Build Tech Stack Equity

There isn't a single business owner or individual who hasn't felt the friction created around the tax preparation process.  Even accounting and tax professional get a bit of a headache when thinking about managing tax data.  Today, I sit with Matt Parker of Modern Tax, who is on a mission to automate many of that data intensive processes around tax planning and preparation.   Matt is a former Divi...

Prior to the pandemic, the term essential professional was virtually unused.  We quickly discovered just how important certain professions are to our existence.  While essential professionals may not have received any special benefits because of their efforts, startups like Landed are working to ensure that they do see some economic benefit.   Today, I sit with Alex Lofton, who leads Landed's effo...

While tech startups are winning the headlines and press attention, it's the everyday small business that continues to drive our economy.  Today, we sit with Carolyn Rodz (Founder, Hello Alice), who has built a platform to support the growth of these small businesses.   Carolyn shares her journey from investment banker to successful entrepreneur.  More importantly, she shares her experience and lea...

Since 2011, when Bobby Bryant watched IBM Watson play and win against the two winningest players in Jeopardy history, he's been obsessed and intrigued by the possibilities when it comes to voice activated intelligent assistants. That same year(2011), APPLE introduced the world to Siri. It was at that moment he envisioned a multi-model and mobile-first experience for consumers on the go for all of...

There could not be a better time to discuss building a global workforce and optimizing a remote work teams.  Companies like Slack, Zoom, and other platforms have taken off given how they reduce friction for the future of work.  YAC has recently joined that class of tools.   Our guest, Jordan Walker, experienced the challenges of managing a global workforce while running a software development shop...

It's always exciting to discover software that can improve the quality of human lives, and in this case – save them.  Our guest, Shanel Fields, is a prime example of why it is important to support underrepresented founders, as she's set out to build a startup that reduces the number of dead on arrival cases.  This is a scenario that occurs all too often in underserved communities.   Founder Bio: S...

Virtually every business owner hates tax season.  It's surprisingly common for owners to push off tax obligations, which unfortunately results in stiff penalties from the IRS.  Shiloh Johnson, an Inglewood, California native, has arrived with a tax application built to relieve businesses of their tax related stresses.   Shiloh is an open book.  She shares her journey as a mother, business owner, a...

Most entrepreneurs approach building a tech startup by starting from scratch, but there is another path…acquisition.  Our guest, Wayne Lopez, saw an exciting opportunity to acquire a services company and leverage his product expertise to build a scalable tech platform that solves pain points for existing customers.   In this podcast, Wayne shares how he stumbled upon this opportunity to become an...

In any given second, tech Founders have several decisions they could be making.  Building everything from scratch multiplies the complexity of our daily activity, so solutions that simplify what we need to learn and produce are a godsend.  For that reason, our guest Sherisse Hawkins (Founder and CEO of Pagedip) advocates for no-code solutions – even as a technical founder with experience managing...

A Founder's greatest quality is to move forward from failure – because there will be many.  Pierre Laguerre is an excellent example of "losing it all" and rebuilding an empire from scratch, on several occasions.  Born in Haiti, Pierre struggled to adjust to life in East Flatbush, NYC when he moved to the US at age 14.  These struggles empowered him to become a community leader and successful entre...

Many Founders dream about taking their company public on the NYSE.  For Augie Fabela, this became a reality at the age of 25.    What do you do after making enough money to retire at such a young age?  Augie decided he'd turn his attention toward making an impact in the community.  The son of Colombian and Mexican parents, he leveraged his diverse background to serve the community as a law enforce...

Very…Very few tech companies generate revenue the day the product is built.  For that reason, many would-be tech entrepreneurs find the jump from a steady paycheck and/or name brand employer to full-time entrepreneur.   One way to bridge this divide is by creating a services business.  Like an employee, you are still trading hours for dollars, but the benefit is the opportunity to test your idea i...

When faced with an existential crisis in business, tech founders are left with three basic but tough decisions: maintain the status quo, change markets, or shut down the business.  Prior to the pandemic, our guest, Fatima Dicko had launched a rapidly growing business which served as the "Craigslist" for college campuses.  When universities shut down, she found herself pondering which of the three...

Latino sports fans are known to be passionate and die hard.  Though sports is the one industry that unifies people across the globe, culture and geography play a key role in how we prefer to get our sports fix.  Our guest, Marcos Araujo, grew up a huge fan of the popular US sports content curator, Bleacher Report.  That exposure, combined with his Brazilian roots, led him to question why there was...

Authenticity is a common term discussed when we think about branding and how entrepreneurs should present to customers.  It's also a challenge many minorities work through when navigating homogenous environments.  For Amanda, a Jewish and Brazilian background created some questions about identity in her early years.  Her passion for education empowered her to answer those questions, which has ulti...

Imagine posting up in Silicon Valley for a year to soak up the entrepreneurial ecosystem while while waiting for inspiration for a startup idea.  Sounds artsy, but from a business perspective it can be incredibly helpful to sort through various uses of technology and the business modes that get them to market.  Fresh off a career in private equity and a short stint studying medicine, Chris Bennett...

Long before here exciting life as a proptech founder, Vanessa Alvarez was debating whether college was right for her after poor grades forced her out of school in her Sophomore year.  A not so gentle nudge from loved ones and a starter career in tech as an analyst changed her entire life.  Vanessa has emerged as a leader in blue chip tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft.  She is the perfect "a...

As a Grammy award winning producer and songwriter, Devo Harris has made a career of turning ideas into inspiring experiences.  Insight into what moves people has driven the success of previous ventures, such as founding GOOD music alongside business partner (and cousin) Kanye West.  Devo is a visionary armed with a skill for organizing the right technical talent to bring game changing ideas to lif...

Darius joins Kimmiko James, Host of the Black Enterprise Network podcast, to discuss artificial intelligence and why it's critical underrepresented tech founders get involved in it's development.  They dive into it's impact in business and the real world as well as strategies to get educated and up-to-speed on the technology.   Check out Kimmiko's podcast at: https://www.blackenterprisenetwork.fm/...

Don't sleep on Latin America! In fact, for tech entrepreneurs it deserves several moments of your undivided attention.  Whether we're talking about markets for product expansion or hubs for top tech talent, LATAM is a bright spot for tech innovation.  Forward thinking tech entrepreneurs and executives have already begun thinking through the best strategy for participating in the growth of LATAM. ...

In sports, it's a given that perfecting your craft requires consistent coaching.  Is there an industry more important than education that this same concept should apply?  Athletes receive coaching on a daily basis, but unfortunately teachers aren't yet afforded those same growth opportunities, relying on quarterly assessments rather than consistent feedback.  Technology is changing the game.  Like...

Total Addressable Market is a key metric that VCs use to determine whether an idea is investable and one that some tech founders use to determine whether they're solving a large enough problem.  This begs the questions "how can you accurately assess the magnitude of a problem without having actually experienced the problem yourself?".  This gap in problem awareness has created an incredible opport...

Many non-technical aspiring entrepreneurs are held back from launching tech companies for fear of not knowing how to code.  Tye & Courtney Caldwell had big dreams matched by the drive to manifest their vision for keeping salon chairs filled and beauticians/barbers earning money.  Strapped with expertise in the beauty salon industry, this dynamic duo made relationships the gasoline that powered the...

Never before has there been such a push to enable the dreams of underrepresented tech entrepreneurs.  From a growth in grants to increased investment interest to community purchasing support, underrepresented founders have not been in a better position to start tech companies.  This podcast exists to highlight these founders' journey while also providing strategic advice (fundraising, go-to-market...