5th Annual Roadmap to Billions Conference Announces This Year's Black Business Day During Black Business Month

NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Black Women Talk Tech to host their annual conference, Roadmap to Billions, during Black Business Month on August 12 and 13. This year, August 3rd marks the Roadmap to Billions' Black Business Day, Black Women Talk Tech's celebration of Black business & Black excellence. Every year, the Roadmap to Billions Conference empowers the community with actionable advice and opportunities for Black women to build transformative businesses.

This year's annual conference is virtual and on Roadmap to Billions Black Business Day tickets will be 30% off with the code RTB30 on https://www.blackwomentalktech.com/ticketing.

Black Women Talk Tech (BWTT) was founded by Esosa Ighodaro-Johnson and Regina Gwynn, two Black women who themselves are non-technical tech company founders. Following a chance meeting, the ladies decided to put thoughts into action and fuel the rise of the next billion-dollar business (a "Unicorn") which they believe will be a Black women-founded company.

The Roadmap To Billions Conference is just one way Black Women Talk Tech promotes greater economic freedom for the Black community - the goal of Black Business Month. Highlights of this year's conference include a $50,000 pitch competition, executive keynote speakers, workshops, investor office hours, and exclusive special guests. Attendees will also enjoy a completely new digital conference experience - think 'late night show' entertainment meets a lifestyle tech event that people look forward to every year.

Judges of the $50,000 pitch competition include Susan Akkad, SVP Local and Cultural Platforms, Corporate Innovation Estee Lauder, Barry Givens, Partner at Collab Capital, Jade Latson, Program Coordinator of Start Path at Mastercard, Candice Matthews Brackeen, General Partner, Lightship Capital and Shana Randhava, Vice President New Incubation Ventures at Estee Lauder. 

During the event, opportunities to explore careers with Conference partners will be available in the Virtual Marketplace and Recruitment Roundtables. These breakout sessions are designed to explore roles for either Early to Mid-level or Mid to Senior level talent. Each session will feature a panel of speakers (representatives from top-tier tech companies) that will share valuable insights into ideal resume profiles and prepare for technical interviews. 

Speakers confirmed for the Virtual Marketplace and Recruitment Roundtables include Walta Nemariam, Inclusion Recruiting Programs Manager at Netflix, Tia Bradley, Staff Program Manager, Talent Programs at Intuit, Visa Velincia Jones Director of Technology Business Operations at Visa, Sadira Furlow, Chief Marketing Officer at Happy Money and Alice Vilma, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. 

BWTT's Roadmap to Billions is built for black women entrepreneurs, by black women entrepreneurs. The organization empowers budding businesswomen who are driving innovation worldwide within untapped markets that can unlock billion-dollar opportunities. It showcases the brilliance of Black women building scalable companies while building deep connections and creating real funding opportunities. Attendees gain insight, forge new relationships, and learn valuable lessons from those paving the way to success across four program tracks: LEADERSHIP, PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY, FINANCE & OPERATIONS, and CULTURE & MARKETING.

This year's speakers include Timnit Gebru, Founder of Blacks in AI, Computer Scientist; Charles Hudson, Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures; Peggy Alford, Executive Vice President, Global Sales atPayPal, and Board Member at Facebook & Macerich; Shila Nieves Burney, General Partner at Zane Fund; Marla Blow, President and COO of Skoll Foundation; Mellody Hobson (Chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation and Co-CEO of Ariel Investments); Dr. Toyin Ajayi (Founder Cityblock Health); Songe LaRon; Dave Salvant (Founders of Squire); Henry Bolden, Manager, Inclusive Recruiting Strategy, Spotify; Nii Addy CMO of Philo; Khadijah Adams, Canna -Tech Investor, Co-Creator The GreenStreet; Netta Dobbins, CEO of Mimconnect; Ayo Suber UI Engineer, Square; Nichole Jordan, SVP of Via, Shellye Archambeau, CEO, Silicon Valley leader, Board member for Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies and Okta Inc.; Antonia Baker, Head of Conversation & Interest Marketing at Twitter; Paulla McCarthy, First Black Woman in New York to Own and Operate a Spring Water Bottling Plant YSS WaterWorks; Danielle Young, Writer/Producer/Host of Real Quick with Danielle Young and The Danielle Young Show; Carolyn Pitt, Founder of FilmConnx now Productions.com; the mother-daughter team Ashlee Ammons and Kerry Schrader, Mixtroz; and Kobi Wu Pasmore, Founder & CEO of VisuWall. 

"The shocking but not surprising statistics about wage gaps, income inequality, and continued systemic inequality that Black families today are the reason why we felt it was important to create a safe space for Black Women", says Esosa Ighodaro-Johnson, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Black Women Talk Tech.

"We are dedicated to supporting our community and working with allies to make technology, venture capital, and business overall more equitable for Black women", adds Regina Gwynn, co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech.

2021 Sponsors of Black Women Talk Tech's 5th Annual Roadmap to Billions Conference include Microsoft, The Estée Lauder Companies, PayPal, Sephora, Netflix, Intuit, Republic, Morgan Stanley, Happy Money, Motley Fool Ventures, Amazon AWS, Amazon, PWC, Mastercard, First Round Capital, Pitchbook, Kapor Center, Roku, Visa, Davis Wright Tremaine, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Balsamiq, Shipt, SamsungNEXT, Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, and AARP.

The production partner for this year's Roadmap to Billions Conference is 19th and Park. 

About Black Women Talk Tech:
Black Women Talk Tech (BWTT) is a worldwide collective of black women tech founders who have a unique understanding of the challenges black women startup owners face in the industry. Still, most importantly, they understand the contribution of these innovators. The organization seeks to identify, support, and encourage black women to build the next billion-dollar business. To learn more, please visit www.blackwomentalktech.com. Follow BWTT on social media pages on Facebook,Twitter,LinkedIn, and Instagram.

About 19th and Park:
19th and Park is a creative execution agency owned and operated by Black women. Serving as a brand's in-house partner, 19th and Park capabilities span from concept to execution working hand in hand to provide digital marketing strategy, media strategy, talent procurement, content, and event production. To learn more please visit www.19parkinc.com Follow 19th and Park on Instagram. 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Tiffany Woo
Press Pass LA PR + Social for Black Women Talk Tech
[email protected]
(310) 817-0230

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SOURCE Black Women Talk Tech