);

Month: June 2021

STATE OF BLACK ENTRPRENEURSHIP AND FUNDRAISING 2021

Posted on by foundersunfound

Listen in from your favorite podcast spots or read the full transcript here.

JUNE 2021 – have we made progress?

 

In this special episode, we bring you the fireside chat moderated by Dan with:

Amira Rasool, CEO of The Folklore
Daricus Releford, CEO of StoreCash
Kwame Boler, CEO of neu

 

“…just historically we do not fit into the typical mold of
what VC companies are looking for”
~ Amira Rasool

As we experience Juneteenth for the first time as a National holiday, we ask:

What has changed?
What has remained the same?
Where are the opportunities for improvement?

The panel kept it real, as the conversation covered everything from exasperation to optimism, and everything in between. This event took place on June 24, 2021.

 

 

Live fireside chat event
Hosted by Techstars Seattle Accelerator
Managing Director Isaac Kato (@isaackato)

 

“To be an entrepreneur is definitely to walk the path that’s less traveled. ”
~ Kwame Boler

Audience Resources and Shoutouts:

 

“I feel like people hear Juneteenth and they’re like, oh, that’s a black holiday.
They don’t really know why.”
~ Daricus Releford

 

BEAUTY RE-IMAGINED FOR BLACK WOMEN

Posted on by foundersunfound

Listen in from your favorite podcast spots or read the full transcript here.

OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS EPISODE:
AfriBlocks

The global pan-African freelance marketplace and collaboration platform.
Tell them “Dan sent you” for 10% off your first order. More at afriblocks.com

redefining BEAUTY AND SKINCARE
TO REFLECT MORE INCLUSIVELY

 

Ezinne Iroanya-Adeoye is the Founder and CEO of SKNMUSE, the premium beauty brand dedicated to elevating the beauty experience for the modern black woman.

Ezinne was born and raised in Nigeria. After graduating from high school at 15 and ace-ing her SATs, she came to the US for college. She thought she was going to be a petroleum engineer. Lucky for the rest of us, that didn’t happen. Ezinne never forgot the joy she found in the soothing remedies her mom and grandmother prepared for her dry skin. She’s paying it back now, with her luxurious balms, oils, and body butters. For Ezinne, beauty is culture, and she’s on a mission to make the beauty counter reflect more inclusively.

Ezinne has a great story, you’ll want to listen in.

“I can speak for black women. And if anything, beauty is culture for us.”
~ Ezinne Iroanya-Adeoye

In this episode Stephen and Dan discussed:

  • Changing majors 3 times in college
  • How her brand wants everyone to feel like “Omalicha Nwa” (‘beautiful one’)
  • The day her brand was featured by Beyoncé
  • How her mom is even more of a fashionista than she is
  • Her vision to create a space that re-imagines beauty for black women

 

 

“Stand in your truth and the world will make one for you.”
~ Ezinne Iroanya-Adeoye

MORE on EZINNE and SKNMUSE

Ezinne:
twitter.com/ZMuse_
linkedin.com/in/ezinne-iroanya-adeoye-567a6515b/
instagram.com/avenue_z/

SKNMUSE:
sknmuse.com
instagram.com/sknmuse/
twitter.com/sknmuse
linkedin.com/company/sknmuse/

 

 

“I called my mom after and I remember her saying, ‘God bless Beyoncé!’”
~ Ezinne Iroanya-Adeoye

 

MAKING THE LEGAL SYSTEM EQUITABLE WITH TECHNOLOGY

Posted on by foundersunfound

Listen in from your favorite podcast spots or read the full transcript here.

OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Founders Live

The global venue for entrepreneurs to experience events, content, and community.
Check out founderslive.com to join and to find a live event streaming from your city.

 

Can you represent yourself in court?
IT Just got a whole lot easier

 

Dr. Sonja Ebron Co-founder and CEO of Courtroom5, a company that makes an automated legal toolbox that helps people represent themselves in court.

Sonja has one of the amazing backgrounds, engineering academia, a repeat entrepreneur, but it took a challenging experience of our own with the legal system to unleash your mission and passion for the startup life. She has a strong conviction that fairness and the justice system shouldn’t depend on inequitable access to knowledge or resources and our conversation. She talked about the allure of engineering doing a startup in Durham, North Carolina, and so much more.

Sonja has a great story. Be sure to listen in.

 

“We’re dealing with a broken business model in the legal profession.”
~ Sonja Ebron

In this episode Sonja and Dan discussed:

  • growing up in Durham NC
  • The call to engineering
  • The career arc between academia and entrepreneurship
  • Why the legal system can feel rigged
  • How African Americans are, by necessity, innovative and entrepreneurial

 

 

“ I am always trying to find a way to do things simpler.”
~ Sonja Ebron

MORE on sonja and courtroom5

Sonja:
linkedin.com/in/sonjaebron
twitter.com/SonjaEbron

Courtroom5:
courtroom5.com
instagram.com/courtroom5legal
twitter.com/courtroom5legal
linkedin.com/company/courtroom5

 

 

“The average cost of a lawyer is $300 [per hour].
Right now, the average American makes a 10th of that.”
~ Sonja Ebron