanjian’s organization.
Elanjian previously served as the head of digital innovation for the corporate and investment bank where he drove the digital strategy, fintech investments and acquisitions, and he created JPMorgan’s product incubation effort, AreaX.
Before joining JPMorgan, Elanjian spent nine years at Goldman Sachs, where his team led the strategy development and implementation for market structure and financial technology investments.
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