Showing 13 results for:
gig-wage
Popular topics
All results
Federal employees working in DEI roles are being placed on paid leave, NBC News reports. This course of action follows President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Just one day later, Trump issued a slew of executive orders, the highest ever recorded on a president’s first day, per ABC News. “With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense,” Trump said during his inauguration speech, according to the outlet. “It’s all about common sense.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by President Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) A part of Trump’s political strategy has fueled controversy surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The Trump administration solidified its agenda by announcing in a memo that it will place all federal employees in DEI positions on paid leave effective immediately, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Those impacted were to be notified “no...
Dawn Staley has made history yet again. The University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball coach continues to leave an indelible mark on the sport. Known for her trailblazing accomplishments, Staley first made headlines in 2021 when she became the highest-paid Black coach in NCAA women’s basketball, as previously reported by AFROTECH™. Her leadership has propelled the Gamecocks to remarkable success, including appearances in six NCAA Final Fours and securing the school’s first national title in 2017, Reuters reports. Since then, Staley has only strengthened her legacy. In 2024, under her guidance, the team celebrated an undefeated 38-0 season, culminating in their third national championship, according to Sports Illustrated. Notably, all three titles have been achieved during her tenure. A Historic New Contract Staley’s transformative impact on the University of South Carolina’s basketball program has earned her another groundbreaking contract. Per a university press release,...
Kevin Garnett broke away from the status quo with his financial decisions during his first decade in the NBA, opting for an unconventional approach that set him apart from his peers. The South Carolina native was drafted into the NBA in 1995 as the fifth overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves, notes ESPN. The power forward signed a three-year rookie contract worth $5,397,120, according to Sportico. He remained with the team for 13 years before being traded to the Boston Celtics. For the majority of his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Garnett had an unconventional way of keeping track of his paychecks, which he attributes to a lack of financial literacy. “I was kind of raised with a certain pedigree and mindset so I wasn’t introduced to wires or just fintech. I wasn’t financially savvy. I didn’t know about direct deposit. I didn’t know none of this,” Garnett admitted during an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Garnett opted to cash his earnings and store it under his...
Dawn Staley continues to offer a guiding hand to basketball star Aliyah Boston. The pair first teamed up at The University of South Carolina. Staley serves as the school’s head coach of women’s basketball and is currently signed to a historic seven-year contract that has made her the highest-paid head coach in NCAA Women’s Basketball, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Boston played under Staley’s leadership from 2019 to 2023. Together, they won one national titles against the University of Connecticut in 2022, notes NBC-10 Philadelphia. Boston’s collegiate career would position her as the school’s all-time leader in overall rebounds, offensive and defensive rebounds, blocked shots in SEC games, double-doubles, and triple-doubles, among others, according to the WNBA. She is also a four-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, two-time National Player of the Year, and two-time SEC Player of the Year. Throughout it all, Staley has remained front and center as a fan even as Boston...
A Memphis, TN, restaurant owes NBA star Ja Morant a significant sum of money. Commercial Appeal reports that the Memphis Grizzlies point guard became a brand ambassador for The Wing Guru chain of restaurants in 2022, announcing the partnership via X (formerly Twitter) on March 17, 2022. “Honored to be a Brand Ambassador for @TheWingGuru. I always choose the Guru when I get wings #TheWingGuru #BrandAmbassador #GuruGang,” he wrote on X. The agreement between both parties permitted the restaurant to use Morant’s image for advertising in exchange for a payment of $6,250 a month, adding up to about $75,000 per year. However, according to Commercial Appeal, Morant’s attorneys allege that he had not received any payments starting approximately four months after the contract signing, though the company continued to profit off his likeness in locations such as Nashville, TN; Houston, TX; and Dallas, TX. Morant’s attorneys had sent a letter by November 2022 and requested for “the company to...
Stephen Curry stands by his decision to choose Under Armour over Nike. In 2013, in what was arguably the fumble of that decade for Nike, the shoe brand conducted a pitch meeting with the Golden State Warriors point guard. He had been signed to the company since being drafted to the NBA in 2009, according to Basketball Network. Sports Illustrated notes Curry began setting up meetings with leading shoe companies, and the new Under Armour ultimately came out on top. Under Armour offered a $4 million annual contract that included the promise of a signature shoe and the chance for him to become a key figure for the brand. Nike’s offer was $2.5 million without the additional perks, and the meeting reportedly didn’t go so well. A representative was said to have mispronounced Curry’s first name, calling him “Steph-on” instead of “Steph-en,” and a slide presentation allegedly had Kevin Durant’s name on it and not Curry’s. With Curry choosing Under Armour, the deal kicked into gear in 2013....
Farmer, Patrick Brown, has reclaimed the land once owned by his great-great-grandfather, who was also enslaved there. Currently, Patrick serves as the director of farmer inclusion for the social justice nonprofit Nature for Justice, reports Bitter Southerner. He is responsible for ensuring that $1.7 million in funding is allocated to farmers of color in North Carolina by 2029. Brown also serves on the board of the Eva Clayton Rural Food Institute, an organization established to combat food inequities. Patrick’s passion for farming is rooted in his upbringing. At the age of 9, he was already working on his family’s farm in North Carolina, helping to load tobacco. “It would take us about nine hours to fill up two barns,” he told the outlet. His father, Arthur, played a key role in igniting his interest in farming. He passed down stories of their family’s four-generation legacy in agriculture. “He was educating me,” Patrick explained, according to Bitter Southerner. “He would say,...
Metta Sandiford-Artest, formerly known as Metta World Peace, has entered the world of venture capital by launching his own VC firm. The former Los Angeles Lakers player expanded his focus to the VC sector after retiring from the NBA in 2017 after 17 seasons in the league. According to Sportico, Sandiford-Artest pursued a deeper understanding of private equity and finance by enrolling in digital analytics courses and working toward a master’s degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). “I told people that I didn’t want my face to add value,” Artest told Sportico. “I wanted that to be my word and my (mind). That took a long time. There’s just so much that goes into that, especially how people perceive you. You’ll go into a meeting (before) and they’re just waiting to talk basketball.” In December 2024, Artest launched Tru Skye Ventures — in partnership with former Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols. The collaboration builds on their existing business relationship, which...
Jerseys worn by LeBron James and his son Bronny performed exceptionally well at auction. On June 27, 2024, Bronny James made headlines when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers, selected as the 55th overall pick in the second round of the NBA Draft, notes USC Athletics. Shortly after, he signed a four-year rookie contract worth $7.9 million guaranteed, per ESPN. This historic move placed Bronny on the same team as his legendary father, LeBron. “Bronny is, first and foremost, a person of high character,” Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka said, according to the NBA. “And second, he is a young man that works incredibly hard. Those are the qualities we look for in drafting players and adding to our developmental corps at the Lakers.” Speaking to his potential, Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick commented, per Sports Illustrated: “We view Bronny as case study No. 1. Because his base level of feel, athleticism, point-of-attack defender, shooting, passing — there’s a lot to like about his game. And...
Founder Craig J. Lewis is revamping his mission to empower the gig economy. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Lewis leads Gig Wage, a fintech platform aimed at improving payroll for 1099 employees. With his background in payroll sales at Payroll Plus Inc. from 2009 to 2010 and a two-year stint as a payroll technology consultant at CyberPay, Lewis has a deep understanding of the industry, as mentioned on his LinkedIn profile. “I helped to sell ADP’s [the largest payroll company in the world] first cloud-based product called ADP Run, and that’s where it all started for me,” he told AFROTECH™ in a 2021 interview. “I’ve seen the impact that technology has on the payroll space. After reading an article about the global independent workforce, aka the gig economy, I realized that there wasn’t a payroll space for that group, meaning, people who do work for a company but the companies aren’t really designed or don’t have access to the technology to pay these type of people. These are your...
Rilwan Lawal is enhancing the lives of gig workers. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, since the age of 1, the entrepreneur and founder was accustomed to self-starters. Both his mother and father were entrepreneurs who owned several businesses. “I don’t think I grew up seeing anyone around me waking up and getting ready to go to work,” Lawal, 33, told AFROTECH in an interview. “I feel like everybody around me had their own thing going on. And it was ingrained in me that at some point, I would be doing something on my own.” He added, “My mom is the ultimate entrepreneur. I witnessed her start multiple businesses and saw it come to fruition. That has been very helpful. My dad was also an entrepreneur in the real estate space. So just seeing both sides, and being able to execute on just an idea and bring it to life, really gave me that positive thinking that I could essentially just do anything.” When Lawal was 17, he left his family to pursue higher learning in the United States. He was...
This founder is building a legacy one payroll system at a time. Craig J. Lewis is the founder and CEO of the FinTech platform changing the way businesses pay people. On a mission to simplify the payroll system while building a legacy to ensure that people remember his last name, Lewis knows what it means to be resilient when the odds are stacked against him. Gig Wage was built to help ease pain points for the payroll system that neglects the 1099 employee, or what Lewis calls the “gig” worker, made up of freelancers, contractors, etc. To date, Lewis has managed to raise $13.2 million and is on a path to quadrupling the size of his company by the end of 2021. He sat down with AfroTech to discuss what representation means to him in the venture capital space, where he feels the industry gets it wrong and how they can correct that, and the solution that Gig Wage provides that isn’t found on the market. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gig Wage (@gigwage) AfroTech: What...
The year of 2020 has shown us that our economy requires better financial tools and resources to set us up for success. In an effort to bring modern banking to the global gig economy, fintech companies Gig Wage and Green Dot have come together to forge a strategic long-time partnership and investing relationship to offer reliable banking solutions and finance tools to gig workers — better known as underbanked independent contractors, a press release reports . According to Dallas Innovates , Gig Wage — a Dallas-based Black-led firm — recruited the help of Green Dot as an infrastructure bank partner and helped lead its Series A funding round which raised $7.5 million total, enabling Gig Wage to boost its seamless and popular instant payments platform. “The fast-growing gig economy presents tremendous demand and opportunity for enhanced banking and payments tools and experiences,” said Dan Henry, CEO of Green Dot, in a statement . “We’re thrilled to partner with Gig Wage to grow this...