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John Hope Bryant is investing in the businesses of Albany State University graduates. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Bryant has served as the chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE Inc. since 1992. The organization focuses on improving financial well-being in underserved communities, benefiting 2.8 million people and directing $2.4 billion in private capital. During an appearance on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast, Bryant emphasized that financial literacy is the new civil rights movement for this generation. “We have got to be as obsessed with this as we were with the right to vote,” he explained. Bryant continues to be a voice and a vessel, and this was displayed on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, at Albany State University (ASU) in New York. He served as the commencement speaker in front of a crowd of over 700 students, according to WALB News. “John and I are good friends. We’ve known each other for a while,” ASU I nterim President Dr. Lawrence M. Drake II told the outlet. “I also...
Aaron Samuels has revealed his roadmap into the venture capital space. Samuels, co-founder and former chief operating officer (COO) of Blavity — w ho now leads a venture capital firm Collide Capital — has worn various hats in a career that spans more than a decade. He was a performance poet who spent nearly 10 years traveling and went on to secure roles as a director of operations (Dialogue Arts Project); senior associate consultant (Bain & Co.); and product manager (TeleSign) between 2011 and 2016, his LinkedIn mentions. For the next seven years, Samuels helped co-found Blavity Inc., a platform catering to Black Millennials and Gen Z amplifying areas of entertainment, politics, technology, and culture. It was created alongside Morgan DeBaun (CEO), Jeff Nelson (now COO), and Jonathan Jackson. Serving as the COO laid the footprint for Samuels’ foray as founder and managing partner of Collide Capital, which was founded in 2022 alongside Brian Hollins to provide resources, operational...
Mathew Knowles has made a name for himself in the business world without the help of investors. Entrepreneurship In His DNA The businessman was seated center stage during the Building Wealth Today for Tomorrow Financial Empowerment Summit held at the UIC Forum in Chicago, IL, on Oct. 12, 2024. The event is designed to connect the community to tools, resources, and conversations that encourage the desire to create long-term wealth . “Bringing Mathew Knowles to our summit reflects our dedication to teaching real, sustainable wealth-building principles,” said Melissa Conyears-Ervin, the city’s treasurer . “His focus on generational wealth and self-funded success aligns with our goal of helping Chicagoans achieve true economic mobility. At the Treasurer’s Office, we believe everyone deserves access to the knowledge and resources to build wealth on their own terms, creating a legacy that will benefit future generations.” Photo Credit: Antwan Collins Knowles is well regarded as the...
The special thing about AFROTECH™ Conference is that even as new people are introduced to it each year, there are also those who have been there since the beginning in 2016. The “OGs” of the conference have not only seen AFROTECH™ grow but have also experienced their own development over the years. Among those who jumped on board since the inaugural conference in San Francisco, CA, is Ruben Harris, CEO of Career Karma and OutRival. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ruben A. Harris (@rubenharris) Harris’ work is centered on education and career placement, helping people and organizations connect with top talent while simplifying workflow and integrating efficient models through technology and AI. The admissions teams at Career Karma use OutRival’s technology to create conversational AI agents to serve millions of people a month who visit the site for career advice. Currently, OutRival owns Career Karma, and Harris is the leader of both entities. Because of his emerging...
HBCU alum Dr. Anthony Harris is leading the future of medicine at Amazon. From An HBCU To Disrupting The Medical Space Dr. Harris, a 2002 graduate of Florida A&M University with Senegal roots, had early intentions of improving the healthcare industry. According to information shared with AFROTECH™, he even filed his first patent, a biomedical device, while in college. Upon receiving his undergraduate degree, he transitioned to a five-year dual degree program at Indiana University, obtaining a doctor of medicine degree and an MBA, his LinkedIn mentions. He also wore the hat of student body president at the university, becoming the first Black individual in this post. Harris’ early career trajectory led him to work in general surgery for 10 months, and then he pivoted into entrepreneurship. 2009 marked the launch of one of his first companies, Adroit Motion, which offered an articulating hand instrument with ergonomic hand control for minimally invasive surgery. That same year,...
DeMarcus Shawn has the formula for building a strong following across social platforms. Shawn is an online creator known for sharing humorous skits on TikTok and Instagram. His sense of humor has always been evident among his family since growing up on the outskirts of Chicago, IL. He also draws inspiration from them still today. “I was able to experience all different facets of life growing up through school, through family and just everyday nuances,” he mentioned on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast. Today, Shawn is a full-time content creator, but his journey began in 2017 with a 9-to-5 role as a Starbucks barista. While there he decided to turn more of his attention towards content creation in 2021. It was then that he was able to sustain himself through earnings via TikTok and his photography business, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “When I quit Starbucks, I already had money saved up,” he said, per the “Black Tech Green Money podcast.” “It was 2021, so I had money saved...
Chiney Ogwumike has been a trailblazer in both sports and media. Ten years after being drafted as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA by the Connecticut Sun, Ogwumike has had numerous opportunities to reflect on her illustrious career, which began at Stanford University. According to her Stanford profile, she held the title of all-time leading scorer by the end of her time there. Her collegiate achievements include: Pac-10 All-Freshman Team (2011) Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (2011) Pac-12 Tournament MVP (2013) 3x Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year In October 2024, Ogwumike was inducted into Stanford Athletics’ Hall of Fame. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chiney (@chiney) Embracing It All Although talented in sports, Ogwumike initially dreamed of a career in politics and even considered becoming a lawyer. “I always loved politics. As a kid, my family would always catch me watching the news, not like cartoons. I was a super nerd,” she told AFROTECH™ in an interview. In college,...
Brandon Nicholson is a part of a nonprofit exposing Black males to technology. The Hidden Genius Project Nicholson, an AFROTECH™ Future 50 honoree, serves as CEO of The Hidden Genius Project, an Oakland, CA-based venture that curates several programs, mentoring Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills, according to its website. Nicholson reveals that the project was originally planned as a two-year initiative but ultimately grew into something much greater, now spanning nearly a decade. “As volunteers with no budget and no infrastructure and no real idea of what we’re doing and probably no business doing it at all, we set out to establish this first ever cohort in 2012,” he told AFROTECH™. “Five young men, high school age who are gonna commit to it just a short period. But what eventually became like a two-year program unbeknownst to literally everybody involved, it just, [was] building the plane as it was flying.” Today, The Hidden Genius...
C. David Moody Jr. once turned down an investment from Michael Jordan for his construction business. Since 1987, Moody, a Howard University alum with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, has been leading C.D. Moody Construction. He launched the Atlanta, GA-based venture seven years after serving as a staff architect and field engineer at Bechtel Power Corp. Moody was in his early 30s at the time of the company’s launch. While speaking with AFROTECH Brand Manager Will Lucas on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast, he admitted he had a team of three — which later scaled to more than 60 individuals — and launched with low capital. In fact, he and his wife had to borrow a couple thousand dollars to get C.D. Moody Construction off the ground. Moody said his saving grace was financial advice from his father, who served as a professor and later vice provost of the University of Michigan. “My dad grew up in the depression, and things were tight and he grew up very poor in Louisiana,” Moody...
Nicky Saunders has tips and tricks to scale your digital presence. Saunders, a content strategist and CEO of Deeper Than The Brand since 2018, understands firsthand what it takes to build online. Called “the voice of content branding,” her platform offers helpful content creation suggestions that can be beneficial to businesses and content creators. Of late, she has heavily geared content around the various ways technology can be a resource, such as using an iPhone to edit live photos or artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT or Opus Clip. The latter allows users to repurpose long videos into shorter clips with one click, per its website. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nicky Saunders | The Voice Of Content Branding 🏁🦁🏁 1 of 1 (@thisisnickys) Thanks to her expertise, Saunders has built an online following of 12,000 subscribers via YouTube while impressing on Instagram with 187,000 followers at the time of this writing. Screenshot taken via Instagram /...
Udonis Haslem understood the power of collaboration as an NBA player, and he is carrying those learning lessons to improve underserved communities. The Miami, FL, native entered the league as a free agent in 2003 and remained with the Miami Heat throughout his 20-year career. He won three national championship rings and would be seen as a well-respected veteran on the team, even leading former players LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh — known as the Big 3— to take pay cuts to keep him on the Miami Heat roster in 2010, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “When I talk about LeBron James and Dwayne Wade and being a part of that process, that’s one thing that I was able to understand, it’s that even though we were friends, we respect people for who they are and what they are. You know what I mean?” Haslem said on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast. “ And LeBron, Dwyane, they already respect me for who I was and what I was. They were Southeast guys. I was a Miami guy. They were...
Brandon J. Middleton-Pratt is lending his law expertise to the tech ecosystem. He currently serves as a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and is a board member at DivInc, a nonprofit that empowers underrepresented founders. His trajectory was not a linear one. He initially pursued a finance and marketing degree at the University of Denver while playing on its basketball team, he says. Upon obtaining his bachelor’s in 2003, he decided to move to Los Angeles, CA, to pursue a career in entertainment instead. Though that did not pan out for long, he made appearances in the films “Coach Carter”, “Rebound,” and “The Longest Yard.” The pivots of life would then lead Middleton-Pratt to play basketball overseas in Spain and Cyprus after receiving an offer from a sports agent. He then experienced a crossroads, which would determine if he would return to Los Angeles. A call from a mentor with an opportunity in the energy field finally brought him back to the states. “A mentor of mine...
Being funny pays. Just look to TikToker DeMarcus Shawn as confirmation. Beginnings Growing up on the outskirts of Chicago, IL, he recalls always being funny, often creating skits or playfully imitating his family members. His humor translated well to the camera, and he would toss around various skit ideas with his two older brothers. With the rise of social media, leaning into it was natural for Shawn. Ultimately, he landed on TikTok as his breeding ground for content though initially his Instagram was geared towards his creative interests. @artbydemarcusshawn #fyp ♬ original sound – DemarcusShawn “I grew up doing music and learning how to sing and photography. I’m a guy that’s heavy on drawing and painting,” he told AFROTECH™. “ Those are my hobbies that I like to do. Outside of that, when I came into TikTok, it was more of what I’ve been doing with my siblings, but on a larger front.” Full-Time Content Creation Shawn was working on building his online presence while also employed...
Job interviews are some of the most important steps a person will take in their career. Making a good impression and ensuring you align with the company while sticking out from other candidates is what can help you secure the position . A great way to prepare for an interview is by becoming familiar with how you would answer these common interview questions. There is an endless amount of questions that could potentially be asked during an interview, especially across various fields . For that reason, preparing solid answers for a handful of questions is most effective. Here are some common interview questions as well as best approaches for answering them and example answers. Your response does not have to sound exactly like these examples given. It is actually better to memorize key points to highlight during the interview rather than memorizing your entire answer and sounding as though you are reading from a script. 18 Common Interview Questions Tell me about yourself. Why do you...
R&B sensation Eric Bellinger isn’t afraid of artificial intelligence (AI) and the role it’s taking within the music industry. Instead, he’s embracing how it can enhance his work as an artist. As one of the first artists to appear on Hooky, a music startup specializing in artist-first solutions in voice AI, Bellinger is allowing creators to experiment with their songs using his AI voice model. “If you aren’t afraid of it, it could be your best friend,” he told AFROTECH™ about AI technology. “But I think if you’re afraid and thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to lose my job,’ it’s different in other fields. But for music, I definitely think it could be beneficial as a tool. I use it in all my sessions in different ways — whether it’s coming up with an idea for artwork, titles, or something else. There are so many different platforms, and I personally take advantage of all of them.” No stranger to using technology like social media to connect with his fans, affectionately known as the...