When Tanya Sam takes the stage at AFROTECH™ 2026 in Houston, there’s one thing she wants the room to walk away with: “You do not need anyone else’s permission to begin.”

The founder of Elizabeth & Minnie told AFROTECH™ that too many people put off the big moves until they feel fully prepared, and end up waiting far longer than they need to.

Confidence Comes After the Leap

“So many of us have been taught to overprepare, overprove, and wait until we are perfectly qualified before we take the opportunity, launch the business, raise the money, change careers, or step into leadership,” Sam said. “But confidence rarely comes before the leap. It is built because you leapt.”

That’s the part she plans to press on in Houston. Feeling ready, in her view, isn’t a requirement.

‘Do It Anyway’

Sam’s advice is practical. Stop editing your goals down to what other people can picture.

“Do not shrink your dream to fit the imagination of someone who cannot see what you see,” she said. “Find your people, build your community, ask for the introduction, make the pitch, and take the shot. You may not feel ready. Do it anyway.”

Why AFROTECH™ Is the Right Room for It

Sam is bringing that message to a conference marking its 10th year, and she sees AFROTECH™ own story as proof of it. The conference, she said, was built on an idea much of the industry wasn’t ready to hear.

“Black talent was never the problem. The problem was access, visibility, capital, and proximity to opportunity,” she said.

Over the past decade, she said, AFROTECH™ has chipped away at those gaps by putting Black engineers, founders, investors, creatives and executives in the same room, where “we do not simply network.”

“We exchange knowledge, open doors, fund ideas, hire one another, challenge each other, and expand what we believe is possible,” Sam said.

Buy Your Ticket Today

Innovate, learn, and lead at AFROTECH™ 2026! From shaping the future of work to championing tech for good, this is where innovation meets impact. Don’t wait — lock in your tickets today for Nov. 2-5, 2026, in Houston, TX!