A Letter from Our CEO in Support of Black Lives Matter

As a startup founder, I’ve learned that there is never a convenient or easy time to do the right thing. This letter and our newest podcast release are a declaration of our commitment to stand with and advocate for the Black community.

The reality remains that Black innovators are at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving venture capital, forming partners, and scaling their businesses. Innovation requires diversity and the innovation community must do better. 

We’re proud of how our team has worked to amplify innovation stories from diverse individuals and businesses, through both content creation work with our clients and our innovation storytelling podcast. Nevertheless, there is still so much work to do to ensure equality. We are making a number of commitments that we will uphold not just this week, but for years to come:

• We are committed to amplifying diverse voices on the Untold Stories of Innovation podcast. Our goal is to ensure that episodes featuring Black innovators are equal to or greater than the US Black population percentage by the end of 2020. We’re almost at our goal and aim to exceed it.
• We are committed to making Untold Content a diverse and inclusive place for people of color to work and thrive. While we have more work to do, we have committed to upholding our HUB-Zone status by employing at least ⅔ of our workforce from historically underutilized zones. By July 1, we will incorporate additional measurable diversity goals into our strategic plan. 

We know this isn’t enough. It won’t be enough until we see true racial justice. But we plan to work creatively, intelligently, and passionately to ensure Black and minority voices are heard, valued, and amplified.

As the poet Audre Lorde reminds us:  “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” 

May we all use our strengths in service of a shared vision of equality—no matter our sector, skill, or status.

Kathryn Trauth Taylor, CEO