Nigeria, often dubbed ‘Africa’s Silicon Valley,’ is making a name for itself. Meet the talented Nigerians on the continent and the diaspora leading tech companies, building multi-million [and even billion] dollar businesses, investing in their community, and taking their talents globally. Tope Awotona | Founder, Calendly Awotona spent his early years as the second youngest in seven in a lower class neighborhood of Lagos, Nigeria. Yet, Awotona is the mastermind and founder behind a rarity – a Black-owned unicorn, the scheduling powerhouse, ‘Calendly.’ In an interview with Fortune, Tope talks
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss some of the good and bad about social networking app Clubhouse, including how it has capitalized off the backs of Black creatives. They also break down: Arlan Hamilton — The visionary and founder behind VC Backstage Capital ‘Invest like a VC’ gives retail investors the chance to invest in underrepresented founders Ryan Coogler partners with Disney+ GameStop takes on Wallstreet Calendly reaches unicorn status! Extras: Techish on PatreonAdvertise with TechishPlease rate and review the Techish podcast 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
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
In the 1930s Dr Gertrude Blanch led the important Mathematical Tables Project, a nearly 450-person effort to compute logarithmic, exponential, and other calculation results essential to the American government, military, finance, and science. After earning her doctorate in mathematics at Cornell, she led new approaches to computation and published volumes of tables and calculations in scientific journals. Despite her contributions, Blanch did not appear as the author of the papers she wrote. For the majority of her time on the project, her male supervisor Arnold Lowan instead received credit. This is a lasting
There will always be someone that wonders how you got to where you are. Here I tell how I got to where I am, and why it is less important than who I am. The more you lean into who you are, the higher you will elevate. The Question I often get asked, “Hey, being that you are a mechanical engineer, how did you get a job at Microsoft?”. I wasn’t sure I knew the answer [even with more than a year into the role]. Like many others, given an
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
The Fallout After The New York Times Exposes Black Workers’ Struggles at Coinbase? – Techish Podcast
Techish · Kevin Hart’s Clubhouse Drama, Salesforce Buys Slack, Dave Chapelle, Black Employees Expose Coinbase? Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss the NYT article exposing the fallout from the CEO of Coinbase who told employees to ‘leave concerns for issues like racial justice at the door.’ (0:17) They also break down: Do Tech companies need to engage with mainstream media? (4:04) Kevin Hart jumps into Clubhouse room over claims he isn’t funny anymore (7:44) Salesforce set to acquire Slack (17:57) The early days of startups and cultural biases
Techish · Elon is Space Karen, Tech spying on Muslims, Airbnb IPO, Bill Gates, Jeremih in the ICU Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss how a Muslim prayer and dating app is connected to a location data firm that sends your personal data to brokers, contractors, and the US military. (1:30) They also break down: Jeremih in the ICU with Covid-19 (10:05) Airbnb files IPO (16:30) Elon is Space Karen (23:10) Can Bill Gates repair his reputation? (27:50) This Episode Is Sponsored By Notion! Get your Notion account here.
Three months ago I joined Brandwatch as their first-ever VP of Global Community & Belonging. I initially approached this newly created role with an unsettling combination of enthusiasm and self-doubt. Would I be able to deliver on the expectations I created during the interview process? Would I be able to gel with the team and make an impact in my first few months? Would I be able to be authentically me, and challenge racism and other forms of oppression wherever I see them manifesting? These are the questions that kept me up
