Justin Harlow’s dental practice is expanding across Charlotte, NC. The dentist leads Harlow Dental, which offers cosmetic dentistry, invisible aligners, tooth extractions, dental implants, and porcelain veneers, among others. Per the company website, the clinic also has the latest technology to provide care for its patients. These improvements include digital X-rays that use less radiation. “The old-fashioned, uncomfortable, traditional dental x-ray is a thing of the past. Digital radiography has not only sped up the x-ray process, these modern x-ray machines give off much less radiation, making them safer for all patients,” the website mentioned. “In addition, both dentist and patient can view digital x-rays immediately. The images created by these x-rays can also be enhanced, showing a level of detail that is just not possible with traditional x-rays. The results can easily be emailed to specialists or your insurance company, offering a much higher level of convenience.” Other...

Jackson State University in Jackson, MS, will be able to support its students pursuing careers in cybersecurity. According to a news release, the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) has received a $2 million grant from the Entergy Charitable Foundation. To be allocated over several payments, the grant supports the establishment of the Critical Power Grid Network Security Lab, which will provide the launching pad for cybersecurity careers. “I am honored to receive this generous grant on behalf of Jackson State University . This gift will have a lasting impact on the lives of our students and the future of the energy sector,” JSU President Marcus Thompson, Ph.D., said in the news release. “Looking ahead, this lab will not only benefit Jackson State University and our students, but it will also play a critical role in shaping the broader energy landscape.” Haley Fisackerly , Entergy Mississippi president and CEO, commented: “The robust growth in our company and the state...

Nicky Saunders has tips and tricks to scale your digital presence. Saunders, a content strategist and CEO of Deeper Than The Brand since 2018, understands firsthand what it takes to build online. Called “the voice of content branding,” her platform offers helpful content creation suggestions that can be beneficial to businesses and content creators. Of late, she has heavily geared content around the various ways technology can be a resource, such as using an iPhone to edit live photos or artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT or Opus Clip. The latter allows users to repurpose long videos into shorter clips with one click, per its website. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nicky Saunders | The Voice Of Content Branding 🏁🦁🏁 1 of 1 (@thisisnickys) Thanks to her expertise, Saunders has built an online following of 12,000 subscribers via YouTube while impressing on Instagram with 187,000 followers at the time of this writing. Screenshot taken via Instagram /...

Robert F. Smith is the second-richest Black man in America. Smith follows behind David Steward, the founder of IT management company World Wide Technology, who boasts an $11.4 billion net worth to secure the top spot among Black individuals, Forbes notes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH (@afro.tech) Smith’s return to the list is a result of his role as founder, chairman, and partner at Vista Equity Partners, a firm that invests in enterprise software, data, and technology companies, per its website. With more than $100 billion in assets since its inception, its portfolio companies include Forcepoint, Comply, Datto, Brainware, and InfoBlox, among others. In 2024, Vista Equity Partners made additional billion-dollar moves. This includes joining Blackstone in the acquisition of Smartsheet — an enterprise platform for modern work management — for an all-cash transaction valued at $8.4 billion in September, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. “Modern enterprises rely...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. When one thinks about interest rates, the first thing that comes to mind could be credit cards, car loans, and mortgages, but did you know that they also have materially shaped the tech industry over the past 20 years? That’s because the federal interest rate that the Federal Reserve Board sets also informs the industry on whether money will be cheap or expensive, and that changes the way the industry seeks to operate. Below, we will touch on all of the players impacted by the increases and decreases in the federal interest rates. The startup ecosystem players that are affected in different ways by lower or higher interest rates are limited partners, venture capital firms, founders, and employees. The first one is limited partners, or LPs as they are called in the industry. LPs are the institutions or people that invest in venture capital firms. Examples of institutional LPs can be pension funds...

Uncle Nearest Whiskey’s founder has a word of advice for Beyoncé as she plants herself in the spirits industry. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the “Cowboy Carter” singer released SirDavis in August 2024. The American whisky brand was launched in partnership with Moët Hennessy, and its inaugural product is inspired by Japanese and Scotch whiskies with promises to maintain “the robust and deep flavors typical of classic American rye,” a press release mentioned. The venture is inspired by Beyoncé’s paternal great-grandfather Davis Hogue, who was a farmer and worked as a “moonshiner” in the midst of the Prohibition era. “Our whiskey’s legacy dates back over 200 years to a Black man in Alabama in the 1800s… a man who was a businessman and an entrepreneur, but would have never had the opportunity to create a mainstream whiskey back then. Systemic barriers would not have allowed it,” she mentioned, according to GQ. “But it turns out that my great-grandfather’s hands planted the seed...

Private equity law expert Joe Tillman has a passion for creating opportunities for others. It is what has carried the California native’s career more than a decade and even led to him walking away from a stable career as a lawyer. Tillman’s initial exposure into law was not engraved in his upbringing. He admits to growing up in humble beginnings in Perris, CA, and not having access to people who worked in law or other professional spaces. It was not until his final year at California State University San Bernardino, where he would obtain a bachelor’s degree in finance, that his professor introduced to him the idea of pursuing law. “At this time, I did not have the $1,500 that it took to take an LSAT prep course. And he basically got the College of Finance to write me an impromptu scholarship so they could pay to get my LSAT prep course paid for,” Tillman told AFROTECH™ in an interview. “So, he was one of the few people that was willing to put his money where his mouth is. I took the...

Activism has always been the center piece for Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson. Advocacy Was In His DNA Within his family home during his upbringing, his parents would often discuss issues faced by their eastern Long Island community. The family even once skipped out on a family trip to Six Flags in New Jersey due to his parents allocating the funds to support Jesse Jackson’s second run for presidency in 1988. “I remember really early on getting involved in protests and activism and knocking on doors with candidates well before I could even vote,” he told AFROTECH™. “So it’s always been part of my DNA… There was something about that I was always drawn to about social change and about the idea that I could be part of making the world a better place, making things better for my family, making things better for my people, making things better for myself.” To no surprise, Robinson’s community work also take root in Long Island, an area which he says had a small population of...

Following PowerSchool Holdings Inc.’s multi-billion-dollar acquisition, Vista Equity Partners has retained its minority stake in the company. According to a press release, PowerSchool Holdings Inc., which operates as a cloud-based K-12 education software, was acquired by Bain Capital through a transaction that was valued at an estimated $5.6 billion, with the company paying $22.80 per share in cash. Bain Capital plans to build on PowerSchool’s successful track record, with its software impacting 60 million students and 18,000 customers across more than 90 countries. “PowerSchool is aligned, throughout its entire organization, to its mission to personalize education and improve learning outcomes,” David Humphrey, a partner at Bain Capital, said . “We’ve had the privilege of seeing the leadership team’s dedication to this mission through a world-class product innovation engine.” Bain Capital Partner Max de Groen added, “We are thrilled to support PowerSchool’s mission and growth as it...

If you’re at all familiar with the world of pop culture and modern music, you’re surely aware of Blue Ivy Carter, the 12-year-old daughter of global superstars Beyoncé and Jay-Z. A few years back, she topped AfroTech’s list of wealthiest children in America, and she’s only continued to pick up steam in the years since. The prolific young woman may have been born into wealth by virtue of her power-couple parents , though she has also managed to venture out and make millions on her own, making her one of the most prolific pre-teens in the country. Today, Blue Ivy Carter maintains an estimated net worth of over $500 million, according to a report in Greenlight , though some estimates suggest that her nest egg is even larger. Blue Ivy Carter’s net worth has been bolstered by a wide array of projects and business ventures, including brand and endorsement deals , music credits, modeling contracts, and soon, even a front-and-center placement in a feature film. The rising star has even...

David Steward is the richest Black man in America. Forbes has released their annual Forbes 400 list, a definitive ranking of the country’s richest people. Featured individuals had to earn at least $3.3 billion, which was an increase of $400 million from the year prior. In total, the net worths totaled $5.4 trillion, which was a $1 trillion increase from 2023. Among the listed individuals is Steward, who is tied for No. 84 with a net worth of $11.4 billion. Steward leads World Wide Technology, an IT management company, as the founder and chairman. He launched the company in 1990 and today it has become a solution provider for over 80 Fortune 100 companies, its website states. Some of its partners include Cisco, NVIDIA, Verizon and the federal government. “Our expertise in AI, cloud, networking, cybersecurity, data analytics, automation, digital transformation and more allows us to deliver groundbreaking solutions that redefine businesses, revolutionize industries, transform...

Will.i.am sees great value in the upcoming AFROTECH™ Conference. The breeding ground for tech professionals who are looking to learn and be submerged in a collaborative atmosphere is making its way to Houston, TX, for the first time, and it will be held Nov. 13-16 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH™ Conference (@afrotech.conference) Among the panels announced, so far, is the Women’s Summit Stage, which will uplift women in their professional journeys. For the first time, the conference will also host the Health & Environmental Equity Summit in addition to the AI Stage. It is the activations being held this year that have the interest of will.i.am as he sees various changemakers across the industry coming to the conference. Haven’t purchased your ticket yet? Click here now. “Getting things off the ground and bringing people together, inspiring people to come, travel, and be a part of something and belong to something,...

Will.i.am believes creatives will continue to stand the test of times in the midst of artificial intelligence (AI). One Step Ahead In Technology The rapper and singer-songwriter has been ahead of the curve of technology for quite some time. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, he was an early investor in Beats Electronics and even incorporated their technology in the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” music video 15 years ago. He reportedly made a fortune from the investment when Apple acquired Beats Electronics and Beats Music for an amount nearing $3 billion. Will.i.am’s interests in technology have only widened since then. He invested in machine learning startup Inflection AI, and through a private investment group he has invested in additional companies empowered by AI such as: Udio Anthropic OpenAi Runaway FYI (Focus Your Ideas) He is also leading change through his own company FYI (Focus Your Ideas). As AFROTECH™ previously reported it is an AI-driven collaboration platform created...

For anyone who gets frustrated with their partner’s gaming habits, Tee Grizzley may have some news to change your mind. During an appearance on the “Earn Your Leisure” podcast , the rapper and gamer pro shared that he has “made millions” from simply playing video games. “The way to make money, you gotta know how to repurpose things,” Tee Grizzley explained, detailing how he generates income through Twitch. “Boom, you got subscribers, you got ads, you got people that can donate to you — and the sky’s the limit with all that stuff.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by VSG Entertainment (@vsgent) He continued, “With your videos saved, so you can take those videos [and] you can make content out of them on your TikTok, your Instagram, YouTube. You can [even] get a bag off Snapchat.” This isn’t the first time Grizzley has highlighted his lucrative gaming ventures. As AFROTECH™ reported, in a 2022 interview with the “Million Dollaz Worth Of Game” podcast, Grizzley shared that...

The current job market is an interesting space to navigate. From identifying the correct position to aligning with the potential salary, searching for a job is likened to an Olympic sport. However, the resume is one tool that can determine the success of the job search. And building a resume can come with a ton of questions and unknowns. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Talent Infusion (@talent.infusion) How long should your resume be? Are all of your past experiences relevant to your work? What format should the resume be in, and do you include references on the document? Because of the different opinions about listing references, many job seekers don’t have a clear idea of what to do. AFROTECH™ is here to bring that sense of clarity to the situation. Your resume walks in a room before you do, and having a qualified and curated list of references could be the catalyst that pushes you over the edge. Check out these four resume tips from Indeed that will help remove the...