Making Modern History
We all know that being a minority in America is under attack. It is even harder if you are a Black Woman. That doesn’t mean it is impossible, and today we want to highlight some Black Women who are leaders in Tech, Entrepreneurship, and Venture Capital. These women have done it all from start companies, sell them, and represent for others in an industry in which they are underrepresented. We hope that this will help to highlight their accomplishments and inspire others who wish to build businesses in the tech industry. Each day, they are creating women’s history and deserve to be highlighted as the leaders that they are.
Lauren Maillian is a decorated investor, entrepreneur and brand builder. In her career she has invested in over 40 businesses with a portfolio that represents a market cap of over $5 billion. She is also the founder of the LMB Group, a global strategic investment firm and has served as the President of Digital Innovation at Hero Media. She is a proven business builder, advocate, and voice for under represented entrepreneurs with a system for helping them scale.
Brenda Darden Wilkerson is a prominent figure, known for her mission to bring tech and computer science education to all. As the current head of Anita B, her mission is to influence technology education on a global scale and make sure that tech education is occurring in an equitable fashion. In the current climate, this is both needed more than ever, yet a more precarious position than ever before. She has been the recipient of such awards as 2017 Computer Science Education Week Champion of Change Award from the White House and the 2019 Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Lifetime Achievement Award.
Digital Undivided is a non-profit organization that is helping to expand founder-centric training programs and allow founders at every stage access to the skills, training and mentorship to grow strong businesses. Leah Williams is the current CEO and is leading the charge to develop an ecosystem where founders thrive and can deliver on returns to their investors. Her experience covers multiple roles and company types, allowing her to utilize her expertise to build partnerships between key stakeholders for success.
Kathryn Finney is a trailblazer. As the creator of the fashion blog “The Budget Fashionista”, she helped to create the standard for fashion and media blogs and would eventually be the first fashion blogger credentialed for New York Fashion Week and to appear on a wide array of television news programs. She is now the Managing partner of The Genius Guild, a venture firm that invests in companies “using innovation to build, grow, and promote healthy people, communities, and environments in untapped markets.” She is also the author of multiple books including “Build the Damn Thing” a guide for founders to start a successful business. She also created the Doonie Fund, named after her grandmother which provides micro-investments to Black Woman Owned businesses.
For many people in business and entrepreneurship, HR is seen as a hindrance, however for employees, HR is the way to try to balance and exercise their power. While some HR functions are being handed over to tech, it can mean that employer’s needs are not being met the way that they should. Cierra Gross aims to counter that with her app WRKReceipts . Today, more than ever, with many rights under attack, her app is providing a convenient way to track infractions as well as to advocate for yourself in the workplace. It also helps to provide transparency in an uncertain environment. This puts Cierra right at the forefront of an important intersection in today’s career market.
The health results for Black Women in this country are well beneath where they should be. Ashlee Wisdom is one of the women in this country fighting to ensure that Black Women get the results that they deserve with her company, Health in Her Hue. Health in her Hue is a platform to connect Black Women with providers that are culturally competent and sensitive to their concerns. The platform also offers information and content particular to their lived experiences. As a black woman founder, Ashlee Wisdom has an important voice in ensuring that Black Women are taken seriously and heard in healthcare.
Candice Brackeen is the Founder and CEO of the Lightship Foundation and Lightship Capital. The Lightship Foundation is an impact driven organization to help entrepreneurs through accelerators and bootcamps. Originally in Cincinnati, Ohio, Lightship has expanded to multiple cities to give more opportunities to early stage entrepreneurs. Lightship Capital, is a VC firm for early stage companies with a focus on the South and Mid-West. Candice is a leader in assisting companies from underserved communities, and by focusing outside of major markets like New York and San Francisco, has provided a way for more local communities to be involved in the future of business and tech.
Oakland resident Sydney Thomas is on a mission to help underserved early stage founders. Her investment firm, Symphonic Capital looks to leverage her years of expertise as an investor to find companies from underserved communities in fields where they have been traditionally overlooked. She has served as a successful investor, but also as a member of the Bloomberg administration in New York, negotiating large contracts and federal legislation.
Amanda Spann is the leader of The App Accelerator which helps entrepreneurs and visionaries develop apps. There is a special focus paid to non-technical founders who need assistance. She operates a 15 week program to help founders get from nothing to a working project. Earlier in her career, she founded Tiphub and innovation community for entrepreneurs in Africa and was the CMO of Blerdology, a tech social enterprise to engage the Black Tech Community. As a marketing veteran she possesses the much needed expertise for entrepreneurs looking to create viable products that they can bring to market.
Baddies in Tech is one of the top communities for Black Women who are looking to get into, and level up their careers in the Tech industry. It was started by Allie Joy Tsahey in 2019 on Instagram and has grown to be a movement. They are now a full non-profit organization with resources and partnerships with some of the largest tech companies in the country. Allie has become one of the premier voices in helping Black Women get the opportunities to showcase their skills in a challenging environment.
Yolanda Barton is a trailblazer in the area of Augmented reality. Her company, Revere XR is at the forefront of storytelling and historical preservation. The Oculus Launchpad winner has over a decade of experience in consulting and is a great example of how technology can be used to bring about togetherness as it moves us forward. She believes that “Technology will never reach its highest potential or its true value unless it reflects a positive human experience.” Her work at Revere XR is innovative, fun and provides a great way to enhance experiences.
In a world where data and analytics are supremely important, Angela Benton is a leader in the field. The Managing Director at Fruit Ventures, formerly was the CEO and creator of Streamlytics, an ethical data analytics company to help companies make better decisions. At Fruit Ventures, she uses her expertise to help advise and incubate start ups that build relationships with customers and profitability over the normal silicon valley strategy of blitzed growth. She is also a leader in the field of AI, helping businesses learn how to use the technology effectively. Subscribe to her newsletter to keep up to date on with her insights into tech and especially how it is being integrated and used in business today.
