Women have been steadily breaking down stereotypes and boundaries by joining the male dominated tech industry. According to a report prepared by CrunchBase in 2009, only 9.5% of startups had at least one woman founder. In 2014, the same CruchBase report revealed that the rate had doubled up to 18%.
And now there is new wave of women who are adding to these numbers. The 2015 State of Women Owned Business Report, showed that black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in America. This study also revealed that the number of women-owned business grew by 74% between 1997 and 2015. In average, this is 1.5 times the national average of business growth.
I had the pleasure of interviewing three women techpreneurs as to what inspired them to take this journey. Although they are very different from each other, they all share a commonality to the core of their business - technology. What's more, these women know how the power of technology is used to grow highly-specialized businesses in this internet driven world.
Meet Kim Love, owner of LUV Naturals. LUV Naturals is a natural hair care company, dedicated to providing high-quality products and education for customers. Smart, tech-savvy, and creative - Kim leveraged her popularity on YouTube to find not only a virtual hair care business, but also an online brand. Her also company operates exclusively online. That being said, Kim attributes technology as a key contributor in making her virtual business possible.
As to what inspired her to choose a virtual business rather than the traditional brick and mortar, Kim says, "With the explosive growth of e-commerce over the past few years, online shopping is quickly becoming the norm for busy customers. Our domestic customers conveniently receive their orders at their doorsteps within two business days on average, but the recent trends in technology may soon help us reach same-day services." (image courtesy of Kim Love)
"Take your passion and create something of value with integrity and then make your audience a part of the process as much as possible."
- Kim Love
We hear it all the time - make your hobby into a business. But only a few of us are savvy enough to take that concept and make it into a reality. Such is the case for Tiffany Williams...
After losing her father in August 2011, Tiffany was determined to take charge of her own destiny. Armed with the dream to start a business and a natural talent to shoot videos, she transformed her natural talent into a lucrative, full-service commercial video marketing and production company. Twice Media Productions provides in-house training videos, promotional web videos, and event video coverage to help companies tell their stories and build trust with customers. As Tiffany puts it, "Our company's primary focus is helping businesses tell their stories." They also teach companies to use video technology to shoot their own professional quality videos from their mobile devices and give them the visual tools they need to communicate their message to the world. (image courtesy of Tiffany Williams)
"Dream big. Live big."
- Tiffany Williams
Tepsii Thendo Tshiko uses the power of words to fuel her online business, as a copywriter and a business coach for six and seven-figured female entrepreneurs. The mission of Tepsii.com is to help soulful entrepreneurs make more money and create lasting impact by using the power of persuasion.
Initially, Tepsii's business model was designed as one-on-one services to help established female business owners accelerate their launch schedules - helping them with their website, sales page, and ad copy. She soon discovered a gap between those who were able to make their investment work with her one-on-one and those who wanted to learn the skill of copywriting for themselves. After a mere two months in business, she launched her signature e-course - so that women could learn how to use and implement the power of persuasion in their own businesses. Her online course was an instant success and she hasn't looked back. She has now grown her business to include an e-commerce store - offering videos, fill-in-the-blank templates, and workbooks to help aspiring online business owners grow their web presence.
When she started her business, her biggest dream was to retire with her husband (a fellow entrepreneur) and move from DC back to her home country in South Africa. "I was able to achieve this after only 4 months in business and I wake up feeling grateful every single day." (image courtesy of twitter.com/Tepsii)
"I'm not lucky, or special. Whatever I'm doing - you can do, too.
What I am is: calculated, driven, hard-working, and tenacious."
- Tepsii Tshiko
As an emerging techpreneur, it was an honor to share these ladies stories and pay homage to those who have paved the way for me in my journey of entrepreneurship. These are everyday women who took a chance to live their dream and are touching the lives of thousands around the globe.
I know there are others out here. So it's your turn to share...Do you know any other black women who are making their mark as a tech inspired entrepreneur? Let's spread the word that 3 strikes does not always mean you're out. Share the names and links of other black women techpreneurs in the comments below!
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