Cheraé Robinson on Raising $2.6 Million To Change The Way Travelers Experience Africa
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Building a venture-backed startup often begins with solving a problem you've experienced firsthand. For Cheraé Robinson, that problem was the way Africa was marketed to the world.
After years working in global health with organizations like the CDC and CARE, Robinson traveled extensively across the African continent. She quickly realized that the travel experiences she was having—through local artists, chefs, entrepreneurs, and creatives—were nearly impossible for others to discover.
In 2015, she co-founded Tastemakers Africa, a travel experiences marketplace connecting travelers with locally curated experiences across Africa. Over the next several years, the company raised $2.6 million in venture capital, became one of the earliest venture-backed travel startups focused on Africa, and helped reshape how thousands of people experienced the continent.
Today, Robinson serves as Head of Platform & Marketing at Flybridge, the venture capital firm that led Tastemakers Africa's seed round, where she now helps the next generation of founders build their own companies.
Watch the full conversation on the YouTube player below, or listen on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
What inspired you to start Tastemakers Africa?
Cheraé Robinson: The idea came from my own experience traveling throughout Africa for work. Every trip introduced me to incredible artists, chefs, entrepreneurs, and neighborhoods that weren't represented in traditional tourism. At the same time, friends constantly asked me for recommendations. I realized there wasn't an easy way to discover authentic local experiences, so I decided to build one.
How did you validate the idea before raising venture capital?
Cheraé Robinson: We started with something simple—a group trip to Ghana. I posted it on Facebook, asked people to reserve their spot, and the trip sold out almost immediately. That first experience proved there was real demand. From there, we continued running curated trips while using the revenue to experiment with technology and better understand what customers actually wanted.
When did you realize this could become a venture-scale business?
Cheraé Robinson: I always believed the opportunity was much bigger than travel. My goal was to change how Black people around the world viewed Africa. As mentors and early investors encouraged me to think bigger, I realized technology could scale that vision far beyond what group travel ever could.
How did you raise your first venture capital round?
Cheraé Robinson: My first checks came from startup competitions, angel investors, and accelerator programs. Every dollar allowed us to keep building. Eventually, Precursor Ventures invested in our pre-seed round, giving us the resources to build a real marketplace instead of relying solely on group trips.
What was the biggest challenge during fundraising?
Cheraé Robinson: Learning the language of venture capital. I understood my customers, but investors asked about marketplace metrics, churn, take rates, and unit economics. Every meeting became a lesson. I leaned heavily on existing investors, founder friends, and mentors who helped me understand what investors were really looking for.
What's the most important fundraising lesson you learned?
Cheraé Robinson: Persistence matters more than perfect timing. I sent LinkedIn messages to Expedia's former CEO for nearly three years before he finally responded. That conversation resulted in a $250,000 investment, gave us immediate credibility, and helped us close the remainder of our seed round within weeks. Sometimes the opportunity you're waiting for simply requires staying consistent longer than everyone else.
How did raising capital change the business?
Cheraé Robinson: Venture funding allowed us to think differently. We expanded from a handful of curated trips into a marketplace with more than 250 local experience creators across seven countries. We hired a leadership team, invested in technology, launched major marketing campaigns, and scaled to $2.5 million in transactions by the end of 2019. Venture capital didn't just help us grow—it fundamentally changed what was possible.
What don't people understand about venture-backed startups?
Cheraé Robinson: Raising money isn't the finish line—it's the beginning. Once investors write a check, expectations change dramatically. Every month becomes about growth, execution, hiring, communication, and delivering venture-scale outcomes. The fundraising announcement is exciting, but the real work starts afterward.
How did the pandemic impact Tastemakers Africa?
Cheraé Robinson: COVID-19 completely changed our business overnight. We experimented with virtual experiences, new revenue streams, and multiple pivots, but international travel remained deeply affected. Eventually, I realized I could no longer build the company the way I envisioned without the team and resources that had made it successful. That was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made.
Looking back, how do you define success today?
Cheraé Robinson: Success isn't only measured by venture returns. Tastemakers Africa helped transform how the African continent is experienced by travelers around the world and created opportunities for hundreds of local entrepreneurs. Building a company that changes culture is an achievement that extends far beyond any valuation or exit.
Listen to the Full Conversation
Cheraé's story is a reminder that entrepreneurship isn't always defined by the final outcome. It's about pursuing a vision, adapting through uncertainty, and creating lasting impact even when the path changes.
In the full episode, Cheraé shares how she raised $2.6 million in venture capital, built one of the first venture-backed travel marketplaces focused on Africa, navigated the challenges of fundraising as a Black woman founder, and why she believes founders should optimize for impact just as much as growth.
Watch or listen to the full episode of The First 200 Podcast for the complete conversation and more stories from the founders who changed venture capital history.
Comments