Maisha Leek was, at the time of this recording, a partner at Human Ventures, an NYC based venture capital firm and startup studio. Today, she's Managing Director at A/B Partners, a digital storytelling agency. On this episode, AfroTech's Will Lucas sits down with Maisha Leek to talk about the capitalism with heart, opportunity in flyover country, and distributed teams. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about other Black tech disruptors and innovators at AfroTech.com Learn m...
Oct 26, 2021•30 min•Season 3Ep. 35
One of my favorite quotes is by the late, great Steve Jobs who said 'You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.' This quote is a summation of my life experience. On this episode, I discuss how intentionally putting yourself in a position to be successful can open up doors of opportunity that you couldn't have prescribed in advance, and how putting in generous, thoughtful, and dis...
Oct 19, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Richard is Co-Founder and General Partner at Equal Ventures. Prior to co-founding Equal Ventures, Richard was an investor at Venrock, where he led seed-stage and Series A stage investments in 6Sense, Amino Apps, Beckon, Burner, Luxe Valet, and Salsify. On this episode, AfroTech's Will Lucas sits down with Richard Kerby to talk about the things that are at the core of Venture Capital: investing early stage entrepreneurs and startups, and how to know if a startup is a good fit for your investment ...
Oct 12, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Jewel Burks Solomon is the Head of Google for Startups in the US. She works to level the playing field for underrepresented startup founders and communities by connecting them with the best of Google’s products, people and platforms. Joey Womack is the mind behind Goodie Nation which exists to eliminate the relationship gap that stands in the way of success for too many promising entrepreneurs, especially those who are people of color, women, or aren't located in coastal financial centers. On th...
Oct 05, 2021•35 min•Season 3Ep. 32
Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is a social justice advocate and CEO at Promise, which helps people avoid utility shutoffs, license revocations, sky-high interest fees, and even incarceration with flexible, interest-free payment plan, a range of payment options, and 24/7 client support. She was also a union organizer and previously served as Princes manager. On this episode, Phaedra talks with Will Lucas about how tech can amplify social justice work, how one experience prepares you for the next, and how ...
Sep 28, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Ita Ekpoudom is partner at Gingerbread Capital, and her mission is to engage, educate, and elevate the next generation of successful women business leaders and investors. She holds an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and a certificate in Finance, from Princeton University. On Term Sheets, a 3 episode video series, which is available to watch in full on YouTube, I travelled to NYC to ...
Sep 21, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler are both former NBA players turned businessmen. John Monopoly is Kanye West’s manager. The partners joined forces to work together on expanding the current 3% market share of the cannabis industry that is owned by black people. On this episode, the entrepreneurs and investors talk with Will Lucas about Village, the largest, national conglomerate for black-owned cannabis brands and Nobody’s Home, a free music festival featuring top Rap and R&B Acts. Follow Wi...
Sep 14, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Clarence Bethea is founder and CEO of Upsie, a technology company offering consumers an alternative when purchasing extended warranties for electronics like mobile devices and home appliances. He recently closed an $18 million Series A funding round. On this episode, Clarence speaks with Will Lucas about raising large startup financing rounds, capital intensive launch strategies, and how to make warranties sexy. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about other Black tech disru...
Sep 07, 2021•36 min•Season 3Ep. 28
J. Carter is co-founder and chief marketing officer of the One Music Fest, one of the ONLY existing Black owned live music events in the country. He’s found a ton of success with his event expertise finding partnerships with some of the biggest global brands like Adidas, MillerCoors, BMW, Heineken and more. On this episode, J. Carter speaks with Will Lucas about venture capital for entertainment, AR & VR for live events, and how to keep going and believing when the losses seem to mount. Foll...
Aug 31, 2021•41 min•Season 3Ep. 27
A. Donahue Baker, co-founder and CEO at Money Avenue teaches Entrepreneurship at Morehouse College and is also a Certified Public Accountant that specializes in helping clients create generational wealth through real estate acquisitions and entrepreneurial investment opportunities. On this episode, A. Donahue speaks with Will Lucas about how to leverage the tax code for personal benefit, the importance of life insurance at all ages, and how to get started investing with as little as $500. Follow...
Aug 24, 2021•34 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Tiffany Aliche, founder of “The Budgetnista”, is an award-winning teacher of financial education, and America's favorite personal financial educator. She is the author of Get Good with Money (a New York Times Bestseller), The One Week Budget, and the Live Richer Challenge series. On this episode, Tiffany talks with Will Lucas about how to develop a content strategy that gets attention, LLC Twitter and the Tax Code, and bootstrapping a million-dollar business. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @w...
Aug 17, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Pierre Laguerre is CEO and Founder at Fleeting, a commercial fleet management and services company and the first Black man ever to raise more than $1 million from a crowdfunding campaign. On this episode, he speaks with Will Lucas about how tech can avoid displacing people while still aiming for disruption, how technology improves logistics and the wealth opportunity for truckers, and why autonomous trucks are still 20 years out. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about othe...
Aug 10, 2021•18 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Malcolm Etheridge is a certified financial planner, speaker and blogger. His areas of expertise include retirement planning, investment portfolio development, tax planning, insurance, stock options and other executive benefits. On this episode, Malcolm speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about who qualifies for equity at a startup, understanding the value of your shares, and paper millionaires. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about other Black tech disruptors and innovators...
Aug 03, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Bärí A. Williams is COO of Bandwagon Fan Club. Inc., a data and identity analytics tech company focused on the sports and entertainment space, and a diversity, inclusion and corporate social responsibility consultant. Prior to Bandwagon, she held executive roles at companies like All Turtles, StubHub and Facebook. On this episode, Bari speaks with Will Lucas about how artificial intelligence can be biased, the real meaning of DEI, and how lawyers can be critical to startup success. Follow Will L...
Jul 27, 2021•43 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Jeff Osuji is a serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder at Eventnoire, a technology start-up and event ticketing platform that seeks to support and promote Black enterprises and cultural events. On this episode, Jeff speaks with Will Lucas about discrimination in the events industry, how startups can make power moves in the same waters with bigger fish, and how promoters can leverage data to engage bigger audiences. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about other Black tech disrup...
Jul 20, 2021•36 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Ayinde Alakoye is founder and CEO at Nēdl, the live audio platform where anyone can create a live call-in radio show that transcribes, amplifies & monetizes words as they're spoken. Nēdl also serves as an AI-powered search engine for live audio broadcast. Ayinde served as a speech contributor and message advisor to Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election campaign. On this episode, Ayinde speaks with Will Lucas about the fast-growing audio technology industry, the opportuni...
Jul 13, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Bimma Williams is a creative industry leader, former executive at Nike, Yeezy (Adidas) and Saucony. Currently, he runs the #1 iTunes rated career podcast, 'Claima', which is a career discovery podcast to help Black and Brown creatives discover their dream careers. On this episode, Bimma talks with Will Lucas about the institutional constrains to building big brands, how design collaborations work, and how creatives claim a seat at the table, or build their own. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at ...
Jul 06, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Dr. Key Hallmon is the founder and CEO of The Village Market, and cultivates events to provide a platform for socially-conscious, black-owned startups and entrepreneurs to get support, build community, and showcase their products and services. On this episode, Dr. Key talks with Will Lucas about 'Support' as a verb, strategies to building community around commerce, and how communities can replicate Atlanta's Black business success. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about ot...
Jun 29, 2021•33 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Hajj Flemings is the founder at Rebrand Cities, a global civic design partnership with WordPress.com which holds the audacious goal is to get 10,000 local small businesses online. On this episode, Hajj speaks with Will Lucas about how to build a tech ecosystem anywhere, connecting the right players to build a tech ecosystem, and why Silicon Valley isn't the only place to find tech success. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about other Black tech disruptors and innovators at...
Jun 22, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Tara Reed is a non-technical founder building software without writing code. She's the founder of 'Apps Without Code' the #1 online school for app entrepreneurs which helps anyone come up with a strong app idea, build it without writing code, and teaches them how to make money from their app idea. On this episode, Tara speaks with Will Lucas about what's required to build an app, the difference between native apps and web apps, and how to determine if your app idea is worth the investment of tim...
Jun 15, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Sterling Smith is the founder at Sandbox Commerce, which helps store owners launch e-commerce apps without having to learn to code, and in less than 10 minutes. On this episode, Sterling chat's with Will Lucas about who needs a custom app and who doesn't, how to scale a small retail business by selling online, and how to gather and translate business data for financial wins. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about other Black tech disruptors and innovators at AfroTech.com L...
Jun 08, 2021•38 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Harold Hughes is the Founder and CEO at Bandwagon, a venture-backed identity infrastructure company that helps its customers transparently manage, aggregate, and store valuable consumer identity data. He's also a prominent tech speaker, community builder and investor. On this episode, Harold speaks with Will Lucas about how to avoid getting pigeon-hold as a Black founder, community building as a B2B company, and how to stop getting declined for accelerators and startup competitions. Follow Will ...
Jun 01, 2021•35 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Travis Montaque is the Founder and CEO of Holler, a messaging technology company that delivers content in messaging environments like texts, social media and payment apps. On this episode, Travis chats with Will Lucas about how to bring empathy in technology, how emojis are a new language, and finding business success by leveraging third party apps. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about other Black tech disruptors and innovators at AfroTech.com Learn more about your ad-ch...
May 25, 2021•43 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Davyeon Ross is the co-founder at ShotTracker, a sensor-based system that delivers statistics and analytics to sports teams, fans and broadcast networks instantly, and serves as an Entrepreneur In Residence at Coalition Venture Studio, an initiative launched by R/GA Ventures in support of Black founders. On this episode, Davyeon talks with Will Lucas about how EIRs translate value for both startups and venture capitalists, how diverse teams can outperform but still get less funding, and how anyo...
May 18, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Janell Stephens is the mix-master, founder and CEO at Camille Rose. She's been at the forefront of the radical shift in the billion dollar beauty industry, and has been an iconic trendsetter within the space. Her products are available in stores nationwide, including Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sally’s Beauty, Whole Foods, Walgreens, CVS and more. On this episode, Janell speaks with Will Lucas about how wellness brands can use social media to boost their brands, how to secure shelf space in a...
May 11, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Damon Brown is a tech entrepreneur, author and speaker who helps side hustlers, solopreneurs, and other non-traditional creatives bloom. He co-founded the popular platonic connection app Cuddlr and led it to acquisition within a year, all while being the primary caretaker of his infant first son. On this episode, Damon talks with Will Lucas about how anyone can succeed in starting their own venture. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about other Black tech disruptors and inn...
May 04, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Modern renaissance man Chris Classic is an American Music Award winning recording artist, social media influencer and business owner. He's the founder the lifestyle brand Savoir Faire, which features a signature fragrance and personal accessories. Chris's music can be heard on several movie soundtracks including Alvin and the Chipmunks, Fifty Shades of Grey, Just Wright, Horrible Bosses and many more. And, the demand for his signature fragrance is in higher demand than ever before. On this episo...
Apr 27, 2021•57 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Bharat Ramamurti, National Economic Council Deputy Director for the Biden Administration joins Will Lucas to talk about The American Jobs Plan President Joe Biden is initiating to re-imagine the American Economy. On this special episode we discuss creating a new American economy, how Black entrepreneurs and techies can participate and win contracts, and the space for entrepreneurship when Black companies receive less venture funding. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more about ...
Apr 20, 2021•16 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Jessica O. Matthews is the Founder & CEO of Uncharted Power, an award-winning renewable power and sustainability company, now on the bleeding edge of creating smart cities around the world. The company was founded by Jessica when she was only 22 years old. On this episode, Jessica speaks with Will Lucas about the trillion-dollar opportunity in smart cities and sustainable energy, where Black people are uniquely positioned to reimagine energy infrastructure, and how to partner with government...
Apr 13, 2021•50 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Trell Thomas is the Founder of the Black Excellence Brunch, an annual event that gives #BlackExcellence a seat at the table. His work spans from career beginnings on the historic Obama Presidential Campaign in 2008 to overseeing talent relations and communication within some of the biggest brands at Viacom to perfectly aligning social good causes, corporations and celebrities. On this episode, he chat's with Will Lucas about betting on the excellence of Black culture, how to make money producing...
Apr 06, 2021•43 min•Season 3Ep. 6
