易胜博伯克分校的学生, 阿宾顿 and Lehigh Valley learned lessons in 创业 during the 黑色的 and 布朗创始人项目 Conference, 10月. 9点到10点，在费城大学城科学中心. 该组织的创始人, Aniyia威廉姆斯, also gave a talk about the issues that entrepreneurs of color face at Penn State Berks on 10月. 11.
Williams is former student of Penn State Berks and University Park and a 2007 Penn State Schreyer Honors College graduate. 她是Tinsel的创始人, a wearable technology company based in San Francisco that manufactures headphones housed in a stylish anodized aluminum pendant, 悬挂在镀有金或金属的不锈钢链上. 灵感来自威廉姆斯的音乐专业背景, 她在创业公司和硅谷的工作经验, 还有她对时尚的热爱.
虽然该产品在时尚杂志上得到了积极的评价, Williams ran into more than a few roadblocks when trying to get funding for Tinsel. As a result of her struggles as a female entrepreneur of color, she went on to create the 黑色的 & 布朗创始人项目, a national nonprofit organization that “provides 黑色的 and Latinx founders with resources and community to build successful companies without relying on venture capital.”
According to Williams, black and Latino women get less than one percent of all venture funding.
该集团, 由14名学生组成，其中9名来自伯克郡, 三个来自阿宾顿, 还有两名来自利哈伊谷校区, were very enthusiastic about the conference and took away many pieces of helpful advice that they can apply to their future careers. Some plan to become entrepreneurs, but all appreciated the guidance aimed at students of color.
特里斯坦和塔吉·莫拉莱斯兄弟出席了会议. 特里斯坦, a sophomore with a dual major in information sciences and technology and security and risk analysis at Berks, is the chief technology officer of a startup tech company named Traduki Technologies, which provides real-time language translation services for health care professionals and businesses.
他说, “I wanted to attend this conference to gain valuable advice on my current business start-up. At the conclusion of the conference I walked away with insight on how to correctly run and build ones' business in the technological society that we are currently living in, 其中包括各种金融, 市场营销, 以及商业策略.”
与此同时Tahj, a first-year student who plans to major in biochemistry and molecular biology major with a business minor at Berks, 评论. "I wanted to gain more insight on how to enter the tech and 创业 industries without large sources of preexisting funding. The two days were filled with one-on-one engagements and interactive discussions with professionals of color in different fields. 不过我现在还不打算创业, 我知道我必须采取的第一步, and I have the assurance that skin color and accent do not limit one's potential to better the world."
除了特里斯坦和塔吉·莫拉莱斯, 博克学院的其他学生与会者包括西蒙娜·科尔宾, 泰隆免费, 加芙Gonzales-Magana, 米格尔Hingada, 内森Sylvain, 乔凡·塔特和乔斯林·瓦格斯. They shared the Morales brothers’ enthusiasm and appreciation of the opportunity to attend this unique event.
“I wanted to attend the conference because I wanted to learn new things that would help my development as an entrepreneur,西蒙娜·科尔宾补充道, 她是伯克大学传播艺术与科学专业的大四学生. “I wanted insight and advice in hopes of understanding the challenges I may face when trying to start a nonprofit in the future,”
黑衣人的使命 & 布朗创始人项目 is twofold: Give 黑色的 and Latinx founders the knowledge, tools and cutting-edge tactics to build successful companies without relying on venture capital; and build a community of 黑色的 and Latinx founders to network and share resources with each other.”
加芙Gonzalez-Magana, 伯克大学计算机工程专业大二学生说, “This conference made me realize that your skin color and your ethnicity do not reflect the person you are; what really defines you is the desire you have to be successful in life. The most important lesson I learned from this conference was to never give up when you see yourself being the only person of color or female in a group.”
“The information and the experience that I took home with me was phenomenal,乔斯林·瓦格斯评论道, 在伯克大学主修刑事司法，辅修西班牙语.
“那个房间里有很多优秀的黑人和棕色人种. 我觉得这对我和我的同龄人来说是一个安全的避风港. We oftentimes do not receive the opportunity to empathize with people who are just like us, and every speaker allowed us to see their true personalities and thought processes as far as being a successful entrepreneur. 更, they talked about what it’s like to live in a society where black and brown people receive the short end of the stick (especially on the entrepreneur side).”
泰隆免费, 伯克大学心理学专业的大三学生, 添加, “It was an opportunity to connect and meet people of my color who started their own businesses and became entrepreneurs. I learned a lot about how to form a team, finance your company, and manage your time. It was exciting to see people get together and learn and listen to each other.”
The lessons learned at the 黑色的 and Brown Founders Conference have immediate benefits for Vargas. “我妈妈做蛋糕生意, so I was able to bring back some productive feedback for her so that we can enhance her business.”
特里斯坦·莫拉莱斯总结道, “这次会议是一个很好的机会, 我很感激被邀请参加并参与其中. I hope many others that come from various ethnic backgrounds such as myself also have the chance to experience such a welcoming and inspiring conference.”
