Venita Cooper’s passion for sneaker culture has led her to become an entrepreneur -turned-tech-founder. In 2019, Cooper opened Silhouette Sneakers & Art in Tulsa, OK, after working as a K-12 educator in the Mississippi Delta through Teach for America. She was brought to Oklahoma because her parents decided to retire, Cooper told AFROTECH™ in an interview. With no entrepreneurial background, the thought of launching her own business never crossed her mind until 2018, when the idea of opening a sneaker store was presented to her. “At first I thought it was crazy ’cause I was like, ‘I’m not an entrepreneur. I’ve never done anything like that before,'” Cooper said. “One of the things that I’ve learned is that to start a business and to run a business, to me, the No. 1 skill is the ability to make good decisions consistently and quickly. I always ask investors and other founders who have successful companies, what is the characteristic that they can identify as that No. 1 characteristic...

T he Biden administration has taken a ction against TikTok. On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed a law to ban the China-based social media app under parent company ByteDance in the U.S. if it’s not sold within a year, NPR reports. The move comes after the House of Representatives introduced in March the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , which aims to “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications,” as previously shared by AFROTECH™. Under President Biden’s new law, if TikTok fails to be sold in 12 months, it would become illegal for web-hosting providers to host the platform. What’s more, Google and Apple would have to pull the popular app from its app stores. According to NPR, this is the first time that a law has been passed that could result in banning a social media platform in the U.S. What has led to this timeline of events is U.S. government officials have...

AI messaging company Holler is well on it’s way to proving that Black founders can obtain VC funding to help power their startups and fuel their missions to change the world. According to TechCrunch, the Black-owned tech company has just announced the raise of a $36 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $51 million overall. The round was co-led by CityRock Venture Partners and New General Market Partners, with participation from other investors such as Gaingels, Interplay Ventures, Relevance Ventures, Towerview Ventures and WorldQuant Ventures. MarTech Series reports that Holler plans to use the new funds to “invest in the research, engineering and development around conversational media, and the original creative content intended to drive its use.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Holler (@holler.io) Holler — which is described as a conversational media company — initially launched with a mission to become a news and video content app before...

Restaurant company Shake Shack has appointed Tristan Walker, founder & CEO of Walker & Company , to their board of directors, effective June 18. “With sizeable growth ahead and a relentless focus on excellence, guest experience and hospitality, Tristan’s knowledge and fresh perspective will be instrumental in Shake Shack’s continued success,” Shake Shack CEO, Randy Garutti said. “He brings with him a proven ability to lead, execute and inspire and his unique point of view will be invaluable for our company. We’re humbled to welcome him to our Board.” Walker has an eye for inclusivity and authenticity that will help lead the company toward an expansive and forward-thinking future. “I’ve long admired Shake Shack for their commitment to taking care of their guests, their teams and using their business to create good in the world,” Walker said. “As someone who is passionate about building authentic, inclusive brands, I’m excited to leverage my experience to help guide their growth and...