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Despite the tumultuous landscape these days, The Gathering Spot CEO Ryan Wilson believes the tide will turn back toward prioritizing diverse communities. The U.S. has seen sweeping changes across industries. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities were no longer legal, notes NPR. In retail and big tech, companies such as Target, Walmart, Lowe’s, Meta, and Amazon pulled back on DEI commitments. At the federal level, President Donald Trump also moved to eliminate DEI programs, initiatives, and offices in the early months of his new administration, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. However, regardless of current attitudes being upheld, companies will ultimately have to include the Black community in their strategies if they hope to meet their goals, Wilson shares. “If you go back to 2021, 2022, some of these companies were falling over themselves trying to figure out how to get to Black consumers. And then now those same...
Entrepreneur Jordyn Weaver is bridging the gap between creators and Black-owned businesses. Forefront Weaver, who comes from a non-technical background, built a team to help her bring Forefront’s vision to life. The company was founded in 2020, initially operating within the social commerce industry. Consumers could discover and shop Black-owned brands and also invite their friends into the process. On the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast, Weaver said while the platform still carries this sentiment, it has pivoted its focus to creators. Forefront markets itself as a “content and creator marketplace for the culture.” Emerging brands looking to connect with culture and tap into influencer marketing organically could benefit from the platform. Influencer marketing is projected to be a $480 billion industry, according to Goldman Sachs. Creators can onboard the platform and have the chance to interact with BIPOC brands to spark gifted, paid and UGC partnerships, according to the...
Fanbase Founder Isaac Hayes III wants content creators to understand their worth. Creators Are The New Major Network The pendulum is swinging in favor of the creator economy. According to Forbes, the top creators on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube generated $853 million in revenue, excluding brand deals and other income streams, marking an 18% increase from 2024. Collectively, these creators amassed 3.4 billion followers, a 24% jump from the previous year. By 2030, the number of creators is projected to grow from 67 million to 107 million. As AI’s influence grows across industries, content creation is expected to become even more streamlined and efficient, fueling further revenue growth. This year’s list included fashion creator Wisdom Kaye, who generated $5 million in revenue in 2024, AFROTECH™ previously reported. Kai Cenat is also listed, taking the 28th spot, with a reported $8.5 million in earnings. Cenat is well known for organically growing his presence on Twitch, which...
As the Executive Director of the Virgo Abloh Foundation, Dana Loatman is preserving the late fashion designer’s mission of supporting underrepresented creatives. The New York native credits her time at Bowie State University, Maryland’s oldest HBCU , for sowing the seed of helping overlooked creators, a mission that has guided her career. “That’s where I got my passions really, for investing in our communities and minority communities and really ensuring that we have the same access that our counterparts have,” she explained to “Black Tech Green Money” host Will Lucas. Loatman’s career journey reflects this spirit, including seven years at the Obama Foundation, where she held multiple roles, including senior director, chief of staff, advisor to the CEO, and director of corporate partnerships. Her work helped secure more than $100 million from companies, including Apple, Nike and AT&T, targeting racial and gender equity and investing in future leaders, her LinkedIn notes. As the...
Fawn Weaver does not believe selling your company is necessary to show you didn’t fail as an entrepreneur. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Weaver is the founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest, a whiskey brand honoring the spirit of “Nearest” Green, a formerly enslaved man credited for teaching Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. The company has achieved remarkable success. It has a 458-acre distillery with the world’s longest bar (518 feet) in Shelbyville, TN, and sells its whiskey in more than 30,000 stores, bars, hotels, and restaurants. Additionally, the company surpassed a valuation of $1 billion, but if you think for a second Weaver plans on selling, think again. She has not warmed up to venture capitalists, private equity, or institutional lending. Instead, Weaver has relied on the support of individual investors. By 2023, she raised $225 million through this route, with individual investors not owning more than 2% to 3% of the company each (employees own less than 3%). Weaver...
Culina Health Founder Vanessa Rissetto is behind a personalized, virtual nutrition-care startup that has raised millions of dollars to provide dietary guidance to patients. Culina Health Established and bootstrapped in 2020 alongside co-founder Tamar Samuels, Culina Health recently secured over $7.9 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to more than $20 million, per Essence. The health tech company offers holistic and evidence-based nutrition care from registered dietitians, its website notes . Here’s how the platform works: Within 10 minutes, patients are matched with a registered dietitian to schedule their first 60-minute session. From there, they can discuss their health history, and follow-up 45-minute sessions help patients establish healthier habits and assess their progress. The platform has over 90 registered dietitians and has served over 10,000 patients across all 50 states. Culina Health’s superpower includes its ability to track patient data and...
NFL player Jaylon Smith admits that he didn’t have any idea how to manage his earnings once he entered the league, but as his career has continued to grow, he is ready to conquer the business world. Smith has been playing football since he was 7 years old. His talent on the field led to the Dallas Cowboys drafting him at 20 years old in 2016, ESPN reported . He signed a four-year contract valued at $6.5 million, according to Spotrac. However, managing those earnings came with its challenges. “Now I acquire some money at 20 years old with zero knowledge on how to manage, grow and preserve it. I didn’t grow [up] in my household with a budget. So that’s another layer of dynamic that we have to think about as well on why my peers are going broke,” Smith explained on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast, hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. Smith has come a long way from draft day. The Las Vegas Raiders linebacker, who played college football at Notre Dame, is a serial investor...
Monk Inyang is on a mission to make AI more practical for underserved communities. Within his career trajectory, Inyang has been of service to others. He has worked as an actor, investment salesperson, a researcher on Wall Street, and has also dedicated several years to executive coaching for mid-career Black and Latin professionals, which he shared on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. This experience has positioned him to be a more effective leader in his current role as CEO and founder of 1st Street Partnerships, an organization dedicated to providing artificial intelligence (AI) education and training to businesses and communities with a strong emphasis on inclusivity and cultural relevance, its LinkedIn mentions. “We help move people from AI anxiety to AI adoption. And that’s through really culturally resonant community-based education,” Inyang explained on the podcast. Partnering With Kevin Hart’s Coramino Fund 1st Street...
Candace Mitchell wants Black founders to think generationally. Mitchell is the founder of MYAVANA, a haircare company powered by artificial intelligence (AI). According to its website, the company’s offerings include MYAVANA HairAI™, which leverages AI to provide users with instant product recommendations, saving them time and money. It has also launched MYAVANA HairSI™, a hair strand analysis kit that provides a personalized haircare plan and access to expert haircare specialists. MYAVANA’s innovations have allowed its footprint to scale to Ulta Beauty in 2023. Additionally, it has expanded to a brick-and-mortar retail store in Uganda, Africa, which also carries products from Black-owned businesses including Moisture Love, Texture Crush, Afro Unicorn , U Go Girl Hair, and LushUs Hair, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. “From a business standpoint, it made more sense for us to start our franchise in the motherland and actually target each nation to open up global product...
Marche Robinson has advice for content creator seeking monetization. Robinson has worn many hats from attorney to content creator to founder of the vegan and cruelty-free haircare brand Isaline Beauty, which she launched in 2020. Having multiple streams of income has worked to her benefit, as she admits it has allowed her to take greater risks and be more intentional with the opportunities presented to her as a content creator, as explained on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marche Robinson (@marcherobinson) “I worked for, I think, seven years before I went full-time with, or I won’t say full-time content creating, but before I left corporate America, one thing I loved when I worked my day job was…I never felt the pressure to align with a brand that I didn’t feel spoke to my life or resonated with my followers…,” she explained. “If you ask my managers, I’m very rigid when it comes to...
Aisha Bowe nearly failed high school but she never allowed her dreams to escape her, leading her into space. Choosing Her Own Path In high school, a guidance counselor suggested that Bowe, a first-generation Bahamian-American, consider a career in cosmetology, since school had not been her strong suit at the time. However, it was through her father — who passed away in 2025 — that she found encouragement to pursue mathematics and reject the limited path the counselor had envisioned for her. On the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas, Bowe acknowledges that the counselor’s restrictive views made her feel “demoralized,” so she chose not to apply to a four-year university and instead enrolled in a community college. Following a reality check, Bowe decided she wanted to become a NASA rocket scientist, a dream first envisioned by her father, who had initially moved to the United States to pursue this goal, notes Travel Noire. “I wanted to do...
Christopher Gray has a word of advice for founders hoping to sell their companies. Path Gray is currently the CEO of Path, an affordable AI-powered platform for academic and career readiness. According to its LinkedIn page, Path offers unlimited practice tests, predictive scoring, and step-by-step solutions to support users preparing for career certifications, college admissions, and graduate school exams. “When this pandemonium happens where everyone’s freaking out because now I need to make a certain score or I need a pass or a certain score to make the SAT to graduate, now we can swoop in and be able to say, ‘We can give you that, make it more affordable. Predict what you’re going to make before you take the test,'” Gray said on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. Scholly Prior to focusing on Path, Gray served as the co-founder and CEO of Scholly Inc., an AI-powered college scholarship app on a mission to help students eliminate...
Fanbase, founded in 2018 by Isaac Hayes III, is rapidly climbing the charts in the App Store. The Atlanta, GA-based social media company allows users to not only create content but also get paid through various mediums, including video, photos, audio, and stories, its website mentions. Additionally, through subscriptions valued from $2.99 to $99.99, users can further support creators in exchange for exclusive content. “For people who value content and community, Fanbase is a free-to-download, free-to-use, next-generation social network that allows any user to earn money from day one,” the company website reads. Moreover, users not only have a chance to participate in Fanbase but can also opt-in to become an investor. For a minimum amount of $399, users make an investment that will be “speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk , including the possible loss of your entire investment.” “I’m the only Black-founded start-up social media app that’s currently in existence...
Financial literacy is the new civil rights movement according to John Hope Bryant. Bryant, a passionate advocate for economic empowerment, urges the Black community to adopt a laser-focused mindset on f inancial literacy. Since 1992, he has served as Chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE, Inc., dedicating himself to empowering underserved communities. According to its LinkedIn profile, the organization has impacted over 2.8 million people and has facilitated the direction of $2.4 billion in private capital. The Oprah Rule Bryant appeared on the “Black Tech Green Money” (BTGM) podcast, emphasizing the importance of understanding relationship capital, forming strategic partnerships, adopting a broader vision of wealth-building, and the day he learned the “Oprah rule.” He had been investigated before receiving the Use Your Life Award from Oprah Winfrey, an honor given to individuals improving others’ lives through charity. “When her investigators came around after she said she wanted to...
Aaron Samuels has revealed his roadmap into the venture capital space. Samuels, co-founder and former chief operating officer (COO) of Blavity — w ho now leads a venture capital firm Collide Capital — has worn various hats in a career that spans more than a decade. He was a performance poet who spent nearly 10 years traveling and went on to secure roles as a director of operations (Dialogue Arts Project); senior associate consultant (Bain & Co.); and product manager (TeleSign) between 2011 and 2016, his LinkedIn mentions. For the next seven years, Samuels helped co-found Blavity Inc., a platform catering to Black Millennials and Gen Z amplifying areas of entertainment, politics, technology, and culture. It was created alongside Morgan DeBaun (CEO), Jeff Nelson (now COO), and Jonathan Jackson. Serving as the COO laid the footprint for Samuels’ foray as founder and managing partner of Collide Capital, which was founded in 2022 alongside Brian Hollins to provide resources, operational...