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Will Drewery previously worked with Tesla and now works for himself through his own technology company. From Tesla To Building His Own Technology Company Silicon Valley Business Journal reports Drewery worked with Tesla in 2013. Among his contributions to the company includes sourcing $3.5 billion in equipment to its plants based in Fremont, CA, and Buffalo, NY, over a five-year period. TechCrunch mentioned the delivery, testing, and installation of equipment was a process that could often take months or even a few years for companies that lacked the team members or tools. “This is why I felt the market needs a Diagon,” Drewery told TechCrunch. He later transitioned to work for Astra and recognized discrepancies in the market that would lead him to launch his own company, Diagon Technologies. What he recognized were issues with the sale of manufacturing equipment — including satellites, rockets, batteries and semiconductors — from some other countries due to national-security...
Marketing strategist Mahdi Woodard is helping Black entrepreneurs harness their marketing power. His mission follows nearly 10 years of experience in corporate marketing. Ultimately, it was a nudge from a mentor that opened up his mind to the possibility of venturing further into the marketing sector on his own terms. “He said, ‘If you got the financial chops to do corporate finance, investment banking, you’ll thrive in marketing. Because it’s not just the creative things, you are the person that’s running the business. You need to have that analytical rigor and that creative muscle,'” Woodard recalled the advice on the “Black Money Green Tech” podcast hosted by Will Lucas. The branding specialist also recognized he had become a trusted resource for many who were looking for advice, which he later recognized as consulting. By placing a calculated bet on his skills, he forged his path as a brand strategist under his own company, Mahdi Woodard, Inc. In that same breath, he is...
Clarke Peoples had a “formulaic” road map that was disrupted by content creation. Columbia University Student Peoples was a student at Columbia University in New York, NY. It had been the only school she applied to, and she placed all her energy into perfecting her application, she shared with Business Insider. “I put in a lot of work to earn enough scholarships to get into Columbia. I spent months writing my application essay and did whatever I could to make myself a more competitive applicant. It was the only school I applied to, and soon I was in New York living out my dreams,” she said. Putting all her eggs in one basket ultimately paid off as she would be admitted into the school. She proved herself to be ambitious — pursuing an American studies degree — with an overarching goal of becoming a lawyer and launching a startup company. Peoples also had other backup plans including becoming a finance intern for a wealth management asset firm. Early Career Opportunities By her...
College student Layla Wallace has secured a grant for her bakery business. Wallace started her Michigan-based business, Layla’s Cool Pops, when she was just 10 years old after being inspired by her fourth grade economics project in 2015, MLive reports. At the time, she did not have any proper knowledge of what it would take to run a business and be successful, but she is only becoming wiser in light of her steps in higher learning as a business student at Western Michigan University. “When I started the business, I didn’t know anything,” Wallace told the outlet. “I’m taking courses that are helping me develop my business, teaching me the fundamentals of how to function, develop, and grow.” In the meantime, Wallace continues to run Layla’s Cool Pops in Kalamazoo, MI. She sells cupcakes in flavors such as confetti, pink lemonade, red velvet, and lemon, among others, as well as cookie pops, cake pops, brownies, and pies. Orders are currently being fulfilled from her home, and the...
Kevin Hart’s vegan restaurant chain has quickly closed. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the comedian launched Hart House in 2022 — with the promise of opening more — alongside what he called a premiere lineup of associates and industry pioneers. Its first location opened in Westchester, CA, near the Los Angeles International Airport, Eater reports. “I am THRILLED to announce that I have collaborated with an All-Star team of partners and industry leaders to create an industry-changing restaurant called ‘Hart House,’” Hart wrote on Instagram at the time. “This thing is going to be HUGE! We’re going to serve delicious, sustainable food, that delivers ‘Can’t-Believe-It’ Flavor in every bite!!! We’ll be opening our first few locations in the LA area, but we will be expanding quickly.” Hart House did deliver on its word to grow the business. By 2024, Hart House had extended its portfolio with three additional California locations: Monrovia, University Park, and Hollywood. The draw has...
Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi’s new restaurant is honoring a Black mathematician. The Nigerian-American restaurateur, raised in New York City, NY, opened Dōgon on Sept. 9, 2024, inside luxury hotel Salamander Washington DC. The fine-dining establishment’s design honors Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician and astronomer who primarily taught himself by watching the stars and studying math textbooks while on his family’s 100-acre farm in Baltimore, MD, according to the Library of Congress. In 1752, Banneker gained recognition for reportedly creating the first all-wood clock in American history . Nearly four decades later, he was among the individuals responsible for designing and surveying Washington, DC, including choosing the sites of the U.S. Capitol building and the White House, among others. Not only was the new restaurant’s grand opening date chosen to commemorate when DC was officially named in 1791, Onwuachi also pays homage to Banneker’s West African Dogon tribe lineage...
Kevin Johnson’s food venture is rapidly growing. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the former NBA player who made headlines for becoming the first Black mayor of Sacramento, CA, is the founder of a restaurant venture named Fixins Soul Kitchen. He opened the first location in that very city, which is also his hometown, in 2019, notes Eater Detroit. “I grew up in Oak Park, so that was the poor part of the city of Sacramento, and like every city around the country, it was the underserved community,” Johnson told Eater. “I wanted to do our first Fixins in that neighborhood to prove that we could be successful in the neighborhood I grew up in.” Fixins Soul Kitchen has expanded and now has four locations in the following areas: Sacramento, CA (Oak Park) Los Angeles, CA (LA Live) Tulsa, OK (Black Wall Street) Detroit, MI (Paradise Valley) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fixins Soul Kitchen (@fixinssoulkitchen) The restaurant’s menu items were inspired by various soul food...
Beyoncé respects the legacy of those who came before her. Throughout her decades-long career as a musician and entrepreneur, she has made it her mission to uplift pioneers. Her heart posture has not wavered even in her most recent endeavors, which include “Cowboy Carter.” The country-inspired album placed a spotlight on The Beatles, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Linda Martell while also uplifting the newer generation that have been making their mark, including Shaboozey, who has currently been at the top spot on the Billboard 100 for his single “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” notes Billboard. SirDavis As a businesswoman, this is being reflected in the launch of her whiskey brand SirDavis, in partnership with Moët Hennessy. As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, the American whiskey made with a “bespoke recipe” inspired by Japanese and Scottish styles had been in the works for several years. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) “I’ll never forget the first day I had...
The visibility from “Shark Tank” led to remarkable growth for The Transformation Factory founder Alexiou Gibson. Gibson is behind the sea moss brand, which was inspired by his personal health journey that resulted in a 300 pound weight loss from taking the algae in his daily lattes, CNBC reports. “Like most teens, I believed that I was invincible,” Gibson shared on “Shark Tank.” “I thought I would be fine and had time to get healthy later. It wasn’t until my doctor told me that I wouldn’t live to see my 30th birthday that I understood how serious I needed to be about living.” Recognizing the great power of sea moss through his 10-year health battle, the company website notes, The Transformation Factory now sells various sea moss gels in flavors dragon fruit, pineapple, mango, and strawberry banana. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Transformation Factory (@seamosstransformation) Gibson pitched his company while on “Shark Tank” in 2022 and scored a $600,000 deal from...
After overcoming a battle with a rare cancer, Gwynda Jones tag-teamed with her daughter to take a leap into entrepreneurship. Pivot From Corporate America Gwynda spent three decades working as a project manager for PepsiCo. She made the decision to walk away from corporate America in 2020 due to a health issue she discovered unrelated to the cancer. While in retirement, she realized she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel completely. “I’m sitting here. My daughter’s coming home from college soon. She may or may not come home from college. I knew that I didn’t wanna just be sitting around,” Gwynda told AFROTECH™. “So then I start contemplating a business and what could I do. I couldn’t do the high pressure corporate job that’s international, required me to travel and all of this, but I can do something. So I thought about franchising, and it sounded like, ‘Okay. I got a whole global company working for me, doing all the leg work, and I can follow? I can take instructors. I can hire a...
Chef Kurt Evans is providing jobs to those formerly incarcerated. This was first done in 2021 with the opening of Down North Pizza in Philadelphia, PA. Evans was among the co-founders behind the restaurant, which had employed eight employees who were formerly incarcerated at the time of its opening, Food & Wine mentions. Having grown up seeing his loved ones in confinement, Evans is now focused on creating a safe place where they can restart their lives. “The food industry has never had a problem hiring formerly incarcerated people. The problem is employers threatening to call parole officers and dehumanizing these guys,” he told Food & Wine. Fast forward to 2024, Evans has opened a new restaurant venture, Black Dragon Takeout, which is inspired by the Chinese food he would enjoy in his West Philadelphia neighborhood as well as Black American cuisine, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The inception of the restaurant dates back to 2020, and he began to raise money through pop-ups...
The founders of Eastside Golf continue to build on their momentum in the golf apparel space while staying true to their roots. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, Morehouse College graduates Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper founded the brand without a fashion background in 2019 after working full-time in corporate America. The company boasts products such as polo shirts, sweatshirts, pants, shoes, and accessories including bags, all tailored towards men and women. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eastside Golf (@eastsidegolf) Beyond the product offerings, the founders have continued to pave their own way through their mission that centers moving the sport forward among the youth and non-golfers while increasing diversity in a predominantly white sport. Their vision has led to an increase in support as they scaled their annual revenue from $100,000 in their first year to $4 million in 2023. They kicked off 2024 with a $3.4 million raise led by EP Golf Ventures, and the...
Deion Sanders, “Coach Prime,” has become an investor in one of Iowa’s fastest-growing companies. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, BLK & Bold achieved this feat for the past three years for being disruptors in the coffee industry, making it onto the Inc. 5000 list. The company was founded in 2018 by Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson and prides itself on delivering customers high-quality and freshly roasted specialty coffees and loose leaf teas such as chai, matcha, and lemon ginger, among others. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages (@blkandbold) “Accessibility to premium coffee and quality products go hand in hand, but it is important to normalize that experience in coffee,” Cezar told AFROTECH™ at the time. “When we talk about both, it’s easy to let go of the vision of the conscious consumer, especially in something as high commodity as coffee — the second-highest consumer beverage in America — but this does not have to be the case. When you...
Roland Parrish is reportedly the second-largest Black franchisee of McDonald’s, per The Dallas Morning News. The Dallas Business Journal mentions he owns 24 locations across Dallas, TX, including at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. This was accomplished across his more than 30 years at the fast-food company. Journey To Franchising Parrish’s journey to franchising was planted while in college. Carrying his experience as an All-American in track and field, he would continue sports while attending Purdue University’s business school in 1971, the schools website mentions. He continued to fair well in sports, being named Most Valuable Player twice during his college years. He was able to translate his discipline in sports into his academics, and he received guidance from Dr. Cornell A. Bell, the former director of the school’s Business Opportunity Program (BOP), who doubled as his mentor. “I spent more time in the libraries than on the track during my time on campus,” Parrish...
A burger vending machine caught the attention of “Shark Tank” investors. RoboBurger is described as the “world’s first burger chef in a vending format,” and it can reportedly prepare a hamburger in less than four minutes, per CNBC. The multi-patented idea was created by Dan Braido, Audley Wilson, and Andy Siegel who presented the idea on “Shark Tank.” “The RoboBurger provides a restaurant quality experience. The RoboChef grills the patty, toast the buns, adds the condiments, and delivers it all piping hot,” Braido said while pitching to “Shark” judges Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, and Mark Cuban, along with guest judge Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. Wilson added, “The vending machine brought us beverages more conveniently. The ATM, money on the go. And now RoboBurger brings us hot fresh delicious food anytime anywhere.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by RoboBurger (@roboburger) The founders were seeking a $1.5 million in exchange for 5% stake in the company,...