James Feagin

James currently serves as Managing Partner at Black Bottom Ventures, a boutique venture+strategy firm focused on founder-friendly growth, inclusive innovation and economic mobility. The firm's current portfolio includes startups focused on AI, autonomous mobility, climate & sustainability innovation, and SaaS.

In his prior work, James advised impact investing for a prominent Detroit-based family office. There, he worked with Apple and Michigan State University to launch the first Apple Developer Academy in North America, and created Venture 313, a $10 Million dollar early-stage fund supporting Detroit founders from "first idea to first round."

James has provided strategic counsel for the National Science Foundation, the Knight Foundation, MIT Media Lab, the New Economy Initiative, and TED. His mobility innovation advisory work has helped deliver impact for Newlab, Ford's Michigan Central, and Cavnue.

With a proven ability to think “from the boardroom to the barbershop,” James enjoys sharing Detroit’s ecosystem successes, and lessons learned, with other communities. He currently serves on the board for the Marygrove Conservancy and Venture for America.