Tech Forward

Hello and welcome back to Tech Forward, listeners! This week, I'm rebroadcasting my conversation with Jarrid Tingle, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Harlem Capital. An early-stage investment firm, Harlem Capital in on a mission to diversify the landscape of entrepreneurs receiving venture funding by supporting women and people of color. As stated in the Forbes feature, the ultimate goal is to fund 1000 founders from diverse backgrounds over the next 20 years. Jarrid and I discussed how they aim to attain that goal, the impetus behind Harlem Capital, and his advice for minority entrepreneurs seeking venture funding.

When Jarrid and his friends started angel investing as a side project, they quickly realized that only a small percentage of venture capital and angel funding went to women and entrepreneurs of color. They saw an opportunity to make a huge change in the industry by focusing on early stage investing, since many of the female and minority led businesses weren't in the asset class that larger firms targeted. Jarrid and his 3 co-founders made the bold and unapologetic decision to start their own firm, and thus Harlem Capital was born.

Harlem Capital is committed to transparency, measurable goals, and inspiring their peers to join their mission. "There's always a lot of competition in this field, but we're actually better off if more people start funds with similar missions to ours. We don't just want to take over the market, we also want to grow the pot." The clear, concise messaging of "1000 founders in the next 20 years" is part of that push, as well as an affirmation of long term engagement.

Jarrid has a wealth of advice to offer minority entrepreneurs in search of venture funding:

• Balance confidence and self awareness. It's important to display a high level of passion and confidence as a female or minority founder, but also to be aware of, and honest about, any weaknesses. "Don't get defensive. [Potential investors] are going to ask you a lot of questions. See this for what it is — interest, and a chance to improve — and not a personal attack."
• Build a well-rounded team. If you personally lack core competencies such as marketing, human resources, or analytics, seek out someone who fits that role.
• Know the process, know your numbers. Fundraising can take longer than many people anticipate, but proving your commitment by investing your own money provides a strong signal to investors. A high level of knowledge about both your own business and that of your competitors will also boost investor confidence.

Along with funding businesses where they can add value, Harlem Capital is creating a diversity portal via surveys on their site. This database of founders from diverse backgrounds will make it easier for women and founders of color to find investors dedicated to diversity. In addition to reducing friction in the process, this will also give the team a sense of the true landscape of diverse founders across the US.

Jarrid, thanks again for coming on the show! If you want to stay informed about what Jarrid and his co-founders are up to, head on over to Twitter. Thanks for tuning in, listeners, and see you next week with a brand new episode!

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Welcome back to Tech Forward, listeners! On this week's episode, I spoke with co-founders of Public Bloc, Ali Akil and Hamzah El Amin. Public Bloc is a blockchain platform that provides low cost universal access to financial services for global development projects. Ali brings to Public Bloc years of experience as an Account Executive for the IBM Watson Cloud Platform. He's also a U.S. Army veteran, and was an analyst for the U.S. Treasury Department where he was part of a team that crafted the first U.S. Crypto-Regulation. Having previously held various positions in both the private and public sectors as a management analyst, Hamzah focuses on business development, customer acquisition strategy, and partnerships for Public Bloc. Today we'll be discussing their entrepreneurial journey, and how they aim to use their platform to spur economic development both in the US and overseas.

Upon first meeting at the 1776 Incubator in August of 2017, Ali and Hamzah formed a fast partnership built on common ground and common goals. Both came from humble roots and, after working in a variety of roles, found themselves interested in potential applications for blockchain technology in real estate and affordable housing investment. They formed Public Bloc with the ultimate aim of getting more investment to undervalued communities both domestically and abroad. Within a month's time, they had put together a white paper, registered the company, and flown to Ghana to speak with the Deputy Minister of Finance.

Public Bloc is a project monitoring and verification tool which allows investors to monitor their investment through the life cycle of a project. Their core focus is affordable housing, which is a growing issue within the United States as well as in countries like Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya. An issue both men are passionate about, they strive to ensure all their projects meet 4 main criteria: have a feasible project plan, outline expected financial return, have a project length of under 18 months, and be an investment with social or environmental impact. Recognizing their successful careers despite not being "Harvard guys," Ali says, "We don't want to be the exception to the rule. African Americans are an underutilized asset. We don't just represent Black business, we represent American business and American culture."

Rather than the traditional seed round, Ali and Hamzah are currently bootstrapping the company while they finish the tech, get market validation, and seek strategic partnerships with investors who see the value in their vision. Ali speaks strongly in favor of bootstrapping, suggesting companies in a similar stage invest in themselves rather than giving up 25-30% of their company's value. They also advise being intentional about recruitment, especially for fellow blockchain companies, and put in the effort to build a strong, sustainable company.

Ali and Hamzah, thank you so much for coming onto the show this week and telling us about the work you're doing with Public Bloc. Thank you also to everyone out there listening, reviewing, and sharing the show. See you next week!

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Welcome back to Tech Forward, listeners! This week, I'm rebroadcasting an episode from May of last year, when I spoke with Angelica Coleman, tech aficionado and Director of Community at Lesbians Who Tech. A global community of over 35,000 queer technologists, Lesbians Who Tech connects talent with existing companies by hosting summits nationally as well as globally. They partner with hundreds of companies every year, and offer coding scholarships to queer and gender nonconforming women. As an advocate for diversity and inclusion, Angie is always finding new ways to use tech to build communities and bring people together.

Black women face abundant challenges in their professional lives. Not only are they frequently offered lower wages, they're often steered away from the positions they apply for, and towards administrative or other non-technical roles. As a result, black women in the tech sector regularly end up underpaid, overworked, and pigeonholed into low wage, low status career paths regardless of their experience. Here are two tips from Angie on avoiding that fate:

• Don't market skills you don't intend to use. A self-described generalist, Angie has worked at myriad companies and worn many hats during her tenure at each one. "There are skills [from previous jobs] that I never want to touch again. Don't put it on your resume if you don't want to do it! Remember you can tailor your resume for different roles."
• Don't be afraid to say no to companies. Turning down an offer can feel risky, especially if you have financial concerns. Staying in a role that doesn't fit you, however, can negatively affect your career trajectory down the line: either you end up changing jobs too often, or your performance could suffer.

Black, queer, and gender nonconforming professionals each face their own set of hurdles when advancing in companies, though there is plenty of overlap. So how can these underrepresented groups advocate for change without being labeled as someone who doesn't fit in? Angie's advice: play the game. "I'm always going to be myself, in a way that still complies with the job culture, until I can start changing that culture. If you show up as your best self, being all in and being a team player, you gain trust and responsibility. Then you can assert more of your views."

To companies who want to increase diversity of their staff, Angie offers this advice: "Think about where you're looking. When you make 'top 10 schools' a qualification, you're cutting out entire populations who might be just as qualified, if not more. Expand your search. You can keep the same criteria. You don't have to lower the bar, you just have to look somewhere else."

Angie, thank you so much for coming onto the show to share your insights and advice. Thank you also to all of you out there listening, reviewing, and sharing the show. We'll see you next week with a brand new episode!

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Hello listeners, and welcome back to Tech Forward! This week, I spoke with Catherine Wigginton Greene, Executive Director of content and engagement at Point Made Learning. She directed the feature documentary I'm Not Racist… Am I? (INRAI) which followed a diverse group of teens through a yearlong exploration of race and racism. From there, she led the development of Point Made's newest offering – INRAI Digital – which uses the documentary as the foundation for a 3.5-hour online antiracism course. She also travels the U.S. leading workshops and facilitating dialogue about race and racism. Today we'll be talking about some of the insights she has uncovered about race relations through her work, and how companies can improve their diversity training initiatives.

Catherine's work with Point Made Films began as a side project during her years as a freelance journalist, but she found herself quickly swept up in both the world of filmmaking, and the work the company was doing. She focuses now on topics related to race and racism, having felt called to that path for much of her life. After switching from a predominantly White Catholic school to a more diverse public school setting in the 5th grade, she noticed even then that her family reacted differently to some of her new friends. This began her internal work of unlearning the unspoken messages she had received throughout her childhood — a process reflected in the efforts currently made by Point Made Learning.

I'm Not Racist… Am I? follows 12 teenagers over the course of a school year as they engage in discussions about unconscious bias, systemic racism, and other race issues. Despite the prevailing belief that racist attitudes will disappear with generational shifts, growing up in a racial hierarchy will still influence the beliefs of young people — even those living in diverse areas like New York City. "If you don't explicitly discuss the factors of how we got to this place, you start to make assumptions about who belongs where, and who deserves to be there." In showing the film at schools all over the country, Catherine and the team at Point Made noticed a common trend: students couldn't stop talking about the film, and not only to each other. They brought the discussion to their teachers and their parents!

Upon seeing the film for themselves, these parents then wanted to arrange showings in the workplaces as a supplement to diversity training. In an effort to create a platform for companies to engage with this work in a meaningful way, Point Made Learning was born. This consulting and programming extension combines an online course with interactive exercises and facilitated discussions for an immersive and engaging experience. Rather than simply "checking a box," the goal here is a nuanced exploration into identifying and interrupting patterns of bias.

Catherine, thank you so much for coming onto the show and sharing your work with Point Made Learning — and some of the noteworthy results you've witnessed firsthand at the corporate level. Thank you also to those of you out there listening, sharing, and reviewing the show. See you next week!

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Hello listeners! This week on Tech Forward, we are rebroacasting our episode 2 interview with madeBOS founder and CEO, Martha Hernandez. Martha has served in several Talent Acquisition and Talent Management and Sales leadership roles for organizations such as Coro, Give Something Back, Mi Pueblo Food Centers, and Inner City Advisors' Talent Management Initiative. Most recently, she was Save Mart Supermarkets' Director of Talent Acquisition.

Martha has a successful track record of strategizing and delivering critical human capital initiatives, technical implementations and integrations. She's passionate about adding transparency in the talent selection and promotion process, access to opportunity, diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

MadeBOS grew from Martha's passion for shaping people's professional growth and development, no matter their starting point or current trajectory. "Seeing people develop, starting in one place and seeing their growth into more influential roles, [...] gave me a personal satisfaction. I wanted more of that." To that end, madeBOS is an AI driven, career pathing platform that creates economic mobility for entry level workers in retail. "MadeBOS was simply a way for me to replicate that feeling, and be able to implement it globally."

From a lightning bolt of inspiration, to a series of 52 handwritten note cards (really!), to the full-fledged AI platform that it is today, Martha's journey to implement madeBOS has been a fascinating one. Despite lacking the "typical pedigree" that VC investors look for, Martha's passion and enthusiasm never flagged. In this way, she has truly lived the process that madeBOS strives to deliver to its users. "Sometimes, we feel stuck. An opportunity might look so big that we quit."

"I think we all have our moments. [...] It's important to get angry, because that's a fuel to keep going, passionately. This persistence is also because we haven't given the world — meaning people in general — an opportunity to do things differently. [...] I'm not making excuses for people who haven't invested in people like me. It's just that [Latinx people] arrived to the party late, in terms of resources and access and social capital."

In this episode, we discuss the barriers that Latina and other women of color entrepreneurs face in getting access to funding and other support for their businesses. What specific challenges and fears did Martha face along the way, and how did she overcome them? Listen along and find out.

Thank you as always for listening, sharing, and reviewing the show. We'll see you with a new episode next week!

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Hello listeners, and welcome back to Tech Forward! This week, I spoke with Aishwarya Balaji, Founder and CEO of Impact Chain Lab. By using blockchain technology, Impact Chain Lab is focused on building equitable communities around the globe. Aishwarya became interested in the disruptive power of blockchain in her previous roles as a consultant and leader at Build Academy, and now identifies ways to apply this technology to create solutions in the global development landscape. On this episode, we discussed her entrepreneurial journey, and the various ways Impact Chain Lab uses blockchain technology to drive positive social impact.

As someone who knew from a young age that she wanted to go into business, Aishwarya's entrepreneurial spirit is imbued with her natural curiosity and affinity for calculated risks. Her role as employee #1 at Build Academy gave her real time insights into the process of building a company from the ground up. That, combined with her firsthand experience in the venture capital and angel investing sphere, played a significant role in the creation of Impact Chain Lab. Aishwarya noticed that while support for impact investing has been growing, that increased interest has so far not been reflected in the flow of capital. With Impact Chain Lab, Aishwarya wants to use blockchain to funnel funds to social enterprises in a meaningful way.

Impact Chain Lab's main focus right now is a project called Bystander, which Aishwarya summarizes as "a cross between Reddit and Wikipedia." Bystander allows users to retain and to benefit from the digital assets that they create — a power that users of the largest crowdsourced platforms generally lose the moment they hit "submit." Users on Bystander can share and discuss information around a variety of topics, and when the community decides that information is valuable to them, individual users are rewarded for collecting and sharing high integrity, reliable data. "On our platform, the people producing the data are also the people consuming it."

Currently, the team at Impact Chain Lab is more than 50% female — which Aishwarya says was an intentional choice. "I'd like to keep building a team that is very diverse in all ways. In building any company, and especially a consumer facing one, it's critical to have people on the team who represent the people you want using the platform. I want to make sure that we do that." Her advice to other entrepreneurs who are ready to grow their team is to hire slowly. "Bring in people who are aligned with your business goals as well as your personal mottos and morals."

Aishwarya, thank you so much for joining me on the show to talk about your work with Impact Chain Lab and some of the exciting potential of blockchain technology. As a note to my listeners, starting next week, Tech Forward will moving to a new release schedule! New episodes will come out every other Wednesday, and on the weeks in between, we'll be rebroadcasting some of our earlier episodes we think you'll enjoy revisiting. Thank you as always for listening, sharing, and reviewing the show. We'll see you with a new episode on January 30th!

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Hello listeners! Welcome back to another episode of Tech Forward. This week, I spoke with Kevin Dedner, Founder and CEO of Henry Health. Henry Health's mobile app provides self-care and mental health support through culturally sensitive teletherapy, serving the population with the lowest life expectancy in the U.S. — black men. Kevin is an experienced public health leader, and through Henry Health, he is committed to leveraging the power of technology to add 10 years to the life expectancy of black men in the next 25 years by focusing on their emotional and mental health. Today on the show, Kevin will be sharing with us some of the challenges black men face when receiving mental health support, and how his product helps address that need.

"There is a weight," Kevin says, "a stress associated just with being a black man." Unaddressed, that stress in combination with untreated mental health issues plays a significant role in the low life expectancy of black men in the U.S. While they do seek solutions, black men face considerable hurdles in receiving culturally competent mental health care. Behind Henry Health is Kevin's vision of a trusted source for providing mental health services and self care support for black men. At first, Kevin approached this issue from an academic angle, drawing on his experience working in public health and researching the social determinants of health. Along the way, however, he had his own experience with depression, through which he discovered "that my suffering could be helpful to others."

Kevin's first hand experience with depression has been crucial in the development of a product that truly addresses the emotional and mental health needs of black men in the U.S. In fact, he brings many facets of both his personal and his professional life to his work with Henry Health, because he sees his entrepreneurship journey as a mirror of life. "My entire career has prepared me for the work I'm doing now. But when I first started to think about what I could do to address the mental health needs of black men, I met a lot of resistance. As an entrepreneur, you know this happens, and you're more in tune with it. If you can push through that initial resistance, you will find what you need to advance your idea."

Through Henry Health, users have access to teletherapy with professionals who have undergone training to understand the unique experiences of black men in America. They also have the option to participate in moderated groups where they can discuss issues related to stress in the workplace, single parenting, relationship issues, and self care. Also offered within the app are daily motivational messages from lecturer and researcher Dr. Dennis Kimbro. When it comes to utilizing social media in a positive way, "sharing these messages and affirmations really does play a tremendous role in people's current condition and mental state."

Kevin, thank you so much for coming onto the show this week to share the important work you're doing through Henry Health with our listeners. Thank you as well to everyone out there listening, reviewing, and sharing the show. See you next week!

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Happy new year, listeners, and welcome back to Tech Forward! On this week's episode, I'll be speaking with Nesh Pillay, the founder of Press Pillay. With a focus on empathy, equality, and sustainability, Press Pillay is a digital communications agency on a social mission. As a former journalist, Nesh covered international advertising and marketing as a founding reporter of The Drum's New York team. At Press Pillay, she leverages her knowledge of marketing, PR, and branding from "the other side" as the secret weapon to making her clients successful. Today, she'll be sharing her experience returning to the workforce after becoming a mother, as well as the lessons she has learned working with tech startups through her agency.

Though motherhood had always been in the cards for Nesh, after the birth of her daughter she had to confront many of her own internalized feelings about being a mother in the workplace. As one of only two women on the team, it's no surprise that she felt pressured to return to work as quickly as possible, even as she struggled with postpartum depression. At the same time, she was being approached for public relations work on the side, and realizing how much she enjoyed it. "I knew I needed to pursue a job that I really loved. [...] For working mothers, if you are in an environment where you don't feel comfortable just existing, this might not be the right environment for you." In founding Press Pillay, she has created a PR agency that recognizes the importance of adapting to the digital landscape, and the natural harmony of technology and lifestyle brands.

In an age when brands are easily accessible to their customers via social media, Nesh urges companies to be mindful of their target markets, as well as how they approach them. "Consumers want to spend their money on brands that represent them, but if you're reaching out to diverse customers, you need a diverse team." The benefits of diversity go beyond just expanding your customer base. Many companies, Nesh says, "have wasted millions of dollars on campaigns that made them look bad." Having a variety of diverse voices in the room, and a company culture where everyone feels supported in speaking up, can help brands avoid costly PR mistakes.

When it comes to attracting a diverse team, Nesh emphasizes the importance of creating an inclusive environment. For example, prior to the birth of her daughter, "during the interview process with some of these younger tech startups, when I asked about maternity leave I got a lot of blank stares. You need to create a workplace where a woman wouldn't be afraid to get pregnant." The same goes when hiring for all facets of diversity. She recommends hiring and mentoring initiatives that go beyond the standard search for candidates with 4-year degrees from prestigious schools.

Nesh, thank you so much for coming onto the show and sharing your keen insights into PR, marketing, and diversity. Thank you as well to everyone out there listening, reviewing, and sharing the show. See you next week!

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Hello listeners, and happy holidays! This week, I'm rebroadcasting the inaugural episode of the Tech Forward podcast. Back in March of this year, I spoke with Courtney Bass, a HR Business Partner at Google, who coaches and advises leaders on team management and motivation. As an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, Courtney has spent her career developing and implementing strategies that both individuals and teams can leverage for meaningful collaboration and growth.

Courtney and I covered a lot of ground during our conversation, beginning with examining why diversity progress has been so slow at many of the larger tech companies. At Google, diversity numbers are still well below representative, though they have improved over the years. Why has it been challenging for Google and other tech giants to establish a more diverse employee base?

In recent years, Google has made a sincere effort to broaden their recruitment efforts to be better able to get in front of great talent of color, and make a compelling case for what Google can offer. Courtney notes that, moving forwards, one way for Google and other tech giants to increase their diversity would be to increase their presence in places other than the Bay, such as the South and the Midwest. In Courtney's own words, "We are a very West-Coast-centric company. [...] If you're not from this area, or don't want to relocate here, it just may not be an option you're willing to consider."

The reluctance is understandable. Life in the Bay area is not only cost prohibitive (average apartment rent is well over $3000 per month), but can feel isolating to people of color. Courtney notes that during her time living in the Bay area, she has gone days without seeing another Black person. "It can feel very lonely. For some people of color, moving out to the Bay is a non-starter."

Courtney had a lot of insights to share, and I hope you find our conversation as engaging and informative as I did. We'll be back next week in the new year with a brand-new episode. Thank you so much for listening!

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Welcome back to Tech Forward, listeners! For this week's episode, I'm excited to share my conversation with Sean McKenzie, Co-Founder and Director of Driver Engagement at Steereo. By combining the power of music streaming with the popularity of ridesharing, Steereo is a music discovery app that gives emerging artists exposure and valuable data, while compensating rideshare drivers. Sean is an award-winning entrepreneur and a 3-time founder with a strong background in brand strategy, consumer insights, and market forecasting. He also serves as an advisory council member at Fund for Public Housing. Today on the show we'll be discussing his career path, his approach to hiring at Steereo, and some of the ways he uses his experience to give back to his community.

The idea for Steereo came from a chance meeting between Sean and his team, and a Lyft driver with excellent musical taste. Realizing that rideshare drivers often act as DJs for their clients, Sean proposed the idea for a platform where up-and-coming artists could allow drivers to stream their music. The benefits are twofold. Along with the exposure to a larger audience, artists on the Steereo platform also gain access to a wealth of data, including where, when, and even how loudly it gets played. Drivers are compensated for this airtime in turn, accumulating funds over time much like a fare meter. When it came to creating the app, Sean noted, "People of color are great at creating content that lives on these innovative platforms, but they aren't necessarily creating those platforms where that content lives. If there's a demand for this, why not us? Why can't we build it?"

This passionate attitude has been a common thread throughout Sean's career trajectory. As a 3-time founder, he cites every step of the journey as an important part of where he is today. For any listeners out there considering pursuing their own ambitions of entrepreneurship, Sean has two key pieces of advice. First and foremost, don't wait for a perfect product to launch — "When it comes to building tech products, great can be the enemy of good enough. Don't let great slow you down. Get your core function nailed down, put it out, let your users break it and then iterate from there." Furthermore, he recommends maintaining that lean, early-stage passion as much as possible as the business grows. "Even when you have more resources, treat your product as if you don't."

In addition to his work at Steereo, Sean is also a member of the advisory council for New York City's Fund for Public Housing. At a time when more people than ever are in need of affordable housing, federal funding for these programs has unfortunately dwindled. "My entire existence can be attributed to affordable public housing. I am a direct result of these programs and they just aren't really there anymore. It's important for me to give back in this way, because our experiences shape who we are and how we view the world. If I can shape a kid's viewpoint and their confidence, then that is my life's work, beyond anything else I do in the tech industry."

Sean, thank you so much for coming onto the show and sharing with us the work you're doing both with Steereo, and with the Fund for Public Housing. Thank you as well to everyone out there listening, reviewing, and sharing the show. See you next week!

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