UnitedMasters, the “record label in your pocket” for independent artists, has closed a $50M Series C at a $550M valuation to support and empower independent artists. The company is a full-service technology platform for independent artists seeking creative and commercial success while maintaining complete control of their music and financial future. It gives creators access to premium music distribution services, a suite of tools to help directly connect with their fans, and opportunities to connect with the world’s biggest brands through partnerships with the NBA, ESPN, TikTok, Twitch, and more. The startup record label
Florida A&M University has received a $100,000 grant from Wells Fargo to launch a small business incubator to assist women and minority-owned businesses. The grant will advance hiring initiatives for a program manager to oversee operations of the incubator and modernize an existing location for entrepreneurs to call home. Funding will also enable the incubator’s staff to support program participants in exploring the feasibility of their business concepts, launching, expanding, and scaling their businesses. The remaining funds will support future marketing and promotions throughout the development of the project. The
A recent study conducted by LendingTree revealed that North Carolina is the best state to start a business in, but California is considered the worst. It’s important for founders – particularly those of color – to pick the right place to start their business as it can potentially make or break their startup. The Lending Tree study scored the 100 largest US metro areas by population based on factors like the proportion of residents who hold a bachelor’s degree, state corporate tax rates, and local housing costs. Of course –
Vendease, a digital marketplace that allows food businesses to buy supplies straight from manufacturers and farms, has successfully raised a seed round of $3.2 million. When a restaurant places an order, the firm’s system generates all the possible suppliers that can fulfill it. It then looks at the best pricing versus quality and assigns that order to the supplier. According to the company, founded by Tunde Kara, delivery is made within 24 hours, either by itself or by a third-party logistics provider. This is a huge milestone for the company.
Software engineer Amina has created a digital resource booklet to help parents and their children learn to code. The document, which can easily be found online, consists of a whole bunch of information, including the seven coding tips parents need to know and why guardians must educate their kids on the importance of tech and coding. Amina has said: “Coding was a huge learning curve for me, and there’s so much information out there. I recently put together a beginner-friendly document with a breakdown of what my job looks like, what software
Ashleigh Ainsley was one of three Black workers at a London startup and he experienced what many would describe as uncomfortable situations – which eventually drove him to leave and use his experience to launch a social enterprise for Blacks in tech. The Oxford University graduate from Lewisham said he felt he couldn’t be his true self and struggled to navigate the London office, which consisted of 300 employees. He claims he was also asked to shave his beard while working at a startup and felt that he was being
Nyla Hayes, the creator of the Long Neckie Collection, a non-fungible token (NFT) collection worth about $3.4 million in digital currency — has just been announced as TimePieces’ first artist in residence. This is a pretty big deal for someone who is just 12 years old. Nyla is breaking down boundaries and leading the way for young Black people in tech. POCIT has simplified what her role actually means and a bit more about the young creator. Who is Nyla? Nyla Hayes is the 12-year-old creator of the Long Neckie Collection, which features diverse
Singer-songwriter Mariah Carey has teamed up with cryptocurrency platform Gemini to inspire more women to get into investing. The app founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss helps people buy, sell, and store their bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The star will be gifting fans $20 in the form of bitcoin when users sign up with the code “MARIAH.” A portion of the trades will be allocated toward Black Girls CODE, a nonprofit on a mission to train one million Black girls on coding to increase their involvement in the digital arena by 2040. “It’s
OneTen — a group of industry executives with a mission to hire more Black individuals — has just launched its inaugural scholarship program to spearhead 3,500 underserved students toward the tech industry. As a contribution toward OneTen’s commitment, Udacity and Blacks In Technology will lend a hand to support the initiative. Udacity, an American for-profit educational organization, will offer recipients the opportunity to partake in a flexible online program to allow them to pursue a full-time position or continue their educational pursuits. While Blacks In Technology will amplify students’ efforts by providing them
Nzingah Oniwosan first created her 365zing App, which centralizes features found on individual apps into one location to help Black women get on track with their health goals, when she realized she struggled with her own self-care. Ms. Oniwason, the daughter of parents who immigrated from Haiti, found difficulty with staying on track with her self-care for 19 years, trying anything and everything to keep on track when it came to her mental, physical, and spiritual health. She found things that helped in one area but not overall, and that’s
