digitalundivided, a nationally-recognized social enterprise that develops programs to increase the active participation of urban communities, especially women, in the digital space, will kick off its START series in Chattanooga on Saturday, Feb. 8, at Society of Work from 6-8:30 p.m.
START is a national meetup series held in 13 cities across the country created by digitalundivided that shares the necessary tools to START a successful digital company. In 2013 START piloted in Atlanta, and drew close to 100 participants, many of who have gone on to successfully start and grow their tech businesses.
Seun Erinle of BlerdNation will lead a discussion with Kathryn Finney, the founder and managing director of digitalundivided. Ms. Finney is an outspoken advocate for women in technology and an expert in building women-centered online properties. The recipient of numerous awards including one of AOL’s Top Women in Money, Black Enterprise’s “40 Stars Under 40?, Ebony Magazine's Power 100, Ms. Finney is a White House Champion of Change award recipient ?for Tech Inclusion. She is also an author and the founder of The Budget Fashionista, the first fashion blog.
“One of the reasons why it’s hard for urban entrepreneurs to find success in the digital space is because the current start up system is built for a certain gender, race, and class which excludes 99% of the potential digital entrepreneurs”, said Ms. Finney. “We created our own ecosystem which allows the folks in our community the opportunity to succeed."
Founded in 2012, digitalundivided is a Harlem, NY-based social enterprise that develops programs that increase the number of urban entrepreneurs, especially women, in the digital space. Its annual FOCUS100 conference reached six million people, with 140 million impressions in 2013.
The conference draws in major players in the digital space including New Jersey Senator Corey Booker, Rapper turned tech titan MC Hammer, Andreesen Horowitz, Techstars and MobileFuture. From the Wall Street Journal to Essence magazine, digitalundivided’s activities and initiatives continue to drive the discussion around people of color in the digital space, has created an entry point into the digital space for new urban digital entrepreneurs and has garnered support from such major corporations as American Express, Facebook and Google.