Vanessa Kingori OBE, chief business officer at Condé Nast Britain and Vogue European business advisor, is set to leave the media giant to join Google in 2024. Among her many accolades, the Kenya-born media mogul was the first Black publisher for Condé Nast Britain and the first woman publishing director in British Vogue’s 105-year history. Top role at Google Her new position as Managing Director of Tech, Media, and Telecoms at Google marks a strategic shift for the accomplished executive. She forms part of a trio of female senior executive hires. “We
Black women remain the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, more than doubling in number since August 2019, according to a new report by GoDaddy Venture Forward. GoDaddy Venture Forward is a research initiative that quantifies the impact of over 20 million microbusinesses on their local economies and provides a unique view into these entrepreneurs’ attitudes, demographics, and needs. In August 2023, Venture Forward completed its 10th national survey with responses from over 6,000 small business owners across the US and UK. Black microbusiness ownership Most of the businesses surveyed were microbusinesses,
For almost six years, I’ve sat in on investor meetings and made deals with startup teams committed to disruption. I’ve seen entrepreneurship in its greatest form, and as an early-stage investor, I’ve been part of getting exciting ideas off the ground and into the marketplace. Uniquely, my career as a founder-turned-investor has been surrounded by nuanced advocacy for social equity and fair opportunities, driving me to relentlessly champion underrepresented voices and create a level playing field for all. Early in my career, I worked closely with the leadership gender gap
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has announced the launch of the Venture Access Alliance. Comprising over 70 investors, the Alliance aims to build a more inclusive tech startup ecosystem in New York City. A more inclusive startup ecosystem New York City is the second largest tech ecosystem in the world. Over 30% of businesses in the city are minority-owned, and there has been a noticeable surge in Black-owned businesses. The Alliance is part of NYCEDC’s broader Venture Access NYC program, which aims to increase diversity in the city’s startup
Atlassian has agreed to acquire video communication platform Loom for $975 million. The acquisition will ramp up Loom’s asynchronous video collaboration tools to tap into the demand fueled by the adoption of hybrid work. The journey to unicorn status Loom is an asynchronous (async) video messaging tool that helps users communicate through instantly shareable videos. Founded by Vinay Hiremath, Shahid Khan, and Joe Thomas in 2015 in San Francisco, CA, it boasts 25 million users in 1.8 million workplaces. The platform became increasingly popular during the pandemic, with a $1.53
Ghanaian fintech startup Dash is reportedly closing its doors following a tumultuous journey filled with accusations of financial misconduct. According to WeeTracker, Dash held a company-wide meeting on October 3, during which the news of impending layoffs and the closure of the company was delivered to its employees. The innovative startup, which offered an alternative payment network, had raised over $85 million in under five years from major investors. Early success Founded in 2019 by Prince Boakye Boampong, Dash initially made significant strides in the fintech sector. Boampong was a
Global payments giant Visa is partnering with the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to co-fund data science and AI scholarships for students from underrepresented backgrounds. The partnership stems from the UK’s National AI Strategy, which set out a vision to strengthen the UK’s position as an AI and science superpower over the coming decade. The Launch of Visa’s AI Scholarships The partnership aims to increase diversity in the technology sector, assisting women, Black students, disabled students, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Visa said the scheme
The economic influence of Latine and Hispanic communities is on the rise. Nearly 5 million businesses in the US are Latine or Hispanic-owned, contributing over $800 billion annually to the nation’s economy. Latine and Hispanic communities are not just big contributors; they’re also big spenders. According to Nielson, their buying power surpasses the GDP of countries like Australia, Mexico, and Spain. So, this Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re spotlighting the online directories that help consumers connect with these Latine and Hispanic businesses nationwide. 1. Shop Latinx Shop Latinx, founded by Brittany
This article was first published by Lindsey Redd on Medium. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been meeting with current and hopeful founders who want to become Y Combinator founders. They’re applying to the Winter 2024 batch, and naturally have a ton of questions about our experience applying and being accepted to YC. One of the main questions I get is “What was your interview experience like?” Of course, before there was the interview, there was the application. This is a story in and of itself that I’ll save for
As Coco Gauff stood up to the umpire in her recent U.S. Open match [Gauff has gone viral on social media after confronting an umpire who turned a blind eye to her 35-year-old German opponent allegedly breaking the rules], demanding fairness in the rules that seemed to be applied differently to her and her opponent, I couldn’t help but see this as a microcosm of what black women face in workplaces every single day. When someone from a marginalized community excels, we often see tears and reluctance from others, who
