May 5, 2022

Black CEO Reportedly Turned His Staff Into Millionaires When He Sold His Startup

Black tech entrepreneur Bill Spruill reportedly turned his employees into millionaires when he sold his startup Global Data Consortium for an undisclosed amount.

Global Data, which he launched make in 2012, makes software that verifies the identity of people behind online transactions, an important step in eliminating potential fraud.

Though financial details have not yet been revealed, Spruill described the deal to Axios as a “Bronto-level transaction,” which was acquired by NetSuite for $200 million in 2015.

When Spruill started the Global Data Consortium he only raised $5 million from investors – this is rather a small amount in the business world but obviously a huge amount to us, which left most of the company’s equity in the hands of its employees.

Now those same employees get to benefit. Spruill and Data Global co-partner Charles Gaddy made sure the employees had enough equity to receive significant payouts.

The sale has reportedly turned more than 20 of the company’s employees into millionaires and Spruill will step down as CEO to focus on boosting minority talent in tech.

“How do I continue to boost minority involvement in tech?” Spruill told Axios. “That’s part of the next chapter.”

“It was a challenge for me to find Black mentors, both locally and nationally,” he added, saying, “One of my goals is to create more Black mentors and senior leaders” in the Triangle.

Spruill is also an active angel investor as a member of Triangle Angel Partners, a $2.6 million early stage angel fund. He’s also a long-time board member on the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED).

Abbianca Makoni

Abbianca Makoni is a content executive and writer at POCIT! She has years of experience reporting on critical issues affecting diverse communities around the globe.