Voices of Entrepreneurship: Black Founders & Advisors Panel

Getting a startup off the ground is challenging as it is. Join us on Thur, June 22nd from 4:30-6pm PDT for a panel and networking reception. Come hear from black startup founders and startup advisors as they discuss and share their perspectives and insights on what it has been like to break into the tech industry and what it takes to stand out. The startup founders will share candid reflections on how the accelerator has helped them navigate various challenges and learnings from their time in the accelerator. The advisors will share tips and advice on how to gain momentum as a black founder.

Moderator:

Bridgette Smith is a SkyDeck Advisor and the CEO of Founder Playbook, a startup that helps women, BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ founders become "investor-ready," get access to capital & scale their business. As an Angel Investor & LP in multiple VC funds, syndicates & SPVs, Bridgette’s investment portfolio includes over 110 diverse startup companies, a growing list of strategic partners, allies & VC collaborations. Having retired from Google as a Senior Executive leading software GTM campaigns across 80 plus Alphabet business units, Bridgette is very active in the startup & investor ecosystem & serves on several special committees including: Golden Seeds Access to Capital Task Force, CHIEF Angel/VC Investor Group, Gaingels Women Accessing Venture Equity, The Fourth Floor LP Steering Committee, Women in VC Host Committee - Martha's Vineyard & Athena Alliance Women in Venture & Raising Investments for Entrepreneurs. Bridgette also advises startup founders in partnership w/New Chip Accelerator, Chloe Capital, Brain Trust Founders Studio and The Rainmakers Collective.

Panelists include:

Tony Clemendor is a SkyDeck Advisor, founder, and a Founder Coach and CEO Development at The Founders Forge where he coaches founders and business executives who want help building successful startups. He has also served as an advisor and mentor for many startups and worked as Silicon Valley Regional Chair of the Founders Network where he helped connect and support tech founders from around the world. He is a serial entrepreneur with his most recent startup acquired by Schwab in 2011. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School.

David Iyamah is the Founder and CEO of Accountstory - software that helps sellers understand how to sell into their target companies. He brings a wealth of experience in Enterprise Sales and go to market having worked at and scaled startups from nascent stages to acquisition. He got his bachelor's Degree in Political Economy from UC Berkeley & Entrepreneurship.

Nmachi Jidenma is a SkyDeck Advisor and the Vice President at General Catalyst. Prior to joining General Catalyst, Nmachi was a Senior Director at Sequoia Capital. Prior to Sequoia Capital, Nmachi served as strategy and business development lead at WhatsApp Inc, the world’s leader in mobile messaging with over 2 billion monthly users. Prior to WhatsApp, she led partnerships at Facebook with financial services industry leaders such as PayPal, Visa, American Express and MasterCard and drove adoption of Facebook payments products. Prior to Facebook, Nmachi drove business development at PayPal for its billion dollar mobile disruptors portfolio where she launched the company into verticals such as mobile marketplaces and cryptocurrencies through partnerships with innovative startups & companies. Earlier in her career, Nmachi worked in a variety of roles spanning strategy, business development and investment banking.

Venue

2150 Shattuck Avenue, Penthouse Berkeley, CA 94704

*Drinks and appetizers will be served.

Host or Publisher Berkeley SkyDeck