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Stephen Curry doesn’t miss — not even from the Metaverse! Following his latest victory of breaking the all-time NBA three-point record during the Golden State Warriors game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Curry launched his very own non-fungible token (NFT) collection, which sold out in less than five minutes. https://cms.afrotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2974sc-MainPreview.mp4 Within the first hour, the drop raised $2.1 million and all of the profits will go directly to charity including his very own foundation alongside his wife Ayesha Curry, Eat. Learn. Play. “We’re incredibly proud of Stephen for this amazing achievement,” said Chris Helfrich, CEO and President of Eat. Learn. Play., in an official press release shared with AfroTech. “We’re honored that these commemorative moments of Stephen’s brilliant career will benefit Eat. Learn. Play., where the funds raised will go directly to support our foundation’s work in improving the lives of children in...
Beatrice Dixon has a piece of advice following the $380 million acquisition of The Honey Pot Company — It’s OK to take risks and try something new. Dixon captured the audience’s full attention during the Founder’s Summit session “Knowing When to Seize the Moment for Company Growth” at the AFROTECH™ 2024 Conference on Thursday, Nov. 14, where she shared valuable business insights. “That doesn’t mean you have to stop doing your business, but that might mean you need to also have a job, or you may need to do something different,” Dixon shared. “I just think we’re going into a time of have and have-nots, and you don’t want to be on the side of the have-nots.” @afro.tech Honey Pot CEO Beatrice Dixon had everyone hooked as she shared business tips in light of Honey Pot’s $380 million acquisition. Keep your mind open and your notepads on deck📝 More to come AFROTECH Fam 🫶🏾 #blackintech #blacktechtok #TechEmpowerment #AFROTECH24 ♬ original sound – AfroTech In January, AFROTECH™ reported that...
When she was 32 years old, Deidre Mathis stamped herself in the history books for her work as entrepreneur. Forbes reported at the time that Mathis had been rooted in the hospitality sector, which stemmed from her experience solo traveling and residing in hostels while in Greece. “I’m a big solo traveler,” Mathis told the outlet. “I met these fabulous women, and we formed this amazing bond and continued to travel together for a year and a half, doing nothing but staying in hostels.” That’s why in 2018 her experience would push her to launch Wanderstay Hospitality Group, which is described as a Houston, TX-based multi-concept hospitality brand, according to Mathis’ LinkedIn. Mathis would support her venture with a raise of over $5,000 in 31 days from the support of Houston community. She also obtained a small business loan. This led Wanderstay Hospitality Group’s ventures to include (Wanderstay Boutique Hotel), which boasts 10 rooms, and (Wanderstay Houston Hostel), which includes 27...
Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, one of the fastest-growing independent whiskey brands, has announced that it has partnered with a popular Historically Black College and University (HBCU) for a new grant program. In a press release announcement, it was revealed that the Diageo-distributed brand will be working with Kentucky State University (KSU) to provide financial aid totaling $25,000 for talented students. This grant/scholarship program will be available to students who apply to the Master of Agriculture Sciences in Environmental Studies (MES) program. For Bulleit Frontier Whiskey’s part, however, their goal is to promote diversity in the spirits industry — an industry dominated by white people, and specifically, white men — as well as to provide opportunities to Black men and women in Kentucky. “We hope to make a lasting impact as we provide resources, funding, and support to the next generation of pioneers through our partnership with Kentucky State University, an institution that...
Zing Health has a new chief medical officer! According to PR Newswire , Trent Haywood, MD, JD has been named chief medical officer of the Chicago-based provider of Medicare Advantage plans. Dr. Haywood previously served as senior vice president in the Office of Clinical Affairs and chief medical officer for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) Association where he represented the BCBS system on clinical matters that affected over 106 million of its members. During his time with BCBS, he also led the development of clinical programs, medical policy, and technology platforms. “Dr. Haywood is a true clinician executive with deep experience in technology and population health innovation,” said Dr. Eric E. Whitaker , Zing Health’s CEO in an official press release. “During his 20-plus year career in healthcare, Dr. Haywood has focused on improving population health, and his values align perfectly with Zing Health’s mission to address social determinants of health at scale.” Throughout...
With hands in everything from online shopping to web services, online retail giant Amazon counts on the people behind the scenes to get the job done on a daily basis. Much of the company’s success is due, in part, to its ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through its #BlackHistoryMakers series, Amazon celebrated Black creatives inside and outside of the company. In fact, we recently got real with a few Black women leading the way at Amazon. Now AfroTech is speaking with seven men creating change and impact for those around them. They share their professional journeys, offer encouragement for aspiring Black professionals and discuss how they’re changing the game at Amazon. The Black Men Making Waves at Amazon Mark Hatcher, Global Sales Account Manager As an industry leader and professional, this Detroit native found success through progressive responsibility at companies like Cintas, Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson Motor Company and the Seattle Seahawks. Since joining...
It’s no secret that many Black-owned startup companies have difficulty raising funds — and it’s even less of a secret that there’s little, if any, diversity in venture capital funding. Now, Motley Fool Ventures wants to change all of that. Motley Fool Ventures recently announced via its website that it’s investing $5 million into what it’s calling the Motley Fool Ventures Partner Program. This partner program will take $5 million of their $150 million fund and invest it in more than 13 different minority-owned and led venture capital funds. The goal, said the company, is to bridge the gap in underrepresentation and lack of diversity in venture capital funding. “We are doing this now because we believe diversity, inclusion, and equity are not things that just happen but are the result of intentional, constructive actions. If we truly want our portfolio to reflect our best vision of our future, we will have to do more than hope it will happen,” Ollen Douglass, Managing Director, said...
If you’re someone looking to launch a career in tech or make the transition into the industry, Ruben Harris and his team at Career Karma are your guys! AfroTech’s Will Lucas had the chance to sit down with the Bay Area transplant from Atlanta, Georgia to discuss how the app helps job training programs find qualified applicants. As the CEO and co-founder of Career Karma and someone who was once like the job seekers looking for an opportunity within their respective fields, Harris first broke into his career within technology after writing a viral blog post called Breaking Into Startups. It was this blog post that showed how he was able to move to San Francisco without a job before landing a position just three weeks later. During the Black Tech, Green Money podcast, Harris shares how he used his same motivation and hunger for breaking into tech to develop his platform in response to the thousands of emails that followed the viral post with other users hoping to have the same success....
Having a game plan for your career can help you reach monumental milestones and attain goals that not only benefit yourself, but the greater good of the company that you work for. Just ask product manager (PM) at MongoDB, Garaudy Etienne, who has succeeded at the company by using his expertise of processing data to help fuel product growth. Thanks to his engineering and business background, Etienne helps elevate MongoDB products to a higher level of success in the industry’s competitive landscape. The product manager knows the in-and-outs of tech and advocates for inclusivity in the workplace too. Etienne spoke with AfroTech to share an inside look into his unique experience working at MongoDB as a product manager and how he’s using his impact to dismantle offensive database terminology through the master/slave removal project. AfroTech: Tell us about your background and your role as a PM with MongoDB? Etienne: I’ve been a product manager for three years and was previously an...
A music-streaming site is probably one of the last places you’d expect hackers to hit. Sadly, you may have expected wrong. On Thursday, Spotify notified an unspecified amount of users that the company reset their passwords — but didn’t clarify why. The most detail Spotify gave users were telling them that their passwords were reset “due to detected suspicious activity,” as TechCrunch reported . Some Spotify users took to Twitter to express their confusion. “Huh. Unexpected email from Spotify due to some ‘suspicious activity’. My password is randomly generated and long so makes me wonder what happened there,” one user tweeted. https://twitter.com/x00/status/1131580774770192390 Although Spotify didn’t elaborate on what’s happening, it’s possible that this is an example of a “credential stuffing attack.” That’s where hackers scrape lists of usernames and passwords from hacked sites. Then, they use that information to get into other sites. “As part of our ongoing maintenance efforts to...
Self-driving cars used to be something only found in sci-fi and superhero movies, but they’re quickly becoming a reality. Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Alphabet, has announced it is opening a factory in Detroit. Waymo is partnering with American Axle & Manufacturing to repurpose an existing facility that will house the production of the company’s L4 autonomous vehicles. The factory is set to open later this year. “We wanted this facility to benefit from a location in southeast Michigan — the heart of the American automotive industry — and its strong talent base,” Waymo said in a blog post. The factory is set to bring more than 400 jobs to the Motor City, giving it the economic push that it needs. Detroit filed for bankruptcy more than five years ago, as it suffered from more than $18 billion of debt, according to NPR. The city has since climb itself out of an economic hole and more tech companies have set its eyes on Detroit as they look to expand. Twitter and Google...
We talked to Felecia Hatcher, Executive Director of Code Fever, Blacktech Week and Space Called Tribe — a coworking and urban innovation lab, about entrepreneurship, ending innovation deserts and staying hungry for change. Code Fever has been introducing kids and adults to coding and resources in the tech space since 2012. The organization is bridging the gaps between technology and minority communities. Blacktech Week provides that inclusive environment in the form of a week-long national conference supporting entrepreneurs of color. And the newly-opened Space Called Tribe is one of two coworking spaces in Miami in historically black communities and/or run by black entrepreneurs according to South Florida Carribean News . Check out what Felecia had to say below, and keep an eye out for the Blacktech Week Roadshow, coming to a city near you . Photo: Courtesy of Felecia Hatcher AfroTech : When did you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur? Did you always know it was in the cards for...