Dec 3, 2017
Courtesy of #ProjectDiane and https://www.digitalundivided.com/.
seen from Malaysia
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Germany
seen from Tajikistan
seen from France
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Thailand
seen from China
seen from Thailand
seen from India
seen from Russia
Courtesy of #ProjectDiane and https://www.digitalundivided.com/.
ETHINKSTL-110-Kathryn Finney | Digital Undivided RELOADED
Have dreams so BIG they can't be restrained by the frame! Think. BIG. [📸 taken at the dope Atlanta headquarters and event space of @digundiv BIG Innovation Center and their BIG Accelerator program, which supports Black women and Latina tech founders. Find out more at digitalundivided.com] #womenintech #digitalundivided #supportissexy #internationalwomensday #thinkdreamBEBIGGER
Digitalundivided to Open Innovation Center for Black and Latina Women Founders
Digitalundivided to Open Innovation Center for Black and Latina Women Founders Digitalundivided to Open Innovation Center for Black and Latina Women Founders read the article on http://gizmorati.com/2016/03/25/digitalundivided-to-open-innovation-center-for-black-and-latina-women-founders/
8-13-15 #AllStarCode || On Thursday 40 of my summer mentees at @AllStarCode had their Demo Day and graduated from their intensive summer coding program. They presented the really impressive prototypes they built ranging from gun control solutions to digital collaborative tools. These guys are still in high school and all summer I joked that I was only there to get a head start on recruiting engineering talent for @throne.xyz - they joked that they only kept me around so I could eventually write some checks for their projects. ... In reality, neither of us were joking, and thats what's beautiful. ||#AllStarCode #iLookLikeAnEngineer #DigitalUndivided Pictured Above: 40 Brilliant Young Men & their Amazing Full Time Instructors (at Google NYC)
The digital age has crept upon us, filling our everyday lives with some facet of technology, science, math, and engineering. With the rise of STEM-based needs comes STEM-based jobs preceded by the demand for an increase in job creation. While talk of tech startups and the growth of STEM companies are rampant in the news, America, as a country, is surprisingly falling behind in this area in relation to the world. With the STEM workforce overwhelming comprised of white and asian males, educators and leaders from Rev. Jesse Jackson to President Obama advocate STEM paths for youth from varying backgrounds nationwide. Schools like P-TECH and BTech are creating programs for students that allow them to not only graduate with a high school diploma but also STEM certifications and degrees. Entrepreneurs like Regina Agyare, founder of Soronko Solutions, started #techneedsgirls to train young women and girls in tech skills. While these programs will do much for the workforce in the future, the lack of diversity and growing the techforce is a problem now.
Diversity in tech is important because it allows those from different backgrounds and experiences to come together to solve problems in novel, exciting ways. By widening the pool of talent, the world will undoubtedly benefit in more ways than one.
Kathryn Finney saw this and acted on it by creating Digitaundivided, a company that connects investors with entrepreneurs from differing backgrounds. Her company has helped founders collectively raise over $10 million since 2012. She also put together Focus 100, a conference aimed at bringing employers and investors into the same space as Black female techies, understanding that while gender discrimination is a problem, using that differentiating factor can be a selling point to open doors to employment and funding opportunities. She herself entered the working world as an epidemiologist but crossed over to tech and is relentless in helping WOC transition into STEM fields and prepare a way that, perhaps, these children will smoothly follow in the coming decades.
Earlier this year she launched Project Diane, a documentary aimed at ‘exploring the role of the intersectionality of gender and race in tech through black woman founders of tech companies,’ to not only show employers the value in hiring Black women but also providing a glimmer of hope for women eager to venture into these fields.
We caught up with her to ask for her advice for women who want to get into STEM fields, crossing over into tech, and a little about herself.
SC: You have a degree in epidemiology. What gave you the most courage to change fields and what advice do you have for WOC who want to get into STEM fields but may not have any degrees or contacts in those areas?
KF: My late father, Robert Finney, went from being a brewery worker to a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft in the span of 10 years. Seeing the opportunities tech has given my entire family (my brother is a Sales Executive with Oracle) had a huge impact on me. You don’t need anyone’s permission to enter tech, especially the startup world, as there’s little to no barrier of entry. My advice to WOC of who want to get into STEM but may not have any degrees or contacts in the STEM is to first Think Big. As WOC, we’ve been conditioned to think small, lest someone is offended by our ambition. You can’t succeed in any area if you can’t think it. Second is to Ask for help. The tech industry is collaborative by nature. Lastly, Just Do it. We have a tendency to “over think” and “over plan.” Just start the damn thing.
SC: What do you think are the main elements that allowed you to maintain a relationship and change careers as well as continue to be a beacon of light for WOC finding their way into STEM fields?
KF: I really try and practice “to thine self be true.” People like to be with people who are standing in their truth and who look like they’re enjoying life. I always try and stand in my truth because at the end of the day, I’m left with myself.
SC: I’ve heard that you are an avid reader. What are your top 3 favorite authors and your top 5 favorite books? How does your reading influence your career, if at all?
KF: It’s soooo very hard for me to limit my favorite authors and books. Different books affect me differently depending on the period of my life. I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “100 Years of Solitude” – absolutely my favorite book if I had to choose one – once a year. I read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” as a teen and totally didn’t understand it until I read it again in my thirties and loved it. Amy Tan’s ‘Kitchen God’s Wife’ was given to me as a high school graduation gift and changed the way I thought about my relationship with my mother. Barbara Kingsolver’s “Poisonwood Bible” was given to me before I went to work in Ghana, West Africa, and definitely made me think twice about who was really benefiting (the community or myself) from my work in the country.
The digital age has crept upon us, filling our everyday lives with some facet of technology, science, math, and engineering. With the rise of STEM-based needs comes STEM-based jobs preceded by the demand for an increase in job creation. While talk of tech startups and the growth of STEM companies are rampant in the news, America, as a country, is surprisingly falling behind in this area in relation to the world. With the STEM workforce overwhelming comprised of white and asian males, educators and leaders from Rev. Jesse Jackson to President Obama advocate STEM paths for youth from varying backgrounds nationwide. Schools like P-TECH and BTech are creating programs for students that allow them to not only graduate with a high school diploma but also STEM certifications and degrees. Entrepreneurs like Regina Agyare, founder of Soronko Solutions, started #techneedsgirls to train young women and girls in tech skills. While these programs will do much for the workforce in the future, the lack of diversity and growing the techforce is a problem now.
Diversity in tech is important because it allows those from different backgrounds and experiences to come together to solve problems in novel, exciting ways. By widening the pool of talent, the world will undoubtedly benefit in more ways than one.
Kathryn Finney saw this and acted on it by creating Digitaundivided, a company that connects investors with entrepreneurs from differing backgrounds. Her company has helped founders collectively raise over $10 million since 2012. She also put together Focus 100, a conference aimed at bringing employers and investors into the same space as Black female techies, understanding that while gender discrimination is a problem, using that differentiating factor can be a selling point to open doors to employment and funding opportunities. She herself entered the working world as an epidemiologist but crossed over to tech and is relentless in helping WOC transition into STEM fields and prepare a way that, perhaps, these children will smoothly follow in the coming decades.
https://vimeo.com/126520613
Earlier this year she launched Project Diane, a documentary aimed at ‘exploring the role of the intersectionality of gender and race in tech through black woman founders of tech companies,’ to not only show employers the value in hiring Black women but also providing a glimmer of hope for women eager to venture into these fields.
We caught up with her to ask for her advice for women who want to get into STEM fields, crossing over into tech, and a little about herself.
SC: You have a degree in epidemiology. What gave you the most courage to change fields and what advice do you have for WOC who want to get into STEM fields but may not have any degrees or contacts in those areas?
KF: My late father, Robert Finney, went from being a brewery worker to a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft in the span of 10 years. Seeing the opportunities tech has given my entire family (my brother is a Sales Executive with Oracle) had a huge impact on me. You don’t need anyone’s permission to enter tech, especially the startup world, as there’s little to no barrier of entry. My advice to WOC of who want to get into STEM but may not have any degrees or contacts in the STEM is to first Think Big. As WOC, we’ve been conditioned to think small, lest someone is offended by our ambition. You can’t succeed in any area if you can’t think it. Second is to Ask for help. The tech industry is collaborative by nature. Lastly, Just Do it. We have a tendency to “over think” and “over plan.” Just start the damn thing.
SC: What do you think are the main elements that allowed you to maintain a relationship and change careers as well as continue to be a beacon of light for WOC finding their way into STEM fields?
KF: I really try and practice “to thine self be true.” People like to be with people who are standing in their truth and who look like they’re enjoying life. I always try and stand in my truth because at the end of the day, I’m left with myself.
SC: I’ve heard that you are an avid reader. What are your top 3 favorite authors and your top 5 favorite books? How does your reading influence your career, if at all?
KF: It’s soooo very hard for me to limit my favorite authors and books. Different books affect me differently depending on the period of my life. I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “100 Years of Solitude” – absolutely my favorite book if I had to choose one – once a year. I read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” as a teen and totally didn’t understand it until I read it again in my thirties and loved it. Amy Tan’s ‘Kitchen God’s Wife’ was given to me as a high school graduation gift and changed the way I thought about my relationship with my mother. Barbara Kingsolver’s “Poisonwood Bible” was given to me before I went to work in Ghana, West Africa, and definitely made me think twice about who was really benefiting (the community or myself) from my work in the country.
SC: While STEM includes Science, Math, and Engineering, much of the push that we see is geared towards online-focused Technology when it comes to WOC entrepreneurs and startup advice. Why do you think that is and what is being done about including WOC in all facets of STEM fields?
KF: To be honest the only campaign to include women of color in tech is being led by digitalundivided through projects like #projectdiane. There is no larger campaign. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with online platform startups. Uber is an online focused startup. So is Facebook. And Pinterest. These are all BILLION dollar companies and if we can get a few folks in our community to build this then we would be much better off. It takes less resources to build an online platform like Uber, than to purchase a fleet of black cars and while it takes less resources, that online platform is worth 1000x more than that fleet of cars.
“Focus on the people who love you. As a entrepreneurs your job is to build your company, not teach someone about race/gender relations. Focus on the people who believe in you and forget everyone else.”
SC: What would be your direct advice to women who want to enter STEM fields that are predominantly male-dominated and often expect women to adhere to their leads?
KF: My advice is that you won’t get very far in any space, including life, by making yourself “less than.” Really, it’s the other person’s problem, not yours. I usually tell up and coming women in this space:
Think big. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Some people can get easily offended by ambition.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is an opportunity to find out first-hand what works and what doesn’t. Failing [is better than] pondering on what-ifs later on… or worse, watching someone else take your idea AND succeed!
Don’t ask for permission. Opportunities are whizzing past you as you wait passively for something you shouldn’t have to ask for. If digitalundivided waited for permission, we might never have gotten our plan off the ground!
Focus on the people who love you. As a entrepreneurs your job is to build your company, not teach someone about race/gender relations. Focus on the people who believe in you and forget everyone else.
Do cultivate relationships. Businesses can claim they’re meritocratic and unbiased, but we know that like all things in life, the inner workings run on networks and who-you-knows. Reach out, build, and enrich relationships with people in your field. One step is to follow us at @digundiv.
Digitalundivided is in the final stage of Project Diane, with a Kickstarter campaign that you can follow at #rewritethecode.
Find out more about her and Digitalundivided’s projects at www.digitalundivided.com
Breaking Down Digital Doors With Kathryn Finney (@kathrynfinney) #digitaundivided #stereochampions #technology #stem The digital age has crept upon us, filling our everyday lives with some facet of technology, science, math, and engineering.
digitalundivided: "We Believe in Skill Over Pedigree"
Karen followed up with another source that she forgot to mention during our initial conversation: digitalundivided (DND), a membership-based social enterprise specifically geared towards helping black women get into the tech space. The founder managing director of DND is Kathryn Finney and "she is fantastic!"
Perhaps we want to shift away from an opportunity area that incorporates tools/channels that specifically offer groups more typically underrepresented in the tech world. That being said, DND, while working to diversify the tech sphere ("a diverse tech pipeline"), is also grounded in merging entrepreneurship with innovative tech: they offers fellowship for those who have innovative tech startup ideas.
They offer a (dues-based) membership model, giving DND community members fee online office hours with "top experts", free credits and "goodies" from their partners, and free tech help from top developers and programmers. They also have an annual conference, FOCUS 100, to which members receive a free pass ($899 value).
Here is their mandate: "digitalundivided is a social enterprise excelling at getting the urban community in the tech space! Enterprising entrepreneurs, tech curious, and digital rock stars should join our community for access to thought leaders from top tech companies, to network with diverse startups, and other like minded individuals!”
DND has also coined an "evidenced-based digitalundivided (DID) model" that is pretty appealing:
The DID model is based on four key areas: START, GROW, FOCUS and INVEST. Entrepreneurs START with an idea, then GROW that idea into a company. With FOCUS, the idea becomes a business ready for funding and partnerships, and the success of the business allows us to then INVEST in other communities or START again with a new idea.
START
A workshop series focused on teaching urban entrepreneurs how to THINK BIG and turn their ideas into a product.
GROW
A network of small groups and meet-ups that allow entrepreneurs to network and support each other through the development of their companies.
FOCUS
A program that mentors, develops and advises tech companies with black women as cofounders. Twenty percent of our FOCUS Fellows have received funding from angel and/or venture investors. A major part of this program is the (aforementioned) annual #FOCUS100 Start-up Boot Camp and Symposium.
INVEST
A project focused on developing and supporting investments in tech companies from the urban community.
-R.V.