FOUNDER HUSTLE

Kiley Summers is an entrepreneur and champion for equity and inclusion for black and brown founders.  He, himself, is the Founder of SpenDebt, a financial technology company whose mission is to save one million people from financial fatalities every time they swipe their debit card or have a banking transaction.

Ceata is a trailblazing CEO, inventor, and founder of PuffCuff, the renowned natural hair accessory company. She is the first and only African American woman to hold four U.S. patents in this field.

Lorin Dixon is the Founder and CEO of ZaveryCakes. With a mission to turn boring food into fandom, ZaveryCakes is giving a new meaning to being able to play with and enjoy your food.

Deidre Mathis is a hotelier, author, and world traveler. She created Wanderstay Hospitality Group, a hybrid hospitality brand in 2018. Mathis is the first Black woman to own a hostel in the United States. Mathis is also the Director for the Wander Abroad Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) organization that provides passports and short-term study abroad programs to college students (www.WanderAbroad.org).

Naza left her legal career to create a solution to the challenges professional Black women face finding love online. With her vision and execution, her team launched CarpeDM, a first of its kind dating app and matchmaking service powered by a patented video-based matching process. Naza’s mission: Elevate Black women, help create generational wealth in the Black community, and give B[l]ack by donating 5% of CarpeDM’s profits to organizations supporting the community.

K.J. has spent over 18 years building and guiding the businesses of today’s most notable entertainment and sports figures through the agency he founded in 2004.  Most recently, founding and managing, Manifest Barber. Shop and Bar – a cultural destination in DC’s Adams Morgan neighborhood that has taken the hospitality industry by storm.

Founder and Principal of Play at Brown Toy Box, Bradley believes that Black children should see themselves positively represented in every space the experience regularly, starting with their toybox and the toy aisle. Bradley, an equity in play advocate, is on a mission to disrupt the $27B toy industry by creating a brand that reflects the world we live in today.

Barbara Jones is the founder/CEO of Lillii RNB Inc and has been in the Retail Technology sector for over 20 years and have been on the founding teams of 2 Retail Technology startups that both exited for close to $100M.

Jacquelyn Rodgers is on a mission to bring diversity to all celebrations by making them culturally inclusive in an era where representation matters. As Founder and CEO of  Greentop Gifts her company brings joy to thousands of households across the United States with their unique and captivating gifting products.

Roz Brooks is a Health and Wellness Coach, Farmer and Creator of Well Women of Color, a transformative movement that empowers women to holistically heal their bodies from the inside out.

April Harris is the founder of the New Jersey-based company, Keeping You Sweet. April Harris launched Keeping You Sweet in 2017, offering a delicious array of health conscious desserts.

MBallou is an accomplished financial service professional and a business strategist. Her career spans over two decades in leadership, management, and banking. She has experience working at two significant fortune 500 financial institutions and a minority-owned bank in the Greater Washington DC Metropolitan area.

Kalilah Wright, born in Jamaica W.I., is the Founder and CEO of expressive brand Mess in a Bottle. The Mess in a Bottle brand was established to evoke change, question Kalilah’s audience and allow individuals wearing their messages to be vocal without saying anything at all. Each item is designed and printed at her Baltimore in-house studio space.

Chris Denson is an award-winning innovator, marketer, recovering comedian, and host of the Innovation Crush podcast, with over 750,000 subscribers around the world.