Black Sweat: How Data and Determination Can Disrupt an Industry for the Better

One of the hardest things for an entrepreneur is to sell your big idea to others. That’s precisely what Kathryn did when she started digitalundivided. Kathryn shares how her “co-conspirators” — such as the founders of BlogHer and early employee Darlene Gillard Jones — helped her build a powerful company based on her mission of empowering Black and Latina women in technology. You’ll also learn how she pioneered the groundbreaking research study, Project Diane, which exposed the disparities in venture capital investing in Black women's businesses and went viral. “The FOCUS100 conference was just an introduction into this new ecosystem around Black women entrepreneurs and Black women in tech.” Kathryn started a conference for Black women in business called Focus 100. Her colleagues at BlogHer gave her the template to plan such an enormous event, and she raised money from partners as diverse as Andreessen Horwitz and American Express, as well as putting in another $30,000 of her own money. The conference, mainly focusing on how diverse entrepreneurs could raise money, was a success that helped launch many careers. “We were about three or four years too early with the Focus Conference.” It’s important to recognize when your ideas are ahead of their time and when you might need to reevaluate your approach. After the first few years, Kathryn realized that it would be challenging to get the funding she needed to make the digitalundivided genuinely a business.  “Project Diane fundamentally changed venture capital space in ways that still vibrate today.” As a Builder, there will be times when the ecosystem isn’t ready for what you offer.  But you can take what you’ve learned” idea and use those lessons to build your next venture. Kathryn could take what she learned from Focus100 and create her next venture–digitalundivided–and a game-changing research study with Project Diane.   Guests Darlene Gillard-Jones: https://www.darlenegillardjones.com/  Elisa Camahort Page: https://www.elisacp.com/ Shawn Escoffrey: https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/person/shawn-escoffery/ Kelechi Anyadiegwu Kellee James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleejames/ Chris Carfi: https://christophercarfi.com/ Jeanne Sullivan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannemsullivan/ Geri Stengel: https://ventureneer.com/founder-bio/   To hear more, visit kathrynfinney.substack.com