GEWKC conversation: Black women are building tech — but are we building them?
November 16, 2020 | Startland News Staff
A coalition of organizations working to connect early-stage founders to critical resources — with an emphasis on equitable access — is shining the spotlight on Black women in tech during this week’s premier entrepreneurship event series, Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City.
“Black women are launching businesses at the fastest clip of any racial group. Despite this, Black women founders continue to be the least funded and often face significant barriers when building tech companies,” event organizers said. “What role does our ecosystem play in supporting Black women in tech? What’s working — and what isn’t?”
Set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, the community conversation is expected to draw inspiration from specific Black women and their experiences navigating the local and national tech startup ecosystems, said Dan Smith, co-founder of The Porter House KC.
Panelists for the conversation include Shelley Cooper, co-founder of SureShow; Carlanda McKinney, founder of Bodify; Jannae Gammage, CEO of The Market Base; and Tammy Buckner, founder of Techquity Digital.
Click here to register for the Black Women in Tech event.
“We have four powerful Black women who are tech builders locally, and a national powerful Black woman representing the national tech landscape in Felecia Hatcher [co-founder of the Center for Black Innovation],” Smith detailed.
The Porter House KC, Digital Sandbox KC and Square One Business Services at Mid-Continent Public Library organized the event.
The GEWKC conversation — broadcasting live Wednesday from the Medallion Theater at Plexpod Westport Commons — is set to stream on The Porter House KC’s Facebook and YouTube pages, with a Zoom link available for those not on the social media platforms, Smith said.
Click here to explore additional Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City events, running Monday through Friday, primarily on virtual platforms.
“For this year, we asked entrepreneurs what they needed most to start, recover and make their businesses more resilient for the future, and the entrepreneur community submitted events that fit those key areas of assistance,” said David Cawthon, communications coordinator for KCSourceLink, which powers the week-long event series.
Click here to learn more about the vision for GEWKC 2020.
Among this week’s most popular GEWKC events by pre-registration, according to KCSourceLink:
Tuesday
- 8 a.m. — Do Not Hire Your First Sales Person Until You Attend This Event
- 11 a.m. — Designing Impact for Social Acceleration
Wednesday
- 10 a.m. — Financial Literacy
- 10 a.m. — How to Access Alternative Financing
- 11:30 a.m. — The Care and Feeding of the Small Business Owner
- 12 p.m. — Using Social Capital to Maximize Business Outputs and Outcomes
- 12 p.m. — Grow Your Mutually Supportive Ecosystem to Grow Your Business
Thursday
- 10 a.m. — Problem Solving and Idea Mastermind
- 12 p.m. — Keynote: No More Excuses. Own Your Results! with Marquita Miller
Friday
- 3:30 p.m. — The Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile (EMP)
Not sure how to attend? Click here to learn more about the free GEWKC entrepreneurship celebration.
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Bungii ‘circles the wagons,’ sending its truck drivers to aid Linwood tornado survivors
One of Kansas City’s top startups dropped its tailgates this week to help Kansans ravaged by a violent twister. “The damage and injuries suffered because of the storms were outside of everybody’s control, but how we react and how our community reacts is vital,” said Eric Bolduc, a customer success specialist for Bungii who was…
PayIt gains $25M follow-on investment from early backer Weatherford Capital
A Tampa-based venture capital firm run by three brothers sees investing in Kansas City’s PayIt as part of its long-term strategy. Weatherford Capital first backed PayIt in 2016, through a $4.5 million Series A round led by New York-based Advantage Capital Partners, and followed by Weatherford, Royal Street Ventures, the Missouri Technology Corporation and Five…
Rise Up, Get Started offers second chances with grants to formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs
Kansas City should be home to second chances, hope, and opportunities, said Johnny Waller Jr. “Kansas City has a rich history of uniting behind its citizens for the common good of its people and that’s what this event is,” said Waller, co-founder of Determination, Incorporated, addressing a wide-ranging audience Thursday at the inaugural Rise Up,…
Fountain City Fintech earns EDC’s Cornerstone Award in accelerator’s first year
Fountain City Fintech’s plan was to put Kansas City on the map, Zach Anderson Pettet said. In the process, the community bank-backed accelerator earned attention in its own right, he said. “A big piece of our plan was to give our cohort a chance to dig in and really understand the city — understand the…