This year has been a rollercoaster for the tech industry, from the rise in Black VCs investing in Black & brown tech founders to the unexpected tech layoffs that shook the industry. As we subtly adjust to the “new normal,” it is safe to say that this year has been a drastic year of change for everybody. No matter how good or bad your year has been, here are some of our favorite interviews with Black game changers in the tech space that have reshaped our definition of success. So
American cloud-based software company, Braze, has announced that they will be accepting applications to their Founders Program at the start of 2023. What is Braze’s Black Founders Program? Braze’s Black Founders program, which the company first launched in 2020, has made excelling simpler for Black founders. Since launching in 2020, the platform has provided 22 companies free access to its comprehensive customer engagement platform. Fast forward to today, more than 20 Black-owned startups are participating in the program and have greatly benefited from the platform’s technology. To build on the success of
Sheryl E. Ponds is working to ensure Black people are not left behind as the world moves towards electric vehicles. She is the entrepreneur behind Black-owned startup Dai Technologies Corp, which designs and builds electric vehicle charging stations. Electric Vehicle Charging Deserts DaiTechCorp describes itself as an ‘EV Adoption expert’ working to bring electric vehicles into the Black community. After successfully building electric vehicle charging stations, Ponds realized that many of her clientele were affluent and white, so she decided to rebuild her business model to reach the Black community. According to reports, about 2%
Are we leaving Twitter or not? That’s the question many Black Twitter users have been asking themselves for months now. The only problem is, where exactly will we be leaving to go? What is Spill? Enter: Spill. The social media app, designed by former Twitter employees, Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and DeVaris Brown, is slowly becoming the chosen alternative for many. The pair who met on their first day working at Twitter made friends after noticing they were the only Black guys. Their friendship has since blossomed into a partnership that led
This article by Esteban Pérez-Hemminger was originally published on Medium. Why making less and thinking more is the future of your design role. As the year-end gets close I take time to examine the state of my professional and personal experiences. For fear of writing about puns and dad jokes, I will keep the personal stuff out of this. This year I look at the moments of success and validation alongside the challenges, failures and semi-disasters my team went through. But as I analyze the year one thing keeps creeping
Fifty years after Dr Willie Hobbs Moore became the first Black woman to earn a PhD in physics, we now have a near complete list of the papers published by US-based Black women+ with PhDs in physics. Here’s what you need to know about the Cite Black Women+ In Physics and Astronomy Bibliography. The Cite Black Women Movement The resource is the brainchild of Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, an Assistant Professor of Physics and Core Faculty in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of New Hampshire. After trying to find new and
Black Girl Fest (BGF) has announced the expansion of their BGF x eBay Seller Academy program for Black women. BGF x eBay’s partnership The partnership began in late 2021 and has been extended to help further Black women successfully grow and scale their online businesses. For twelve weeks, Black women will have access to learn more about developing an online business through eBay’s marketplace. The initiative aims to teach the women three key sectors; how to build their confidence when selling online, connect with other like-minded Black women business owners, and use
Accelerator program 1000 Black Voices is committed to breaking down the barriers many Black tech founders face. As a part of this mission, 1000 Black Voices gave thirteen Black-owned startups from its accelerator program the opportunity to participate in New York’s Trade Mission. What is the Trade Mission? The Trade Mission aims to tackle the issues Black and brown founders face in the industry by providing founders with a step-by-step process for scaling and accessing capital. The trade mission, which ran from December 5 -7, took place in partnership with
Mexican regulators have issued a fine to Ticketmaster following ticket issues at Bad Bunny’s latest concert. Last weekend, fans were left distraught and disappointed after being denied entry despite purchasing tickets to see one of the most famous artists out right now. What happened? Bad Bunny’s concert at the 85,000-seat Azteca Stadium saw thousands of people flock to Ticketmaster to purchase their tickets. Many were turned away despite hundreds of fans purchasing tickets to attend the event. Ticketmaster canceled hundreds of tickets due to claims of counterfeit and duplicated tickets
The rise of the ‘workfluencer’ has made it more acceptable for people to embrace the culture of oversharing online, especially at work. However, for many Black professionals, sharing too much about their job is risky. The dangerous side of oversharing Several nurses decided to jump on the TikTok “icks” trend by sharing their personal “icks” when dealing with maternity patients. The most viral videos came from staff at Atlanta’s Emory Hospital, and the internet did not react well to their videos. In many of the clips, the labor and delivery
