At the Forbes Under 30 Summit Kickoff, Sabrina Carpenter and Jarrid Tingle spoke with Forbes staff writer Madeline Berg about how they found success in 2020.
Forbes Under 30
Actor-musician Sabrina Carpenter and Harlem Capital cofounder Jarrid Tingle have one thing in common: they’re pushing the boundaries of their industries.
While Tingle’s Black-led VC firm just raised second fund of $134 million to back 45 women- and people of color-founded companies, Carpenter is prepping to executive produce and star in a film called Alice—a modern take on Alice in Wonderland—which she pitched and sold for seven figures to Netflix over Zoom.
At the Forbes Under 30 Summit Kickoff, Carpenter and Tingle spoke with Forbes staff writer Madeline Berg about how Covid-19 challenged them to forge the most successful year of their careers.
Carpenter had just made her Broadway debut in Mean Girls before the pandemic shut down theaters in March. With less time to perform and more time to reflect, she began to rethink how her artistry could contribute to the entertainment industry.
“The passion for producing has always been there,” she said. “I realized—film, TV, stories—a lot of people are looking to those things to bring them light and any sense of hope or joy.”
Sabrina Carpenter’s passion for film producing was ignited during the pandemic. (Photo by The 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards/Getty Images for GLAAD)
Getty Images for GLAAD
As she read scripts for potential new roles in quarantine, she realized that the female characters between the ages of 15 and 25 she came across were lacking complexity.
“These roles felt very contrived and a little boxed in to what people think women are experiencing at that age and less of what they are actually experiencing,” Carpenter said. “I would love to just be able to create what I’m feeling and what I know so many people are feeling, and hopefully someone in this world can watch that and feel inspired, and feel a little less alone in their own circle.’”
In the finance world, Tingle said Harlem Capital found the best companies to invest in last year, including Chicago-based e-commerce app CashDrop and New York-based personalized nutrition app Wellory.
Harlem Capital was a side hustle for Tingle before Forbes named him and his collaborators 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs in 2018.
Much of the Harlem Capital team, including Brandon Bryant, Gabby Kazeau, Kelly Goldstein, Henri Pierre-Jacques and Jarrid Tingle, from left. Not pictured: Nicole DeTommaso.
Harlem Capital
“Really what changed is getting coverage from the press about Harlem Capital,” he said. “We did get some early coverage from Forbes which just showed us that, you know, it could be something.”
To date, Harlem Capital has 23 portfolio companies and aims to invest across the U.S.
“It was very hard. We got beat up, took some ego hits, got embarrassed,” Tingle said. “But we were able to persevere and get it done focusing on our mission of backing Black, Latino women founders who need capital, and just need access to be able to make their dreams come true.”
Carpenter also wants to create opportunities for others in her producing endeavors.
“I want to create roles for a lot of people to play especially [because] I can’t necessarily portray every character,” she said. “I want to create that space for different artists to be able to tell those stories, and then obviously space for myself to create more complex female characters and hopefully, provide some hope for people in this transitional phase.”
Both Carpenter and Tingle agreed that young entrepreneurs are paving the way for the future.
“If you’re younger and you’re in the minority, it’s always going to be tougher,” Tingle said. “But it’s never been easier at the same time, right? We have access to information [and] it’s cheaper than ever to start a company. There’s so much at your fingertips now.”
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