Black Tech Green Money

Ep. 192 Ameer Brown is the co-founder and CTO of Breakr, a groundbreaking platform revolutionizing the way artists, influencers, and brands connect to break new music and shape culture. Breakr is backed by prominent investors like Nas, Andreessen Horowitz, and Slow Ventures, and has created opportunities for creators and brands alike, helping them save costs, streamline processes, and build direct...

Ep. 191 Mandela SH Dixon is a startup executive, investor, and board member. She's the former CEO of All Raise and Founder Gym, where she focused on making tech more inclusive and accessible for underrepresented founders. As one of the first Black women to raise venture capital in Silicon Valley, Mandela has paved the way for countless others and now serves as an executive coach, helping high-perf...

Shontay Lundy is the Founder and CEO of Black Girl Sunscreen, a pioneering brand created to address the sun care needs of Black and Brown skin. Launched in 2016, Black Girl Sunscreen has grown from a single product to a trusted line available in major retailers like Target and Ulta. On this episode, Shontay speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about building Black Girl Sunscreen from the ground up, i...

The Black Effect Presents... Black Tech Green Money! Marketing Strategist Mahdi Woodard is an innovative thinker with broad business acumen and in-depth marketing and branding experience. He serves as a marketing Consultant and Chief Marketing Officer, and was previously a Marketing Brand Analyst and Associate Brand Manager at Mars Petcare which is home to Iams, Pedigree and more, and he was Brand...

DeMarcus Shawn is one of the funniest people on Tik Tok, reaching over 6.6 million followers on TikTok and a million more on Instagram. Known for his relatable humor, DeMarcus has become a master of online entertainment, crafting skits and engaging videos that resonate across audiences and platforms. But his path to full-time content creation wasn’t always straightforward.  In this episode, DeMarc...

C. David Moody, Jr., is the President and CEO of C.D. Moody Construction, one of the largest Black-owned construction companies in the nation. With a career that spans over three decades, Moody has built iconic projects like the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Maynard H. Jackson International Concourse, while navigating the complexities of the construction industry. On this episode, Moody speaks with Af...

Ep. 187 Ross Mac is the founder of Maconomics, a financial literacy media company dedicated to empowering urban communities. He brings a wealth of knowledge as a former Wall Street professional for Morgan Stanley and Grosvenor Capital. Ross talks with AfroTech’s Will Lucas about the importance of finding reliable financial information, taking advantage of emerging financial technologies, and the f...

Ep. 185 Aaron Russell is Director, Edge Network Infrastructure at Meta. He’s been with the tech giant for nearly a decade. Aaron has initiated and led critical Internet infrastructure projects connecting the unconnected people in the emerging markets, especially in Africa. Aaron is a creative; a former contributor for Huffington Post, a filmmaker, and a diversity and inclusion champion at Meta. Fo...

Ep. 184 Udonis Haslem is a three-time NBA Champion, Miami HEAT legend, and NBA TV Analyst. He's now teaming up with Wells Fargo and the Rebuilding Together organization to make a lasting impact in the community by providing critical home repairs and safety modifications for families in need. Udonis is a businessman, philanthropist, and advocate for underserved communities, and this partnership fur...

Sheena Allen is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, investor, and creative architect. Her fintech startup, CapWay, focuses on creating economic access and opportunities for all through inclusive financial products and services, including banking, content, payments, and more. With Capway, she became the youngest female in America to own and operate a digital bank. Today she’s working on AI tools and...

Reign Ventures is an early stage investment firm that focuses on women and minority-led startups, investing at the Seed and Series A Stage in promising technology and tech-enabled startups with high-potential founders. Monique Idlett is the Founder and Managing Partner, Erica Duignan Minnihan is Founder and General Partner. Monique is a globally recognized entertainment pioneer. Prior to founding...

Telva McGruder is the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at General Motors, and has spent more than 28 years at the company - starting as an engineer. Today, she’s focused on weaving DEI into the fabric of the company, working in partnership with internal and external leaders to champion the broad and diverse workforce. On this episode recorded at the 2022 AfroTech Conference in Austin...

Ep. 179 Randall Yarborough is a multidisciplinary designer with professional experience in sporting equipment, apparel, and footwear. He was Senior Footwear Designer at YEEZY, working under Ye (Kanye West), and recently launched his own company, Joyshed, an athletic shorts brand.  On this episode, Randall speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the technical aspects of design and how to balance mo...

Jeff Nelson is known as “the Relatable CTO” for his ability to take very complex technology solutions and help others understand how and why to implement them to benefit themselves and their businesses. Jeff is driving innovation in technology, business, culture, and public policy. Along with being known as “the Relatable CTO”, Jeff is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of  Blavity Inc ,...

Rodney Williams is Co-Founder and President at Solo Funds, one of the leading financial technology companies for underserved communities. On this episode, Rodney speaks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about how to launch a fintech startup MVP with no venture capital, how challenging disruption can be in a highly regulated industry, and finding success when facing existential threats. Follow Will Lucas...

Chaucer Barnes is Chief Marketing Officer of Translation + United Masters, the parent company of award-winning creative agency Translation, and artist services platform UnitedMasters. In creating a new normal for the way brands and creators alike mint and trade cultural capital, Chaucer applies tools and lessons from every chapter of his life – as a media planner, brand strategist, creative direct...

Mckeever 'Mac' Conwell is Founder & Managing Partner of RareBreed Ventures, a pre-seed fund that invests in exceptional founders primarily outside of large tech ecosystems, typically first money in, or, at least earlier than most investors.  He’s one of the most prominent voices in tech on X (formerly Twitter), and his funds success is largely founded on his public persona. Follow Will Lucas o...

Ep. 174 In this episode of Black Tech Green Money, I dive into the essential gear you need to start a highly rated podcast. Whether you're a beginner or looking to upgrade your setup, I’ve got you covered with recommendations for every budget. I’ll walk you through the best recording software, hardware recorders, microphones, audio interfaces, storage solutions, hosting services, and communication...

Ep. 173 In this episode of Black Tech Green Money, Ceci Kurzman talks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about her impressive background as a private investor, entrepreneur, and independent board member. With a history as a former music executive and talent manager, Ceci has guided the careers and business strategies of some of the biggest artists in the world and has held board positions with prominent c...

Ep. 172 Brandon Butler is Partner + Chief Culture & Innovation Officer @ Majority // CEO @ Butter. ATL, an Atlanta-based media company covering all things Atlanta, from sports and news to food and music. Follow Will Lucas on Instagram at @willlucas Learn more at AfroTech.com https://instagram.com/afro.tech Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio....

Ep. 171 Damali Peterman is a highly regarded and sought-after lawyer, mediator, negotiator, educator, and speaker with nearly 20 years of experience in the alternative dispute resolution field. She is the founder and CEO of two  companies—Breakthrough ADR, and Damali Law. On this episode of Black Tech Green Money, Damali talks with AfroTech's Will Lucas about the high stakes negotiations, getting...

Ep. 170 John Hope Bryant is an entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist, best known for his work in economic empowerment and financial literacy. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Operation HOPE, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing financial literacy and economic education to underserved communities. Bryant has been a vocal advocate for financial inclusion and has worked tirelessly to up...

Ep. 169 Fonz Morris is Lead Product Designer, Global Conversion at Netflix. He’s an entrepreneur and self-taught designer, leading one of the most impactful teams inside one of the biggest tech and media companies on the planet. He’s travelled all around the world on his self-driven educational adventures, and prior to joining Netflix, he led a design team at Coursera. On this episode, Fonz speaks...

Ep. 168 Lanny Smith is founder and CEO at Actively Black and Active Faith, both wildly successful athleisure brands doing numbers. An unlikely fashion mogul, Lanny is a former college star basketball player and pro athlete, but this wasn’t the road he chose, but, he’s found his path. On this episode, Lanny speaks with AfroTech’s Will Lucas about the fresh lane of athleisure, how he’s creating a mo...

Ep. 167 Dr. Nashlie Sephus is the Applied Science Manager for the Amazon AI team focusing on fairness in AI. Based in Atlanta, she formally led the Amazon (A9) Visual Search and AR teams, which launched Part Finder, the visual search tool for replacement parts) on the Amazon Shopping App in 2018. The team for Part Finder came from from Atlanta-based startup Partpic in 2016, where she was the CTO....