Rodney Williams is Co-Founder and President at Solo Funds, one of the leading financial technology companies for underserved communities. On this episode, Rodney speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about how to launch a fintech startup MVP with no venture capital, how challenging disruption can be in a highly regulated industry, and finding success when facing existential threats. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Learn mo...
Nov 07, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 45
Ep. 138 We're at AfroTech Conference in Austin, TX this week, so I'm bringing you one of the most downloaded episodes of Black Tech Green Money. There are a lot of new subscribers here, so unless you went back deep into the archives, this gem is one you might have missed. I hope you gain a lot of insights and inspiration from it! Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more at AfroTech.com https://instagram.com/afro.tech Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnet...
Oct 31, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 44
Ep. 137 I've listened to the comments from entrepreneurs and solopreneurs who've asked for advice on tech, apps, and systems to grow their businesses. Here's the best advice I can give you: to grow a business, you need to become the type of person who can! If you're looking for ways to become the kind of person who can start and grow an enterprise, this episode was made with you in mind. Tap in for the latest AfroTech News clips also. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more at Af...
Oct 24, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 43
Ep. 136: If you're a small business owner, often in the early days of your business you struggle to hire the best talent. With todays conversation, I want to help you rethink this challenge, and encourage you instead to develop your own talent. I share some of my experiences in getting solid at the skills I needed to hire for myself, what convinced me to start developing talent instead of falling to the idea that I couldn't hire qualified and skilled people to grow my business, and a few strateg...
Oct 17, 2023•30 min•Season 4Ep. 42
Ollen Douglass is the Managing Partner of Motley Fool Ventures. The $250 million company is one of the largest Black-run venture capital firms in the world. Wemimo Abbey is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Esusu, the leading financial technology company helping individuals save money and build credit. This conversation presents a fireside chat from AfroTech Executive Brooklyn 2023. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more at AfroTech.com https://instagram.com/afro.tech Learn more about yo...
Oct 10, 2023•31 min•Season 4Ep. 41
Osinachi is a self-taught digital artist based in Lagos. The first crypto artist out of Africa, he makes artworks that mirror his personal experiences through a unique visual language that he has perfected for over 15 years. In addition to numerous collaborations with big players in the art world, in 2021 Osinachi became the first African artist to auction five unique NFTs in Europe through Christie’s, the world-leading art and luxury business. He was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Afr...
Oct 03, 2023•39 min•Season 4Ep. 40
Charles ‘Beloved’ Kuykendoll is the founder at RNB House Party, a unique party experience where R&B and Gospel music are at the center, bringing the vibes, as well as the nostalgia. Just recently, RNB House Party was acquired by Blavity, Inc., which is also the parent company of AfroTech and its rebranded as Blavity House Party. Charles comes aboard as the General Manager of Community, charged with creating even more experiences for us to connect globally around music, networking, and more. ...
Sep 26, 2023•46 min•Season 4Ep. 39
Chaucer Barnes is Chief Marketing Officer of Translation + United Masters, the parent company of award-winning creative agency Translation, and artist services platform UnitedMasters. In creating a new normal for the way brands and creators alike mint and trade cultural capital, Chaucer applies tools and lessons from every chapter of his life – as a media planner, brand strategist, creative director, partnership architect, and independent musician. In this episode, Chaucer speaks with AfroTech's...
Sep 19, 2023•49 min•Season 4Ep. 38
Mandy Bowman is founder and CEO of Official Black Wall Street (OBWS), a marketplace app that is the fastest growing platform for finding and supporting Black-owned businesses in the United States. Internal reports say her app has recirculated about $10 million in sales and business services back into Black-owned businesses. Now, she is focused on expanding her services to ten other countries including Canada, South Africa, France, the UK, and the Netherlands. In this episode, Mandy speaks with A...
Sep 12, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 37
Angela Yee is a Radio Hall of Fame inductee and multi-business entrepreneur who runs companies in various industries. She recently started her solo radio show, Way Up with Angela Yee, after her long tenure at The Breakfast Club. In this episode, Angela Yee speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about her holdings, being a 'serial' entrepreneur, and how to decide what to focus on. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more at AfroTech.com https://instagram.com/afro.tech Learn more about y...
Sep 05, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 36
Alphonzo "Phonz" Terrell is founder and CEO at Spill, and Kenya Parham is Global VP, Community & Partnerships at the culture-first social media app. At launch, Spill jumped to the top of the app store and still maintains a formidable position. On this episode, Phonz and Kenya speak with AfroTech's Will Lucas about how Spill makes a lasting impression in the social media landscape, why we needed another social media platform, and how they knew how much money to raise. Follow Black Tech Green ...
Aug 29, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 35
Marlon Nichols is the founding managing partner at MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionary founders building the future that the world wants to see. Prior to MaC Venture Capital, Marlon was founder of Cross Culture Ventures and served as Investment Director at Intel Capital. Some of his current and previous portfolio companies include Blavity, Gimlet Media, LISNR, Mayvenn, MongoDB, PlayVS, Pipe, Thrive Market and Wonderschool, among others. Follow Black T...
Aug 22, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 34
Ruben Harris is the co-founder and CEO at Career Karma, which bills itself as the easiest way to find a job training program online. Rachelle Olden is Lead at Google’s Tech Equity Collective, which creates energizing paths into tech for Black people. Together, they’re launching the Black Genius Academy — a software initiative to demystify fast-growing tech career fields and support Black talent in identifying technical education programs that prepare them to enter the industry with no prior expe...
Aug 15, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 33
Derrick 'Moe' Moore, Clint Gray, and Emmanuel ‘EJ’ Reed are the founders of Slim & Huskey's Pizza Beeria, a fast-casual artisan pizza shop with a love for Hip Hop and R&B culture. The Nashville Based company now boasts restaurants in Antioch, Chattanooga, Memphis, Murfreesboro, TN as well as Atlanta, GA and Sacramento. CA. On this episode, Clint and Moe talk with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the Italian History of pizza places and how their take on a pizza restaurant instead amplifies Bla...
Aug 08, 2023•45 min•Season 4Ep. 32
Marcus Collins is Head of Strategy at Wieden+Kennedy and is a Clinical Marketing Professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. He previously led iTunes + Nike sport music initiatives at Apple (iTunes Partner Marketing) before running digital strategy for Beyoncé. On this episode, Marcus speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the power behind what we buy, do, and who we want to be. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney ...
Jul 31, 2023•39 min•Season 4Ep. 31
Hailed “The New Einstein” by her fans and named the “Modern Day Hidden Figure” by People Magazine and Newsweek, Olympia LePoint is an award-winning rocket scientist and author. On this episode, Olympia talks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the myths of becoming a rocket scientist, why the US is near the bottom of math performance, and the value of a college degree. Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Learn more at AfroTec...
Jul 25, 2023•45 min•Season 4Ep. 30
Morgan DeBaun is a serial entrepreneur, executive, and corporate advisor. She’s founder & CEO of Blavity Inc., the leading digital media company for Black culture and millennials. On this episode, Morgan chats with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the entrance of Threads into the social networking conversation, how generative AI like ChatGPT changes the game for tech-enabled workers, and AfroTech 2023. Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Follow Will Lucas on Instagr...
Jul 18, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 29
Dr. Tiffany St. Bernard is the CEO and Founder of HairDays, a one-of-a-kind hair intelligence platform providing personalized hair, scalp, and holistic wellness insights. On this episode, Dr. St. Bernard talks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about how AI has enhanced our ability to maintain healthy hair and scalp wellness, how important timing is when building a startup, and the classic inventors mistake. Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Follow Will Lucas on Instagra...
Jul 11, 2023•33 min•Season 4Ep. 28
Derrick 'Moe' Moore, Clint Gray, and Emmanuel ‘EJ’ Reed are the founders of Slim & Huskey's Pizza Beeria, a fast-casual artisan pizza shop with a love for Hip Hop and R&B culture. The Nashville Based company now boasts restaurants in Antioch, Chattanooga, Memphis, Murfreesboro, TN as well as Atlanta, GA and Sacramento. CA. On this episode, Clint and Moe talk with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the Italian History of pizza places and how their take on a pizza restaurant instead amplifies Bla...
Jul 04, 2023•45 min•Season 4Ep. 27
Blakk Tatted is founder and CEO at Blakk Smoke, the world's #1 leader in no nicotine, no tobacco hookah products. On this episode, Blakk talks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about million dollar sales days, how he formulated no nicotine hookah pens, and the difference between having followers vs. having influence. Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Learn more at AfroTech.com Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihe...
Jun 27, 2023•30 min•Season 4Ep. 26
Ryan Leslie is a Grammy nominated musician and producer, and founder at SuperPhone which helps creatives and businesses increase engagement, drive revenue, and build better relationships with SMS / MMS marketing. On this episode, Ryan talks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the economics of the music industry, why artists are selling their catalogs, and how creatives get wealthy. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Learn mo...
Jun 20, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 25
Dr. Lisa Williams, founder of World of EPI and The Fresh Dolls, helps children embrace their beauty, uniqueness and positive play through doll representation. On this episode, Dr. Williams talks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about her journey from education to toy-making, how children shape perceptions of themselves and representation in toys, and why we need more Black toymakers. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Learn mor...
Jun 13, 2023•37 min•Season 4Ep. 24
Ceci Kurzman is the founder of Nexus Management Group and is a private investor, entrepreneur, and independent board member. She has served on public, private, and nonprofit boards since 2012, including Warner Music Group, Man Group, and Lanvin Group. Ceci was Vice President of Global Marketing for Epic Records at Sony Music Entertainment. Before that role, she held various positions at Arista Records, leading marketing and artist development functions. On this episode, Ceci speaks to AfroTech's...
Jun 06, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 23
Randall Yarborough is a multidisciplinary designer with professional experience in sporting equipment, apparel, and footwear. He was Senior Footwear Designer at YEEZY, working under Ye (Kanye West), and recently launched his own company, Joyshed, an athletic shorts brand. On this episode, Randall speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the technical aspects of design and how to balance moving fashion design forward artistically while still driving market demand. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @...
May 30, 2023•46 min•Season 4Ep. 22
Matthew "Blxst” Burdette and business partners Victor Burnett and Karl Fowlkes are the founders of EVGLE — an LA-based company that houses a record label, production company, clothing brand, publishing company, and investment arm. Blxst is a rapper, singer, and producer. Victor Burnett is Blxst's manager and serves as president of EVGLE, and Karl Fowlkes is an entertainment attorney and co-founder at EVGLE. On this episode, the partners speak with AfroTech's Will Lucas about how the music busine...
May 23, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Jessica O. Matthews, CEO and founder of Uncharted, stopped by the AfroTech Executive conference in Seattle 2023 to discuss how we can have a sustainable future and harness the power of AI. She’s on the stage speaking with Jonnie Bradley who is the Responsible AI Official for the Department of Energy and Sr. Program Manager for the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Learn more...
May 16, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Javoris and Arlene Hollingsworth are the founders of Gracie’s Corner, which features their daughter Graceyan, who was the inspiration for the hit YouTube animated series which was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award - up against big budget animation studio offerings. On this episode, Javoris, Arlene, and Graceyn speak with AfroTech's Will Lucas about creating a cartoon from their living room, how they vet new opportunities that come from their success, and the early indicators that showed th...
May 09, 2023•34 min•Season 4Ep. 19
Maisha Leek is an angel investor and startup advisor working at the intersection of venture investing, startups, and social impact. Her work aims to build a more equitable future through strong businesses, new models for investment, and supporting founders that are frequently undervalued. On this episode, Maisha speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about how the current banking climate affects startup capitalization and how to successfully fundraise during uncertain times. Follow Will Lucas on Inst...
May 02, 2023•33 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Rodney Williams is Co-Founder and President at Solo Funds, one of the leading financial technology companies for underserved communities. On this episode, Rodney speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about how to launch a fintech startup MVP with no venture capital, how challenging disruption can be in a highly regulated industry, and finding success when facing existential threats. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram: @willlucas Follow Black Tech Green Money: @blacktechgreenmoney , @btgmpodcast Learn mo...
Apr 25, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Jarvis Sam is the Founder and CEO at The Rainbow Disruption where the mission is to partner with organizations to develop practical solutions that champion DEI in the workplace and enable systemic progress where authenticity, empathy, growth mindset, and transparency are celebrated. Previously, he was Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer at Nike. On this episode, Jarvis speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about how to know when we've been successful at DEI efforts, how to build credibili...
Apr 18, 2023•40 min•Season 4Ep. 16
