Calaxy wants creators to become more independent. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Calaxy is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Solo Ceesay and NBA star Spencer Dinwiddie. It serves as a social marketplace where users can create more meaningful experiences to engage their fans. With the added benefit of direct-to-consumer monetization, Calaxy eliminates the need to rely solely on brand and advertising deals. In 2022, Calaxy raised $26 million in a funding round led by The HBAR Foundation and Animoca Brands, with participation from Polygon. A portion of the funding was dedicated to expanding into the Web3 space. Calaxy has since developed “Worlds, ” allowing creators on the decentralized social marketplace to customize no-code apps. These apps enable creators to set up shops to sell subscriptions and digital experiences directly to fans and customers, otherwise known as the “population.” Additionally, creators can access wallets that store cryptocurrencies and NFTs, according to...

As the worldwide web continues to evolve, so must the people using it! In the land of influencers and marketers, the resources to increase those coins are more available than ever thanks to the Internet. However, oftentimes creators aren’t privy to all of the benefits that this space has to offer. That’s why AfroTech’s Black Tech Green Money podcast host Will Lucas caught up with Calaxy Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder Solo Ceesay during AfroTech Executive Miami. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AfroTech (@afro.tech) The two break down how Ceesay is using his platform to change the game for influencers and marketers with the help of the ever-evolving metaverse during the latest episode where he talks determining your value in Web 3.0. Check it out.

Corporate Executive Justin Grant wants to see more Black executives sponsor people within their community. Sponsorship allows an individual in a higher position than you to advocate for you in rooms with the goal of helping your career reach new heights, unlike mentorship , which typically is intended for skill building and obtaining more knowledge. “You want your boss’s peers in other departments to know who you are and to be in your network and to be folks that will, when your name comes up, when they’re deciding who to promote or who to give the bigger bonus to. ‘Yeah, I know that person. I vouch for them.’ So I think that’s the distinction,” Grant said on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. Grant credits three white individuals for serving as executive sponsors throughout his career and speaks to an alarming trend that he witnessed that has prompted a call to action. He notes that Black executives have been less inclined to open...

Solo Ceesay is the CEO & Co-Founder of Calaxy. — Since I was a boy, I wanted to be a successful businessman. I vividly remember trying on my father’s oversized pastel suits, donning the ubiquitous business look of any dapper-dressed African man of the ’90s. Even before I could form full sentences, I was primed and driven to work in business. With motivation and determination aplenty, my actions were encouraged by relentless sideline cheering from my mother yelling, “You’re a king, Solo!” Just over a year ago, I took a bet on myself. A bet that a then-26-year-old Black kid could make something out of nothing. And while you could call this journey just about everything but easy, the reality is that raising $26 million with Calaxy was the easy part. The sacrifices I’ve made, the friends I’ve lost, the lack of idols to look up to, and making the decision to take a nose dive into a world of uncertainty are all invariably more difficult for those who look like me. From having to...

NBA player Spencer Dinwiddie — the self-proclaimed “tech guy with a jumper” — and tech entrepreneur Solo Ceesay are taking their talents to the podcasting world. Today, Dinwiddie and Ceesay — also the co-founders of Calaxy app — announced their New Money podcast in partnership with CoinDesk and Spotify in a press release exclusively provided to AfroTech. “With the launch of New Money, we are catapulting traditionally boring conversations on finances into the realm of mainstream entertainment. We have given way to colloquial conversations about new methods of wealth creation in an effort to produce something that could resonate with all audiences,” said Ceesay in a press release. While the now co-hosts are entering new territory, they aren’t new to the “creator economy” as their company, Calaxy, is an open social marketplace for creators by creators. The decentralized social media app brings creators and fans closer through various features while unlocking opportunities for creator...