Earnest Sweat

Earnest is a proud native of Little Rock, Arkansas, and a graduate of Columbia University, where he earned a BA in Economics and Political Science. He completed his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management as an Evan Schechter scholar and Management Leadership for Tomorrow fellow.

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Earnest resides in the Bay Area with his wife and son. He is deeply passionate about increasing the number of underrepresented investors in venture capital and serves as a founding board member of BLCK VC.

Earnest’s unorthodox path to venture capital includes stints as an equity research analyst, social enterprise entrepreneur, and management consultant. In 2020, Earnest joined GreatPoint Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on seed, Series A, and Series B opportunities. The firm’s mission is to partner with founders building innovative solutions for the enterprise software, healthcare, biotech, and food tech industries. Before joining GreatPoint, Earnest was a founding team member of Prologis Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the largest industrial real estate company in the world.

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Earnest currently focuses on forecasting how new technologies such as AI, B2B Marketplaces, and data tools will reinvent legacy industries. In 2021, Earnest was selected to Venture Capital Journal's Rising Stars 2021 list.

Earnest is a member of Kauffman Fellows Class 26, and is serving his fellowship at GreatPoint Ventures under mentors Bill Tobin and Neil Sequeira.