FOCUS100 Symposium and Pitch Bootcamp Kicks Off October 4th with over 80% of speakers women and people of color
NEW YORK CITY, May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — The Most Diverse Tech Conference on the Planet is Back! FOCUS100 2013 Symposium and Bootcamp is taking place October 4th — 6th, 2013 in New York City. The 3 day conference connects tech companies with founders/co-founders who are black women, angel and venture investors, leading corporations, and those interested in the future of tech.
FOCUS100 continues to bring together diverse leaders in the tech industry. This year, the keynotes include Three-time Grammy award winner, digital pioneer and founder of several Silicon Valley based startups, MC Hammer; MacArthur “Genius” Award Recipient Majora Carter; Lisa Lambert , Vice President of Intel Capital; and Stacy Brown Philpot , COO of taskrabbit.
“I’m passionate about developing economic opportunities in tech for social good,” said Majora Carter , Co-Founder of Startup Box: South Bronx. “It’s important to expand the definition of who is tech and I’m looking forward to connecting with a such a talented group of accomplished women during FOCUS100.”
“FOCUS100 is a great chance to connect with people who have the same mission as me, expansion of opportunity, expansion of job creation, and creating new avenues of promise for our community”, said Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey.
FOCUS100 redefines the traditional view of “who is tech” by spotlighting top entrepreneurs and innovators who also happen to be women of color. Last year, FOCUS100 reached over 3 million people with 47 million impressions (tweet reach 10/8/12). 30% of the 40 FOCUS FELLOW companies (founded or co-founded by black women) received next step meetings with investors, eight (8) received angel and/or funding. Speakers included Mayor Booker and Majora Carter .
“The Black community, especially black women, are a vital part of the overall tech eco-system, as both consumers and creators” said Kathryn Finney , Founder and Managing Director of digitalundivided. “If you’re looking for diversity in terms of ideas and thoughts around technology and the startup world, then you must attend FOCUS100.”
Sponsoring the event for a second year, are Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm that provides seed, venture and growth-stage funding to the best new technology companies; BlogHer, a community and media company created in partnership with women and social media; and Ogilvy, an international advertising, marketing and public relations agency.
“We are proud to partner with digitalundivided to elevate black female entrepreneurs within the startup community,” said Margit Wennmachers , partner, Andreessen Horowitz. “We look forward to the big things to come from the entrepreneurs attending the Symposium and Pitch Bootcamp.”
Focus Fellow and L’ Oreal Women in Digital Winner, Rachel Brooks co-founder of New York-based technology company, Citizen Made, says, “FOCUS100 is hands down the best conference I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending…the relationships and mentorship provided have been some of the most important relationships in raising money, and generally gaining the access required to achieve our most recent heights”.
For more information on the event including sponsorship and registration, please visit: http://www.digitalundivided.com/
For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
About digitalundivided
digitalundivided (DID) is a social enterprise that builds forward thinking initiatives that fundamentally change the digital space by increasing the number of urban women digital entrepreneurs. Founded in 2012, digitalundivided’s programs and projects, such as the START series of national workshops and the weekly DIDTechTalk with leaders in the world of tech, have reached over 4 million people.
About FOCUS100
The FOCUS100 (#FOCUS100) is a Startup bootcamp and symposium that connects thought leaders, tech startups founded or co-founded by black women, brand managers, and innovators. The symposium features keynotes with game changers like Mayor Cory Booker , MC Hammer, Stacy Brown Philpot (taskrabbit), Majora Carter , Erik Moore (Zappos) and more. The event includes, panels on emerging technologies and a PITCH session with top Angel and Venture Capitalists.
Media Contact:
Darlene Gillard , digitalundivided, 212-858-9294, [email protected]
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