As a Latina founder of a social impact company, raising VC money hasn’t exactly been easy. Especially in Chicago, where I’m based, the VC community, while close-knit and easily accessible, is small, homogenous, and focused on later-stage investments. On the startup side, of the 65 Chicago-based startups backed by Chicago-based venture capital funds, only 16 (about 25%) have a non-white founder, and only 15 (or 23%) have a female founder to Chicago Blend. From firsthand experience, the lack of access to early-stage capital compared to the coasts has an oversized impact on underrepresented
The number of Latinx founders in the US is continuing to growing at a faster rate than any other demographic. Yet we’re all familiar with the drab stats: only 2.4% of total VC funding goes to Black and Latinx founders. We’ve put together a list of some Latinx women founders who have broken through the ceiling: launching thriving and innovative companies developing new technology in software, medical, e-commerce and beyond. Read how they’ve backed their ideas, raised funds and are changing the lives of many. Ariel Lopez, Founder Knac The
Brandwatch is hiring on pocitjobs.com As a kid, Evelyn Castillo created surveys for fun. In sixth grade, she did one on whether students would be more effective taking tests if there was a clock in the room or not. She did another one on how different genders liked to react to different kinds of music. Today, it comes as no surprise that she’s now an account director at Brandwatch, using her expertise in analytics and market research to help clients refine their processes relating to digital intelligence. We had a
Two New York-based rap legends show up and show out in the venture capitalism space, making millions outside of music. Both hailing from New York from humble beginnings, the two legends weren’t particularly close while reaching mainstream success in the ’90s. It started with Dead Presidents II and ended in a tour. Their rap beef ignited the hip-hop community in New York City, around the world, and spawned several diss tracks that got pretty intense. They finally declared an end to this feud on stage with the ‘I Declare War”
As a New Yorker, I’ve found the last few years in the San Francisco Bay Area quite interesting. Professionally, I’ve led programs focused on fueling talent pipelines with underrepresented talent and helped companies build and scale their inclusive hiring strategies. Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about different cultures, try new food, and meet some amazing people. However, in some cases, my experiences have been worse than at home. I’ve been called the N-word on the street. My partner and I have been called “pansies” on the way to
Technology is increasingly integrating into our daily lives at a breakneck pace. Although we love the latest apps and enjoy the ability to freely express ourselves online, we must also contend with companies using discriminatory algorithms against the vulnerable, “super spreaders” threatening our democracy with misinformation, and broadband providers charging outrageous prices and fees (even data caps, and yes, even during a pandemic). These enormous challenges have already sparked a debate about what role technology, and therefore Big Tech, should have in our communities. We’ve also seen how the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacts people of color
Techish · Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss how Rihanna (and co.) built Savage X Fenty by disrupting the beauty industry with diverse, inclusive, sex-positive campaigns, and a strategic partnership with Amazon. (00:15) They also break down: LVMH shuts down Rihanna’s Fashion House Bitcoin hits 50K! (6:15) Tim Cook vs Mark Zuckerberg (12:20) Daniel Kaluuya sparks convo about power, race, and language in the media (20:31) This Episode Is Sponsored By Aha! They are hiring! Sr. Ruby on Rails Engineer! Apply here Sr. Product Marketing Manager! Apply here
HubSpot is hiring on pocitjobs.com Tell us a little bit about what you do? I’m the VP of Product at HubSpot. I’ve been here for almost five years. I oversee growth and FinTech. The growth team is the group that drives our freemium and self-service book of business. We’re responsible for all parts of the product journey and the freemium business. This includes how people sign up for HubSpot, how they adopt the software, and how they expand their usage through learning, like with HubSpot Academy. I help form the
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss some of the good and bad about social networking app Clubhouse, including how it has capitalized off the backs of Black creatives. They also break down: Arlan Hamilton — The visionary and founder behind VC Backstage Capital ‘Invest like a VC’ gives retail investors the chance to invest in underrepresented founders Ryan Coogler partners with Disney+ GameStop takes on Wallstreet Calendly reaches unicorn status! Extras: Techish on PatreonAdvertise with TechishPlease rate and review the Techish podcast Subscribe To The Techish Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other Platforms.
Kicking off Black History Month in the US Backstage Capital has announced they’re opening their fund to allow regular people to invest alongside Backstage Capital. Through the crowdsourcing platform, Republic, individuals will have easier access to become venture capitalists. Opening the doors of opportunity for regular people to invest like a VC. It’s already raised $1M from over 2000 investors, with amounts as a little as $100. Leading the way with a new approach to venture capital investing, accredited and non-accredited investors can invest alongside Backstage giving talented underrepresented founders access to capital.
