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Keyeriah Miles walked away from a career in fintech to empower women golfers. Inception Keyeriah currently leads Ladies Who Golf, a company created alongside her mother, Lashonda. An interest in sports had always been ingrained in the family. In fact, Keyeriah had been playing golf for the past four years, and her brother was involved in golf, track, and football, while Lashonda had launched an adult softball team in the early 2000s alongside her sister, called Lady Majestics. “We had that team probably for about maybe about six years… but the other funny thing was our colors. My initial colors for that softball team was green, navy blue and white, which is now the exact same colors for Ladies Who Golf,” Lashonda told AFROTECH™ in an interview. Keyeriah added, “And we didn’t realize that until after we implemented the blue, and she was like, ‘These are Lady Majestics’ colors.’ I completely forgot that she even had that team, and it didn’t ring a bell until we implemented the blue…...
This women’s health company has been acquired. Launched in 2017 by Erica Chidi, LOOM has been a helpful sexual and reproductive resource for women, launching first at a physical location in Los Angles, CA, before scaling to a mobile application, its website mentions. TechCrunch reports its offerings included courses, content, and community for women. Chidi’s vision had been emboldened with a $3 million raise a few years later, joining the few Black women to do so. “I was like the 34th Black woman to raise over a million dollars in venture capital,” Chidi recalled to TechCrunch, adding that she didn’t expect she would raise the nearly $3 million in three months back in late 2019. “At the moment, there was just a new interest in women’s health.” In total, Chidi has secured $6.5 million in funding since its inception with support from Slow Ventures and Founders Fund, along with celebrity interest that included Tessa Thompson and Gwyneth Paltrow. Now, LOOM is turning a new leaf. It has...
Allyson Felix has created what she wished existed, centering women in a major way with her new sports management firm. The retired Olympic legend and sprinter has launched Always Alpha, the first management firm dedicated exclusively to women’s sports , supported by Dolphin. Founded by Felix, her longtime business partner and brother, Wes Felix, and sports executive Cosette Chaput, the firm “aims to empower modern women who are breaking barriers, owning their voices, and creating a better future on and off the field of play,” Dolphin shared in a press release. “Young athletes often ask me how I’ve diversified and consistently grown my business across marketing, media, entrepreneurship, venture, entertainment and impact,” Felix said in a statement. “Wes and I did it ourselves piece by piece, out of necessity — because there wasn’t another option for transforming our vision into reality.” She added, “With Always Alpha, we’re taking everything we learned and creating the modern...
By capitalizing on her status as a leading beauty influencer, Jackie Aina has built the foundation for a prosperous business empire. How It Started Aina, a Nigerian-American born in California’s San Gabriel Valley, came from humbling beginnings. BuzzFeed News mentions she has six siblings, with an even split between brothers and sisters. She recalls “growing up with nothing” at times, bouncing around shelters with her mother and siblings. “Growing up, I had no leverage, I had no rich uncle,” she said, per the outlet. “We got kicked out of a shelter, we couldn’t get to another one quick enough. And when you’re a mom of seven, It’s not easy.” To change her outcome, Aina studied medicine at the California State University, Business Insider reported. That route did not pan out for Aina, and she made the decision to serve in the Army in 2008, after being convinced by her then-boyfriend. They would marry — although they later divorce — and she moved to Hawaii to live with him where she...
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...
Throughout my life, I’ve been a relentless advocate for those who often find themselves without a voice. My work with Zane Venture Fund was born from a desire to invest in diverse founders in overlooked regions, supporting tech-enabled solutions that create positive, lasting impact. Last year, when The Fearless Fund faced a wrongful lawsuit, I didn’t hesitate to organize a campaign rallying support. Speaking out is in my DNA, and it’s this same drive that led me to catalyze the VC movement behind Vice President Kamala Harris. When I think of Kamala Harris, I see a leader who embodies the same principles I’ve built my career around — someone who stands up for those who aren’t in the room and fights for a seat at the table for all. As the first Black female Vice President in our nation’s history, her presence alone is monumental. But the potential of her becoming President is even more significant. Representation at this level isn’t just important; it’s inspiring. For me and many...
A trip to Japan led TJ Johnson into a unique business. ESSENCE reports the Atlanta, GA, native is now the proud owner of Wax on Hi-Fi. It was while in Tokyo, Japan, that she was able to immerse herself in the country’s vinyl bars. So much so that when she moved to Los Angeles, CA, her interests beyond DJing and software engineering broadened to include entreprenuership inspired by this concept. “It’s a very calming and peaceful experience, Tokyo record bars,” Johnson told ESSENCE. “The people there are very disciplined, and the employees are very exact. They wear gloves and aprons, and when they put the record on, they put on a flashlight to make sure it’s in the right groove. It’s a very technical experience. And I guess when I’m thinking about bringing it back here, I’m kind of trying to fit it for the American palate a little bit because I know that when we go out to listen to music, we go out to have fun and socialize.” Wax on Hi-Fi now functions as a restaurant that creatively...
Myavana Founder Candace Mitchell once struggled to raise funding, but staying the course has led her to close a multi-million-dollar round. Mitchell, who attended Georgia Institute of Technology and obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science, launched Myavana with a $1,000 investment from her checking account and had a mission to improve hair care for Black women, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “Originally, my ‘why’ was really to provide a more personalized approach for people to really be seen and heard in the beauty industry,” Mitchell said in an interview with AFROTECH™. “Because, at the time, there were not many products catered to women of color or textured hair. And it just felt like it was just a huge oversight, and we were just kinda out there figuring it out on YouTube. I feel that hair is deeply connected to our purpose and identity, especially in Black culture. So my ‘why’ was just really deeply rooted in people understanding who they are and also having the...
Well-known for her career in entertainment, Malinda Williams is now dedicating time to uplifting women in technology. The Pivot Many may recognize Malinda Williams for her work as an actress, which includes credits in shows such as “The Cosby Show,” “Sister, Sister,” “Moesha,” and films like “Soul Food” and “The Wood.” She had been booking gigs for more than 30 years, yet she encountered a period of stagnation during which work became scarce. Money management had always been easy for her, which was helpful when it was time to stretch her earnings, Williams shared in an interview with AFROTECH™ . Eventually, she had to move to New Jersey and ventured into a “difficult” period, which also reignited a new area of interest. “I set out on a continuation of my spirit spiritual journey, but I also went to the bookstore, and that’s where I find a lot of my spiritual material, and a book called ‘HTML For Dummies’ fell off the shelves,” she told AFROTECH™. “I had tinkered around a little bit...
Former Division 1 track-and-field athlete Jes Christian is leveraging her background to create cutting-edge footwear for today’s athletes. Christian is behind the sports footwear company Hypsole, created thanks to her time as a track star at the University of Notre Dame. She remembers being “hyper-aware” of both the advantages and shortcomings of her shoes’ performance while running. “I understood the purpose of each shoe, how they were different, how they impacted my movements, and how they helped me perform [or didn’t],” she told AFROTECH™. “I had a shoe for almost everything — so where performance was missing was more apparent to me than it might’ve been for a non-track athlete — and it was missing the minute I stepped off the field.” She continued, “The on-field/off-field dance is also amplified in track because track meets can last all day and multiple days. Track athletes are constantly moving on and off the field, changing footwear, and adjusting to a dynamic meet schedule....
Usher’s mother, Jonnetta Patton, is opening a restaurant. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Patton had once been in business as a manager to Usher, born Usher Terry Raymond IV, for 17 years. She played a part in helping to reshape his image on his own terms, which later proved to be a wise decision. “During the time between that first record and the second record, I worked in silence. I didn’t tell the record label what I was doing,” Patton said in an interview on OWN’s “Behind Every Man.” “So now Usher said, ‘This time I’m gonna do it my way.’ So LA [LA Reid] said, ‘Okay. All right, Usher.’ See, they wanted him to be this bad boy image. Usher’s not a bad boy. That’s that whole image that they wanted. It didn’t work. So Usher said, ‘I’m gonna do it my way,’ and that’s basically what we did.” Usher released “My Way,” the album that gave him his first No. 1 record. “What you see on ‘My Way,’ you just see raw talent,” Usher said during the interview. “This is a true testament to an...
Through entrepreneurship, Ibukun Olubiyi is looking to create a lasting impact in Canada’s capital city. According to a news release, Olubiyi reportedly opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada . She was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and spent time in London, England, and Dublin, Ireland, but her journey to becoming an owner-operator was made possible by moving to Canada. Olubiyi pursued her studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. In her final year, in 2012, she took a trip with Habitat for Humanity to help those who were still struggling with the effects of Hurricane Katrina. On their way to New Orleans, LA, her group visited a Chick-fil-A restaurant. “During our 27-hour drive, we stopped to eat at Chick-fil-A…,” she said. “What stood out to me more than the food was the impeccable customer service, especially the team members who were extremely courteous as they took my order.” The fast-food chain left a lasting impression on Olubiyi. She completed...
Dedra Simmons walked away from the pharmaceutical industry to become the owner of a successful bakery. Simmons now leads Pookie Crack Cakes in Chicago, IL, alongside her husband Doug. Her dream of owning a bakery manifested at the age of six when she would bake from the comfort of her grandmother’s kitchen, the Chicago Reader reports. Throughout her life, Simmons baked at home for special occasions and during the holidays. Plus, encouragement from her family helped her business grow. Her brother, Shundell Johnson, firmly believed in her cakes, and she said that he would “go door-to-door to different businesses, beauty salons, barber shops, and he would sell the cake,” according to the outlet. In doing so, Simmons said it attracted more customers in her direction. Before opening her storefront in July 2023, she ventured to nearby restaurants to sell her cakes. Now, thanks to her storefront, people are flocking to try Pookie Crack Cakes, which offers sweet treats, including her...
An interest in computer science has led Candace Mitchell to raise millions in funding for Black hair care. Forbes reports when Mitchell was 10 years old, she tinkered with installing software on the family computer, marking her official exposure to computer science. “I remember thinking, ‘I want to create software that can run on millions of computers like this one day,’” Mitchell told Forbes. She would study web design in high school, and in higher learning she attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science. She then ventured into the workforce landing IT roles at Siemens and Pepsi but made the decision that she no longer wanted to work for other companies. She wanted her own. With just $1,000 collected in a checking account, she became an entrepreneur and launched Myavana, a platform that taps her interest in technology for the purpose of disrupting the haircare market for Black women. Per the company’s website, it requires users...
Jeannine A. Cook has found a permanent home for a bookstore backed by the Philadelphia, PA, community. Cook owns Harriett’s Bookshop, named in honor of abolitionist and emancipator Harriet Tubman, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Cook initially envisioned pursuing a consulting business but later pivoted to selling books and ultimately opened the storefront in 2020. She decided to try to buy the bookshop in 2022 and raised $75,000 in one weekend through a GoFundMe campaign, which later rose to $200,000 to support a down payment, the outlet notes. Cook was hoping to secure ownership of the building after witnessing nearby business owners closing their doors due to the cost of rent. However, the building’s owner, Sang Casenta, did not have an interest in making the sale at the time. “I couldn’t get this idea that I felt like a sharecropper out of my head,” Cook told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I had a vision for something different, but I had no idea about how I was going to pull...