The Abernathy Tech Spotlight series highlights black professionals working in tech, from freelance developers to non-technical founders. Complete this form to submit your profile.
What is your current role and where do you work?
I am a Product Strategist at Philosophie.
Philosophie is a design innovation company, which means we help organizations solve their hardest problems and envision how they will operate in the near future. We believe that the best way to do that is through open conversations, collaborative ways of working, and most importantly, quickly making and testing things.
Being a product strategist means I dictate strategy for our innovation teams and help set direction for our projects.
How did you get into tech?
It started with me accidentally formatting my father’s hard drive when I was four.
My curiosity led me to start designing websites when I was younger. I also grew up with a lot of entrepreneurial tendencies, selling candy and mixtapes. I even had a dorm room convenience store when I went to school (Univeristy of Maryland Eastern Shore—proud HBCU grad).
That almost got me expelled.
So I turned my energies into building my first startup, The Gamer Studio. I did all the tech stuff (saved me a ton of money) and built a business. I’ve been working around it ever since.
What’s your favorite technology to work with and why?
My favorite tech to work with is the laptop with a good set of headphones.
I can connect to the world from anywhere, work at my pace and get lost.
What project are you most proud to have worked on and why?
I am most proud to have been a coach at altMBA. I see the program creating change agents at a fantastic pace.
Having a community of smart, energetic, folks around you is always a positive.
What do you see as the most interesting technology on the horizon?
Currently I think there is so much unrealized capability in content management systems. The world has so much knowledge in it and companies like Automattic (the makers of WordPress) make it easy for people to inject what they need.
It’s sooooo early.
If you weren’t working in tech, what would you be doing?
I would work in media as a full time writer.
History, business, and philosophy are where I spend my amateur study time.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your tech career?
Ship and ship often.
Perfectionism is a killer and infects everything once it touches something.
What can companies do to create more inclusive environments?
Decide to be inclusive.
I think the issue is just a decision.
Is leadership being inclusive when the cameras are off? How do the people they trust look and act? Where are they from?
It’s all there.
What keeps you busy when you’re not being a technologist?
Reading and writing.
I blog everyday and also drop videos detailing my lessons from leading companies and teams on YouTube.
The Abernathy Tech Spotlight series highlights black professionals working in tech, from freelance developers to non-technical founders. Complete this form to submit your profile.