N.C. A&T Alumnus Receives $100,000 from Google for Startups Black Founders Fund

In August 2021, Donald Boone ‘08 took a leap of faith when he left his full-time position at Amazon to work as a full-time entrepreneur in his company, BoxedUp, Inc. Without any inkling of knowing, he received a call a week later from Google for Startups that his company was selected to receive $100,000 in funding, $100,000 in Google Ad Credits and $100,000 in Google Cloud Credits through the Black Founders Fund. 

Launched in 2019, BoxedUp, Inc. is the first on-demand rental marketplace that allows equipment owners to ship their products to customers, instead of relying on in-person transactions. The company provides services such as studio-quality camera equipment, 3D printers, podcasting equipment, drones and so much more. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 

“I took a chance on my vision, and I followed my gut when I quit my job at Amazon because I knew that my company needed more of my time to allow it grow,” said Boone. “As a full-time entrepreneur, faith is all you have, especially when you are a husband and a father; people are depending on me to make it.” 

The $5 million Google for Startups Black Founders Fund provides non-dilutive cash awards to Black-led startups that have participated in the programs or have been nominated by a partner community or a previous recipient. Boone joins a cohort of 50 African American entrepreneurs who will also receive hands-on support to help grow their startups. 

“When I launched BoxedUp, I started it out of a need to support other entrepreneurs and creators,” he said. “I have always been into technology due to my engineering background, and I wanted to create an Airbnb concept with a technology spin for consumers.”  

With the support from Google, BoxedUp plans to expand its partnership of 150 dealers who would like to rent their products on the platform. Also, the company is working to add more staff members to its roster. 

Boone is a native of Seat Pleasant, Maryland, and graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a mechanical engineering degree in 2008.