

By Antonia Dean, Partner at Black Operator Ventures (Black Ops VC), an early stage VC firm Why Founders Who Build For Their Inner Circle Often Miss The Market Entirely When most founders start a company they turn to their immediate network and community for support. Whether it’s their friends telling them their idea is brilliant, or family members offering encouragement and sometimes even your first investment. These individuals want you to succeed, so it might make initial sense to go to them first. However, if you confuse support with customer demand, that becomes a problem. As a partner at an early-stage venture capital firm who invests in first-time founders, it’s one of the most common and costly mistakes in entrepreneurship that I see happen. The people closest to you are often the least reliable indicators of whether you’ve built something customers actually want. Friends and family are not your market. Sure experiences that you’ve had growing up could spark business ideas...

AFROTECH™ is returning to Martha’s Vineyard , hosting the second year of AFROTECH™ House on Aug. 16, in Edgartown, Massachusetts , bringing together founders, venture capitalists, and business leaders for a day focused on wealth building and Black economic power. The investors attending represent more than $1 billion in assets under management, making it one of the most concentrated gatherings of Black capital of the summer. AFROTECH™ House is a premium extension of the AFROTECH™ platform, built as a boutique, high-touch setting with daytime programming and an evening reception, centered on curated introductions and deal flow. Toyota Motor North America is the official automotive sponsor, backing the day from morning programming through the evening reception. Programming runs from a curated morning breakfast into fireside conversations on investing, ownership, and generational wealth, with investors and experts from Mass Mutual, Mac Venture Capital, Collide Capital, and others...


AFROTECH™ Conference 2026 is coming soon! The annual gathering for Black professionals across technology, business, culture, and innovation returns to Houston Nov. 2-6 for a milestone year as AFROTECH™ celebrates its 10th anniversary. This year’s conference will feature programming across 13 tracks, covering topics including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and risk, engineering, product and design, marketing and advertising, fintech, healthcare, government and civic engagement, energy and sustainability, entrepreneurship, data, and the future of work. Meet Some Of The Speakers Announced So Far For AFROTECH™ 2026 As AFROTECH™ marks its 10th anniversary, new and returning speakers from across technology, business, healthcare, policy, and culture will take the stage in Houston, with more announcements still to come. Among the first speakers announced is Timnit Gebru , founder and executive director of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR), whose work...