Born in Los Angeles, Nwandu grew up in a foster home after her mother was killed by her father in a tragic episode of domestic violence. Fast forward to 2014, which by all accounts, looked like it was the year that Angelica Nwandu’s adult life was in a downward spiral. She failed her LSAT and GMAT exams because she couldn’t afford test-prep classes while all her friends were graduating. But her life turned around years after and now she owns one of the largest media brands on social media –
Zuora, Inc, the leading cloud-based subscription management platform provider, announced that Valerie Jackson will join as the company’s first Chief Diversity Officer, in November 9, 2020 and since then she’s been making waves. Jackson has been leading Zuora’s diversity and inclusion strategy and initiatives across its global workforce. As the newest member of the executive team, she reports directly to co-founder and CEO Tien Tzuo. She made the move to technology as she has always viewed it as an industry of innovation, core to building the future and changing the
Northern Commerce, a web development and digital marketing firm that was founded in 2015 and has about 190 staff, is giving $150,000 to the Lead to Change Foundation, a Toronto-based agency that supports black youth in arts and culture. The money is a one-year commitment and will be used to offer youth workshops in garment and print design, podcasts and broadcasting, photography and video, and audio recording and engineering. Northern staff will also work with youth in developing digital marketing skills. The firm has presented Lead to Change with an
While some of us continue to complain about the lack of diversity on platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, others are doing something about it. Thankfully there’s now a long list of Black-owned or minority-centered streaming services dedicated to publishing original content. It’s a breath of fresh air to be able to have options – particularly during Black History Month – a time when most major streaming giants put Black trauma at the center – when in fact BHM is also a time for us to celebrate the
Just 1% of venture capital raised goes to Black entrepreneurs. Fifth Star wants to change that. It’s writing checks at the earliest stages of a startup’s life — the “friends and family” round — providing investments between $25,000 and $50,000 for each startup. It has so far raised just under $1 million, with plans ultimately to deploy $5 million to Chicago’s Black founders. Launched in February 2021, Fifth Star Funds has created a unique venture capital fund specifically dedicated to backing Black founders in Chicago. Fifth Star Funds aims to foster a more
Morgan Stanley’s recent panel discussion to mark Black History Month—featuring three alumni from our in-house accelerator for women and multicultural entrepreneurs—explored issues of access to funding, the Black wealth gap, and other challenges unique to Black founders. The conversation, entitled “A Founder’s Journey: Lessons in Resilience, Vision and Innovation,” moderated by Executive Director LaToya Wilson – included Tiffanie K. Stanard, founder, and CEO of Stimulus, a relationship intelligence SaaS platform that uses data and analytics to simplify how companies make purchasing decisions. B.J. Wiley Williams, founder and CEO of SoHookd, a wellness
Jade Kearney, who experienced postpartum depression herself, developed an app to help solve this particular problem. Although the journey as a Black female founder hasn’t been easy – she’s keeping hope. Kearney’s mental wellness journey began soon after giving birth to her daughter as she experienced postpartum depression and anxiety, and had difficulty finding a community and culturally competent resources to turn to. The birth of her daughter made her realize the neglect Black mothers face when it comes to their mental well-being. But the mother had to teach herself
Just one percent of VC-funded founders in the US are Black and the rates of investment in European Black-owned businesses are even lower. Just three percent of Londoners working in the tech sector are Black and only 8.5% of senior leaders in the UK tech sector are from Black, Asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds. If we were to break these numbers down further – the numbers would be very low for Black women. But this isn’t because they aren’t creating amazing things. Take Sheilisa McNeal Burgess for example – a
SMASH, a STEM racial justice nonprofit focused on addressing inequities in education, and the nationally renowned HBCU Spelman College have announced a partnership to offer programming and support to young women of color interested in academic and professional careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. With this partnership, Spelman College joins a network of several universities around the country, in addition to Atlanta’s Morehouse College, that offers programming through SMASH to historically underrepresented groups in STEM. The cohort will comprise 25 female high school students, who will have the opportunity to participate in multi-year immersive
The Omaha-based AIM Institute is working with southwest Iowa organizations to bring a free 10-week technology course to the growing Spanish-speaking community in the area. The courses will be offered alongside English as a second language (ESL) classes taught by Iowa Western Community College. According to ZipRecruiter, participants will leave the program with proper training to become front-end web developers, whose entry-level salaries nationally average more than $55,000. The US Census data shows 12.8 percent of the city’s population in poverty, with the Hispanic population making up a disproportionate share. The CB Tech
