StartupBus and IBM Blockchain Launch the First-Ever Bus for Women + TGNC in Blockchain
Disrupting Tech on the Road
This spring, 28 women, transgender, and gender nonconforming (TGNC) designers, developers, and influencers embarked on a five-day road trip from New York City to New Orleans to ideate, build, and launch blockchain startups. This was a part of an international competition across North America with teams on buses departing from 8 different regions: Silicon Valley, New York City, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, Dallas, Tampa, and Mexico City.
What started off nine years ago as a hackathon on a bus that ended in an epic pitch battle in SXSW has now become an annual tradition and pilgrimage for hackers and founders from all over the world. The unique combination of a road trip, hackathon, and competition takes ‘Buspreneurs’ out of their comfort zone, pushing them to realize their potential and evolve into fearless founders ready to pursue dreams that impact the lives of many.
The Women+TGNC in Blockchain bus, in partnership with IBM Blockchain, was the first-ever route organized by StartupBus that was focused on blockchain and exclusively for women and TGNC individuals, with the goal of empowering these underrepresented communities in this nascent space in tech. Earlier this year IBM was honored with the prestigious 2018 Catalyst Award for leadership in building a workplace that values diversity and inclusion. IBM is the only tech company honored this year — and the only company anywhere recognized for a fourth time.
Participants were challenged to build and deploy blockchain applications en route to New Orleans with tools provided by Hyperledger from The Linux Foundation. Hyperledger Fabric is the framework powering the IBM Blockchain Platform to help businesses usher in a new era of trust, transparency and accountability.
Four interdisciplinary teams were formed to launch products for a wide variety of applications:
- PetFolio, a blockchain application that allows veterinarians, vet hospitals, animal rescue centers, service providers and pet owners to easily store and transfer a pet’s medical records and documentation.
- StarterBlock, a marketplace that matches borrowers or “sprinters” and “lenders” or starters, utilizing smart contracts on the blockchain to decentralize the process.
- Pivot+, a platform that empowers women by guiding them through financial and crypto education modules, as they put learning into action, they are rewarded with tokens.
- Rememory, a permission-based network that allows families to have a decentralized database to be in control of your own history.
Petfolio won second place overall and is currently developing their platform and raising pre-seed capital from VCs in New York.
The 28 participants were stuck together 24/7 for three days on the bus, with stops at the National Mall in DC, Advent Coworking in Charlotte, Toccoa Falls in Georgia, digitalundivided in Atlanta, and Propeller Center for Social Innovation in New Orleans.
“I collaborated with many like-minded women and used my pre-existing skills to help push the creative limits on blockchain technology. The StartupBus journey gave me the opportunity to do all of that and more!” said Brandi Kinard, a UX/UI designer who heard about the opportunity through her professor.
To increase the diversity of participants in the overall competition, StartupBus also rolled out a more comprehensive Diversity Fellowship Program. The program effectively increased access to entrepreneurship and tech for people from communities typically underrepresented in the space — ~40% of this year’s participants were women — an impressive number much higher than the tech industry average. The fund included donations from alumni and partner organizations including Veterans Florida, The Knowledge House, The Ocean, ConsenSys, Sourcetoad, WasteBits, Intersect, and more.
“There is no better vehicle than a road trip across America that can bridge the digital divide in our continent in terms of socioeconomic, gender, and racial inequality. We need to increase access for underrepresented communities not only to tech jobs but also tech entrepreneurship and leadership. StartupBus is committed to bringing together top talents of tech, design, and business in one place,” said Madelena Mak, the National Director of StartupBus, and the first-ever transgender person in this position.
“I’m proud we provided a safe space for women and TGNC folks to work together without the distractions of gender dynamics present in most startup competitions and hackathons. One thing was clear, everyone was here to work and blaze trails in our world with blockchain,” said Colleen Wong, the main Conductor of the Women +TGNC in Blockchain bus.
Due to the success of the first-ever StartupBus Women + TGNC in Blockchain Bus and Diversity Fellowship program, StartupBus plans to organize more programming that fosters more inclusion in the tech industry. Experiences like these can help to pave pathways to upwards social and economic mobility for the have-nots and inspire those more fortunate to give back.
While applications for StartupBus North America 2018 are closed, interested applicants can visit www.startupbus.com to subscribe and stay informed about the next competition. StartupBus is also looking for sponsors and seeking proposals from cities interested in hosting their next competitions.
A short film documenting the experience, published by NBC News, can be viewed here.
