Recently, Esusu, a firm that builds the accountability and systems you need to save more, joined the list of growing Black-led startups that have hit the $1 billion valuation mark and it got me thinking…how many of you know that there are quite a few unicorns that have been led by Black founders or CEOs? So here’s a small but mighty list that might act as a source of inspiration to you. Firstly – a “Unicorn” is a venture capital term used to describe firms that have achieved a valuation of more than
Precious Drews’ personal story is one of perseverance and passion. She’s the second youngest of eight children and first became an entrepreneur in middle school – making YouTube videos for her favorite artists in exchange for easy money. Although she didn’t consider herself an entrepreneur – anyone that hears her story can be quick to identify her as a natural-born leader. She was also the first in her family to go to college and later start her own small business – a natural skin care line that uses recycled coffee
Wale Ayeni, the regional head of venture capital investments for the IFC in Africa, has left the International Finance Corporation (IFC), it was reported on Wednesday. Wale Ayeni wrote: “After 5+ thrilling years at the IFC, last week was my last. I cannot but be grateful for the years filled with purpose, joy, learning and growth working alongside extremely passionate and mission-driven colleagues focused on changing the narrative in emerging and frontier markets, with action, and through technology. “The wealth, breadth & depth of the experience was only possible by
Microsoft said this week that it had fired some employees and terminated partnerships in relation to allegations made public Friday of bribery in its sales efforts in the Middle East in recent years. The disclosure came regarding allegations of bribery and corruption in Microsoft operations in the region made public by a former manager for the company named Yasser Elabd, who worked for the tech giant throughout the Middle East and Africa from 1998 to 2018, when he says he was fired. In an essay published Friday on Lioness, an outlet that documents
A lawsuit filed last week has accused Google of systemic racial bias against Black employees, saying the company steers them to lower-level jobs, pays them less, and denies them opportunities to advance because of their race. The complaint was filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, according to reports. The plaintiff, April Curley, said the Alphabet Inc unit subjected Black employees to a hostile work environment, including by often requiring they show identification or be questioned by security at its Mountain View, California, campus. Curley said Google had hired her in 2014
Briana Marbury, executive director of the Interledger Foundation has spoken candidly with POCIT for an in-depth interview. As one of the only Black women leading the major tech philanthropy, she is overseeing a $100 million foundation and the Grant for the Web fund that has already committed more than $10 million to projects around the world. Growing up in Detroit, she witnessed the lack of financial access that many people who were living below the poverty line endured, forcing them to use predatory check-cashing services and now she’s working directly
Ahead of international women’s day – Instagram announced that it will be introducing a special tag for professional accounts and influencers that ensures they receive credit for their content. The enhanced tagging feature lets Instagram users show additional information on “People Tags” on their posts. Beyond just a profile’s username, the tags will highlight the creators’ self-designated profile category (titles are chosen from Instagram’s list of categories, like “rapper” or “fashion stylist” or “photographer”) as well as their account’s full name or title. The information is shown when users tap
Taking a trip down memory lane has gotten Nas in a bit of trouble and he’s now facing a new lawsuit with none other than Hip-Hop photographer Al Pereira, who also went into a legal battle with Kyle and Kendall Jenner back in 2017. Pereira has reportedly filed over 450 copyright infringement lawsuits since 2015. After Nas posted a picture of himself, Tupac, and Redman from July 1993 to his Instagram, Pereira filed a lawsuit against him in February for sharing it without permission or licensing the work, according to
After less than two years as Netflix’s chief marketing officer, Bozoma Saint John is leaving the streaming giant. Variety was the first outlet to break the exclusive story and according to their report, Saint John’s departure from the company was “mutual and amicable.” The company, which also confirmed the moves on Thursday, did not elaborate on why Bozoma is departing. But in a statement, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said he “loved working with Boz and have been inspired by her creativity and energy” and that she’s “attracted world-class marketers to the company
Using his experience from working at Google, Anthony Mays says he is hoping to bring others in the door by giving accessible tips, one-on-one mentorship, and interview help. His drive for wanting more diversity within the tech industry came after he had spent his first year at Google as a software engineer in 2013. In that same year – the company publicly released its diversity numbers for the first time. He knew the numbers were likely low, but he didn’t realize just how bad they were. It seems that Silicon Valley has
