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Spelman College graduates who were friends first and then founders seconds are taking their nail bar to new heights. Kelli M. Coleman and Anika J. Odegbo are the founders of The TEN, marketed as Detroit, MI’s first modern nail bar. The two shared a common goal of embarking on an entrepreneurial journey to build wealth, which they brought to life in 2016. “So, Anika and I are friends and Spelman sisters. We ultimately met when we found out that both of us intended to attend. We decided to room together, and the rest is history, as they say. Both Detroit natives, I grew up in Southfield, and Anika grew up in Detroit proper. We come from entrepreneurial families; we really understand the power of entrepreneurship to create generational wealth. It was always our respective goals to own businesses of our own in addition to carrying on our family’s entrepreneurial legacy. That’s sort of the origin of how we know each other, and that’s how The TEN came to be,” Coleman told the Michigan...
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...
The founders of Eastside Golf continue to build on their momentum in the golf apparel space while staying true to their roots. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, Morehouse College graduates Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper founded the brand without a fashion background in 2019 after working full-time in corporate America. The company boasts products such as polo shirts, sweatshirts, pants, shoes, and accessories including bags, all tailored towards men and women. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eastside Golf (@eastsidegolf) Beyond the product offerings, the founders have continued to pave their own way through their mission that centers moving the sport forward among the youth and non-golfers while increasing diversity in a predominantly white sport. Their vision has led to an increase in support as they scaled their annual revenue from $100,000 in their first year to $4 million in 2023. They kicked off 2024 with a $3.4 million raise led by EP Golf Ventures, and the...
Former Yale University students are making it easier to spot counterfeit drugs. Per TechCrunch, Adebayo Alonge, Amy Kao and Wei Lui launched healthcare startup RxAll in 2016. The inception of the company was in response to their own experience with counterfeit drugs. For Alonge, it was nearly fatal after he took a medicine that contained a dangerous amount of diazepam, while Kao’s experience left her hospitalized. “I survived a 21-day coma in Nigeria 15 years ago. My co-founder, Amy, was hospitalized in Thailand after taking counterfeit medicine. And Wei lost a family member due to contaminated drugs,” Alonge told TechCrunch. While students they were able to pick each other’s brains during a research and development project and found further information to validate their concerns. “100,000 Africans die from this problem every year. One million people die across the world from this problem,” Alonge mentioned . This led to RxAll’s inaugural product RxScanner, a device powered by...
A historic Black-owned beach in South Carolina is quickly becoming one of the hottest luxury vacation destinations in the states, and it is currently the only incorporated Black beach to sit in the U.S. During the early 1930s, Atlantic Beach was founded by a group of Gullah Geechee as a haven for Black people who were not allowed to occupy the same beaches as white people in South Carolina. Defying Jim Crow laws, the strip of primarily Black-owned coastal properties, dubbed “The Black Pearl,” broadened the enterprises of coastal Gullah Geechee people. A host of hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and novelty shops were developed just miles from Myrtle Beach. Now, two trailblazing founders are on a mission to continue honoring the rich history that makes up the area. Although they are business partners, Tiffany Bailey Lash, Ph.D., and Tashni-Ann Dubroy, Ph.D., MBA, have a relationship that is rooted in sisterhood. Together, the HBCU alums and friends are on a mission to revitalize and...
Three Black women graduates have been awarded a top prize. According to a press release provided to AFROTECH™, Central State University (Ohio) graduates Myesha Burnette, Shawntae Thompson, and Baijing Zinnerman, have received accolades for their research in material and process engineering. They grabbed top honors during the Midwest Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Student Competition hosted at the University of Dayton Research Institute in Dayton, OH. SAMPE is a nonprofit organization and technical society that targets various areas of materials and processes (M&P), its website mentions. Among its initiatives includes aiding student chapters, providing information and forums, and offering scholarships and awards. “SAMPE provides growth and educational opportunities via conferences, exhibitions, technical forums, and publications. As the only technical society encompassing all fields of endeavor in materials and processes, SAMPE provides a...
Elijah Hogan’s life circumstances did not deter him from graduating high school at the top of his class. Hogan recently graduated from New Orleans, LA’s Walter L. Cohen High School. However, for more than a year while attending school, he lived at the Covenant House, a local homeless shelter, People reports. He learned about the shelter from his grandmother, a retired social worker. “Her lease form for the house that we all used to live in started to expire, and we only had 30 days until we had to move out. So, I took it upon myself to live independently,” Hogan told People . “She gave me some info about Covenant House and told me to continue on with my education. …Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to finish my high school years, giving me a place to stay, a place to eat, a place to sleep. I wouldn’t have been able to be where I’m at now.” In May 2024, Hogan graduated as the class valedictorian with a 3.89 grade point average. “Above all the trials, tests, and hardships, what...
Anthony Claytor is the first I Promise School student to graduate from college. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the school launched in Akron, OH, through the LeBron James Family Foundation, which was established in 2004 to “positively affect the lives of children and young adults through education and co-curricular educational initiatives.” The I Promise School came into fruition in 2017 through a partnership with Akron Public Schools (APS) and a committee of local leaders, educators, parents, and experts, Andscape reported. The school officially opened in 2018. “This school is so important to me because our vision is to create a place for the kids in Akron who need it most — those that could fall through the cracks if we don’t do something,” James said at the time, according to Andscape. “We’ve learned over the years what works and what motivates them, and now we can bring all of that together in one place, along with the right resources and experts. If we get to them early...
At 14 years old, Keniah Washington has graduated from college. Washington graduated with a liberal arts associate’s degree from Saint Leo University in Florida and a 3.0 GPA, according to USA Today. With the support of her former high school teachers and staff, she enrolled in a dual-enrollment program while attending Icon Preparatory School in Tampa, FL, and took online courses. “I started taking high school courses when I was in sixth grade,” Keniah said. “Once the teachers and staff saw that I was still excelling in my work, they enrolled me and a group of other kids in Saint Leo, and we had a tutor.” Washington admits that reaching her goal was not easy. She had to skip some school events, such as prom and homecoming. “My biggest challenge was being on track and not trying to fall behind,” she said, per USA Today. “I was missing out on prom and homecoming — everything other people experienced in high school. But I told myself that… I’m doing the high school courses now so I can...
Savannah State University’s class of 2024 have received a favorable start in their next chapter. According to her Instagram, while serving as commencement speaker, Slutty Vegan and Bar Vegan Founder Pinky Cole Hayes shared the news that $8.9 million would be gifted to the Georgia Historically Black College and University (HBCU) graduates in partnership with Operation Hope and One Million Black Businesses (1MBB). “We are excited about this fantastic opportunity for our students and grateful to Mrs. Cole Hayes for leading this investment opportunity,” Savannah State University Interim President Cynthia Robinson Alexander, said, according to VegOut. The investment will support an “Entrepreneurial Starter Pack,” which will gift students with mentorship from 1MBB, educational resources, a free three-month subscription to Shopify, and an eight-week small business training course that will encompass business plan development and financial management, VegOut notes. “I am passionate about...
These new astronauts are “preparing for takeoff” in NASA’s Astronaut Office. On March 5, 2024, NASA held a graduation ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, as 10 new graduates, “The Flies,” crossed the stage after completing two years of training, per a news release. Among the graduates are Andre Douglas and Christopher Williams — representing for Black astronauts. The monumental milestone is a dream come true for both Douglas and Williams. However, the two each had to make crucial decisions along their career paths that ultimately led to turning their dreams into reality. Following NASA’s graduation ceremony, Douglas recalled in an interview with AFROTECH™ about his journey of leaving the U.S. Coast Guard to pursue becoming an astronaut. While it became a great part of the Virginia native, and his father, who was also in the service, he knew he wanted to be in aerospace. Douglas’ curiosity for the industry began at age 7 when he looked through a telescope for the...
Founders Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper are shaking up the golf sector. As previously mentioned by AFROTECH, the Morehouse College graduates behind Eastside Golf kicked off 2024 with stellar news, raising $3.4 million in a funding round led by EP Golf Ventures. The investment is based on a partnership with the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) and Elysian Park Ventures. The funding will support the founder’s plans to expand their team in light of their New York City, NY, headquarters. Before this, it was announced that the company generated $4 million in annual revenue after initially generating $100,000 within its first year. Reflecting on their growth, Ajanaku shared with AFROTECH, “I feel like the progress that we made last year, the people that we have to hire, processes that we have to put all together, but we clung to that last year, we’ve come so far. It’s honestly remarkable, and I get a chance to run a business with my best friend, and we get to influence...
Two Morehouse college graduates won a national championship together, and now they are winning in business, too. Fast Company reports Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper launched the golf lifestyle apparel brand Eastside Golf in 2019 to create more visibility in the sport among youth and those who don’t play golf.
