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Kathryn Finney, Founder of digitalundivided
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Kathryn Finney just made a huge announcement at SXSW 2016 that will change the entire scope of tech for women of color.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Kathryn Finney started The Budget Fashionista, a blog all about being fabulous on a dime, in 2003. By 2004, Finney’s site became one of the first major fashion blogs on the web and she was able to blog full time and her accolades as a “Master Of Cheap Chic” grew so large, she was able to sell it and put her focus on getting more women of color in tech.
In 2012, she founded digitalundivided (DID), a social enterprise which finds, trains, and supports innovative women of color, who are leaders and entrepreneurs within tech. DID also develops programs, projects and forward thinking initiatives that bridge the digital divide. Their mantra is go big or go home, and that’s exactly what Finney is doing, going big!
DID succeeds in finding black and Latina women tech founders with high growth companies and game changing ideas, connecting them to an unmatched network of investors, mentors and influencers, developing their startup toolkit and leadership skills and supporting their entrepreneurship journey from the build phase to exit.
In short, DID wants to even the playing field for women of color in startups and tech and their announcement at SXSW is certainly proof that they have. DID is launching an innovation center in Atlanta, Georgia called BIG Innovation Center.
This 6000-square-foot space will be the first innovation center for black and Latina women. It’s home to the BIG accelerator program, a 16-week accelerator program for high growth companies led by women of color, which will receive funding from the newly launched Harriet Fund. Led by investment guru, Gayle Jennings O’Byrne and Finney, the Harriet Fund and the Harriet Angels Syndicate is the first venture fund focus on investing in exceptional black and Latina women founders.
“This has never been done for black women before,” Finney told us exclusively. “First we quantified the problem with our #ProjectDiane research study and now we’re solving it via BIG Innovation Center!”
DID’s been working on this deal for over a year and the team kept their heads down and did the work. “We’re fundamentally changing the discussion about tech and diversity. It is breathtaking,” Finney said.
“Our goal is to find untapped talent, untapped opportunities–we know that our people have been untapped for years.”
BIG will put out accelerator applications in the first week in May and Finney said the selection process will be tough, but she wants to encourage everyone to apply.
“We’re giving permission for everyone to be great as well.” The lack of diversity in tech is a serious issue that digitalundivided took on, head on. “We are a resource for the entire black tech community.” And as a resource, Finney is fully aware of her responsibility.
She boldly stated, “The problem won’t be solved by people being meek and small.” BIG is an answer to the problem of tech diversity. And digitalundivided is proudly leading the way to a bigger, brighter future for people of color.
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