Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss some of the downfalls of unconscious bias training in corporate settings that are leading to diversity setbacks. They also break down: Bumbles CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd files IPO Will Smith and Janet Hubert burying the hatchet Finding the right career paths in tech (employee, founder, or VC?) Starbucks ties executive compensation to diversity goals Extras: Techish on PatreonAdvertise with TechishPlease rate and review the Techish podcast Follow Techish on IG & Twitter Subscribe To The Techish Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other Platforms.
The number of Black-owned businesses has risen dramatically. Research shows, since 2007, the number of firms owned by African-American women has grown by 164%. Yet despite the knowledge, innovation, and let’s face it – the hustle, minority entrepreneurs, are being shut out when it comes to access to capital. However, many Black and Brown celebrities are growing their investment portfolios and flexing their VC muscle. Not only are they investing in startups and hooking up founders with serious capital, but they are also using their platform and wealth to empower
Cummins is hiring on pocitjobs.com “I realize that I am one of the highest-ranking African Americans in a Fortune 200 company across all of North America,” David Ojo confesses. “That is a very scary proposition for me.” As Cummins’ Director of Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, David shares his career journey, the important guidance and mentorship he’s received to rise through the ranks, and his next initiatives to improve the company’s pipeline for Black hires. He understands his important role in not only affirming the self-beliefs of many Black employees and
Update: Meet Five Black-Led Startups That Have Achieved Unicorn Status The term unicorn in the tech space is synonymous with hugely successful tech companies (think Uber, Airbnb, Stripe, Pinterest, & DropBox). Its a term given to a private company with a $1 billion valuation. Although still very much a rarity, the number of unicorn startups is higher than ever. According to recent stats, there are 506 tech unicorns globally. So how does a company founded by a POC reach unicorn status? There is no definitive recipe for success. When less than
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss this year’s biggest tech stories, including the Black founders, companies and social movements who won big in 2020! They also break down: The companies that successfully pivoted in 2020 (0:52) Smart business moves by Black founders (5:07) #BlackLivesMatter and #ENDSARS movements (6:19) The rise of Black content creators (8:05) Quibi, Kanye & virtual influencers take the L (9:55) How should we prepare for 2021? (24:40) Extras: Techish on PatreonAdvertise with TechishPlease rate and review the Techish podcast Subscribe To The Techish Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, And Other
Damilola Olokesusi is the Co-founder and CEO of Shuttlers, a tech transport startup. In 2015, Olokesusi and her friends — Damilola Quadry and Busola Majekodunmi — were frustrated by the stress of commuting in Lagos, Nigeria. And following some nasty experiences, they decided to start Shuttlers. “One of my sisters got into a one-chance bus (a commercial bus used for robbing passengers), and it was a traumatic experience for me. She was taken to another destination where they were abducted and robbed. Having had our different bus experiences, we realised it was a collective pain point for us.
The news rippled across the Internet of Google’s sudden firing of prominent AI ethics researcher Dr. Timnit Gebru. Renowned for her groundbreaking work in making AI more equitable and exposing its potential for racial and gender bias – Gebru was recently highlighted in our article: the Black women fixing AI. In a series of tweets, Timnit announced the tech giant had fired her [via email] after she expressed frustration internally about Google’s lackluster diversity initiatives. Timnit explains via Twitter that she was previously asked to retract a research paper she co-authored that highlighted potential pitfalls
We spoke to software engineers Ademusoyo Awosika-Olumo and Taylor Poindexter about their career journey, and specifically, the transition from junior to senior developer. Ademusoyo is a Senior Software Engineer at Mailchimp. She has a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. She currently works on the Websites Teams at Mailchimp, collaborating on building new features for the Websites platform. Taylor is a proud alumna of the University of Virginia and the co-founder of Black Code Collective. The organization strives to provide a safe space for Black Engineers to collaborate and grow their
With Black founders receiving less than 1% of venture capital funding, many are forced to make-do without outside investment. However, for an ever-growing few, the intentional path without venture capital is looking increasingly attractive. Letting go of Silicon Valley-style advice and finding your own path Courtland is the founder and driving force behind Indie hackers a community of bootstrapped entrepreneurs and makers. Courtland learned hard lessons from entrepreneurship Silicon Valley-style. The primary being: ‘go big and raise a lot of money’. During a stint at Y Combinator, he went to work on
With some of the fastest-growing global economies, the African startup scene continues to flourish. By using technology to solve problems, disrupt the status quo, and create jobs, African entrepreneurs are leading the tech revolution. Meet seven game-changing female entrepreneurs from fintech, health, education, and home care, and see how they are redefining the business landscape and improving lives. Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder and COO of Piggybank.ng PiggyVest wants to be the company “allowing young people to take full advantage of the financial ecosystem without having to break the bank for it.” Odunayo
