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Many are developers as well. Here's a list of companies: http://www.digitalundivided.com/alumni-companies/
If you expand the definition of a "startup" to include tech-enabled companies, you will see a large number of companies backed by Black women, many of whom are making millions.
Some quick examples are Marve Frazier at Moguldom Media (Bossip, Madame Noire), Natasha behind YBF, and even myself. Some of us have investment, including traditional VC firm/PE, like Heather Hiles of Pathbrite, Zuhairah Scott of Kahnoodle, and some of chose not to go that route.
I run an early stage startup PlusNavigator, Inc. a solution simplifying the shopping experience for plus size women. Founder Institute alum, cited in the NYTimes this past summer, I'm Chicago based. I've learned to pitch my little heart out, and have had favorable interest from respected persons in the VC community...its now a matter of delivering qualitative traction for the business.
The process seems somewhat uniform once you're out there and competing with your fellow peers and their startups, irrespective of race/gender however the process of GETTING into the active conversations around startups, accelerators, incubators, and serious conversations about effectively positioning your company is something that the individual has to own.
My personal path started in desktop support, then enterprise IT sales, and I've always had a strong affinity for tech. Solving the woes of millions of plus size women, by leveraging technology seemed immediately viable.
A lovely tech sis of mine Obi is working on PopInGym, another brilliant idea...and its JOY seeing her at SXSW each year.
While there is a difference between tech enabled companies and tech companies, I think the future of startups makes that difference close near indistinguishable, and it turns into solving every day problems by leveraging tech.
Access to mainstream startup communities makes a difference. Since August, I've worked out of Chicago's highly regarded 1871 digital startup community, having to compete against a large pool of applicants, an in-person interview, and panel voting review for acceptance to work on my startup there. The programming, education, and network fostered certainly helps to neutralize the lack of diversity some.
It seems I have an great deal of female, and black female founder colleagues to name a few Obi (PopInGym), Bolaji (SociaLifeChicago), Feyi (CancerIQ), Christine (ItsAShort.com) among others.
The news coverage certainly isn't sensationalized. We're out there, we have a story to tell, and its inclined to empower other women just like us...because we know there are others out there, waiting to claim their space at the tech table.
Hi, I am a black woman and the founder of Airfordable (fly.airfordable.co)based in DC. There has been an increasing number of black woman founders in the startup space. They are very much vocal about it. I guess because I seek out to find them and associate myself with the programs they organize. For example, www.DigitalUndivided.com/ @DigUnDiv brings together 100 black women founders in tech startups every fall in N…
There are quite a few. digitalundivided is a social enterprise dedicated to helping black women create and grow digital companies. Check them out here: ( http://www.digitalundivided.com ) held a conference last Oct. sponsored by Andreesen Horowitz, Oglivy, etc and had OVER 45 TECH ENABLED COMPANIES FOUNDED BY BLACK WOMEN. The keynote was Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Many are developers as well. Here's a list of companie…
Also, I think a major issue is that startup eco-system is very much geared to specific gender, class, and race, which causes a series of institutional barriers. The system is based on how much you raise, versus how much you actually make. Remember it wasn't until the last few years (2-3 years) that women led startups were even covered. If you expand the definition of a "startup" to include tech-enabled companies, you…
Education coupled with social norms (hence the lack of female founders from every ethnicity)is really the issue.
If you would poule together all the succesfull white tech guys and combined them into an average. Using education, upbringing, basically soc-eco background. You would get a very different guy if you compared it with the average white male in america.
Its about exposure troughout your youth especially into the STEM areas.
Also are you the Kathryn Finney ? I actually bought your book: TBF in high school I really liked it and still have it. Someone in this thread said they noticed a lot of black women (but I think women in general) are into Fashion oriented start-ups.
And that really is true ! Girls are more exposed to beauty related things and guys are more exposed to technical stuff because I guess that is what society still values.
This conversation thread is always an interesting one that surfaces from time to time, disappears, then resurfaces again. For me I think the issue is really one of access and exposure. Black women have been at the helm of technology companies as either CTO's, CEO's, C-suite executives, etc for several decades (see notables such as Shellye Archambeau, Ursula Burns, etc). Yet we still rank VERY low in terms of the numb…
What I remember of undergrad is that companies were desperate to hire smart CS types. These jobs were, more often than not, represented as the pinnacle for students. With good options to join top-tier IT and other firms, most "success" stories were about doing just that. Not so much about starting companies by wielding your code chops.
There are quite a few. digitalundivided is a social enterprise dedicated to helping black women create and grow digital companies. Check them out here: ( http://www.digitalundivided.com ) held a conference last Oct. sponsored by Andreesen Horowitz, Oglivy, etc and had OVER 45 TECH ENABLED COMPANIES FOUNDED BY BLACK WOMEN. The keynote was Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Many are developers as well. Here's a list of companie…