At the first White House demo day, held on August 4, the makeup of the exhibitors was quite different from what one might see at the typical demonstration for venture capital in Silicon Valley. Of the 32 companies that exhibited that day, 24 of them were founded or co-founded by women, and eight of them were founded by African Americans. Obama met the startups and gave remarks about the need to give more entrepreneurs from all walks of life a chance to turn their ideas into indispensable products and services. In line with the topic of diversity, several venture capital companies pledged to make diversity a priority in their business interactions. One in particular, the National Venture Capital Association promised to advance opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities.
[RELATED: President Obama Hosts First-Ever White House Demo Day]
Twenty-nine U.S. schools also committed to actions that will expand innovation and entrepreneurship education offerings in order to enhance the economic potential of colleges and universities and better prepare students to create products that benefit humankind. In addition to the companies that exhibited, Kimberly Bryant, founder of Black Girls Code was honored.
The event was groundbreaking because it showed that women and black founders are capable of building successful, high growth tech startups, and it demonstrated how the tech industry is capable of uplifting the unemployed and underemployed. For example, Jerome Hardaway launched FRAGO, a nonprofit startup that helps U.S. military veterans transition back into civilian life.
“Web development saved my life,†Hardaway told Megan Smith, U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Daymond John, FUBU founder and venture capitalist, at the Demo Day. “When I was coming from the military in 2009, it was a horrible transition. The only thing that helped me land my first job was learning front end web development. Now I’m giving back, helping veterans learn how to code at zero cost to them.â€
Take a look at eight of the companies who have at least one black founder. Send them a message of support on Twitter.
Partpic
Jewel Burks and Jason Crain
Atlanta, Georgia
@Partpic
Partpic combines image recognition and machine learning technologies to transform the industrial supply industry, a $570 billion annual market worldwide. Traditionally, finding a replacement part requires a lengthy process of serial number verification and supplier communication. With Partpic, customers simply snap a picture of the part they want to replace and automatically receive product name, specifications, and supplier information. Partpic is an Atlanta-based startup that recently closed a $1.5M seed round including investments from Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest and Comcast Ventures. Jewel Burks leads the Partpic team as co-founder and CEO, and additionally serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Google. Partpic’s leadership team also includes former Googler, Jason Crain as co-founder/COO.
Detroit Dirt
Pashon Murray
Detroit, Michigan
@DetroitDirt
As a child, Pashon Murray was inspired by her father’s founding of a waste hauling company. In 2011, Murray founded Detroit Dirt, a business that
collects food waste from companies, including General Motors, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the Detroit Zoo, and transforms it into rich soil. Using advanced composting techniques, Detroit Dirt helps companies regenerate their waste into resources that will educate the community, create jobs, and provide gardeners rich, life-bearing soil. Last year, Murray was named a fellow at MIT, where she studies the science of composting and waste reduction.Pigeonly
Frederick Hutson
Las Vegas, Nevada
@Pigeonly
After serving time in prison for a non-violent drug offense, Frederick Hutson knows how important family support is on the path to recovery. He founded Pigeonly to make a positive impact on the lives of inmates by creating solutions for people who want to stay in touch with loved ones in prison. Pigeonly products include Fotopigeon (an easy way to send printed photos by phone) and Telepigeon (a low cost option for phone calls). Though still young, the 25-person company has shipped over one million photos and processed over 8 million phone minutes. Pigeonly is a graduate of NewME Accelerator and Y Combinator and has raised $5 million in funding.
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Mo’s Bows
Moziah Bridges
Memphis, Tennessee
@MosBowsMemphis
Moziah Bridges started his business, Mo’s Bows, when he was 9 years old. Four years later, Bridges now has five staff members, appeared on the TV show Shark Tank, and was featured in O magazine and Vogue. Mo’s Bows was born of Moziah’s love for bow ties and his dissatisfaction with the selection
available for kids his age. Even worse than the poor color selection, they were all clip-ons. His grandmother taught him to sew by hand and to use a sewing machine, using scraps to create his favorite neckwear. Today, each bow tie is still sewn from scratch, though Bridges has expanded from vintage materials to tweeds and ginghams, with a custom line of satins and silk. His bow ties are available online, and in boutiques throughout Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee.ExportAbroad
William Hakizimana and Austin Grandt
Madison, Wisconsin
@ExportAbroad
William Hakizimana, a Rwandan native, was forced to flee his homeland on foot and live in refugee camps before moving to the United States with his family as a teenager. Now, as the CTO and Chief Data Scientist at Export Abroad, Hakizimana helps U.S. manufacturers compete globally. The company’s software platform helps companies navigate international trade and increase sales by providing global market research, curated leads, and customer management tools.
FRAGO
Jerome Hardaway
Memphis, Tennessee
@FRAGO
Jerome Hardaway is a Memphis native and Air Force veteran who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan and three in Iraq. Afterwards, he completed a program in computer software and media applications at a fast-track tech training program called General Assembly that has made commitments as a part of the TechHire initiative. The skills he gained at GA allowed him to launch FRAGO — named after the military term for “fragmentary order,†or a change in the mission plan when on
combat detail — a startup non-profit that helps U.S. military veterans transition back into civilian life. FRAGO trains veterans in programming skills to help them succeed in the digital economy. He completed a Computer Software and Media Applications course at General Assembly.ÂZooBean
Felix Lloyd and Jordan Lloyd-Bookey
Arlington, Virginia
@ZooBeanforKids
Entrepreneurs and husband-and wife-team Felix Lloyd and Jordan Lloyd Bookey founded Zoobean to help libraries use technology to better serve their communities. Their latest product, Beanstack, provides families with learning tips, tools to log reading sessions, book and app recommendations and special badges tied to local library programs and goals. Jordan is the former Head of Google’s K-12 Education Outreach team. Felix is a serial entrepreneur whose first venture, MoneyIsland was acquired by BancVue.
Privail
Christopher Ategeka and Anwaar Al-Zireeni
San Francisco, California
@Privail
Ugandan-born Christopher Ategeka, who lost both of his parents to HIV/AIDS, has dedicated his life to improving healthcare for those suffering from the disease. For his work, Ategeka earned a U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) award. In 2013, Ategeka teamed up with fellow University of California–Berkeley graduate Anwaar Al-Zireeni to co-found Privail, a company that is commercializing low-cost, early HIV detection technology developed by Al-Zireeni. The technology is a portable, easy to use testing device that can directly detect HIV virus in the bloodstream faster than antibody or antigen based tests, and for a fraction of the cost of traditional RNA detection techniques.