Both inside and out, the tech industry can often feel like a closed community. From the language of tech to the seemingly high threshold for entry, professionals and hopeful newcomers alike might feel that tech is not the kind of field that readily invites newcomers, especially those who haven't been able to share in the economic benefits.
Enter Black Tech Saturdays. Founded by Alexa and Johnnie Turnage, BTS was created with a vision and mission to bring entrepreneurs, businesses, and Black communities together. As a growing community, they help to create and foster opportunity and work to close the racial wealth gap in tech.
Alongside those original founders, Darrell Marshall has worked to assist Black tech entrepreneurs through the complicated systems of finance, grant writing, and venture capital. For those who know the spirit of BTS communities, it will not be a surprise to learn that Johnnie needed no prompting to praise the work of the team, and Darrell specifically, "Can I brag on Darrell a little? Not only is he revolutionizing things with Total Analysis, but he's also one of the first Black men to receive the NSF (National Science Foundation) grant in the city of Detroit without being tied to a university."
Prestigious awards do not make gatekeepers of this team. Instead, with every new connection, they open more doors for entry. In fact, following Darrell's award, the NSF determined that they too needed to find out how best to invite more people to apply and have started to change their processes to encourage more applicants.
Black Tech Saturdays continues to build community and through community, opportunity. Though it started as a small series of conversations amongst friends, Black Tech Saturdays now enjoys conferences with more than a thousand participants. Large crowds have not made more strangers; rather, as Johnnie put it, "We have become a really big family." You can find their Detroit-based events on their website.
Guests on this episode:
- Johnnie Turnage, co-founder of Black Tech Saturdays
- Darrell Marshall, founder of Total Analysis Solutions–a biotech startup based out of Ann Arbor
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