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
‘Legendary’ UMKC Enactus team earns spot in national entrepreneurship finals
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Enactus team is the fourth most impactful in the country, declared Ben Williams. “At UMKC Enactus, we take the world’s greatest challenges into our own hands, channeling our power as students, advocates, and entrepreneurs,” the team told a crowd gathered Tuesday at the Kansas City Convention Center, as they took…
Look inside: Plexpod opens coworking oasis amid River Market’s concrete jungle (Photos)
Faux grass lining the walls. Neon signs. A mix of vintage and contemporary stylings. Plexpod’s Eric Milner was initially skeptical of plans for a jungle theme in one of the co-working space’s enclaves — quirky seating areas tucked between offices and amenities at the new River Market location. “It really panned out though. Stephanie [Medina]…
Car vending machine drives into KC skyline with Carvana’s launch off Southwest Boulevard
Towering over Southwest Boulevard, Missouri’s first Carvana location has been parked in Kansas City and it’s finally ready to rev its engine, Amy O’Hara confirmed Thursday. “It’s a beautiful location and we’re looking forward to showing everyone our signature car vending machine experience and the new way to buy a car,” said O’Hara, Carvana associate…
UMKC awards students $75K in prizes at Regnier Venture Creation Challenge
Student startups are growing rapidly on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, said Bryan Boots. Such acceleration has been further propelled thanks to the recent distribution of $75,000 in prize money, awarded to a series of winners of the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge Competition May 2-3, split across events at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation…