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After black silicon valleypardeswired George Floyd’s death and protests against police brutality, race has been front and center in Silicon Valley. There have been many calls for change and #BlackTechTwitter has shed light on the lack of Black employees at Silicon Valley tech companies. Despite the hostility from Silicon Valley’s most powerful backers, some Black entrepreneurs have succeeded. In this article, three Black founders share how they found success by obtaining alternative funding and nurturing their ideas.
Arielle Pardes will lead coverage of Silicon Valley people and culture
Two veteran journalists will take over Silicon Valley coverage. Arielle Pardes will lead the Silicon Valley people and culture beat, while Abe Brown will focus on the power nexus. Pardes, a senior associate editor at Wired, has written about the intersection of technology and society. Previously, she worked as a senior editor at VICE in Los Angeles.
Before joining The Information, Pardes was a senior editor at VICE and WIRED. She now lives in Berkeley, California. She has a diverse background, having worked on projects ranging from tech migration to Gen Z venture capitalists. Her work has spanned the tech industry, from Facebook to Snapchat to Instagram, and has covered the people who have shaped Silicon Valley.
Babatope (Tope) Awotona
Babatope (Tope) Awetona is one of the most innovative black people in Silicon Valley. He is the founder of Calendly, a simple online scheduling tool that has served nearly 30 million people and is growing at more than 100% annually. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Tope’s parents were ambitious and strict but gave their son the opportunity to excel.
Aisha Bowe
Aisha Bowe is a Black woman who started her career in aerospace engineering. She black silicon valleypardeswired went on to earn her M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and stripes from NASA. She later founded STEMBoard, a startup that builds smart systems for high-priority organizations.
Bowe studied aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan and worked in NASA labs. She is now using her skills and innovation to help other students and young adults pursue STEM careers. She is the CEO of STEMBoard, which empowers historically underrepresented youth to build transformational technologies.
Heather Hiles
The company’s founder, Heather Hiles, has broken her silence on the accusations made against her by Black Girls Code founder Kimberly Bryant. Her black silicon valleypardeswired comments are the latest in an ongoing battle between the board of Black Girls Code and Bryant. The board has filed three lawsuits against Bryant, but Hiles has been silent.
Black Silicon Valleypardeswired
Hiles founded Pathbrite, which was sold to Cengage in 2015. She previously served as president of Calbright College, and she currently sits on the board of Udemy. Before Pathbrite, she served as deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ran Imminent Equity, a growth equity fund. She is also an adviser to Cengage.
