Forget Silicon Valley, The Best Founders Are In Baltimore

Spent the (bitterly cold) morning yesterday in Baltimore speaking to black business owners about the value of collaboration, partnerships and information sharing. We all want to succeed as individuals of course but when you’re part of a group that’s being marginalized you have to think bigger than that.

I’m committed to supporting female founders and not just in the ‘popular’ cities like NY and SF but across the country and especially in cities with higher concentrations of founders of color. Baltimore has some very interesting things happening in the startup scene and has been described as a hotbed of black innovation. A recent study ranked Baltimore as the No. 2 city in the country for women in tech, with a lot of that innovation being driven by the University of Maryland and The Johns Hopkins University.

Thank you for having me Baltimore. I’ll be back!

Black Women Are The Future Of Tech

Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in America. We are severely underfunded, underestimated and under resourced yet we still generate $52.6 billion in revenue. That’s why it was so good to be at the Black Women Talk Tech conference, which was filled with smart, creative ambitious tech entrepreneurs, eager to connect with fellow founders and support and uplift one another.

Speakers included Jean Brownhill from Sweeten, Tonya Lewis Lee and Rich Dennis founder of Sundial Brands, who recently acquired Essence Magazine.  Dennis' advice to the audience: "Surround yourself with people who support what you're doing. There are more people for you than against you. Find your people."

I found my people.

Back row: Kobi Wu Passmore, Tanya von Court, Asmau Ahmed, Danielle Kayembe, Viola Lewellyn

Front row: Candice Matthews, Dee Poku, Bea Arthur