Quincy was at a crossroads. She had just achieved tenure, the golden crown of the ivory tower. Was she going to walk away from the halls of academia to forge a new path in the government and non-profit sectors? It would require a significant amount of self-reflection, self-awareness, self-care, and guidance from the sisterhood. Fortunately, these assets have been plentiful in Quincy’s sphere. Quincy had always set a high bar for herself. She just hadn’t been aware of it until she graduated from high school and realized that not everyone
A lot has changed in the venture capital industry in just the last year. MaC Ventures and the Kauffman Foundation released a publication illuminating positive financial returns in companies with diverse perceived ethnicity, the total number of funds hit an all-star high with a median annual fund size of $90M, and funds targeting diverse entrepreneurs — such as Harlem Capital and Olamina Fund — closed $40M+ raises. Harlem Capital Partners recently released a report analyzing 200 Black and Latino founders who raised $1M+ in VC funding, while e-sports pioneer — Delane Parnell (PlayVS)- made headlines for a $50M Series
Movin’ to the Music Looking back 5 years, I feel like I’ve failed many times over when I made the decision to leave a job in finance to pursue a music career in NYC. My job in finance entailed me informing my team of technological developments disrupting the banking industry, testing their new mobile app, and researching cybersecurity standards. After a while, I didn’t find my job to be as fulfilling or challenging as I thought it would be, but I stuck it through until one day I received a unique opportunity
Originally published here by HBCUvc. At HBCUvc, we don’t put too much stock in “best of” lists or other league tables that purport to sort people by merit. Ranked lists don’t do a good job of assessing an individual’s worth or accurately measuring her contributions to an industry like venture capital where feedback cycles are long and the best contributors often work behind the scenes to help entrepreneurs succeed. On top of this, the lists tend to focus on the accomplishments of White men at the expense of other contributors.
This story was orignally published by Wogrammer Ledo Nwilene, a third-year student at Drexel University in Philadelphia and co-founder of Students of LinkedIn, is not afraid of breaking the status quo. Ledo moved to the United States from Nigeria in pursuit of becoming a doctor. She found her purpose in technology instead. Discovering how present and ‘necessary’ tech was in every aspect of society, she switched her major from Biomedical Engineering to Computing and Security Technology. Ledo and her two best friends wanted a way to share their journeys into
This past summer I had the opportunity to intern in the infamous California Bay Area (otherwise known as Silicon Valley) for Accenture. I worked in Accenture’s Ventures division, where they partner and strategically invest in the most promising innovations in the market. Being in Silicon Valley taught me valuable lessons that I could not have picked up anywhere else. Network The network in The Valley is incredible. I was able to network with venture capitalists, tech entrepreneurs, and corporate innovation groups. The individuals I met took my learnings to the
I’d been working spotty freelance contracts for years and finally landed a stable full-time job in NYC. I was receiving a competitive salary doing something I would easily do for free, and I quit after a year — to do it my way. Teaching and uplifting others, building inclusive and innovative community spaces, and diversifying the technology industry from top to bottom have been personally important to me for over a quarter of my adult life. I’ve spent the last 6 years devotedly working as a software engineer, educator, and entrepreneur with
This article was originally posted here. Written by Jennifer Opal It is the end of British Science Week where we celebrate all things STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths). As we celebrate incredible pioneers in science, I thought, “Why not share how you became a Junior Software Engineer?” (When I say you, I mean me! Haha!) Let’s start with my background… So what was I doing before I discovered coding? Well, I was previously working with a Young Offenders Team of a Council back in London & volunteering with young
When she’s not teaching you how to get an internship at Google/Facebook/Goldman Sachs via her blog, Jessica Pointing is pursuing her passion for Quantum Computing at Standford. Check out her beginner friendly talk ‘The World of Quantum Computing’, [where she makes excellent use of a donught prop 😁].This post was originally posted by our partner Wogrammer. Jessica Pointing grew up in Reading, England with a passion for science. As a young girl, visiting a Microsoft office on a school trip was all she needed to fall in love with quantum science and
A key component of our thesis at HBCUvc is how university-affiliated networks influence venture capital ecosystems. According to Richard Kerby’s “Where Did You Go to School?” — forty percent of venture capitalists attended Stanford or Harvard. Stanford and Harvard are also ranked as the top two universities for producing the most funded startup CEOs. I wanted to know which HBCUs are already producing talent in the venture capital ecosystem. I compiled a list of 59 HBCU grads who are working in venture capital or have worked in the industry in the past five years.
