Friday, February 24th

Black Tech Summit

Accelerating your business with Accelerator Programs

Accelerators can be a great resource for founders as they explore growing their business, if leveraged strategically. This session will cover an overview of accelerators, what to consider when looking at various programs and benefits of accelerator programs. We will help founders and aspiring founders be empowered with knowledge to choose the right program at the right time. 

Deep Dive into Tough tech

Also known as Deep Tech or Frontier Tech, Tough Tech is a transformative and broad approach that applies cutting edge technology to society’s biggest opportunities. This session will highlight opportunities and challenges in the commercialization of Tough Tech that founders need to keep in mind to guarantee the success of their ventures. It will also help diverse students and professionals understand how, when, and where they can plug into companies in the Tough Tech space.

Demystifying Product Management

Product Manager roles have become incredibly desirable positions throughout the Tech industry, but despite their ubiquity, the role remains unclear. This session will help attendees understand what Product Management is, the critical skills needed to be successful, and whether a career as a PM is a good fit for them. 

Entrepreneurial Pathways Beyond Tech with StockX

The term ‘entrepreneur’ has become almost synonymous with tech founder. When people hear the word, they often think of founders like Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos - but they represent a very small segment of entrepreneurs. 16% of the adult workforce in the US is made up of entrepreneurs, and most of them aren’t working in Tech. In fact, Technology isn’t even in the top 5 industries for entrepreneurship; Food and Restaurant leads the pack, followed by Retail and Business services tied for second, and Health, Beauty, and Fitness ranking third. In the session, we will partner with StockX and some of their top Power Sellers and founders from non-technical industries to highlight alternative pathways to becoming your own boss. 

Financing Your Dreams: The Fundraising Journey

One of the biggest barriers to entrepreneurship is funding your business. This session will explore the fundraising process from the perspective of both founders and investors. Topics during the discussion include the right time to raise money, different financing instruments available, perfecting your pitch, common pitfalls, and how to select your investors and advisors. Leveraging years of experience, we will help founders and aspiring founders understand the role of venture capital in entrepreneurship and share lessons learned about fundraising and investing from both sides of the table.

Non-technical roles in tech

Tech is an exciting and rewarding industry to work in, but sometimes it seems like companies only seek developers, solution architects, or engineers. Guess what? You don't need a technical background to have an impactful, lucrative career in tech. This panel features influential, successful tech leaders in non-technical roles; we'll cover different roles, hiring, training, and progress up the ladder, across big tech and startups.

Saturday, February 25th

H. NAYLOR FITZHUGH CONFERENCE

a seat at the table: preparing for Board Leadership

This panel will be a discussion with Black board members across the industry spectrum about how to position yourself to be tapped for board appointments and the importance of knowing how to drive change in companies from the top down.

black wealth creation

This panel will cover the macro environment of wealth (e.g. broader wealth gap summary, what has changed over the last 40 years and especially the last 2.5 years) and how one can build a framework for building generational wealth. What is the right risk profile for each individual? What are opportunities for business owners and HBS alums to close the wealth gap?

Acquiring minds: The Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Path to Generational Wealth

A fireside chat featuring Tarrus Richardson, founder and CEO of IMB Partners, diving into his journey of building a $1B+ minority business enterprise holding company through acquisition, why he believes this path is ideal for building generational wealth, and the key factors and trends making this path more attractive now than ever for underrepresented entrepreneurs. The chat will be hosted by Brandon Jones, founder of Gravy.

ceo roundtable: Managing While Black

This panel will be a conversation with senior Black leaders about their career journeys, obstacles overcome and their keys to success. We will also discuss how they are uplifting the next generation of Black leaders.

Closing the Race Gap: Addressing Health Inequities

This panel will discuss health equity. How can we acknowledge past failure in the healthcare system, own the momentum of the present and position ourselves for the future?

Finding Joy in Your Career

This panel will help participants find balance between ambition and the need to work "twice as hard" in corporate jobs and entrepreneurship with the need for self-care and joy in life.

Creating a Content Ecosystem to Authentically Amplify Black Voices

Do you ever ask yourself why [insert platform here] doesn’t just create more diverse shows or movies? Do you take issue with the way certain characters are portrayed? This panel will highlight how various parts of the entertainment industry work together to help bring representation to the screen, and some of the key challenges in doing so. From talent agencies to production companies and studios, all parties must work together to bring diversified stories to the screen in an authentic way.

Serving Black Communities Across public Sectors

This conversation centers leaders who have a clear purpose for impacting their communities and expanding opportunities. We will explore how they each found their path and their voice across their respective roles in the private, social, and public sectors. Further, we will explore models of collaboration and strategies for leaders to build bridges and amplify impact across sectors.

The Future of Hospitality

The panel will explore opportunities in the hospitality business and provide insights on the exciting trends and future prospects in the industry. With years of experience and a wealth of knowledge, our panelists will guide attendees through the business dynamics and help them understand how to position themselves to capitalize on the future trends and patterns. This session will provide valuable information for anyone looking to pursue a career or expand their presence in the hospitality industry.

2023: The State of Venture Capital 

The focus of discussion will be centered around leveraging venture capital to create opportunities for wealth generation throughout Black communities and broader underrepresented communities. The conversation will also touch on trends and best practices that enable the panelists to be successful in VC, while having a specific focus on investing in Black founders.