Tech conference series Black Men Talk Tech announced their fourth Annual Unicorn Ambition Conference today.
In a press release, the collective set the date for the event. Through the course of two days from Oct. 20 to Oct. 21, attendees interested in tech will have the opportunity to build relationships with investors and entrepreneurs, take part in a “Tech & Hoops” basketball event and get advice from leading tech executives.
Taking part in this year’s panel is the founder of travel app HopStop, Chinedu Echeruo; the Senior Vice President at Cooley LLP law firm for tech support, Alexander Knight; the co-founder of Lattimer Ventures, Luke Cooper and managing partner of PAG Law, Jean-Pierre Barthelemy amongst others.
Along with the panels, the Unicorn Ambition Conference will offer attendees the opportunity to take part in the GSK Healthcare Tech pitch competition. During the inaugural competition, the budding entrepreneurs can compete for $15,000 in prize money for their healthcare startups as they look for viable solutions to issues faced by members of the Black community in the U.S.
“Often, the most creative solutions come from the community closest to the issue,” said the president of GSK in a statement. “I’m delighted that GSK is taking part in the healthcare tech pitch where participants will have the opportunity to work on innovative solutions for healthcare challenges facing the black community.”
With the new announcement, the 2022 Unicorn Ambition Conference marks the physical return of the event.
“For the last two years we have been a virtual conference,” said the co-founder of Black Men Talk Tech, Boris Moyston, in a statement. “I’m excited that this year’s Unicorn Ambition is an in-person event and I’m looking forward to networking and forging those unique relationships that are made when amazing people get together.”
Founded in 2019 by Abiodun Johnson, Evan Leaphart and Boris Moyston, the Black Men Talk Tech collective works to promote and connect Black tech founders with each other. Since the nonprofit’s inception, more than $80,000 in funds have been raised for potential entrepreneurs by Black Men Talk Tech.
Through their mission, the collective’s working to increase the number of Black professionals in the tech world. While tech companies have promised to diversify their boards, there’s still a significant amount of work to be done. According to a 2022 report by the Kapor Center and the NAACP, only 3.7% of tech positions in big tech companies are held by Black employees. Amongst the top positions, only 4.4% of top tech executives in the U.S. are Black.
“Despite the many successes of Black men in the tech industry, Black men are still underrepresented as founders,” said the founders of Black Men Talk Tech in a statement. “We’re fixing that problem. We have created an authentic ecosystem for Black men who are scaling to Unicorn status.”
