9 Black Women Leaders that are Changing the Path for Underrepresented Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. Each successful startup, when you dig into the details, required years of long hours, an overwhelming amount of responsibility, twists and turns, and a whole lot of luck.
But even with a brilliant idea and impeccable timing, the entrepreneurial journey can be a particularly challenging endeavor for women and minorities. These underrepresented entrepreneurs often lack the educational resources, mentors, connections, and capital needed to succeed.
In this week’s list of awesome Black women you should know, we’re highlighting nine women that are not only successful entrepreneurs but are also helping others to follow in their footsteps.
If, as implied by Monica Hesse, there are two kinds of people in the world, the women on this list are undoubtedly among those that, after experiencing the entrepreneurial journey for themselves, are determined to make it easier for future founders.
These women are empowering others by increasing exposure to entrepreneurship and building more inclusive startup communities. By increasing access to resources, mentorship, events, and funding, they are truly changing the experience of underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Sherrell Dorsey is a data journalist, social entrepreneur, and speaker. She runs BLKTECH Interactive — North Carolina’s first hub supporting over 2,000 entrepreneurs and technologists of color across three cities. She is also the founder of daily tech newsletter, ThePLUG, covering founders and innovators of color.
Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon is the Founder & CEO of Founder Gym, an online training center that helps under-represented founders raise money and build successful tech startups. An entrepreneur, educator, athlete, and well-connected Silicon Valley influencer, Mandela is uniquely positioned to lead this movement.
As Co-Founder and Chief Strategist of TandemSpring, Monika Black helps entrepreneurs and executives propel their businesses forward. Meanwhile, she is creating a pipeline of empowered female funders at DyMynd Angels to increase the number of funded female entrepreneurs and close the gender funding gap.
In addition to being a cofounder of CoSign, Esosa Ighodaro is a cofounder of Black Women Talk Tech, a collective of black women tech founders that identifies, supports and encourages black women to build the next billion dollar business.
As the Founder and CEO of Hillman Accelerator, the first accelerator in the Midwest providing support to tech companies founded by underserved individuals, Candice Matthews Brackeen passionately brings people from varying backgrounds together to accelerate innovation.
Jamila Parham, affectionately known as the “The Tech Unicorn”, aims to change the face of technology by addressing the lack of diversity in the technology industry. She is on a mission to uplift and provide opportunities to women and minorities by educating, breaking down barriers, and providing access to resources and events.
Felecia Hatcher is a White House award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, and author who aims to inspire a new generation of leaders and increase inclusive innovation. As Co-Founder of Code Fever and Blacktech Week, she is on a mission to dramatically shift the way Black communities engage and create value within the innovation sector.
Regina Gwynn is Co-Founder and CEO of Tressenoire, a beauty booking platform that brings natural-hair stylists to your doorstep. She is also a Co-Founder of Black Women Talk Tech, a collective of black women tech founders focused on building billion-dollar startups.
Sequoia Blodgett is the Tech Editor for Black Enterprise and the founder of Commas, a virtual resource center that teaches entrepreneurs everything they need to know about product development, marketing, publicity and generating revenue, in an effort to make the entrepreneurial journey a lot less stressful.
Each week throughout February, we’ll share a list of awesome Black women you should know. To follow along, subscribe to our newsletter or click below to follow our Medium publication. In the meantime, you can also check out the collective, growing list of 100+ awesome Black women on our website.
