I’m ecstatic for the new Marvel movie Black Panther, which opens this Friday. For me, it’s much less about watching another action movie — my favorite genre of film — or getting to see what happens next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s much more personal than that. Black Panther means a lot because I finally, after 31 years on this earth, I get to see a black superhero star in a major franchise film. That’s not to say I haven’t loved every iteration of Superman, Batman, Ironman and the
We are so used to the narrative of the starving artist, or the former star crashing and burning, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at those hip-hop artists using tech to buck the trend. The ones who have been wise enough to capitalize on tech’s slow coup-ted of every industry. The ones who have been investing in startups, raising capital and founding their very own. This is far from the canonical list, and I’ve missed out on many others [honorable mention to Chamillionaire, and of course Dr.
Denise Hamilton is founder and CEO of WatchHerWork, a digital media training platform closing the professional achievement gap for women. It’s February and our focus shifts to celebrating Black History Month. Celebrating history is important, and acknowledging the contributions of Black heroes is critical to understanding the true story of America. I love hearing about Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, but I’m equally interested in MAKING Black history and in honoring those who are working every day to expand the boundaries of the Black experience in America. One group
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do? I’m Joshua Kissi I’m from New York City specifically. The Bronx but I have also spent time living in Brooklyn. I’m a 28-year-old photographer, creative director, and entrepreneur. My dream is to empower creatives to continue to tell stories that challenge the world we live in today; Resulting in a better tomorrow by any medium necessary. What’s the story behind TONL. What made you start it? TONL was started by myself and partner Karen Okonkwo, I knew as a photographer
A Black woman in tech who has raised over $1 million for her company is considered a unicorn. Those whose companies have been acquired are even rarer. In a time when M&A is the new IPO, the number of black women who have had successful exits is as much a celebration of their accomplishments as it as a measure of the industry’s progress. Acquisitions don’t happen in a vacuum. They are often the result of access to a strong network, funding, social proof, company visibility and knowledge of, or guidance
Over the last 12 months, I have been creating content for dozens of platforms. Perhaps one of the highest profiles ones has been Blavity. ‘The digital voice of black millennials’ boasts a readership of over 30m readers a month across all platforms (incl social). It is an excellent example of fast growth and strategic execution. From inception in 2014, Blavity always positioned itself as a ‘Tech’ company and not only a media player as they had an ambitious vision. They fast grew from a newsletter to attain 1m MAU’s within
When it really comes down to it, there are only three initial paths you can take as a startup founder. These three, according to Porter (in ‘Generic Competitive Strategies’) are: Cost leadership: low-cost provider in your space Differentiation: providing a unique product Focus/niche: pick a segment (geography, market or product) Three primary approaches to entering a market To bring a product to market with one of these three is not innovative regardless of how you finesse it on a pitch deck. Where it gets more interesting is in combining two of
You shouldn’t be CEO if the title matters more to you than serving your employees and team everyday. And I do not mean that BS ‘servant leader’ stuff. I mean understanding that you have taken on the responsibility of feeding the people you have convinced to join your team. And as much as that thought of failing all these people you have convinced to help you do the work petrifies you, it drives you to sweat for them every day. You shouldn’t be CEO if you get into the office
Almost two hours! That is what it took to go from Downtown San Francisco to Emeryville, to the Pixar Headquarters, precisely. There I am, seating in a car, spinning my head to narrow my expectations for what is about to happen, as the car slowly moves towards the Bay bridge. I had to meet Darla K Anderson, a film producer for Pixar. What would be interesting to ask? How does Darla’s work relate to mine? Do we share some common interests? I was trying hard to find common ground between
“If you can’t fly then run if you can’t run then walk if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Dr. King Year: Spring 2016 Location: San Francisco Mood: Defeated I was a year into founding my company, Blastchat. Blastchat is a social messaging app, and unlike other messaging apps that focus on one to one messaging (WhatsApp — Facebook Messenger — Kik), we focus on one to many messaging. The value proposition for the sender is that people who want to
