Life can sometimes seem like an interminable grind. Whether you are trying to get ahead financially, advance your career, or trying to launch a business—challenges constantly crop up. It’s all too easy to get discouraged. No one knows that better that startup founders setting out to launch a business. A cohort of diverse startup founders recently completed training at Founder Gym, an online training center for underrepresented founders who want to build successful tech startups. That training helped these entrepreneurs look at challenges not as a setback but as a way to garner knowledge and strength to carry them forward to business success. We asked these founders to share some inspirational quotes to get inspired by when things get tough.
Adetayo Adesanya
- Company: Agbara Life, a wearable tech benefits corporation that creates designer powered accessories and apparel with the mission to bridge the technology gap in underresourced areas.
- Location: Oakland, CA
Al Nolan
- Company: CEO of Notearise, a company that allows you to take better notes.
- Location: Dallas, TX
Arjita Sethi
- Company: CEO of Equal.ly, a public benefit corporation with a purpose of improving access to equal education and opportunities for everyone.
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Bianca Jeanty
- Company: MiMConnect, (Minorities in Media Connect) is the LinkedIn for mid-to-senior level professionals of color that provides a direct pipeline between forward-thinking companies and diverse candidates.
- Location: Elizabeth, NJ
Boyede Sobitan
- Company: Oja Express, a marketplace for small grocers that sell cultural specific groceries.
- Location: Chicago, IL
Delores Brown
- Company: Agbara Life, a wearable tech benefits corporation that creates designer powered accessories and apparel with the mission to bridge the technology gap in underresourced areas.
- Location: Pleasanton, CA
Derrick Ashong
- Company: Amp.it, an interactive digital media platform that helps brands know who’s watching their content and why, so they can own their audience.
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
Eric Warner
- Company: StyleTrail, connects shop owners to talented beauty professionals to fill their empty booths.
- Location: Baltimore, MD
Erica Peterson
- Company: Moms Can: Code, an online community for moms who code.
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Faseeha Khan-Jensen
- Company: The Level Market, the world’s first e-commerce platform aimed exclusively at the $100B humanitarian industry.
- Location: Denver, CO
Faye Hayes
- Company: PlayLoops, a one-stop-shop for social justice organizations to create narrative-shifting GIFs using our proprietary design tools.
- Location: Oakland, CA
Irving Chin
- Company: Tassel Software, intuitive products that augment the ability of college advisers and counselors to collaborate with their students.
- Location: San Francisco, CA
Jelica Baker
- Company: Saddle Shoppe, an e-commerce startup that features luxury equestrian brands that suit both style and technical advancements for the modern rider.
- Location: San Francisco, CA
Jibril Sulaiman
- Company: Spendwith, a platform that empowers people to organize shopping based on cultural identity.
- Location: Atlanta, GA
Josh Josue
- Company: Bibky, Play make-believe stories in the real world.
- Location: San Francisco, CA
Karisa Peer
- Company: Mother Squad, a video chat support group platform that gives new moms a space to connect from the comfort of home — via computer, tablet, and/or smartphone.
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
Kedar Reddy
- Company: PlayLoops, a one-stop-shop for social justice organizations to create narrative-shifting GIFs using our proprietary design tools.
- Location: San Jose, CA
Kimberly Moore
- Company: CarpooltoSchool, the first product in the market available on web and mobile, exclusive to the parent community to meet, coordinate, and see their children arrive safely to their destination.
- Location: Washington, DC
Kishau Rogers
- Company: Time Study, a software provider on a mission to eliminate time sheets.
- Location: Richmond, VA
Kyle Frazier
- Company: HUE for Every Man, specializing in men’s premium grooming products marketed to the poly-cultural male demographic.
- Location: Hollywood, CA
Lennie Carter
- Company: TruCircle, a web and mobile video chat tool that allows behavioral health professionals to connect with their patients in a safe and secure way.
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
Luther Lawoyin
- Company: Lucy, a Nigerian e-commerce, wholesale and retail technology company that provides B2C and B2B sales of branded merchandise via web portals.
- Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Michael Purnell
- Company: Sievent, a VR ticketing platform that lets fans buy virtual tickets and have an immersive front row experience at any event right from their home.
- Location: Sacramento, CA
Netta Dobbins
- Company: MiMConnect, (Minorities in Media Connect) is the LinkedIn for mid-to-senior level professionals of color that provides a direct pipeline between forward-thinking companies and diverse candidates.
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
Ryan Boyd
- Company: Shelfspace enables people to have their luggage sent from the hotel to the airport on-demand via mobile app, allowing them to move freely in their downtime before their flight.
- Location: New York, NY
Sandeep Purwar
- Company: Bevov, a new all-in-one recruiting platform that uses machine learning, sourcing, and automated testing to help you find the top five candidates.
- Location: San Francisco, CA
Shani Dowell
- Company: Possip, an engagement platform giving schools a pulse on parent feedback.
- Location: Nashville Area, TN
Sunny Washington
- Company: Because Learning, making planning lessons for K-12 curriculum easy.
- Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Tammy Bowser
- Company: Rodexly, an app created to make your network both searchable and monetizable.
- Location: Frisco, TX
Tes Macpherson
- Company: Plan Social enables volunteer groups to harness untapped potential in terms of volunteers and sponsors, currently focused on school PTAs.
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
Winston Frazer
- Company: Danae Prosthetics, an app that engineers 3-D printed parts in the cloud for lower limb amputees to customize their prosthetic legs.
- Location: Baltimore, MD