The Black community has long played a profound role in shaping the world as we know it today and although they haven’t always been rewarded for it – they have been in this business for a long time. For example – did you know that more than 90 percent of the microphones used today, including those in phones and cameras, use technology co-invented by Dr. James E. West? Microphones Mr. West, a Black man who was also was appointed president-elect of the Acoustical Society of America in 1997, started his long
To succeed – you need the right tools, and people of color trailblazing in the tech and engineering space are giving back to their communities by creating initiatives to help further propel those looking to step foot into the sector. One such techie is Asia Sharif, a self-taught Junior Software Engineer, Blockchain Developer, and Co-Founder of TechNewbies, an educational technology platform. From a non-technical background, she went into technology in January 2021 as she’s always been fascinated by the world, particularly technology and its implications for the future. Ms. Sharif
Tech executive and entrepreneur John Imah is one of those leading forces in business today. Imah joined Snapchat as the Global Head of Partnerships and Strategy in 2018, and as you can imagine – it’s a pretty busy job. Still, when he’s not at Snap, Imah works as a tech advisor to startups and some of our favorite A-list celebrities. His level of experience is beyond his years – he sold his first tech startup at age 15, and the age of 16, he sold his second company – a gaming firm
Black entrepreneurs know the climb to getting substantial funding from investors can be practically a vertical ascent. Venture-backed founders tend to all look the same with 73 percent of all founding teams composed exclusively of men while 60 percent of founding teams are exclusively White. But here at POCIT news, we believe our community of great founders, engineers, and designers can do it all and our job is to provide you with insight, tips, and timely news. We’ve compiled a list of all the places you can get funding as
At POCIT News, we’re always trying to make life simpler for our community, and that’s why we’ve created a list of Black Programmers and technologists who are inspiring the next generation of innovators. Let’s begin. Sofia Ongele She’s a 20-year-old coder, student, and activist. Back in 2016, she attended Kode with klossy, a summer program and organization dedicated to teaching girls aged 13-18 how to code. In turn, she learned the ins and outs of web development, and learning to code has since opened countless doors for her, taking her to
Like many industries, the tech sector still has some way to go in addressing diversity and bias issues and although there has been some progress with big companies like Google creating initatives specifically for minority communities – the work shouldn’t and doesn’t stop there. After diverse intake in companies – what roles are they being given, the salary disparity once in the role, the treatment among colleagues and the handling of racism allegations. We’ve heard countless of stories of Black employees and their allies being sidelined for speaking out against
Ellington West is the CEO of Sonavi Labs, a company using a digital stethoscope with Bluetooth connectivity, called Feelix, to identify and diagnose respiratory disease from lung and body sounds. The recognition comes after she closed a seed round with over $3.5 million raised. It was supported by Sand Hill Angels of Silicon Valley, Gaingels, Nightingale Partners, Matt Hellauer of PTX Capital, and other angel investors. The company has also received two grants through the National Institutes of Health worth over $3 million combined. She then went on to win $100,000 in the Princeton Empower 2021 pitch competition. In addition, the company received
Although there aren’t many, Black-owned banks have gone from strength to strength and have enabled the community to accumulate savings, learn finance skills, start their businesses, and more. Some might question why these banks are necessary, and the truth is, in some parts of the world, financial exclusion has put Black people at a severe disadvantage. And if you take a closer inspection at America’s staggering wealth gap where the median wealth for a Black family is just a tenth of a White household’s – it becomes more apparent why minority-owned banks
Black Tech Twitter started an interesting debate earlier this week after speculations spread that Mailchimp employees may not have been adequately compensated with stock after the company’s exit. Prominent Black figures in the tech world, including legend Arlan Hamilton and founder and investor Jewel Burks Solomon joined the stage and shared their concerns. Ms. Solomon, said: “I do really hope Mailchimp employees are taken care of in the deal. Would be huge for Atlanta for that cash to be well distributed.” Her tweet soon got the attention of quite a
Former ESPN data scientist Tiffany Kelly has just raised $2.1million in a seed round of funding for her adtech startup Curastory. The company, first launched in 2019, is a creator tool helping student-athletes by “connecting brands in need of video content with athletes, influencers, and actors who create video content and are willing to create directly for brands,” according to Sport Techie. Lightspeed, Techstars, and Mindspring Capital led the funding round to help Curastory’s staff expansion, market growth, and sales and engineering footprint. The milestone seed comes after the firm secured a deal with
