ROADMAP TO BILLIONS

Conference 2018

FEBRUARY 28- MARCH 1, 2018

Black Women Talk Tech’s 2nd annual conference is focused on tearing down roadblocks and promoting #blackgirlmagic in the tech industry. It will include two full days of expert panels and workshops, keynotes, a $10,000 pitch competition, founder showcases, performances, celebrations and much more!

The first day is made for black women founders, giving them the blueprint of how to build a billion dollar company. Attendees will connect one-on-one with investors, listen to workshops tailored to their business and have exclusive opportunities to promote their companies to the media. This day is invite or application only.

The second day of the conference is giving our black female founders the spotlight. If you’re interested in starting a business, want to support black women founders or want to learn more about the tech industry, this day is for you.  Attendees will get unique content, tons of swag and the opportunity to networks with incredible people. And we’re celebrating our strides and accomplishments in tech, so don’t forget to buy your ticket to the after party!

CHECK OUT LAST YEAR

Relive Last Year

SCHEDULE

Day 1

February 28, 2018

8:30-9:00am

REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST

Black Women Talk Tech Staff

9:00-9:15am

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

Host: Sequoia Blogdett
Welcome by Laura Clayton McDonnell

9:15-10am

MORNING KEYNOTE: BUILDING WEALTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

Rich Dennis
Interviewed by Kim Weisul

10-10:45am

BUILDING ROCKETSHIPS: THE REALITY OF SCALING

Kelechi Anyadiegwu
Juanita Lott
Chrissa McFarlane
Moderated by Jessica Collins

11-11:45am

RAISING A MILLION DOLLARS WORKSHOP

Samira Salman

11:45am-12:30pm

FINDING PRODUCT/MARKET FIT: DISTRACTION OR PIVOT?

Barbara Bickham
Dawn Dickson
Tereza Nemessanyi
Moderated by Kwadwo Nyarko

12:30-1:45pm

INVESTOR & ADVISOR NETWORKING LUNCH

Various Investors, Incubators and Accelerators

1:45-2:30pm

MANAGING THE MENTAL HEALTH ROLLERCOASTER

Tonya Ladipo

2:30-3:15pm

CREATING A COMPELLING BRAND STORY

Rakia Reynolds
in conversation with Jennifer Usdan McBride

3:30-4:15pm

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP: FOUNDER RELATIONSHIPS

Denise Hamilton
Candace Mitchell
Alicia Thomas
Moderated by Danielle Skeen

4:30-5:30pm

EVENING KEYNOTE

Tonya Lewis Lee
Interviewed by Judith Jacques

Day 2

March 1, 2018

9:00-9:15am

REGISTRATION & WELCOME

Welcome by Chris Lwanga

9:15-10am

MORNING KEYNOTE

Jean Brownhill
Interviewed by Jenna Wortham

10:15-11am

TECH TRANSFER: TECH’S BEST KEPT SECRET

Janeya Griffin
Karina Montilla Edmonds
Mande Holford
Rick Shindell
Moderated by Julius Maina

11:15-11:45am

BLACK GIRL MAGIC TALKS: SHOWCASING OUR EXPERTISE

3 Chosen Founders: will it be you?

12-12:45pm

INTERSECTIONALITY IN TECH: THE IGNORED DIVERSITY

Sarah Kunst
Lauren Maillian
Jasmine Greenaway
Moderated by Chana Ewing

1-2pm

LUNCH & TECH TRAILBLAZER AWARD

Musical Guest: DELLA$IE

2-2:45pm

THE REALITY OF REALITY TV PITCH SHOWS

Brandon Andrews
Chuck Pettid
Alicia Syrett
Moderated by Regina Wallace-Jones

3-4pm

$10,000 PITCH COMPETITION

6 Finalists, 3 Winners: will it be you?
Introduction by Angel Rich
Prizes presented by Candice Matthews

4:15-5pm

EVENING KEYNOTE

Heather Hiles
Interviewed by Sandra Bookman

5:30-8pm

AFTER PARTY

The Fishbowl at Dream Midtown
Hosted by: Junae Brown & Kim Chanel

SPEAKERS

Are you ready? Our dynamic list of speakers will keep it real and tell you all the secrets of building your billion dollar business and they have the track records prove it.

Name

Name

JEAN BROWNHILL

Sweeten
Founder & CEO

Name

Name

RICHELIEU DENNIS

Sundial Brands
Founder & CEO

Name

Name

HEATHER HILES

The Hiles Fund
Founder

Name

Name

TONYA LEWIS LEE 

Movita & ToniK Productions
Founder

Name

Name

Brandon Andrews

Shark Tank/Values Partnerships
Serial Entrepreneur

Kelechi Anyadiegwu

bio

Kelechi Anyadiegwu is currently the Founder + CEO of multivendor African Design marketplace, Zuvaa. With a background in marketing and user experiencer technology, Kelechi created Zuvaa to to showcase the beauty and vibrancy of African culture and designs. The multivendor marketplace is home to over 50 of the best designers on the African continent. Since launching in 2014, Zuvaa has been featured in The New York Times, Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine and Fast Company to name a few.

Kelechi has been recognized by Forbes Magazine has 30 Under 30 in the Retail & Ecommerce Category. Kelechi has also been recognized by Inc, CNN and Voices of America for her contributions.

Kelechi Anyadiegwue

Zuvaa
Founder & CEO

Barbara Bickham

bio

Barbara Bickham, CTO with extensive experience in Technology, Monetization,
Digital/Mobile and Entrepreneurship. Her current areas of expertise are in Internet of
Things, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence.
Barbara is currently a Fractional CTO for several companies and a team member for Hyperloop
Transportation Technologies (HTT). Previously, Ms. Bickham was the Director of Engineering
for Flexeye where she architected, designed and coded the 2014 Gartner Cool Vendor Award
Winning REST API for their IoT Platform eyehubiot.com.
Ms. Bickham founded TechGenii, Inc., a digital strategy company; Wilderforex.com, a Forex
Software company; and PCNLA an investment association connecting Southern California
businesses with venture funding.
She is on the Advisory Board of the MIND Institute, MindMusic and Yummy Society; a Mentor
for Springboard Enterprises, Stubbs Alderton PreCellerator, MakeInLA and VSEDC; and an EIR
for Bixel Exchange.
She holds degrees from University of Chicago, New Entrepreneurs Program, an MSCS from
West Coast University and a BACS from University of California, Berkeley.

Barbara Bickham

Startup Growth Advisors
CTO

Sequoia-Blogdett

bio

Sequoia Blodgett spent the bulk of her professional career as a producer/director, focused on music videos, commercials, and branded content, working with top pop artists and international brands.

Within the last few years, she moved to Silicon Valley and dove, head first, into the tech startup scene. She is currently the Silicon Valley, Tech Editor for Black Enterprise.

Sequoia Blogdett

Black Enterprise 
Tech Editor

Name

Name

Junae Brown

Browned 2 Perfection Agency
Founder

Name

Name

Kim Chanel

Trappin for the 99 & 2000s
Founder

Name

Name

Laura Clayton McDonnell

Microsoft
Vice President, Enterprise Commercial, New York Region

Name

Name

Jessica Collins

Bumble
Product Marketing Lead

Name

Name

DELLA$IE

Singer & Songwriter

Name

Name

Dawn Dickson

PopCom
Founder & CEO

Name

Name

Chana Ginelle Ewing

Geenie
Cofounder & CEO

Jasmine Greenaway

bio

Jasmine is an NYC based developer and Cloud Developer Advocate at Microsoft. With words and code, she uses Azure to illustrate the awesome things developers can do with the cloud. Her 8 years of development experience has led her to different development environments and industries, such as in retail with Sears, gaming with Rockstar Games, and prior to Microsoft, .NET developer tooling as a software engineer at GitHub. She also teaches the basics of web development as an adjunct professor at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, NYC. Outside of work, she volunteers as a co-organizer at BrooklynJS, a monthly meetup held in the Cobble Hill area of Brooklyn, NYC. Aside from those responsibilities, you can find Jasmine advocating for remote work environments, easier access to technology for all, and a personal and familiar motivation of unifying and elevating other people of color in technology to tackle social issues in the workplace in STEM.

Jasmine Greenaway

Microsoft
Cloud Developer Advocate

Name

Name

Janeya Griffin

NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center
Lead Technology Transfer Specialist

Denise Hamilton

bio

Denise is the CEO and Founder of WatchHerWork.com and WatchHerWork.TV which are digital platforms for video based professional advice for women. Denise is a critical thinker and powerful communicator. Her 25 years of diverse experience working in Fortune 100 companies, large non-profits, educational institutions and her own entrepreneurial pursuits have made her a savvy, well rounded business leader who can thrive and excel in virtually any environment.

Denise is also the co-founder of my.harveyneeds.org which is platform she created to support the relief effort after Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston. My.harveyneeds.org connects donors interested in donating directly to families in need.

Denise is a problem solver who lends her creativity to many non-profit organizations and initiatives in Houston and throughout the United States most recently contributing to the HeForShe campaign of the United Nations, the Rise School of Houston, Dress for Success, the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce and many others. Denise cares deeply about the community and serves as a board member and community leader in numerous charitable and quasi-governmental organizations.

Denise is a gifted speaker and presents often on a number of topics including executive female leadership, professional growth and empowerment, education, and diversity.

You can find out more about her work with female leadership and empowerment at WatchHerWork.com.

Denise Hamilton

WatchHerWork
Founder & CEO

Name

Name

Mandë Holford

Hunter College, CUNY-Graduate Center
Associate Professor

Name

Name

Judith Jacques

Black Women in Media
Founder

Sarah Kunst

bio

2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 Award Winner and Cool Hunting Most Innovation Person. Founder of Proday.
Former VC. Contributing Editor at Marie Claire Magazine.

Sarah Kunst

Proday
Founder & CEO

Name

Name

Tonya Ladipo

The Ladipo Group
CEO

Name

Name

Juanita Lott

Bridgestream Software (now Oracle)
Former Founder & CEO/Investor

Name

Name

Chris Lwanga

Microsoft
Senior Director, Software Partnerships

Name

Name

Lauren Maillian

Quit Your Day Job
Host
The Path Redefined: Getting To the Top On Your Own Terms
Author

Candice Matthews

bio

Bio coming soon!

Candice Matthews

Hillman Accelerator
CoFounder & Executive Director

Name

Name

Chrissa McFarlane

Patientory
CEO

Name

Name

Candace Mitchell

Myavana
Cofounder & CEO

Name

Name

Karina Montilla Edmonds

Google
Google Cloud University Relations Lead

Name

Name

Tereza Nemessanyi

Microsoft
Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Name

Name

Kwadwo Nyarko

Microsoft
Technical Evangelist

Chuck Pettid

bio

Chuck Pettid

Republic
Partner

Rakia Reynolds

bio

Coming soon!

Rakia Reynolds

Skai Blue Media
Founder & CEO

Name

Name

Angel Rich

WealthyLife
Founder & CEO

Name

Name

Samira Salman

Salman Solutions
Founder & CEO

Rick Shindell

bio

Rick Shindell, president of Zyn Systems, is a long time SBIR and federal technology transfer advocate. Rick has been providing support to the small business community and the 11 SBIR agencies for many years. He is the editor of the ``SBIR Insider`` newsletter and host of the SBIR Gateway web site.
Rick has provided support and outreach services to the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) for 3 decades and has served as a consultant and proposal reviewer for many agencies including the Navy, SBA, and NSF.
In 2017, the Small Business Administration (SBA) honored Rick with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his ``extraordinary contribution to the SBIR program``. The Small Business Technology Council (SBTC) awarded Rick a Lifetime Achievement Award for SBIR Advocacy, and in 2006 the SBA presented him with a Tibbetts Award for excellence in SBIR.
Rick also enjoys doing SBIR and technology transfer outreach to the states, especially underserved states. In 2016 he was honored as a Fellow from the Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation for advocacy services to small businesses in the state of Kentucky.

Rick Shindell

Zyn Systems
President

Name

Name

Danielle Skeen

Microsoft
Account Manager – Bing

Alicia Syrett

bio

Alicia Syrett 

CNBC Power Pitch/Pantegrion Capital
Host/Founder & CEO

Alicia Thomas

bio

Alicia Thomas is the founder and CEO of Dibs Technology, a B2B pricing platform that is bringing true transparency to the health and wellness industry. California native, former developer turned director of data strategy for the City of New York, Alicia started Dibs in 2015 after her prior business, KiwiSweat, proved to be unscalable. Dibs uses data to maximize revenues for SMBs in real-time. Dibs strengthens the business-consumer relationship by providing complete transparency and facilitating even exchanges of value. Instead of dropping prices at the last minute, or offering secret discounts, Dibs prices every individual spot according to real-time demand. Customers are rewarded for actions that bring the business value (like booking early and often).

B.S. Math/Econ, Computer Science, UCLA
MBA Columbia University

Alicia lives in New York City with her husband and 2 kids.

Alicia Thomas

Dibs Technology
Founder & CEO

Name

Name

Jennifer Usdan McBride

J. Walter Thompson New York
Director of Digital

Name

Name

Regina Wallace Jones

eBay, Inc.
Chief of Staff, Head of Product Operations

Kim Weisul

bio

Kim Weisul is an award-winning writer, editor, and all-around media pro, speaking frequently on entrepreneurship and women and business. She is currently the Editor-at-Large for Inc magazine and Inc.com., where she shares her experience without giving up her byline: she writes columns and feature stories, mostly (but not exclusively) about women, business, and entrepreneurship. Kim mentors entrepreneurs through three accelerator programs: Springboard, Circular Board, and BIG.

In 2013, the U.S. State Department, as part of its program in Economic Statecraft, sponsored Kim for an eight-day speaking tour of Belgium and The Netherlands, addressing entrepreneurs, women, and business. Before joining Inc., Kim was a senior editor at BusinessWeek, where she directed all coverage of small business and entrepreneurship and was the founding editor of a spin-off publication devoted to small business.

Kim Weisul

Inc Magazine/Inc.com
Editor-at-Large

Name

Name

Charreah K. Jackson

Essence Magazine
Senior Editor

LOCATION

We’re proud to hold our conference at the New York City headquarters of our title sponsor, Microsoft. After party location to be announced.

11 Times Square

New York, NY 10036

TICKETS

This year we have tickets for founders, investors, founders-to-be and supporters of diversity in tech. We are excited to bring you two full days of of jam packed content and activities. This conference will have you inspired. #CanYouFeelTheMagic

VIP Founder Pass General Admission Student After Party
Founder's Retreat
Full Day One
Exhibition Booth*
Investor Reception
Special Founder Swag
Full Day Two
Swag Room
Beauty Lounge Access
Headshot Photo Booth
After Party Access w/drinks specials
Special Gift
VIP Lounge
Priority Seating
Day 2 VIP Lunch w/special guest
After Party Access w/open bar and food
Access to recruiting booths
Price:

$499.00Book Ticket

Price:

$299.00Book Ticket

Price:

$199.00Book Ticket

Price:

$99.00Book Ticket

Price:

$50.00Book Ticket

Series A Sponsors

Seed Sponsors

Friends & Family Sponsors

Media Partners