Tech Forward

Welcome back to Tech Forward, listeners! This week, we've reissued my conversation with Michelle Glauser, founder and CEO of Techtonica. Based in San Francisco, Techtonica is a nonprofit that offers free tech training, plus living and childcare stipends, to local women and non-binary adults with low incomes. Michelle is also a software engineer and the lead organizer for PyLadiesSF — the world's largest chapter of women who code in Python. In 2015, she spearheaded the #ILookLikeAnEngineer ad campaign. We discussed her motivation behind founding Techtonica, what makes it different from other boot camps, as well as her journey into tech and entrepreneurship.

Despite a lifelong interest in computers, Michelle found herself working full time at a startup doing everything except software engineering. Noticing the high demand for engineers, she signed up for a training program in 2012. While her experience was overwhelmingly positive — she had a new job within 2 weeks of graduation — she also witnessed, firsthand, the lack of diversity in the tech world. She attributes part of this to the high cost of tuition (which, on average, has since tripled). But that isn’t the only barrier: many programs require participants to already have their own computer or tech network, or impose age limits. Through her crowdfunding work with the #ILookLikeAnEngineer ad campaign, Michelle had the revelation that would steer her towards entrepreneurship: “It was such a big challenge, but at the end of it I thought, I can do hard things! What other hard things can I do?” She turned her attention to socioeconomic diversity.

With the bootcamp model growing in popularity, Michelle didn’t want to reinvent the wheel.  By providing living and childcare stipends to participants, Techtonica supports locals in danger of displacement. “We want to train the people who are already here, alleviate the high and rising cost of living, and have the tech companies who are interested in building diversity support that training.” Companies partner with Techtonica and sign up as sponsors for participants in the 6-month apprenticeship program. After 5 months, sponsors and apprentices interview each other in order to find the best match, and the apprentices have their final month to prepare for their new role within that company. The companies who partner with Techtonica also have diversity and inclusion training to ensure the apprentices enter a welcoming environment.

The curriculum at Techtonica is open sourced and created with input from the sponsor companies and industry professional volunteers. From their rigorous application process, to workshop activities designed to evaluate the characteristics of a successful engineer, Techtonica strives to ensure that every participant ends up in the best possible role. In fact, Techtonica has now graduated its first class of apprentices, and placed 100% of them with partner companies!

If you’d like to support Techtonica’s mission, you can donate, volunteer, or sign up for their newsletter. Michelle, thank you so much for sharing your story this week, and for the work you’re doing with Techtonica. Thank you also to all my listeners tuning in, leaving reviews, and sharing the show. See you next week with a brand new episode!

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Hello listeners, and welcome back to Tech Forward! My guest today is Upasna Gautam, the Manager of SEO at Ziff Davis, where she architects and executes the organic search strategies for Mashable and PCMag. Upasna (or Pas, as she is more commonly known) has unique experience in mathematics, science and search that allowed her to bring a truly logical and analytical approach to digital marketing. An avid proponent of community, nature, and wellness, she’s also a Fitness and Zumba instructor, aspiring yogi, and hiker. Today we’ll be talking about her work in search, the things she loves about the Austin tech community, and some of the inspiring work she’s been doing to encourage more women and girls to pursue careers in STEM.

Like many guests on the show, Pas’ path to her current role was not a traditional one. Though she came from a biomedical background as a clinical research scientist, she had a strong desire to get involved in the world of digital marketing. She took on an unpaid internship as a digital strategist, analyzing data to inform marketing strategy, and quickly became a full time employee of the small marketing firm. Despite not having studied business or marketing in college, she brought a unique perspective to her work which made her extremely valuable. Her ability to seamlessly merge both the subjective and objective sides of marketing and analytics gave her a keen insight into how marketing can and should work at its optimal level.

These skills have served her well in her current role at Ziff Davis. As an enormous digital publisher with roots in traditional publishing, Ziff Davis was able to successfully shift to a fully digital presence. Pas ascribes that success partly to the editorial integrity of the content. Her work in SEO is cross-disciplinary, in that she works both with the editors to increase visibility on their content, as well as with the product and engineering teams to build a strong framework for the website. “Other publishers may have let the ball drop over time in order to monetize. You cannot compromise there. We’ve build up authority over time, both in real life and in the digital world, which definitely helps in a search ecosystem.”

When it comes to encouraging more women and girls to pursue careers in STEM, Pas’ mission is all about changing the narrative. Citing the old familiar stereotype of a scientist as a man in a lab coat, she says, “There are preconceived notions that have been embedded in all of us. This isn’t an issue of skill or ability. It’s a lack of encouragement and role models… We can’t show other women what to do and what to be if they can’t see it.” As a woman in STEM, working for a company with above average gender diversity in executive roles, she considers it her responsibility to live this role visibly, and have these conversations as often as possible. “The more we show it, the more it’s visible, and the more we can transform those stereotypes.”

Pas, thank you so much for coming onto the show and sharing all the work you’re doing with our listeners. Thank you, also, to everyone out there listening, sharing, and reviewing the show. See you next week!

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Hello listeners! Welcome back to another episode of Tech Forward. This week, we've resissued my conversation with Chris Bennett, co-founder and CEO of Wonderschool. Combining high quality educational standards with the warmth of in-home programs, Wonderschool is a network of boutique early childhood education programs. With the Wonderschool platform, it’s easy for teachers to start and operate these programs — and for families to find them. Chris and I discussed his journey as an entrepreneur, as well as his passion for providing families with more affordable, high-quality options for early childhood education.

Though some might hesitate to leave the stability of the financial sector for the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship, for Chris — who has many small business owners in his family — it was an easy decision. While attending the Wharton School of Business, he started his own business, but didn’t entertain the notion of continuing past graduation. After 2 years at a real estate private equity firm in Chicago, he felt the urge to return to the entrepreneurial realm. He moved to San Francisco where he met his co-founder, Arrel Gray, and they have been working together since 2011.

The impetus for Wonderschool came from Arrel’s difficulty finding high-quality childcare for his son. Chris and Arrel took inspiration from Orlando’s Tangelo Park Program, which offered free in-home childcare options for low income communities. Access to high-quality early childhood education has dramatic positive results: not only did the crime rate in Tangelo Park decrease by half, but high school graduation rates increased by 75%. Despite all the research highlighting the benefits of early childhood education, however, options remain limited. “A lot of people don’t start these out of their homes, and those who do tend to get overwhelmed quickly.” By creating a platform that makes starting, operating, and locating these programs as simple and intuitive as Airbnb, Wonderschool addresses some of the barriers preventing ECE programs from flourishing.

With upwards of 500 programs at various stages from inception to operation currently on the Wonderschool platform, the team is constantly building more tools for parents to navigate their relationship with their director. Through regular surveys of both parents and teachers, the team collects a wealth of data that enable them to provide a good experience for everyone, from teachers and directors to students and their parents.

As for advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, Chris emphasizes the importance of building relationships. “A lot of critical information is locked in people’s heads — not in books. I’m constantly learning from the community here. With constant learning over time, it becomes easier to know what it takes to be successful.”

Chris, thank you so much for joining me on the show. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Wonderschool. Thank you also to all of you out there listening, reviewing, and sharing the show. See you next week with a brand new episode!

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Hello listeners, and welcome to another exciting episode of Tech Forward! On today’s episode, I spoke with award-winning comedian Ana-Marija Stojic. Over the last several years, she’s participated in numerous comedy competitions, and been featured in the NBC Showcase at the Women in Comedy Festival Boston 2018. She was also a recipient of Netflix's 2018 Diversity of Voices fellowship at the Banff World Media Festival. On her latest project, “Artificial, the Podcast,” Ana-Marija will be joined by a unique co-host: a functioning AI chatbot. Today, we’ll be talking about her plans for the show, what it’s like to co-host with a chat bot, and some of the important topics they plan to tackle together.

A self-described nerd, Ana-Marija has always been fascinated by the idea of collaborating with artificial intelligence. In recounting the inspiration behind the show, she touches on the story of a  chess tournament that paired humans with robots. Rather than the “top” performers of each category, the winning duo consisted of a human and a robot who worked well together. “I’ve used this approach when working with anyone, human or AI. The success of a collaboration is based on the least amount of friction.” Together on the show, Ana-Marija and her co-host will tackle politics and the human paranoia towards artificial intelligence, all through a lens of comedic absurdity.

So what makes this format a good fit to uniquely and effectively address such important topics? According to Ana-Marija, the answer lies in the powerful combination of comedy and imagination. “Comedy is the best way to get people’s guards down and get them thinking about alternatives, really challenging their beliefs. ...Suddenly, anything is possible. Everything is based on the limits of our imagination. If you can expand someone’s imagination, you can change the world.” Currently, she sees her target audience as a mix of comedy lovers and AI enthusiasts, and hopes to someday evolve the podcast into a fully produced talk show.

While the process of crowdfunding to get the show started was a stressful one, Ana-Marija came away from the experience with valuable feedback from potential investors involved in the AI community. The proof of concept video, which she shot just days after our interview, was a key missing piece that has since played a role in moving the project forward. Ana-Marija has also been quick to adapt the project over time, and incorporate new information in the show’s evolution. She realized fairly early on that the campaign’s success could not be accurately measured by the amount of money raised, and shifted her focus to engagement with the idea and the content around it.

Ana-Marija, thank you so much for coming onto the show to share your fascinating project with our listeners. I can’t wait to see where this podcast takes you and your co-host. Thank you, also, to everyone out there listening, sharing, and reviewing the show. See you next week!

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Welcome back to another great episode of Tech Forward! This week, especially for my newer listeners, I’m excited to rebroadcast my conversation with educator and entrepreneur, Angela Lee. Angela is both Chief Innovation Officer and Associate Dean at Columbia Business School, and the founder of angel investment network, 37 Angels. With her commitment to education, it’s no surprise that she is a sought-after expert for many news networks, and has been invited to advise decision-makers at the highest levels, including Prime Minister Trudeau. We discussed her work fostering teaching excellence at Columbia Business School, how she launched 37 Angels, and her mission to activate female investors.

At Columbia Business School, curricula have evolved to reflect a shift in graduate employment. Whereas graduates once primarily pursued careers in finance or consulting, many of them now go into technology or entrepreneurship. As Chief Innovation Officer, Angela has a threefold mission: faculty excellence beginning with orientation, curriculum strategy, and technology innovation for both in-class an online learning. Though women comprise 35-40% of students in the classroom, participation is still 80% male. Angela has worked extensively to overcome that disparity, from working within clubs to help women be more vocal, to training faculty in leading a diverse classroom. Through tools like SeatGen, which measures student participation and identifies possible bias in the instructor, they have data-driven ways to overcome biases and encourage diversity in participation.

From the day she accidentally began angel investing a decade ago, Angela has had what she calls a “shadow career” of investing in startups. “I have a very high personal bar of what it means to understandsomething,” Angela notes, and her desires for a network of like-minded people to invest alongside as well as a “soup to nuts” educational platform for investing were the seeds of 37 Angels. In this investment bootcamp, participants learn the fundamentals of angel investing, from financial and governance terms, to venture math, portfolio strategy, and the real world application of said skills. Though she built 37 Angels from a personal need, there was clearly a need for this bootcamp in the market: some long-term angel investors have even asked to take the bootcamp in secret!

The membership network at 37 Angels consists of 80 investors who have invested in 49 companies over the last 5 years. As the only angel network that guarantees a response to founders within 4 weeks of application, 75% of the founder testimonials are from founders that 37 Angels ultimately chose not to fund. Their transparency and efficiency have been heralded as “a breath of fresh air” in the venture community. Though their primary focus is on female investors, the portfolio ultimately matches the pipeline: by activating these investors, they will organically invest in more women than the average angel network.

Angela, thank you so much for coming onto the show this week and sharing all the work you do. Thank you as well to all of you out there listening, reviewing, and sharing the show. See you next week with a brand new episode!

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Welcome back to Tech Forward, listeners! On today’s episode, I spoke with CEO and Founder of The Mentor Method, Janice Omadeke. The Mentor Method is a DC-based company devoted to creating inclusive workplace cultures by mentoring diverse talent. The company has been featured in The Washington Business Journal, Entrepreneur, was a 2016 Tech.Co Startup of the Year nominee, and a 2017 Startup Grind Global Exhibition selection. During our conversation, Janice and I will discuss her path to becoming an entrepreneur, her aspirations for the business, and her advice for other founders looking to follow in her footsteps.

After a long career in graphic design working with Fortune 500 companies, Janice turned her attention to creating a mentorship program in late 2015. While most people know intuitively that mentorship is worthwhile, Janice emphasizes that it is, in fact, critical to career advancement. Mentors are five times more likely to be promoted in the lifetime of their career, and mentees are six times more likely. Tailored corporate level mentorship programs such as The Mentor Method play a large role in helping companies retain their underrepresented talent. While there’s no shortage of material for people seeking advice on career development, having a mentor who is focused on you, your career, and your goals is what makes you unstoppable.

With this in mind, The Mentor Method works within large companies who purchase a license and enroll their talent. Using a patent pending algorithm to eliminate bias, mentors are paired with mentees for a 4-month partnership to develop professional skills. These partnerships generate useful data that enables companies to make strategic decisions and build more inclusive environments. “If 80% of the employees in a company say they don’t feel proficient in a particular skill, that’s something the company should pay attention to. Especially if it’s a requirement for promotion within that company, they can bring in additional tools and resources to help employees refine those skills.”

Implementing a mentorship program also plays a role in closing the fundraising gap for underrepresented founders. Traditional fundraising strategies within the venture capital space encourage founders to leverage their networks for access. These networks, however, “have evolved over time to exclude certain demographics. There is a correlation between a lack of mentorship and access, and the lack of funding getting allocated to founders in certain groups who are equally qualified.”

Janice, thank you so much for coming onto the show to share your insights, the work you’re  doing with The Mentor Method, and some stories of how mentorship has helped you in your career. Thank you, also, to everyone out there listening, sharing, and reviewing the show. See you next week!

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Hello, listeners, and welcome back to Tech Forward. This week, we'll be revisiting my conversations with Andreas Freund, co-founder of DiveIn, a platform where people can easily get involved with causes they care about at the local level. As a proud son of immigrants and a San Francisco native, Andreas was inspired to create DiveIn after witnessing the effects of the refugee crisis in Germany in 2015. In an era where we have so much at our fingertips, Andreas realized it was unacceptable that we can wake up with the desire to help in our own communities, but not be able to use technology to make that process seamless and frictionless.

DiveIn helps its users connect on two levels: location, and causes. Whether your passion is the environment, animal welfare, or social justice, DiveIn allows you to access relevant content and discussions, and find opportunities to get involved in those causes with like-minded people at the local level. So what does “getting involved” look like? “The types of experiences themselves can be really diverse. If you’re going to go out and get a beer after work, why not go to a place where there’s someone speaking? Or where the proceeds will go to a good cause? Getting involved can be putting on a pair of gloves and getting your hands dirty doing volunteer work, but it can also mean going to a screening and exposing yourself to new ideas.”

Andreas acknowledges that his status as a millennial played a significant role in the formation of DiveIn — and how it will make money. “Millennials may have grown up on the internet, but that doesn’t mean we want to spend all of our time on it. We love experiences. We want to get out there and be active in our communities, but the barriers to access need to be lowered.” As part of a recent wave of social entrepreneurship, Andreas wanted to ensure that DiveIn’s revenue model didn’t undermine their core values. Currently, they operate with a “pay by participant” model, where event hosts are charged a fixed fee for ever new person they activate at the local level.

As a Latino man who grew up attending protests with his grandparents, Andreas has made diversity a strong priority for DiveIn. “It’s important that our team reflects the communities we serve. Diversity matters, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes business sense. More diverse companies generate more revenue, so the moral element is really backed up by the numbers.” Moving forwards, Andreas is committed to doing the work to push back against internal biases as the team grows.

Over the next few years, Andreas aims to expand DiveIn at the national level by establishing a presence in the top 5 metro areas of the US (Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth, and New York City). Andreas, I can’t wait to see your community grow as people across the country get activated with DiveIn. Thank you so much for joining me on the show, and thank you to all of you who tuned in. See you next week with a brand new episode!

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Welcome back to Tech Forward, listeners! On today’s episode, I spoke with Leslie Jump, founder and CEO at DifferentFunds, which is the first platform designed and built for investing in venture funds. Leslie has spent the bulk of her career building, advising, and investing in new companies, both in the US and worldwide. Most recently, she served as a Partner in Sawari Ventures, LLC, a Cairo-based early stage venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs across the Middle East and North Africa. Today, Leslie will share her inspiration for launching DifferentFunds, and how she’s helping a diverse network of more than 800 funds access the resources they need to support entrepreneurs globally.

DifferentFunds began as Startup Angels in 2013, with the initial goal to match angel investors with startup investment opportunities. Eventually, however, Leslie and her team realized something critical: venture capital has a math problem. While the vast majority of venture funds have a median size of $60 million, most investors don’t consider funds under $100 million. What was really needed was a product that would allow the two sides of the marketplace to interact and transact with each other. On the DifferentFunds platform, qualified individuals and institutions can find, research, and invest in venture capital funds. The platform has a database of 900 highly diverse US-based firms, investing in everything from AI, to blockchain, to robotics, and more. In Leslie’s words, “Our job isn’t trying to guess who’s going to be the top of the top performers. We’re not trying to find the needle in the haystack that is the “best possible” fund. We’re building the haystack.”

The diversity on DifferentFunds is also reflected in the makeup of the funds themselves: 65% of the funds have a woman, a person of color, or both at the helm. Rather than a unique outlier, Leslie asserts that the diversity is a reflection of reality, and the fact that, both in the US and globally, society is shifting towards true multiculturalism. With multiple studies showing that diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams, performance is a key benefit to highlight to the limited partners. “You want your investment to be high performance? This is how. These folks have a propensity to outperform others, they see opportunity where others might not. They are dialed in.” Venture capital is a young industry, which has historically relied on pattern matching in lieu of true business intelligence. Leslie and her team are aware of this, and actively collecting data and building models that will better equip investors to make smarter decisions.

Thank you so much for coming onto the show this week, Leslie! I loved hearing about the work you’re doing with DifferentFunds, and your keen insights into the world of venture capital investing. 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, we're featuring a rebroadcast of my conversation with Lidiane Jones, the VP of SW Product Management at Sonos, a leading smart sound system company. For over 15 years, Lidiane has worked in product management for a wide variety of products related to consumer productivity, machine learning, and much more. Over the course of her career, she has gained a reputation for building diverse, dynamic, and high-performing teams. In her current role at Sonos, Lidiane leads her team as they work to improve customers’ lives through great listening experiences. We discussed her career trajectory, and her advice to women looking for mentors and sponsors.  

Even though she loved coding from a very young age, Lidiane’s transition from tech-focused roles to her position as VP of product management was an organic one. Realizing that she spent much of her energy on the what and why of the products, considering everything from the angle of customer experience, Lidiane met with some product managers and loved the work. Now, she and her team create crisp, prioritized road maps for products that are grounded in the company’s strategy and direction.

As a Latina woman in the tech sector, Lidiane has been deliberate in selecting professional environments where she could thrive while still being herself. It’s easy to see why this career trajectory led her to Sonos, a nontraditional, product-driven, and highly inclusive tech company. The fact that she received a job offer from Sonos when she was 7 months pregnant signaled to Lidiane that this was a company aligned with her style and values. “It was very telling for me in terms of culture and environment. You can read a lot from those early interactions.”

Environmental fit plays a role not only in personal success, but in building a support network of both peers and leaders. Lidiane’s advice for early and mid-career women is to cultivate a broad mentorship network of people of all genders, career stages, and roles. “Earlier in my career, I was more conscious of being the only woman in the room. I had a male colleague with a similar working style to mine, but he was so much freer to share his ideas. I wondered why I was blocking myself, and then I started to take the leap to be more vocal in these discussions.”

As far as finding these connections, Lidiane values organic and authentic connections that will last beyond a single job or role. “You can spot the people who are invested in your success. They’re the ones who catch you before or after a meeting for a cup of coffee. People will see your strengths outside of a single meeting or project, and you’ll find something of mutual interest as you get to know each other.”

Lidiane, thank you so much for joining me on the show this week and sharing your keen insights into mentorship and sponsorship. To all of my listeners, thank you once again for tuning in to the show. See you next week with a brand new episode!

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Welcome back to Tech Forward, listeners! This week, I spoke with Kanika Tolver, IT professional and founder and CEO of Career Rehab. Through her career coaching business, Kanika helps students, professionals, and retirees transform their careers via 1-on-1 services as well as events, webinars, and digital resources. She’s also the author of Life Rehab: Don’t Overdose on Pain, People, and Power. Kanika and I will be discussing different strategies for Black women and other underrepresented groups to set themselves up for career success, how to navigate career setbacks, and so much more.

 Career Rehab grew over the last four years as Kanika noticed that many of the women and minorities in her community weren’t getting the jobs and salaries they deserved. As part of her desire to share her knowledge, she began coaching people on resume building, career branding, job interview techniques, and job search strategies — all of which are now primary services in her business. While the bulk of her clients are in the DC area, she also offers virtual career coaching to people all over the US. Having recently started a new project management role, she goes into detail about how she approaches her first 90 days, and the importance of developing relationships with her team members beyond that.

Kanika acknowledges that the entrepreneurial path can be a difficult one, especially for women of color, who often face significant challenges in securing funding. With that in mind, her advice for women of color considering entrepreneurship is practical and multifaceted. She recommends building up savings before striking out on this path, especially for women with families and mortgages to consider. During this time, however, women can continue to build their brands and clientele while working their traditional jobs. “Leverage the career you’re in, for the business that you want to make. So many skills will be transferable, so be mindful of that. Ask yourself, what do I do every day that I could sell, or build a product off of?”

When it comes to career setbacks, Kanika suggests looking at jobs as relationships, even framing parts of her own journey as “career heartbreaks.” She shares some of her own experiences in this area, from pitching her book, to staying in a job she disliked for five years. While setbacks, failure, and hearing no are all common, Kanika has this to say to anyone in a toxic job relationship: “Please don’t stay. Don’t feel bad every day for eight hours. You’re worth so much more than feeling like you have to be miserable for a paycheck.” She also encourages people to seek other professionals in their industry for sound advice.

Kanika, thank you so much for sharing your keen insights on the show this week. Thank you also to everyone out there listening, reviewing, and sharing the show. See you next week!

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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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