{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":0.25,"endTime":3.662,"body":"So take your notes, stay tuned, and soak up this big tech"},{"startTime":3.716,"endTime":7.246,"body":"energy. Hey, what's up, everybody? This is Jarrett Albritton and the Big Tech Energy"},{"startTime":7.348,"endTime":10.846,"body":"podcast, where we highlight black excellence in tech. And we have them drop the"},{"startTime":10.868,"endTime":14.446,"body":"gems on how they broke in, how they succeed, and also the"},{"startTime":14.468,"endTime":17.886,"body":"mindset that got them to the bag. And today I got Cam Ward in the"},{"startTime":17.908,"endTime":21.13,"body":"building. Founder of Black Men in Tech. And I'm not to steal his thunder, I'm"},{"startTime":21.13,"endTime":24.094,"body":"going to let him introduce himself. Welcome to the show, brother. What's up? What's up,"},{"startTime":24.132,"endTime":27.906,"body":"man? Hey, yo. Thank you for the opportunity to share with you. I'm Cam Ward."},{"startTime":27.938,"endTime":31.462,"body":"I'm the founder and CEO of Black Men In Tech, a nonprofit geared towards"},{"startTime":31.516,"endTime":34.902,"body":"helping individuals that's in the tech space have"},{"startTime":34.956,"endTime":38.806,"body":"accessibility and inclusion through the black men voice. So"},{"startTime":38.828,"endTime":42.122,"body":"I'm really excited to be here. I'm excited to have you, man. I'm excited about"},{"startTime":42.176,"endTime":45.434,"body":"what you're doing and your whole movement and for people to get to know you,"},{"startTime":45.472,"endTime":48.94,"body":"you know what I'm saying? The person behind the organization. So"},{"startTime":49.31,"endTime":52.358,"body":"before we get into Black Men In Tech and all the amazing stuff that you're"},{"startTime":52.374,"endTime":56.046,"body":"doing, we'd love to hear more about your break into Tech and what"},{"startTime":56.068,"endTime":58.83,"body":"that looked like and your career overall."},{"startTime":59.41,"endTime":63.054,"body":"Honestly, man, that's a pretty wild story. I'll tell you. I actually fell into"},{"startTime":63.092,"endTime":66.578,"body":"Tech by accident, had no real clue about"},{"startTime":66.744,"endTime":70.402,"body":"the word, like, the industry of tech, right? Yeah. So I was in higher"},{"startTime":70.456,"endTime":74.146,"body":"education. I was at a school as"},{"startTime":74.168,"endTime":77.694,"body":"a diversity director of a school, over 10,000"},{"startTime":77.752,"endTime":81.574,"body":"students. So I was like, a pseudo chief diversity officer before"},{"startTime":81.692,"endTime":85.366,"body":"we had one at the campus. So I worked with the faculty, worked with the"},{"startTime":85.388,"endTime":89.09,"body":"staff, work with students all around diversity, and I ran"},{"startTime":89.17,"endTime":92.778,"body":"the culture center. So in that there"},{"startTime":92.784,"endTime":96.486,"body":"was a lot of companies or a lot of headhunters reaching"},{"startTime":96.518,"endTime":99.894,"body":"out to me saying, hey, Cam, you maybe should be a chief diversity"},{"startTime":99.942,"endTime":103.646,"body":"officer. But the knock on me was that in the feedback I got, that I"},{"startTime":103.668,"endTime":107.486,"body":"didn't have a terminal know, to sit in higher education and sit"},{"startTime":107.508,"endTime":111.246,"body":"on the president's cabinet, you need a PhD that solidifies you as"},{"startTime":111.268,"endTime":114.846,"body":"an individual and put that stamp on you. So I committed to the"},{"startTime":114.868,"endTime":118.626,"body":"degree. I went. I left my full time job. I was"},{"startTime":118.648,"endTime":122.446,"body":"a ga. I worked as a FedEx overnight packer"},{"startTime":122.478,"endTime":125.682,"body":"on the plane, worked at Ups, worked at another"},{"startTime":125.736,"endTime":129.446,"body":"university as a consultant, because I'm like, you leave a whole job for"},{"startTime":129.468,"endTime":133.302,"body":"no job, you got to fill in the gap. So I worked like, five"},{"startTime":133.356,"endTime":136.806,"body":"jobs, and I was a grad student, so I was committed to getting a"},{"startTime":136.828,"endTime":139.866,"body":"degree and then one of my managers one night at"},{"startTime":139.888,"endTime":143.626,"body":"FedEx. So lesson number one, you"},{"startTime":143.648,"endTime":147.274,"body":"never know where that inspiration is going to come from. So always take"},{"startTime":147.312,"endTime":150.774,"body":"every opportunity. My manager overnight"},{"startTime":150.822,"endTime":154.586,"body":"packing planes, one of the best jobs I ever had because it was"},{"startTime":154.608,"endTime":158.398,"body":"thankless, but he sat me down one evening. It was like three in"},{"startTime":158.404,"endTime":161.406,"body":"the morning. He goes, Cam, why are you here? And I go, what do you"},{"startTime":161.428,"endTime":165.114,"body":"mean? He goes, you're probably the smartest person in this building. Nobody"},{"startTime":165.162,"endTime":168.946,"body":"got double degrees in this building. You got a master's degree. Why"},{"startTime":168.968,"endTime":172.706,"body":"are you working at FedEx? And I told him the situation with me trying to"},{"startTime":172.728,"endTime":176.542,"body":"get in diversity, blah, blah, blah. He was like, you ever thought about doing diversity"},{"startTime":176.606,"endTime":179.666,"body":"on the corporate side? Light bulb. I said"},{"startTime":179.768,"endTime":183.574,"body":"what? He was, you know, we got a diversity team. He"},{"startTime":183.612,"endTime":187.458,"body":"introduced me to the diversity team. Two weeks later, I was interviewing"},{"startTime":187.474,"endTime":191.05,"body":"that Indeed for my first tech role. And it was really cool"},{"startTime":191.12,"endTime":194.826,"body":"because for me, I had no clue about the process. All I knew was"},{"startTime":194.848,"endTime":198.314,"body":"higher education. And when I met that"},{"startTime":198.352,"endTime":201.578,"body":"manager and he opened the door and gave me that lift to be able to"},{"startTime":201.584,"endTime":205.274,"body":"say, I can do this, I decided to do it. Now, I'm a diversity officer"},{"startTime":205.322,"endTime":209.054,"body":"in the tech space for quite a few years now, and it's been"},{"startTime":209.092,"endTime":212.606,"body":"really rewarding. That's dope, man, that's dope. The thing I take away from that is,"},{"startTime":212.628,"endTime":216.09,"body":"one, you have a hustle. You got to man, you got to have a hustle."},{"startTime":216.17,"endTime":219.294,"body":"A lot of these tech influencers be talking about, no, you don't need to hustle,"},{"startTime":219.342,"endTime":223.106,"body":"you can just get in and just put your feet up. No, you got to"},{"startTime":223.128,"endTime":226.926,"body":"grind. Because here's the deal. If you don't grind in life, there, we'll"},{"startTime":226.958,"endTime":230.706,"body":"always be behind the eight ball. Not saying that you got to work twice"},{"startTime":230.738,"endTime":234.406,"body":"as hard. Some people believe that. I get why they believe that, that sort of"},{"startTime":234.428,"endTime":238.214,"body":"thing. But for me, it's about, how can I always stay two"},{"startTime":238.252,"endTime":241.846,"body":"steps ahead? I'm not trying to keep up. I'm trying to be ahead of"},{"startTime":241.868,"endTime":245.478,"body":"you. And if I'm ahead of you, that means I'm working now, I'm working twice"},{"startTime":245.494,"endTime":248.346,"body":"as hard because I got a goal in mind. You feel me? When you work"},{"startTime":248.368,"endTime":251.66,"body":"in a system that's not really set up for your success,"},{"startTime":252.19,"endTime":255.614,"body":"how can you work within that system to get you where you need to go?"},{"startTime":255.732,"endTime":259.566,"body":"And that's through grinding and working harder because you want to be two"},{"startTime":259.588,"endTime":263.294,"body":"steps ahead, harder because you want to go to that next level, because"},{"startTime":263.332,"endTime":266.994,"body":"it's innating you. It's not because of someone else's situation, it's because"},{"startTime":267.032,"endTime":270.754,"body":"of you want it. And that's why you got to grind, man. It's the same"},{"startTime":270.792,"endTime":274.414,"body":"hustle, man. It's just different lens. Yeah. So you got into indeed."},{"startTime":274.542,"endTime":278.226,"body":"Tell me about your career once you got into Indeed up to the"},{"startTime":278.248,"endTime":281.922,"body":"present state. Yeah, so I hopped in and Indeed"},{"startTime":281.986,"endTime":285.654,"body":"love Indeed thought it was Indeed of the world, the world"},{"startTime":285.692,"endTime":288.92,"body":"of Indeed, but it was in Austin, Texas. I was far away"},{"startTime":289.53,"endTime":293.194,"body":"from family, from friends, that sort of thing. It was an opportunity"},{"startTime":293.312,"endTime":296.586,"body":"that came up to move back home. So home is Fort Lauderdale for me, so"},{"startTime":296.608,"endTime":300.314,"body":"I came back home I worked that job for a while. They"},{"startTime":300.352,"endTime":303.834,"body":"went through transition with being acquired."},{"startTime":303.962,"endTime":307.39,"body":"So at that point, I decided to branch out on my own until I found"},{"startTime":307.54,"endTime":311.374,"body":"LiveRamp, which was my role, where I was the"},{"startTime":311.412,"endTime":314.858,"body":"diversity officer, senior diversity officer was a director,"},{"startTime":314.954,"endTime":318.642,"body":"hung out with the C suite, helped help move them"},{"startTime":318.696,"endTime":321.458,"body":"forward. But then I thought about, you know what? I want to branch out on"},{"startTime":321.464,"endTime":325.042,"body":"my own. At this point, black men in tech was really doing well."},{"startTime":325.176,"endTime":328.686,"body":"Opportunity for me to take a risk, right. So black man,"},{"startTime":328.808,"endTime":332.502,"body":"especially this black man, I don't like taking risks. I like knowing when the check"},{"startTime":332.556,"endTime":336.146,"body":"going to come. I like knowing I can do what's"},{"startTime":336.178,"endTime":339.72,"body":"necessary, and I have that cushion. So this right here"},{"startTime":340.41,"endTime":344.074,"body":"is a risk that I'm willing to take better myself and really go into this"},{"startTime":344.112,"endTime":347.866,"body":"full time as a founding CEO. Got you. All right, so let's talk"},{"startTime":347.888,"endTime":351.658,"body":"about black men in tech. Yeah. So what was the motivation? I have a"},{"startTime":351.664,"endTime":354.59,"body":"good idea of the motivation based off of talking to you and being around you,"},{"startTime":354.66,"endTime":358.334,"body":"but what was the motivation? And then what did this"},{"startTime":358.372,"endTime":361.23,"body":"journey look like? Man, I will tell you"},{"startTime":361.3,"endTime":365.086,"body":"immediately from my seat, right? I'm not talking about"},{"startTime":365.108,"endTime":368.354,"body":"nobody else seat, man. This stuff is one of the hardest things I ever did"},{"startTime":368.392,"endTime":372.226,"body":"in life, all right? And I'm talking about I sit in the"},{"startTime":372.248,"endTime":375.954,"body":"spaces where I'm sitting with the C suite, trying to help them with their own"},{"startTime":375.992,"endTime":379.746,"body":"diversity journey. And this, by far is the hardest thing, but it's the most rewarding"},{"startTime":379.778,"endTime":383.286,"body":"thing I ever do in life. I started my journey for Black Men Attack because"},{"startTime":383.308,"endTime":386.694,"body":"I got tired of trying to explain myself to people and"},{"startTime":386.732,"endTime":390.578,"body":"then not put them on guard about who I am because I'm"},{"startTime":390.594,"endTime":394.234,"body":"a black man. I'm a black man. I got a ball head. I play"},{"startTime":394.272,"endTime":397.994,"body":"sports. I'm big. And I used to still"},{"startTime":398.032,"endTime":401.822,"body":"do. Probably scare people when I walk in the rooms. And it's crazy that"},{"startTime":401.876,"endTime":405.182,"body":"my mere presence scare you. You fear me"},{"startTime":405.236,"endTime":408.974,"body":"because I don't look like a package like you"},{"startTime":409.012,"endTime":412.574,"body":"used started"},{"startTime":412.692,"endTime":416.334,"body":"I started the organization based on that, man. I was in a room with some"},{"startTime":416.372,"endTime":419.78,"body":"people, and they asked me, well, Cam, why aren't they more like you?"},{"startTime":420.31,"endTime":423.89,"body":"And that really threw me off. I'm like, what do you mean? I'm explaining myself"},{"startTime":423.96,"endTime":427.602,"body":"again. Like, you got to walk around with your resume on your forehead so that"},{"startTime":427.656,"endTime":431.366,"body":"people are not afraid to speak to you. I say"},{"startTime":431.388,"endTime":434.994,"body":"this all the time about black men smile. We ain't that damn"},{"startTime":435.042,"endTime":438.246,"body":"happy, but we always walk around with a smile on our face. So that to"},{"startTime":438.268,"endTime":441.97,"body":"help you understand I'm friendly. I'm okay. Right. I got tired of"},{"startTime":441.98,"endTime":445.066,"body":"doing that, so I had to find a community of my brothers, my people. We"},{"startTime":445.088,"endTime":448.842,"body":"started with eight people. I called them randomly, organically and just"},{"startTime":448.896,"endTime":452.662,"body":"start asking questions like, hey, is it me? Is it you? Is it us."},{"startTime":452.816,"endTime":456.446,"body":"Everybody was like, Nah, bro, it's all of us. It's all of us."},{"startTime":456.548,"endTime":460.366,"body":"We started that call two and a half years ago with"},{"startTime":460.388,"endTime":464.206,"body":"eight people. Now we got over 11,000 people. That somewhere in"},{"startTime":464.228,"endTime":467.874,"body":"the community because it was a need not taken away from"},{"startTime":467.912,"endTime":471.714,"body":"anybody platform. Just elevating and carving out a name for"},{"startTime":471.752,"endTime":475.09,"body":"black men. And our voice, like, people ask me all the time,"},{"startTime":475.16,"endTime":478.866,"body":"hey, is it just for black men? No,"},{"startTime":479.048,"endTime":482.566,"body":"it's for everyone. But you understand you're going to get a black male perspective from"},{"startTime":482.588,"endTime":485.97,"body":"what we do. And that's important to me. No, that's dope, man. That's dope."},{"startTime":486.05,"endTime":489.51,"body":"So when it comes to,"},{"startTime":489.66,"endTime":493.114,"body":"I guess, why you personally feel black men should be in"},{"startTime":493.152,"endTime":496.966,"body":"Tech, what would you say to the black men, black women, black boys"},{"startTime":496.998,"endTime":500.666,"body":"and girls listening? Listen, I would say immediately there's a space for all black"},{"startTime":500.688,"endTime":503.966,"body":"people to be in the Tech space because if we're not, we're going to be"},{"startTime":503.988,"endTime":507.754,"body":"left behind. My simple example is this one. When you go to a soap"},{"startTime":507.802,"endTime":511.534,"body":"dispenser and you realize that it don't recognize your hand,"},{"startTime":511.652,"endTime":515.466,"body":"right? Because the AI and the systems in there don't understand darker"},{"startTime":515.498,"endTime":519.31,"body":"color, hue of individual skin, it's not the fault of the company. It's"},{"startTime":519.39,"endTime":522.914,"body":"the fault of the people in the room. And if you're not in the room,"},{"startTime":522.952,"endTime":526.738,"body":"then you won't be counted. So something as simple as getting soap out of"},{"startTime":526.744,"endTime":530.534,"body":"the bathroom is a miss. If we don't have black people as it pertain to"},{"startTime":530.572,"endTime":534.326,"body":"black men, black men, it's important to be in the Tech space because, man, we"},{"startTime":534.348,"endTime":538.198,"body":"got to lead our families, our generation, we got to lead our people"},{"startTime":538.364,"endTime":541.846,"body":"and lead it in a way that's consistent. One of the ways to stay consistent"},{"startTime":541.878,"endTime":544.94,"body":"is through money. Tech is a lot of money in Tech."},{"startTime":545.47,"endTime":548.94,"body":"It's a lot of people using Tech in the space to really"},{"startTime":549.63,"endTime":553.258,"body":"level up their life. So for a black man in the Tech space,"},{"startTime":553.344,"endTime":557.066,"body":"even though we still men, so we do have some privilege. It's"},{"startTime":557.098,"endTime":560.574,"body":"a lane. I feel as though that black men are left out in the Tech"},{"startTime":560.612,"endTime":564.286,"body":"space because of that privilege of being a man. Like, you got to"},{"startTime":564.308,"endTime":567.198,"body":"walk in your privilege, too. Now we can walk in the room as a man,"},{"startTime":567.284,"endTime":570.786,"body":"and then we got to support our black women as well, because they don't have"},{"startTime":570.808,"endTime":574.466,"body":"that voice that they seen as all the negative things that said about them. And"},{"startTime":574.488,"endTime":578.278,"body":"we must support them as well. And we must carve a"},{"startTime":578.284,"endTime":581.83,"body":"lane out for us to have a voice because being a black man, sometimes"},{"startTime":581.9,"endTime":585.73,"body":"that emotional attacks jump on us, too. So it's not a competition."},{"startTime":585.81,"endTime":589.654,"body":"It's not one over the other who got"},{"startTime":589.692,"endTime":593.338,"body":"it the worst. It's more. So how do we lift all of us up at"},{"startTime":593.344,"endTime":597.066,"body":"the same time? Because we're all in a space where we can be left out"},{"startTime":597.088,"endTime":600.778,"body":"at any given time. No. 100%. Yeah. Now that's the"},{"startTime":600.784,"endTime":604.446,"body":"motivation for this podcast. That's been the motivation for the rooms. I used to do"},{"startTime":604.468,"endTime":608.24,"body":"on Clubhouse. I still do them a little bit. Clubhouse and Twitter spaces is"},{"startTime":609.01,"endTime":611.87,"body":"give people access, inspiration and"},{"startTime":611.94,"endTime":615.73,"body":"resources with black men in tech."},{"startTime":615.8,"endTime":618.82,"body":"How are you doing that? Yeah. So"},{"startTime":619.35,"endTime":623.154,"body":"we got three pillars that we work in convening. We do"},{"startTime":623.192,"endTime":626.902,"body":"conferences, we do meetups, we do zoom. Actually,"},{"startTime":626.956,"endTime":630.326,"body":"we just did a really dope meetup. I just wanted to shout out to one"},{"startTime":630.348,"endTime":633.666,"body":"of our partnership that Birmingham, Alabama,"},{"startTime":633.698,"endTime":637.186,"body":"headquarters CEO by black man Kamal Wetherspoons."},{"startTime":637.298,"endTime":640.998,"body":"Mayor is a black dude. Mayor Woodfin. And"},{"startTime":641.084,"endTime":644.666,"body":"we just came from there a week ago. And it was absolutely amazing because for"},{"startTime":644.688,"endTime":647.962,"body":"the first time in my life, I was on the stage with a black"},{"startTime":648.016,"endTime":651.626,"body":"CEO of a major corporation and a black mayor of a"},{"startTime":651.648,"endTime":655.246,"body":"city. Right. And I was able to talk to those fellows about"},{"startTime":655.428,"endTime":658.906,"body":"what it is to be authentic leaders. They're"},{"startTime":658.938,"endTime":662.586,"body":"both morehouse grass, so they came with a different perspective,"},{"startTime":662.618,"endTime":666.378,"body":"which was dope. But I took 40 fellows up"},{"startTime":666.404,"endTime":670.126,"body":"there and we had an amazing time. Ten of them applied to jobs."},{"startTime":670.238,"endTime":674.05,"body":"Ain't never been in Birmingham a day in their life, but applied to job."},{"startTime":674.12,"endTime":677.826,"body":"Two of our students that came up there with us got internships"},{"startTime":677.938,"endTime":681.174,"body":"or will be interns in the fall, I think, for this"},{"startTime":681.212,"endTime":685.046,"body":"organization. But for me, that's the type of connection we need to"},{"startTime":685.068,"endTime":688.806,"body":"have with companies and partnerships to be able to"},{"startTime":688.828,"endTime":692.534,"body":"be successful. Right. It's about the collective, like us joining."},{"startTime":692.582,"endTime":696.266,"body":"You got something cool. I got something cool. How can we collab to make it"},{"startTime":696.288,"endTime":700.026,"body":"even cooler? The best thing ever. And that's the type of stuff we do."},{"startTime":700.048,"endTime":703.386,"body":"So we convene people through mechanism, like that"},{"startTime":703.488,"endTime":707.246,"body":"unconventional mechanism. Take them to cities and be great. We connect people"},{"startTime":707.268,"endTime":710.794,"body":"to jobs. Past two years, 155 people have gotten"},{"startTime":710.842,"endTime":714.526,"body":"jobs through black menatech. Sourced and hired. That's cool. I'm able"},{"startTime":714.548,"endTime":718.002,"body":"to text recruiters and say, hey, here go a resume. Do you have a job"},{"startTime":718.056,"endTime":721.602,"body":"opening? And they're getting rounds of interviews. And we're talking to everybody from"},{"startTime":721.656,"endTime":725.01,"body":"entry level all the way to senior leaders. We even had someone"},{"startTime":725.08,"endTime":728.69,"body":"dabble with the board of Director position for"},{"startTime":728.76,"endTime":732.498,"body":"Fortune 500 company from being a part of our conference."},{"startTime":732.594,"endTime":736.274,"body":"Right. And the last thing we care about our community. I'm a firm believer"},{"startTime":736.322,"endTime":739.766,"body":"to whom much is given, much is required. Which means for me that we got"},{"startTime":739.788,"endTime":742.698,"body":"to take care of our students, we got to take care of teachers, we got"},{"startTime":742.704,"endTime":745.978,"body":"to take care of our school system. We got to take care of our college"},{"startTime":746.064,"endTime":749.546,"body":"students with a book stipend. I know I didn't buy my books in"},{"startTime":749.568,"endTime":753.114,"body":"undergrad, and that's probably the single most important thing you should be"},{"startTime":753.152,"endTime":756.926,"body":"doing. We used to borrow books, so make sure our students so we can"},{"startTime":756.948,"endTime":760.734,"body":"level the playing field. So we do those things through the mechanisms because"},{"startTime":760.772,"endTime":764.24,"body":"we feel like it's the most important thing we can do to help"},{"startTime":764.69,"endTime":768.194,"body":"in making sure we make the next generation of tech leaders very"},{"startTime":768.232,"endTime":772.066,"body":"successful. Nice. I love that. When it comes to the"},{"startTime":772.088,"endTime":775.846,"body":"conference, you mentioned that real quickly. How"},{"startTime":775.868,"endTime":779.59,"body":"long you been doing it, what's it been like, and"},{"startTime":779.66,"endTime":783.32,"body":"what are you excited about for the future? One check it"},{"startTime":783.69,"endTime":786.63,"body":"real talk. I started the organization"},{"startTime":787.21,"endTime":791.05,"body":"in November of 2020. Our first conference was"},{"startTime":791.12,"endTime":794.794,"body":"June 1021. It was really wild, right?"},{"startTime":794.992,"endTime":798.586,"body":"I know. I wanted to convene black men to a space where we could have"},{"startTime":798.608,"endTime":802.394,"body":"a good time, have fun, and not be buttoned up. Right. I had"},{"startTime":802.432,"endTime":806.174,"body":"no clue what it was, actually. I was talking to my good"},{"startTime":806.212,"endTime":809.918,"body":"friends about it in the early stage. They told me it was like,"},{"startTime":809.924,"endTime":813.486,"body":"yeah, Ken, that sounds great. Probably for like, two years from now."},{"startTime":813.588,"endTime":817.426,"body":"And I'm like, no, I want to do it this upcoming year."},{"startTime":817.608,"endTime":821.426,"body":"But our conference has been amazing. It's been like the anchor of"},{"startTime":821.448,"endTime":825.214,"body":"our entire year every year, and it's called the Thrive"},{"startTime":825.262,"endTime":828.934,"body":"Conference. So this year is October 19 through the 22nd"},{"startTime":829.052,"endTime":832.662,"body":"in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the Western fort Lauderdale beach. 30"},{"startTime":832.716,"endTime":836.534,"body":"steps on the beach, beautiful location. Past years we"},{"startTime":836.572,"endTime":840.37,"body":"had first year I gave it away virtually all free. Was in the middle of"},{"startTime":840.38,"endTime":843.706,"body":"the pandemic. I can't ask nobody to pay for something when you're looking for a"},{"startTime":843.728,"endTime":847.354,"body":"job. So we did totally for free. We had two"},{"startTime":847.392,"endTime":851.194,"body":"chains tristan Walker, Isaac Hayes II, a bunch of people that just"},{"startTime":851.232,"endTime":855.006,"body":"leaned in on the strength, like, hey, I feel what you're trying to do. Let"},{"startTime":855.028,"endTime":858.782,"body":"me help you out. I can help you with my time and energy. Right. Second"},{"startTime":858.836,"endTime":862.59,"body":"year was our first year in person at the Western. Again."},{"startTime":862.66,"endTime":866.474,"body":"Last year we had Rick Ross, Lee"},{"startTime":866.522,"endTime":870.114,"body":"Merritt, Jeff Johnson, Kamalwu, Janine Nuzel from"},{"startTime":870.152,"endTime":873.822,"body":"Nesbi. A bunch of people. Like people from Microsoft."},{"startTime":873.886,"endTime":877.638,"body":"People, cybersecurity people,"},{"startTime":877.724,"endTime":881.506,"body":"everyone. Podcasts came out. Black wealth,"},{"startTime":881.538,"endTime":885.35,"body":"renaissance, shout out to the like. Everybody leaned in again"},{"startTime":885.42,"endTime":889.186,"body":"for the culture, had amazing time. Right. I'm really excited"},{"startTime":889.218,"endTime":892.634,"body":"because we got some really cool things coming up. But the thought process is that"},{"startTime":892.672,"endTime":896.234,"body":"no matter if you're a man woman, no matter your"},{"startTime":896.272,"endTime":900.058,"body":"gender, no matter your race, come out and come be a"},{"startTime":900.064,"endTime":903.882,"body":"part and be the change you want to see. And that means to me,"},{"startTime":904.016,"endTime":907.726,"body":"just show up. You never know what happened. When you show up, every space is"},{"startTime":907.748,"endTime":911.486,"body":"for you. Absolutely. And one of the key things, like when you found out"},{"startTime":911.508,"endTime":915.166,"body":"about corporate, it was through a conversation. Exactly. And when you show up, these"},{"startTime":915.188,"endTime":918.75,"body":"conferences, you're having conversations on steroids. Talk about the importance"},{"startTime":918.83,"endTime":922.514,"body":"of networking when it comes to tech and be able to get into doors that"},{"startTime":922.552,"endTime":925.986,"body":"might be closed for you. Exactly. To that point. Like you said, you never know"},{"startTime":926.008,"endTime":929.4,"body":"what conversation will have. And we dress down, we hang out,"},{"startTime":929.93,"endTime":933.33,"body":"I promise you. Don't come in a suit"},{"startTime":933.49,"endTime":937.25,"body":"unless you're really comfortable in a suit. And bring your flyers kicks,"},{"startTime":937.33,"endTime":941.046,"body":"because we got a Kit Cam that every day we putting on"},{"startTime":941.068,"endTime":944.586,"body":"the shoes or whatever. And I had a couple of people laugh that didn't get"},{"startTime":944.608,"endTime":948.346,"body":"on the Kit Cam last year because their shoes wasn't fresh. And then"},{"startTime":948.368,"endTime":951.974,"body":"they like now they're like, Kim,"},{"startTime":952.102,"endTime":955.738,"body":"I've seen them at some more conferences already this year. They're like, hey, Kim, I'm"},{"startTime":955.754,"endTime":959.374,"body":"getting on the Kit Cam this year. But it's fun ways, right? To have"},{"startTime":959.412,"endTime":963.166,"body":"fun, be people, feel relaxed. You're talking to CEOs, talking"},{"startTime":963.188,"endTime":967.002,"body":"to VPs, you could talk to anybody and never know where they lead."},{"startTime":967.076,"endTime":970.866,"body":"Yeah. And I love relaxed environments like that. Especially with us, because we can"},{"startTime":970.888,"endTime":973.89,"body":"vibe, have a good time, but we all know we're here for the same reason."},{"startTime":973.96,"endTime":977.778,"body":"Exactly. So when you're in the club or some random spots, people be kind of,"},{"startTime":977.784,"endTime":981.558,"body":"like, feeling each other out and qualifying each other. Who is this guy? Who"},{"startTime":981.564,"endTime":985.27,"body":"is this woman? But when you're at a black men in Tech event or"},{"startTime":985.34,"endTime":989.186,"body":"Afro tech or render or whatever, all hang out. We can hang out and vibe,"},{"startTime":989.218,"endTime":992.618,"body":"but we also know, like, we're trying to be upwardly mobile, so how can I"},{"startTime":992.624,"endTime":996.38,"body":"help the man next to me? And then vice versa, right?"},{"startTime":997.15,"endTime":1000.886,"body":"And that's the beautiful part about what you just said. It's"},{"startTime":1000.918,"endTime":1004.67,"body":"a low barrier to entry. You never know who you're talking to. Right. So"},{"startTime":1004.74,"endTime":1008.558,"body":"you could beat somebody and say, oh, okay, cool. Grab your LinkedIn and go on"},{"startTime":1008.564,"endTime":1012.382,"body":"LinkedIn. Oh, shoot. They actually but you'll never"},{"startTime":1012.436,"endTime":1016.174,"body":"know it because they dress down, they got on their kicks, and they just hanging"},{"startTime":1016.222,"endTime":1019.266,"body":"out. You know what I'm saying? And that's a different vibe. So I love the"},{"startTime":1019.288,"endTime":1023.106,"body":"organic vibe of yeah, yeah. And networking up is like,"},{"startTime":1023.128,"endTime":1026.85,"body":"you like, they're not coming in with this big head. Like,"},{"startTime":1026.92,"endTime":1030.086,"body":"I am the big boss at HP. Like, Nah, I'm a black man or black"},{"startTime":1030.108,"endTime":1033.16,"body":"woman in tech, and I'm just excited to be around my brothers. Exactly."},{"startTime":1033.77,"endTime":1037.19,"body":"The best comment I got last year was, like, Cam, I never"},{"startTime":1037.26,"endTime":1041.074,"body":"seen so many black men smiling, and it's not a sporting"},{"startTime":1041.122,"endTime":1044.774,"body":"event. And that took me first of all, I was like,"},{"startTime":1044.812,"endTime":1047.986,"body":"what? What's wrong with you? And then I thought about, that sounds kind of funny"},{"startTime":1048.018,"endTime":1051.838,"body":"at first. And I thought about, like, that's a"},{"startTime":1051.844,"endTime":1055.566,"body":"pretty interesting comment, right? And I was like, Person absolutely"},{"startTime":1055.668,"endTime":1059.374,"body":"mean it with the greatest intent. And once I took a step"},{"startTime":1059.412,"endTime":1062.778,"body":"back to actually hear it, I was like, that makes sense. I get it. I'm"},{"startTime":1062.794,"endTime":1066.494,"body":"glad you can be exposed to something like this. That's important."},{"startTime":1066.612,"endTime":1070.082,"body":"Yeah. And I know you don't have any problem probably getting sponsors, but any"},{"startTime":1070.136,"endTime":1073.566,"body":"sponsors listening to this, I highly recommend you get in front of this crowd."},{"startTime":1073.758,"endTime":1077.246,"body":"Yeah, you should get in front of this crowd. This is a definitely solid crowd"},{"startTime":1077.278,"endTime":1080.854,"body":"if you do have a genuine interest in diversity and building up"},{"startTime":1080.972,"endTime":1084.806,"body":"black men and black women in tech. Because you mentioned before black women do"},{"startTime":1084.828,"endTime":1088.326,"body":"show up to the event and they're welcome, right? A third of the people that"},{"startTime":1088.348,"endTime":1092.042,"body":"showed up to any of our events are women and absolutely love that"},{"startTime":1092.096,"endTime":1095.754,"body":"because, one, they see the need to support. Like we need"},{"startTime":1095.792,"endTime":1099.494,"body":"everybody, just like everybody need us. I'll tell you this, we don't have the luxury"},{"startTime":1099.542,"endTime":1103.066,"body":"as black people not to be involved with everything"},{"startTime":1103.168,"endTime":1106.606,"body":"black related. And I'll say that for me, and I'll say it again, because we"},{"startTime":1106.628,"endTime":1110.126,"body":"don't have the luxury. Some people can pick and choose and you can if you"},{"startTime":1110.148,"endTime":1113.886,"body":"want, but if you really bought the upward mobility and the motion of the entire"},{"startTime":1113.988,"endTime":1117.618,"body":"culture, you take on those extra responsibilities even though"},{"startTime":1117.704,"endTime":1121.474,"body":"they're not necessarily required to or you require to, you"},{"startTime":1121.512,"endTime":1124.26,"body":"feel as though it's important. That's why I love my black women."},{"startTime":1125.43,"endTime":1128.894,"body":"I love people that's non black that come and support"},{"startTime":1129.032,"endTime":1132.71,"body":"because they understand the movement and the need for us to do it together."},{"startTime":1132.86,"endTime":1136.342,"body":"And only together are we going to make that true movement happen."},{"startTime":1136.476,"endTime":1139.654,"body":"Yeah, it's funny. All my non black friends are like, man, why are you making"},{"startTime":1139.692,"endTime":1143.526,"body":"your podcast, like, exclusively about black people in Tech? You're limiting your"},{"startTime":1143.548,"endTime":1147.174,"body":"audience. I was like, Because there's nothing that's really like this out there."},{"startTime":1147.212,"endTime":1150.494,"body":"Like, shout out to Cyrus, tech is the new black and a couple of other"},{"startTime":1150.532,"endTime":1153.886,"body":"dope people doing black Tech content. But I was like, man, I want to make"},{"startTime":1153.908,"endTime":1157.086,"body":"sure that people can see the people. I want to highlight thank you. That I"},{"startTime":1157.108,"endTime":1160.718,"body":"see at all these events, that I see doing amazing things, building community. And if"},{"startTime":1160.724,"endTime":1164.542,"body":"I can help them build a community, why not then? Especially for the kids."},{"startTime":1164.676,"endTime":1167.874,"body":"So that segues me to the next thing. Does black men in Tech do any"},{"startTime":1167.912,"endTime":1170.34,"body":"programs for black boys? Yes."},{"startTime":1171.91,"endTime":1175.266,"body":"I want to go back to your point right there, making an exclusive black content,"},{"startTime":1175.368,"endTime":1179.206,"body":"right? It's actually inclusive for the black community because so"},{"startTime":1179.228,"endTime":1182.68,"body":"many pieces that we are left out of spaces or"},{"startTime":1184.81,"endTime":1187.48,"body":"people love our culture but don't love us."},{"startTime":1188.51,"endTime":1192.186,"body":"You know what I'm saying? So they'll be like, yeah, I want to"},{"startTime":1192.208,"endTime":1195.674,"body":"have this. So I"},{"startTime":1195.712,"endTime":1199.18,"body":"love what you, Cyrus, a couple other"},{"startTime":1201.23,"endTime":1205.066,"body":"black wealth, Renaissance, Tayon, Tech, all"},{"startTime":1205.088,"endTime":1208.238,"body":"of them. I love what y'all doing. There's so many others, right? There's tons of"},{"startTime":1208.244,"endTime":1210.686,"body":"them, right? I'll make sure they'll be on my show because I want people to"},{"startTime":1210.708,"endTime":1214.242,"body":"know about them. Cousin recruiter. All of them. Love"},{"startTime":1214.296,"endTime":1217.746,"body":"them because they're highlighting black people for the"},{"startTime":1217.768,"endTime":1221.586,"body":"goodness in what we offer. And that's what sometimes is missed when you"},{"startTime":1221.608,"endTime":1224.898,"body":"try to try to have everybody"},{"startTime":1224.984,"endTime":1228.454,"body":"come to the meet, right? Sometimes you miss"},{"startTime":1228.572,"endTime":1232.326,"body":"that gym or that special person because of that. So shout out to you for"},{"startTime":1232.348,"endTime":1234.39,"body":"doing that, man, and sticking to your guns."},{"startTime":1237.93,"endTime":1241.514,"body":"Membership in black and HR means community and being a part of a"},{"startTime":1241.552,"endTime":1245.178,"body":"culture of like minded individuals. You have a"},{"startTime":1245.184,"endTime":1248.81,"body":"culture within a culture, especially in the black community. And"},{"startTime":1248.88,"endTime":1252.714,"body":"black and HR is that professional culture. We have fun, we"},{"startTime":1252.752,"endTime":1256.298,"body":"laugh and joke about things that are related to us in the workplace."},{"startTime":1256.394,"endTime":1259.854,"body":"But we also have serious aspects as well, where we help each other"},{"startTime":1259.892,"endTime":1263.486,"body":"grow. And it's just one of those places where I can go"},{"startTime":1263.508,"endTime":1267.234,"body":"to any time of the day, pose a question, and"},{"startTime":1267.272,"endTime":1270.18,"body":"I'm going to get all type of answers, but I'm going to get support."},{"startTime":1270.87,"endTime":1273.762,"body":"And we all work together to give advice, to give"},{"startTime":1273.816,"endTime":1277.634,"body":"insights, to share tips. The networking is"},{"startTime":1277.672,"endTime":1281.378,"body":"amazing. The people that I've spoken to have allowed"},{"startTime":1281.394,"endTime":1285.126,"body":"me to learn things about myself that I didn't know. So what"},{"startTime":1285.148,"endTime":1288.134,"body":"does that do? When I go to my next interview, I have that"},{"startTime":1288.172,"endTime":1291.93,"body":"confidence when I walk in to be able to explain and"},{"startTime":1292.0,"endTime":1295.674,"body":"speak on what I've done in the past and prove that I am the"},{"startTime":1295.712,"endTime":1299.546,"body":"person for the job. But we do stuff for kids, right? Back to your"},{"startTime":1299.568,"endTime":1303.182,"body":"question. We do stuff for kids all the time. Actually, on Thursday, if you're still"},{"startTime":1303.236,"endTime":1306.974,"body":"here, you got an open invite. I'm opening invite you on your podcast. We're actually"},{"startTime":1307.012,"endTime":1310.602,"body":"going to read to a school in South Florida."},{"startTime":1310.666,"endTime":1313.97,"body":"It's called Real Man Read and we sponsored it along"},{"startTime":1314.04,"endTime":1317.502,"body":"with CSC, one of the larger nonprofit"},{"startTime":1317.566,"endTime":1321.394,"body":"organizations here in South Florida. And we're going to"},{"startTime":1321.432,"endTime":1324.882,"body":"read to some third graders. So you imagine 20 black"},{"startTime":1324.936,"endTime":1328.726,"body":"dudes walk in ready to sit down and read you a book. Just the"},{"startTime":1328.748,"endTime":1331.91,"body":"perception of those things. We also do give backs"},{"startTime":1332.49,"endTime":1336.246,"body":"at school time. I just gave out scholarship to some"},{"startTime":1336.268,"endTime":1340.118,"body":"graduating seniors that's in the arts, that's going to study computer science."},{"startTime":1340.214,"endTime":1343.93,"body":"This past weekend. We do a full scholarship offering."},{"startTime":1345.63,"endTime":1348.426,"body":"We help out in a way of going to the"},{"startTime":1348.448,"endTime":1349.53,"body":"YMCAs."},{"startTime":1353.31,"endTime":1356.794,"body":"What is it called? Boys and Girls Club. Slip my mind. Boys and Girls Club."},{"startTime":1356.842,"endTime":1360.366,"body":"Just to show up, right? So half the battle for us is"},{"startTime":1360.388,"endTime":1364.042,"body":"representation. That's half the battle. Representation."},{"startTime":1364.106,"endTime":1367.826,"body":"Because you don't see people that look like you're doing the stuff that"},{"startTime":1367.848,"endTime":1370.834,"body":"you're doing well. How can you ever know there's an opportunity to do it? We"},{"startTime":1370.872,"endTime":1372.74,"body":"see that in sports, we see that"},{"startTime":1374.39,"endTime":1378.194,"body":"in music, we see that in other spaces. But why not tech?"},{"startTime":1378.312,"endTime":1381.922,"body":"Tech should be an option for our students and everybody isn't"},{"startTime":1381.986,"endTime":1385.73,"body":"technical that's in tech. Like, I work in tech and I'm a diversity officer."},{"startTime":1385.81,"endTime":1389.574,"body":"So I need them to know, hey, you can be a diversity officer, make good"},{"startTime":1389.612,"endTime":1393.162,"body":"money to take care of your family, but also go to school for something"},{"startTime":1393.216,"endTime":1396.49,"body":"very different. So we try to be that different visibility"},{"startTime":1397.23,"endTime":1401.078,"body":"for our students and that's what we work on. Big proponent of that because I'm"},{"startTime":1401.094,"endTime":1404.462,"body":"a product of someone reaching back and saying, you know what,"},{"startTime":1404.596,"endTime":1408.222,"body":"I'm going to help this twelveTH grader figure out his"},{"startTime":1408.276,"endTime":1411.454,"body":"life. You know what I'm saying? If it wasn't for the Capital League in my"},{"startTime":1411.492,"endTime":1415.15,"body":"twelveTH grade year, I wouldn't probably sit here talking to you now."},{"startTime":1415.22,"endTime":1418.066,"body":"So I'm always about that, you know what I'm saying? Because that helped me so"},{"startTime":1418.088,"endTime":1421.234,"body":"much. No, 100%. Yeah. That's the fastest way for us to not be"},{"startTime":1421.272,"endTime":1424.898,"body":"unicorns. Right, exactly. To make sure we're sharing the"},{"startTime":1424.904,"endTime":1428.674,"body":"resource and not being gatekeepers. And that's what I love about"},{"startTime":1428.712,"endTime":1432.326,"body":"events like yours. There's no gatekeeping. Gates are wide ass"},{"startTime":1432.348,"endTime":1436.07,"body":"open. Who wants to come in? Right? Let's figure it out together."},{"startTime":1436.14,"endTime":1438.466,"body":"How can I help? And I'm glad you brought up the fact that there's non"},{"startTime":1438.498,"endTime":1442.266,"body":"tech roles in tech. Yes, because I was in tech sales easy. And"},{"startTime":1442.288,"endTime":1445.994,"body":"I was in tech sales since 2006. Very lucrative. Big bags. Big"},{"startTime":1446.032,"endTime":1449.738,"body":"bags, man. Big bags. And I would always tell people like, yeah, I'm in"},{"startTime":1449.744,"endTime":1453.546,"body":"tech sales. They'd be like, oh, you sell laptops at Best Buy? I'm like,"},{"startTime":1453.568,"endTime":1456.894,"body":"no, I don't work at the geek squad, man. I sell enterprise software solutions for"},{"startTime":1456.932,"endTime":1460.458,"body":"sea level executives at Fortune 500. Right. And still there would be, like, a glaze"},{"startTime":1460.474,"endTime":1463.502,"body":"over their eyes. I don't have no clue what you're talking about. And I remember"},{"startTime":1463.556,"endTime":1466.978,"body":"back in the day, 2006, et cetera, when I say I was in tech,"},{"startTime":1467.144,"endTime":1470.466,"body":"the women weren't feeling it, you know what I'm saying? People were just"},{"startTime":1470.488,"endTime":1474.114,"body":"like, okay. But now I love the fact"},{"startTime":1474.152,"endTime":1477.966,"body":"that tech in the black community is starting to become more, like, popular. It's becoming"},{"startTime":1477.998,"endTime":1481.094,"body":"more of a status thing. It doesn't need to be all clout chasey or nothing"},{"startTime":1481.132,"endTime":1484.818,"body":"like that. But at the end of the day, we should highlight the lifestyles we're"},{"startTime":1484.834,"endTime":1488.214,"body":"able to get, but we also should be honest about what it takes."},{"startTime":1488.412,"endTime":1491.654,"body":"But just because you got a bag don't mean you're not doing work while you're"},{"startTime":1491.702,"endTime":1495.434,"body":"working hard. And I think that's the misstep that we're doing right"},{"startTime":1495.472,"endTime":1499.194,"body":"now and setting people up for success. Like, yeah, you can"},{"startTime":1499.232,"endTime":1502.038,"body":"make X amount of dollars, you can make six figures, you can make blah, blah,"},{"startTime":1502.054,"endTime":1505.854,"body":"blah. But you're going to work for it, too. It's not easy. And"},{"startTime":1505.972,"endTime":1509.726,"body":"while we glamorize it, I think it's great that we shine a light,"},{"startTime":1509.828,"endTime":1513.662,"body":"like you said, podcasts and talks like this. Let them know Israel working"},{"startTime":1513.716,"endTime":1517.426,"body":"there, too. You got the Hustle, you got the grind. Because if you don't, you"},{"startTime":1517.448,"endTime":1521.074,"body":"can be out of there pretty. Yep. Three months, you're on the Pip. Six months,"},{"startTime":1521.112,"endTime":1524.866,"body":"you're right? Yeah, man, go ahead. No, so I"},{"startTime":1524.888,"endTime":1528.338,"body":"was just saying the Hustle piece of that is important as well. Yeah. Especially in"},{"startTime":1528.344,"endTime":1532.086,"body":"the climate, with the layoffs that are going on, you got to make sure"},{"startTime":1532.108,"endTime":1535.026,"body":"that you are a value to your company, and you need to make sure you're"},{"startTime":1535.058,"endTime":1538.806,"body":"documenting your value internally for yourself and then make sure"},{"startTime":1538.828,"endTime":1542.518,"body":"that you share that value that you're bringing to the company with your management, et"},{"startTime":1542.534,"endTime":1545.946,"body":"cetera. So that's like, one of my biggest pieces of advice, is always be"},{"startTime":1545.968,"endTime":1549.802,"body":"results driven, metrics driven, but also remember how you're making"},{"startTime":1549.856,"endTime":1553.638,"body":"people feel with your responsiveness, with your accountability,"},{"startTime":1553.734,"endTime":1557.454,"body":"reliability. Et cetera, because when these layoffs happen, these"},{"startTime":1557.492,"endTime":1560.286,"body":"people are going to get hired somewhere else. And when they get hired somewhere else,"},{"startTime":1560.308,"endTime":1563.886,"body":"they're going to be like, who's a good diversity officer we should mess with? You"},{"startTime":1563.908,"endTime":1567.694,"body":"should mess with Cam or Sales, you should mess with Jared, et cetera."},{"startTime":1567.822,"endTime":1571.666,"body":"So talk about like, and I'm going to keep it very broad so that you"},{"startTime":1571.688,"endTime":1575.314,"body":"can just make it your own. For the people that"},{"startTime":1575.352,"endTime":1579.174,"body":"join black men in tech and ask like, hey, Cam, what are ways"},{"startTime":1579.212,"endTime":1582.962,"body":"for me to get in? What kind of advice or resources do you typically"},{"startTime":1583.026,"endTime":1586.274,"body":"point them to? Easy. So we got a couple coaches"},{"startTime":1586.322,"endTime":1590.018,"body":"that we get the new fellows that come into the"},{"startTime":1590.114,"endTime":1593.5,"body":"and women's women reached out as well, which I love, that"},{"startTime":1594.03,"endTime":1597.786,"body":"don't think we not for you either. So I give"},{"startTime":1597.808,"endTime":1600.826,"body":"them immediately. I set them up with a coach, right? We have a couple of"},{"startTime":1600.848,"endTime":1604.638,"body":"coaches that work with us, and they all in the as black men and"},{"startTime":1604.644,"endTime":1608.174,"body":"Tech been there from the beginning. That's why I absolutely love because,"},{"startTime":1608.292,"endTime":1612.0,"body":"again, there's no competition in the space. It's more so how can we work"},{"startTime":1612.53,"endTime":1616.094,"body":"collaboratively? So what we do is"},{"startTime":1616.212,"endTime":1619.998,"body":"we do a career development piece to help people break in. Let's"},{"startTime":1620.014,"endTime":1623.586,"body":"look at your resume first, let you talk to one of the coaches and see"},{"startTime":1623.688,"endTime":1627.314,"body":"what they can work out and how they can help you succeed. Then we talk"},{"startTime":1627.352,"endTime":1630.854,"body":"about, well, what have you done already? Meaning what prepared you to go into"},{"startTime":1630.892,"endTime":1634.294,"body":"tech? Most people try to get in on the cyberspace. Most people"},{"startTime":1634.412,"endTime":1638.198,"body":"cybersecurity. Most people try to get in on"},{"startTime":1638.364,"endTime":1642.214,"body":"tech sales. And what I tell individuals immediately, use your transferable"},{"startTime":1642.262,"endTime":1646.106,"body":"skills, all right? Everything you do in life, you can bring to tech. If"},{"startTime":1646.128,"endTime":1649.946,"body":"you in HR, if you in sales, if you in product, if you"},{"startTime":1650.048,"endTime":1653.762,"body":"selling stuff at Best Buy, that's product management, like that's"},{"startTime":1653.766,"endTime":1657.614,"body":"product marketing, use that skill set, change it up and get"},{"startTime":1657.652,"endTime":1661.214,"body":"into the tech space. Third thing we do is actually set them up with"},{"startTime":1661.252,"endTime":1664.766,"body":"recruiters to walk through their resume, which is key and important because our"},{"startTime":1664.788,"endTime":1668.482,"body":"partners are so willing to help that they're willing to give up their free"},{"startTime":1668.536,"endTime":1672.334,"body":"time to help someone go through a resume to say, okay, you want a Texas"},{"startTime":1672.382,"endTime":1675.874,"body":"sale job at X Company? This is what you should consider."},{"startTime":1676.072,"endTime":1679.906,"body":"Right? So how many times do you have a recruiter not trying to recruit"},{"startTime":1679.938,"endTime":1683.414,"body":"you, but trying to help you? And that's the thing I love about our"},{"startTime":1683.452,"endTime":1686.774,"body":"partnerships. People really get it. And people really want to do"},{"startTime":1686.812,"endTime":1690.546,"body":"unconventional things to get new people into tech. So they're willing"},{"startTime":1690.578,"endTime":1694.31,"body":"to do that work because of that. Now you have someone that's uber"},{"startTime":1694.39,"endTime":1698.106,"body":"prepared to be able to go to an interview because now"},{"startTime":1698.128,"endTime":1701.482,"body":"they have help from like, three or four different people before they even see apply"},{"startTime":1701.536,"endTime":1705.294,"body":"to a job. So I think it's just the way it looks different and"},{"startTime":1705.332,"endTime":1709.118,"body":"plus, we also opened up a cyber lab that's going"},{"startTime":1709.124,"endTime":1712.806,"body":"to be running this summer with Ted Lucas at Fortimamore"},{"startTime":1712.858,"endTime":1716.062,"body":"University that's going to do resume optimization, LinkedIn"},{"startTime":1716.126,"endTime":1719.874,"body":"optimization, and also cohorts of students that's going to be able"},{"startTime":1719.912,"endTime":1723.41,"body":"to do certifications. Again, another"},{"startTime":1723.48,"endTime":1727.23,"body":"avenue. We can't keep doing the same thing, expecting different results."},{"startTime":1727.31,"endTime":1730.182,"body":"That's why we, as black men in tech, we look at it from a different"},{"startTime":1730.236,"endTime":1733.954,"body":"angle. Like, what can we do outside the box to ensure we solve"},{"startTime":1734.002,"endTime":1737.686,"body":"problems to help people move into the tech space? Yes. Now, the"},{"startTime":1737.708,"endTime":1741.426,"body":"totally is dope, man. Is there a cost to these services? No, they're"},{"startTime":1741.458,"endTime":1745.306,"body":"free. Okay. I do all the hard work going to get the money. That's why"},{"startTime":1745.328,"endTime":1749.126,"body":"I need more sponsors. Yeah, because I feel like the barrier entry"},{"startTime":1749.158,"endTime":1752.766,"body":"has to be low for people to succeed. Now, eventually we're going to come out"},{"startTime":1752.788,"endTime":1756.574,"body":"with a subscription membership model because people have been asking for"},{"startTime":1756.612,"endTime":1760.446,"body":"us. But if I had probably shouldn't say this a lot, but if"},{"startTime":1760.468,"endTime":1764.238,"body":"I had all the bankroll to do"},{"startTime":1764.244,"endTime":1767.522,"body":"it, I'll do it myself and make it free to everyone, because everything else"},{"startTime":1767.576,"endTime":1771.346,"body":"costs. I understand monetizing stuff. I understand your worth"},{"startTime":1771.368,"endTime":1774.514,"body":"and that sort of thing. But the target people that I'm going out there, either"},{"startTime":1774.552,"endTime":1778.194,"body":"you got money already because you in tech and you're looking for a home for"},{"startTime":1778.232,"endTime":1781.926,"body":"people, for yourself, or you're looking to break into tech and you ain't got no"},{"startTime":1781.948,"endTime":1785.686,"body":"money, so you're trying to get into tech. So because those are"},{"startTime":1785.708,"endTime":1789.314,"body":"clear lines, the people that got money don't mind buying a ticket to the conference,"},{"startTime":1789.362,"endTime":1793.194,"body":"don't mind being making their self available. And the people that's trying to get into"},{"startTime":1793.232,"endTime":1796.394,"body":"tech, you can't afford it half the time. So how do I create a low"},{"startTime":1796.432,"endTime":1800.202,"body":"barrier to entry? I just let everybody come organically and we get the work"},{"startTime":1800.256,"endTime":1803.962,"body":"done. Got you. So how are you able to deal with the demand?"},{"startTime":1804.026,"endTime":1807.726,"body":"Because I know your DMs are crazy. Like, my DMs are insane with people. Like,"},{"startTime":1807.748,"endTime":1811.582,"body":"I'm trying to break in. I'm trying to break in. And free"},{"startTime":1811.636,"endTime":1815.186,"body":"resources can get you there, but it can take you longer. And"},{"startTime":1815.208,"endTime":1818.594,"body":"so that's one thing. Stuff does"},{"startTime":1818.632,"endTime":1822.226,"body":"cost, but you have to understand or at least do"},{"startTime":1822.248,"endTime":1825.85,"body":"research onto what is the ROI. You know what I'm"},{"startTime":1825.87,"endTime":1829.414,"body":"saying? So for people that refuse to"},{"startTime":1829.452,"endTime":1833.298,"body":"invest in themselves, what would you say to that? Yeah, so here's"},{"startTime":1833.394,"endTime":1837.03,"body":"my thought process. Like, you know, and everybody"},{"startTime":1837.1,"endTime":1839.846,"body":"come on your show. There's a lot of work. All right? There's a lot of"},{"startTime":1839.868,"endTime":1843.158,"body":"work, but the reward is in the people. You have to bring something to the"},{"startTime":1843.164,"endTime":1847.014,"body":"table for me, I just told you, like, my utopia. Like, if"},{"startTime":1847.052,"endTime":1850.718,"body":"I had all the money in the world, this is what not even all the"},{"startTime":1850.724,"endTime":1854.126,"body":"money. If I could just afford it for everybody, I would. But again, you got"},{"startTime":1854.148,"endTime":1857.178,"body":"to bring something to the table as an individual. Like, you got to be willing"},{"startTime":1857.194,"endTime":1859.646,"body":"to do well. You got to be willing to hustle and grind to get it"},{"startTime":1859.668,"endTime":1863.31,"body":"done. If you're not willing to hustle and grind, then within the first week"},{"startTime":1863.38,"endTime":1866.478,"body":"when we put you on these schedules to say, do this, do this, do this,"},{"startTime":1866.564,"endTime":1869.858,"body":"if you fall off and give me a bunch of excuses, then how can I"},{"startTime":1869.864,"endTime":1873.714,"body":"help you? Right? And I'm a person that's going to give people many a chance"},{"startTime":1873.752,"endTime":1877.154,"body":"and opportunity to do the right thing and get it right. But at some point"},{"startTime":1877.192,"endTime":1881.026,"body":"you got to say, you know what? You're not committed like you"},{"startTime":1881.048,"endTime":1884.838,"body":"think you are, right? Because it's a lot of work to get done. But"},{"startTime":1884.924,"endTime":1887.286,"body":"if the work is there, if you're willing to do it, we just need to"},{"startTime":1887.308,"endTime":1889.72,"body":"be able to do it together. So for me,"},{"startTime":1890.89,"endTime":1894.602,"body":"it's a fine line and a balance to it, right? Because you're right. DMs going"},{"startTime":1894.656,"endTime":1898.442,"body":"crazy and I love it because people are interested in black Men attack"},{"startTime":1898.576,"endTime":1902.16,"body":"and then Travel schedule. We just released some research"},{"startTime":1903.33,"endTime":1907.118,"body":"a week ago and it's starting to pick up on the state of"},{"startTime":1907.124,"endTime":1910.906,"body":"the black man in partnership with Work Human and Rice University."},{"startTime":1911.018,"endTime":1914.846,"body":"So if I'm out there trying to get the funding source or"},{"startTime":1914.868,"endTime":1918.462,"body":"whatever, all I ask for the people to do is meet me halfway."},{"startTime":1918.606,"endTime":1922.306,"body":"So when you are ready to break into tech, you're really ready to do"},{"startTime":1922.328,"endTime":1926.162,"body":"the work. Yeah, and I just wanted to emphasize that because usually when people"},{"startTime":1926.216,"endTime":1929.846,"body":"pay, they pay attention. Yeah. When they get it"},{"startTime":1929.868,"endTime":1933.718,"body":"free, they kind of take it for granted. Right, I agree. But you"},{"startTime":1933.724,"endTime":1937.478,"body":"do have those couple of people that really grab onto it and"},{"startTime":1937.484,"endTime":1941.126,"body":"then pay it back, pay it forward. Like, I have people that come through and"},{"startTime":1941.148,"endTime":1944.278,"body":"they got free resources from us and it's fine, but then they come back and"},{"startTime":1944.284,"endTime":1947.526,"body":"they pay for somebody else, right, because they said, this does so much for me,"},{"startTime":1947.548,"endTime":1950.75,"body":"I'm going to bring my homeboy who need to do this and that as well."},{"startTime":1950.82,"endTime":1954.606,"body":"But I agree with you, man. Well, people pay, they pay attention. But"},{"startTime":1954.788,"endTime":1958.446,"body":"also me personally believe because I know I came from no money,"},{"startTime":1958.548,"endTime":1962.174,"body":"I know what it's like to really want to do something and money"},{"startTime":1962.212,"endTime":1966.046,"body":"be the bear. I struggle"},{"startTime":1966.078,"endTime":1969.794,"body":"too, man. If I charge every person that asks for advice with"},{"startTime":1969.832,"endTime":1973.474,"body":"tech, right, I would be so rich. But my conscious is"},{"startTime":1973.512,"endTime":1977.106,"body":"like abundance. Come on. Gratitude for what I've been able"},{"startTime":1977.128,"endTime":1980.886,"body":"to experience. So, yeah, through my"},{"startTime":1980.908,"endTime":1984.742,"body":"spaces, we got like hundreds of people into tech with no cost to them"},{"startTime":1984.796,"endTime":1988.07,"body":"or the recruiters. And part of me is like, dang, you all billion dollar companies"},{"startTime":1988.14,"endTime":1991.786,"body":"should be paying me. But I want to make it easy for"},{"startTime":1991.808,"endTime":1995.526,"body":"them to show up and hire us. And as long as they're hiring"},{"startTime":1995.558,"endTime":1999.354,"body":"us, I'm cool with it. The boot camp"},{"startTime":1999.392,"endTime":2003.226,"body":"I partner with is course careers, okay? I chose them because I"},{"startTime":2003.248,"endTime":2006.858,"body":"don't want to partner with somebody that charges thousands of dollars, you know what I'm"},{"startTime":2006.874,"endTime":2010.686,"body":"saying? And my partnership, you get a discount like $50. Nice. But"},{"startTime":2010.788,"endTime":2014.414,"body":"ultimately what I like about them and programs like them is"},{"startTime":2014.452,"endTime":2018.114,"body":"that they're incentive to get you hired because the hiring companies pay them"},{"startTime":2018.152,"endTime":2021.682,"body":"when you get landed. Somebody got to pay somewhere. Yeah."},{"startTime":2021.816,"endTime":2025.65,"body":"So instead of taking thousands of dollars from you, they supplement it"},{"startTime":2025.72,"endTime":2029.474,"body":"from the companies and they get you in front of interviews. And that's why"},{"startTime":2029.512,"endTime":2032.966,"body":"they're motivated to really get you trained up, get your resume, your"},{"startTime":2032.988,"endTime":2036.694,"body":"LinkedIn, they get paid on the back and it makes them look good because the"},{"startTime":2036.732,"endTime":2040.434,"body":"companies that are paying them are like, you're bringing us amazing talent."},{"startTime":2040.562,"endTime":2043.834,"body":"So I'll put the little thing at the bottom. But if you can't get into"},{"startTime":2043.872,"endTime":2047.26,"body":"black men talk in tech, then definitely come."},{"startTime":2047.71,"endTime":2051.034,"body":"I love that because you're right, somebody do. But when you get to people, man,"},{"startTime":2051.072,"endTime":2054.08,"body":"like I said, some I struggle with it as well. Just making sure"},{"startTime":2054.45,"endTime":2058.174,"body":"we're all thanks to everyone. Someone asked me the other day, like, hey,"},{"startTime":2058.372,"endTime":2061.76,"body":"you do a lot with black meditech? I said, I can't afford not to."},{"startTime":2062.53,"endTime":2066.062,"body":"We have a responsibility to the space to make sure that"},{"startTime":2066.116,"endTime":2069.874,"body":"we're seen and highlighted in a way that makes sense. And to me, it makes"},{"startTime":2069.912,"endTime":2073.694,"body":"sense through working those three pillars, you know what I mean? Having the grip mentality."},{"startTime":2073.742,"endTime":2077.506,"body":"We want to grow the community. We want to stay relatable. We"},{"startTime":2077.528,"endTime":2081.286,"body":"want to inspire. We want people to thrive. The grip mentality for us is"},{"startTime":2081.308,"endTime":2084.694,"body":"what we really focus on. So yeah, man, all the things yeah,"},{"startTime":2084.732,"endTime":2088.466,"body":"bro. So when it comes to keeping"},{"startTime":2088.498,"endTime":2091.906,"body":"the job and being successful in tech, because that's my biggest"},{"startTime":2091.938,"endTime":2095.466,"body":"thing, I want to get as many black people into tech. But what good is"},{"startTime":2095.488,"endTime":2099.242,"body":"it if you're gone in six months to a year and"},{"startTime":2099.296,"endTime":2103.114,"body":"you're struggling to get back in? And that's why I call it big tech"},{"startTime":2103.152,"endTime":2106.894,"body":"Energy. Obviously, it's a play on words, but it's about energy. It's about"},{"startTime":2106.932,"endTime":2110.206,"body":"mindset. It's about how do you solve problems, how you deal with"},{"startTime":2110.228,"endTime":2113.998,"body":"adversity, how do you add value to other people, how do"},{"startTime":2114.004,"endTime":2117.746,"body":"you show up with relationships. And these are all"},{"startTime":2117.768,"endTime":2121.479,"body":"things that have been key to my career. And so what are some of the"},{"startTime":2121.479,"endTime":2124.67,"body":"things that have been key to you in terms of being marketable"},{"startTime":2124.75,"endTime":2128.454,"body":"successful, et cetera, in tech? And"},{"startTime":2128.492,"endTime":2132.182,"body":"also as an entrepreneur? Because a lot of entrepreneurs listen to this as well."},{"startTime":2132.236,"endTime":2135.08,"body":"Yeah. No, immediately I say to"},{"startTime":2135.45,"endTime":2138.806,"body":"individuals that are trying to stay in the tech, find your"},{"startTime":2138.828,"endTime":2142.666,"body":"community. That's the only way you're going to stay in tech. When you think"},{"startTime":2142.688,"endTime":2146.118,"body":"about if you go at it alone, you think you're the only one and you're"},{"startTime":2146.134,"endTime":2149.914,"body":"not going to lean on anyone to help you, help you"},{"startTime":2149.952,"endTime":2153.706,"body":"with whatever your situation is. Give you a perfect example. Just yesterday,"},{"startTime":2153.738,"endTime":2157.486,"body":"I was talking to two directors of a company that felt like"},{"startTime":2157.508,"endTime":2160.718,"body":"they got skipped over for promotion. Probably"},{"startTime":2160.804,"endTime":2164.606,"body":"did. But through our conversation I explained to them"},{"startTime":2164.628,"endTime":2168.222,"body":"the calibration process and because they understood the calibration"},{"startTime":2168.286,"endTime":2171.762,"body":"process, now they understand the systems in which when someone says,"},{"startTime":2171.896,"endTime":2175.554,"body":"I am fighting for you to get your next role, it's not just on your"},{"startTime":2175.592,"endTime":2179.334,"body":"hiring manager or your direct managers, on the managers four and five"},{"startTime":2179.372,"endTime":2183.186,"body":"levels up, right? So I think the immediate"},{"startTime":2183.218,"endTime":2186.886,"body":"win is just going ahead and connecting with a community that'll help you stay in"},{"startTime":2186.908,"endTime":2190.594,"body":"tech, your community and finding them because they're going to be those trusted"},{"startTime":2190.642,"endTime":2193.674,"body":"advisors to give you advice and let you know you're not the only one help"},{"startTime":2193.712,"endTime":2197.35,"body":"you navigate the waters because that's what we do in tech. And I'm"},{"startTime":2197.43,"endTime":2200.806,"body":"speaking as almost like all of us because at some level you're"},{"startTime":2200.838,"endTime":2204.606,"body":"navigating the tech scene in order to stay there, right? It's not"},{"startTime":2204.628,"endTime":2208.19,"body":"a clear cut role. It's not being 27"},{"startTime":2208.26,"endTime":2211.966,"body":"years old, working as a CSM and making $200,000 and you"},{"startTime":2211.988,"endTime":2215.314,"body":"know, you got a clear path. Sometimes we got to work through it. So work"},{"startTime":2215.352,"endTime":2219.09,"body":"through it together, right? I think for entrepreneurs, including myself,"},{"startTime":2219.16,"endTime":2223.006,"body":"which I'm still learning, y'all, I'm a work in progress. So don't judge"},{"startTime":2223.038,"endTime":2226.726,"body":"me, judge yourself. It's about standing on the ground and"},{"startTime":2226.748,"endTime":2230.102,"body":"stand on top of things. The best advice I've gotten this"},{"startTime":2230.156,"endTime":2233.926,"body":"year, last year for this year, is being able"},{"startTime":2233.948,"endTime":2237.606,"body":"to be vulnerable in spaces. Rick Ross told me in"},{"startTime":2237.628,"endTime":2241.082,"body":"a conversation, he said, you have to be able to say, I need you,"},{"startTime":2241.216,"endTime":2244.822,"body":"I need your help. I need people I know me as an entrepreneur"},{"startTime":2244.886,"endTime":2248.49,"body":"myself, it's like this is my baby."},{"startTime":2249.55,"endTime":2253.274,"body":"Nobody love it like I do. And if you want to take that next"},{"startTime":2253.312,"endTime":2256.974,"body":"step from growth to scaling, you need more people"},{"startTime":2257.012,"endTime":2260.606,"body":"to help and you have to be able to trust. So for me this year,"},{"startTime":2260.708,"endTime":2264.414,"body":"to make it marketable, stay on the grind, stay on the hustle, but for"},{"startTime":2264.452,"endTime":2268.286,"body":"me, it's about being able to be vulnerable enough with a small team of"},{"startTime":2268.308,"endTime":2272.046,"body":"people to say, I need your help. I can't do it all. Because as I'm"},{"startTime":2272.078,"endTime":2274.41,"body":"trying to do it all, I'm dropping some of the balls. You know what I"},{"startTime":2274.42,"endTime":2278.206,"body":"mean? So there's some I'm learning and some"},{"startTime":2278.248,"endTime":2282.006,"body":"I'm really working towards for this year, being able to grow and"},{"startTime":2282.028,"endTime":2285.858,"body":"then scale. Because you're right, we're super busy. We run around the country, we're"},{"startTime":2285.874,"endTime":2289.37,"body":"doing all this stuff and we're thankful for those things,"},{"startTime":2289.44,"endTime":2293.226,"body":"but we can't let none of it fail. Sometimes it"},{"startTime":2293.248,"endTime":2296.794,"body":"fails because we try to hold all the cards. So to any"},{"startTime":2296.832,"endTime":2300.474,"body":"entrepreneur listening that's in that stage, whether they"},{"startTime":2300.512,"endTime":2304.318,"body":"trying to figure out what's the next step be, okay, being vulnerable, you"},{"startTime":2304.324,"endTime":2307.694,"body":"know what I'm saying? It's my uncomfortable spot. It might be yours, but we'll grow"},{"startTime":2307.732,"endTime":2311.086,"body":"together. Absolutely. So I'm going to give some"},{"startTime":2311.108,"endTime":2314.642,"body":"takeaways from this conversation, right? And"},{"startTime":2314.696,"endTime":2318.514,"body":"hopefully the listeners take this away as well. Your"},{"startTime":2318.552,"endTime":2322.258,"body":"success has been fueled by passion that's bigger than yourself,"},{"startTime":2322.424,"endTime":2326.126,"body":"but it's bigger than your"},{"startTime":2326.248,"endTime":2329.874,"body":"money, your status. It's about helping other people and bringing"},{"startTime":2329.922,"endTime":2333.73,"body":"value. How important is that? For one, your ability"},{"startTime":2333.81,"endTime":2337.558,"body":"to get through the adversity of putting together these big conferences where"},{"startTime":2337.644,"endTime":2341.226,"body":"things will always go wrong. You always got to put out fires and figure it"},{"startTime":2341.248,"endTime":2345.066,"body":"out to make it work. So right. The importance of passion and the"},{"startTime":2345.088,"endTime":2348.602,"body":"importance of leading with value for others, like"},{"startTime":2348.656,"endTime":2352.074,"body":"obviously diversity officer, there was a passion and a value there as"},{"startTime":2352.112,"endTime":2355.374,"body":"well, because I say that to say this real"},{"startTime":2355.412,"endTime":2359.054,"body":"quick, everybody wants to get into tech. That's cool, I love"},{"startTime":2359.092,"endTime":2362.51,"body":"that. But what is your why that is going to make"},{"startTime":2362.58,"endTime":2366.254,"body":"this role that you get into become a 1015 year career?"},{"startTime":2366.382,"endTime":2369.826,"body":"And what is the impact you're going to have on your teammates, your"},{"startTime":2369.848,"endTime":2373.666,"body":"management, your customers, or your community because of that"},{"startTime":2373.688,"endTime":2377.538,"body":"role? If you have something really solid like that, you're going to have a"},{"startTime":2377.544,"endTime":2380.2,"body":"really successful career and people are going to gravitate you."},{"startTime":2380.89,"endTime":2384.646,"body":"Takers are going to gravitate to you, but givers will gravitate to you"},{"startTime":2384.668,"endTime":2388.518,"body":"as well. Having discernment of who's who, that's something that comes with time."},{"startTime":2388.604,"endTime":2392.314,"body":"But ultimately, if you have a passion that's bigger than money and"},{"startTime":2392.352,"endTime":2396.186,"body":"bigger than status, et cetera, you'll have success. So I just love for you to"},{"startTime":2396.208,"endTime":2399.85,"body":"kind of talk about your thoughts on that. Yeah. So really quickly,"},{"startTime":2400.0,"endTime":2403.642,"body":"I would say passion is an emotion that we all"},{"startTime":2403.696,"endTime":2406.638,"body":"have and you need it. But purpose is what's going to get you through in"},{"startTime":2406.644,"endTime":2410.366,"body":"the toughest times. I said this the other day. You"},{"startTime":2410.388,"endTime":2413.97,"body":"have to be able to find your purpose in life"},{"startTime":2414.12,"endTime":2417.81,"body":"and your purpose is going to drive you to whatever"},{"startTime":2417.88,"endTime":2420.962,"body":"is next. Like on nights where I worked five"},{"startTime":2421.016,"endTime":2424.654,"body":"jobs, on nights where it gets rough,"},{"startTime":2424.702,"endTime":2428.546,"body":"like your purpose, why you're doing it, is more important than what you're"},{"startTime":2428.578,"endTime":2432.262,"body":"doing, right? So focus on the"},{"startTime":2432.316,"endTime":2435.88,"body":"why and the purpose and the passion will come with it."},{"startTime":2436.49,"endTime":2439.994,"body":"And I would say this, some people might not agree, like"},{"startTime":2440.112,"endTime":2443.1,"body":"your purpose should make you money."},{"startTime":2443.71,"endTime":2447.274,"body":"Your purpose should make you money. All right? So what that means to me is"},{"startTime":2447.312,"endTime":2451.002,"body":"like you drive with your purpose and it will make room"},{"startTime":2451.056,"endTime":2454.686,"body":"for your gifts. It would happen for you the way it"},{"startTime":2454.708,"endTime":2458.446,"body":"should. If you chase money, you're going to be always chasing money and"},{"startTime":2458.468,"endTime":2462.046,"body":"chasing a dollar. But if you know you have an end game and"},{"startTime":2462.068,"endTime":2465.834,"body":"purpose in life, please follow that and please find that. Because on the toughest"},{"startTime":2465.882,"endTime":2469.474,"body":"days and I'm sure you could attest to on the toughest days, it's our"},{"startTime":2469.512,"endTime":2473.106,"body":"purpose that get us to the next day to answer that next email"},{"startTime":2473.208,"endTime":2476.798,"body":"to open that DM to help that individual when you don't got burned by"},{"startTime":2476.824,"endTime":2480.546,"body":"two individuals trying to help them get into tech, right? That purpose"},{"startTime":2480.578,"endTime":2483.91,"body":"is your fire, right? So you always want to be"},{"startTime":2484.06,"endTime":2487.766,"body":"focused on that North Star and your purpose and your purpose will"},{"startTime":2487.788,"endTime":2491.526,"body":"get you there. Your passion will keep you filled up. But"},{"startTime":2491.548,"endTime":2495.226,"body":"your passion sometimes go low when somebody do something burn you or your"},{"startTime":2495.248,"endTime":2498.762,"body":"best friend do this or that something happened and you post to get this done,"},{"startTime":2498.816,"endTime":2502.458,"body":"they don't. That happens, but that's passion. But if you know that there's a"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2502.464,"endTime":2505.134,"body":"00 in the morning, keep"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2505.172,"endTime":2508.96,"body":"working, keep hustling, keep grinding, because you know that"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2509.33,"endTime":2513.038,"body":"it's a bigger purpose for you than just saying, oh, I want to"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2513.124,"endTime":2516.734,"body":"be on a podcast, or I want to be on the stage. It's like, no,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2516.852,"endTime":2520.066,"body":"I want to help that brother, that sister that's trying to get in tech, or"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2520.088,"endTime":2523.826,"body":"I want to make sure that CEO, that black CEO feels supported. And"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2523.848,"endTime":2527.326,"body":"that's a purpose driven life. So if you find your purpose,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2527.438,"endTime":2530.566,"body":"everything else will fall right in place. Yeah. And that's what I love about black"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2530.588,"endTime":2533.73,"body":"men in tech, because it's going to help a lot of people find their purpose."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2533.81,"endTime":2537.494,"body":"Yes. Through conversations, hopefully. Man, you already"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2537.532,"endTime":2541.274,"body":"done it. You're doing it, appreciate it. And yeah, we need more of it."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2541.312,"endTime":2545.126,"body":"So to everybody that's listening, make sure that you tap"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2545.158,"endTime":2548.698,"body":"in with black men in tech. Check out the conference that's going to be happening"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2548.784,"endTime":2552.49,"body":"later this year. Definitely going to have you talk about all those details."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2553.09,"endTime":2556.734,"body":"But when it comes to your final thoughts that you want to get"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2556.772,"endTime":2560.526,"body":"off to the audience, what is it that you want to tell them in"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2560.548,"endTime":2564.306,"body":"terms of letting them know that"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2564.328,"endTime":2568.034,"body":"they can get whatever they want in this world? Yeah. So I would say"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2568.072,"endTime":2571.314,"body":"immediately to individuals that's listening to the"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2571.352,"endTime":2575.202,"body":"podcast, stay tapped in, all right? Never"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2575.256,"endTime":2578.834,"body":"tap out. Because when you tap out, that means you're done. If you're tapping"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2578.882,"endTime":2582.262,"body":"in and you stay tapped into whatever you got going on,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2582.396,"endTime":2585.858,"body":"whatever is happening in life, find that purpose"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2586.034,"endTime":2589.466,"body":"and bring it to the tech space. We got so much room over here and"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2589.488,"endTime":2592.954,"body":"there's so much money to be made. Literally, people are changing their"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2592.992,"endTime":2596.362,"body":"generational wealth based on their"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2596.416,"endTime":2600.074,"body":"job currently in the tech space. So the money is"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2600.112,"endTime":2603.806,"body":"here, the people are here, but you have to find a way to maneuver and"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2603.828,"endTime":2607.534,"body":"navigate the space. So I would say tap in to"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2607.572,"endTime":2611.374,"body":"whatever resources you have or community or network or just"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2611.412,"endTime":2614.562,"body":"listen to these podcasts. Reach out to the people that you see"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2614.616,"endTime":2618.366,"body":"LinkedIn, DM and whatever. Get more knowledge. It's a hustle"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2618.398,"endTime":2622.082,"body":"to everything. That same hustle that you had when you wanted that"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2622.136,"endTime":2625.822,"body":"X, whatever that X is Jays, that new purse"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2625.886,"endTime":2629.59,"body":"that wanted to go on that trip, well, that same"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2629.66,"endTime":2633.014,"body":"energy, that same energy, bring it to the tech"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2633.052,"endTime":2636.63,"body":"space. Bring that hunger and that vigor, because you are needed."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2636.78,"endTime":2640.486,"body":"You are wanted. And we can only succeed with you in the"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2640.508,"endTime":2644.266,"body":"tech space. So next generation of tech leaders listening to me, you"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2644.288,"endTime":2647.994,"body":"all come to tech. The people that's in tech stay motivated, stay positive, find"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2648.032,"endTime":2651.686,"body":"your people, and let's do this together 100%. And"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2651.728,"endTime":2655.36,"body":"so my addition to that is basically"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2655.97,"endTime":2659.246,"body":"when he says your purpose will make you money or it should make you"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2659.268,"endTime":2662.606,"body":"money, your purpose is going to show up in your"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2662.628,"endTime":2666.226,"body":"interviews and it's going to permeate your confidence, your"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2666.248,"endTime":2670.034,"body":"conviction, and also your intentionality. Because"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2670.072,"endTime":2673.282,"body":"if you have a purpose, you're going to be more intentional with the actual"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2673.336,"endTime":2676.718,"body":"preparation. So if you do have purpose and you're"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2676.734,"endTime":2680.498,"body":"intentional, take advantage of the black men in tech resources. If you're"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2680.514,"endTime":2684.038,"body":"not, leave them for the person. That you know what I'm saying?"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2684.124,"endTime":2687.746,"body":"Big fact. So that's that. And then"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2687.868,"endTime":2691.5,"body":"being at these events, I cannot emphasize it enough"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2694.27,"endTime":2698.118,"body":"how much you're going to expedite in terms of time, energy, et"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2698.134,"endTime":2701.834,"body":"cetera, because you're going to DM these people on LinkedIn and their LinkedIn"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2701.882,"endTime":2705.594,"body":"DMs are just a freaking avalanche,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2705.642,"endTime":2709.166,"body":"right? But at these conferences, you can just walk right up to them"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2709.348,"endTime":2713.038,"body":"and two step before I let go. And"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2713.044,"endTime":2716.762,"body":"then be like, oh, let's connect on LinkedIn. And then be like, yeah, we're dancing"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2716.826,"endTime":2720.658,"body":"before I let go. I want to show you here's what I'm working on, you"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2720.664,"endTime":2724.386,"body":"know what I'm saying? But more importantly, when you network, lead with"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2724.408,"endTime":2728.146,"body":"how you can add value first, you know what saying. Like, for"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2728.168,"endTime":2731.67,"body":"instance, I met Cam this weekend in person. I reached out to him before"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2731.82,"endTime":2735.446,"body":"and my thing wasn't like, yo man, can black men in tech do this for"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2735.468,"endTime":2739.254,"body":"me? Or whatever the case is. I'm like, man, first and foremost you're doing"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2739.292,"endTime":2742.718,"body":"dope stuff. And I would love for you to be highlighted on my podcast."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2742.834,"endTime":2746.646,"body":"It's mutually beneficial, right? Of course. Because you have an audience, I have an audience."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2746.758,"endTime":2750.378,"body":"Your audience is going to learn about me, but my audience will learn about you."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2750.544,"endTime":2754.218,"body":"And collaboration is key. So focus on collaboration versus"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2754.314,"endTime":2758.154,"body":"how can this person get me somewhere? Whenever asking for a mentor, whenever"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2758.202,"endTime":2761.278,"body":"asking for a referral, whatever the case is, just"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2761.444,"endTime":2765.098,"body":"authentically. Ask yourself, what can I do to help this person?"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2765.204,"endTime":2768.66,"body":"And if you don't know, then ask because you never know,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2769.43,"endTime":2773.154,"body":"I would say to that last piece about collaboration, at the same time,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2773.272,"endTime":2776.546,"body":"make sure your collaboration you bring yourself to the table and it's an equal"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2776.578,"endTime":2780.066,"body":"footing. Collaboration should make you better, not bitter."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2780.178,"endTime":2783.702,"body":"So if you find yourself in a situation where the collaboration is"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2783.756,"endTime":2787.462,"body":"necessarily not working to your full potential, something"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2787.516,"endTime":2790.84,"body":"is wrong. So you need to check that because that energy"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2791.23,"endTime":2795.018,"body":"can really throw you off or really mess you up. So making sure you always"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2795.104,"endTime":2798.762,"body":"on the even playing field when we talk about collaboration because everybody"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2798.816,"endTime":2802.666,"body":"want to collab, all collabs could be good, but not always good. But"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2802.688,"endTime":2806.246,"body":"you got to know internally what's going on with that collaboration."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2806.438,"endTime":2808.958,"body":"And you got to have good vibes. You got to feel the vibes. If the"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2808.964,"endTime":2812.078,"body":"vibe is not there, it's not there. Can't force it. But at the same time,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2812.164,"endTime":2815.922,"body":"when you in good company, stay in good company. Yeah, 100%. Awesome,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2815.976,"endTime":2819.25,"body":"man. So everybody needs to be a part of black men in tech,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2819.32,"endTime":2822.802,"body":"everybody, men, women, whoever. So"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2822.856,"endTime":2826.63,"body":"please tell people how they can get in touch with black. So at"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2826.7,"endTime":2830.598,"body":"B-O-K-M-E-N-I-N-T-E-C-H"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2830.684,"endTime":2833.862,"body":"on all socials. You can also reach"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2833.916,"endTime":2836.914,"body":"out on our website WW dot"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2836.962,"endTime":2839.082,"body":"blackmanatech, B-O-K again,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2839.216,"endTime":2842.794,"body":"blackmanatech.com and just get"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2842.832,"endTime":2846.202,"body":"involved. Hit the like button, hit the info button. Join our"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2846.256,"endTime":2849.866,"body":"newsletter. Join our fellowship meetings. I'm actually going to have you"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2849.888,"endTime":2853.726,"body":"on one of the fellowships coming up. But we're just going to continue to do"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2853.748,"endTime":2856.83,"body":"the movement organically and with purpose"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2857.49,"endTime":2861.04,"body":"and as well as if you want to know more, DM us,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2861.49,"endTime":2865.01,"body":"see us on different, come to our different events. We got an event in La"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2865.16,"endTime":2868.958,"body":"Cinco de Mayo at station 1640. We're collaborating"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2869.134,"endTime":2872.706,"body":"with some really cool people house party, charles and"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2872.728,"endTime":2876.466,"body":"another charles and another individual out in"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2876.488,"endTime":2879.298,"body":"La. In a couple of weeks. So if you're in La. Join us. If you're"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2879.314,"endTime":2883.126,"body":"in Atlanta, May 31, join us at render. We'll be activating there as"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2883.148,"endTime":2886.786,"body":"well, but just come be a part of what we're doing. It's organic,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2886.898,"endTime":2889.946,"body":"it's real, you're going to feel the vibes and you're going to want to do"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2889.968,"endTime":2893.02,"body":"more. So definitely come join us. Okay,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2894.03,"endTime":2897.834,"body":"awesome. Well, hopefully you all enjoyed this episode. Definitely"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2897.872,"endTime":2901.594,"body":"make sure to subscribe, like comment, share, let people know this is"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2901.632,"endTime":2905.406,"body":"happening in terms of big tech energy. Let black boys and black"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2905.428,"endTime":2909.246,"body":"girls hear this as well, your nieces, your nephews, your daughters and"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2909.268,"endTime":2913.102,"body":"your sons. Like the whole goal of them seeing us in my bomber jacket and"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2913.156,"endTime":2916.85,"body":"his hoodie is because we don't have to be code switchers exactly."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2916.92,"endTime":2920.498,"body":"We can be our authentic selves and bring value. But I want you all to"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2920.504,"endTime":2924.354,"body":"understand the mindset that's making these people successful. So also check out"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2924.392,"endTime":2928.19,"body":"blackhire.com. This is one of my initiatives connecting black people"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2928.28,"endTime":2931.446,"body":"to freelance opportunities because you can make a ton of money as"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2931.468,"endTime":2935.058,"body":"freelancers in the tech space as well and be autonomous"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2935.154,"endTime":2938.438,"body":"and also stack jobs and cool stuff like that. So go to"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2938.444,"endTime":2942.218,"body":"blackhire.com. And if you are somebody looking for freelancers, fill in"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2942.224,"endTime":2945.914,"body":"your information. If you're looking for jobs, put in your information. As soon as this"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2945.952,"endTime":2949.69,"body":"live, we will let you know. And yeah, tap in with me"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2949.76,"endTime":2953.47,"body":"at BigTech energy podcast on instagram, dr."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2953.54,"endTime":2957.054,"body":"J-D-O-C-T-A-J on instagram as"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2957.092,"endTime":2960.24,"body":"well. And then also check me out on"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2960.85,"endTime":2964.598,"body":"bigtechenergypodcast.com and sign up for the mailing"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2964.634,"endTime":2968.146,"body":"list for all the events that will be happening in your cities. And last but"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2968.168,"endTime":2971.682,"body":"not least, want to make sure everybody hears again"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2971.816,"endTime":2975.558,"body":"the conference dates, location and all of that, how they can"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2975.564,"endTime":2978.902,"body":"buy tickets. Got you. So conference is called"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2978.956,"endTime":2982.054,"body":"thrive, October 19 through the"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2982.092,"endTime":2985.506,"body":"22nd, fort Lauderdale, Florida at the Weston fort"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2985.538,"endTime":2987.846,"body":"Lauderdale beach you go to our website,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2987.948,"endTime":2992.154,"body":"www.blackblkmentech.com."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2992.272,"endTime":2995.734,"body":"We have a whole section about our conference. You can learn more. CPAs"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2995.782,"endTime":2999.254,"body":"speakers also hit that button that said get conference"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":2999.302,"endTime":3003.018,"body":"tickets now. Early bird specials are already on sale. Tickets are"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3003.024,"endTime":3006.606,"body":"moving pretty quickly, so you want to be in the space. I'm going to tell"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3006.628,"endTime":3010.046,"body":"you immediately, this is not a conference where you're going to see thousands of people."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3010.148,"endTime":3013.886,"body":"You're going to see a small group of 850 people max. And"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3013.908,"endTime":3017.47,"body":"the reason why I do that is because I want people, recruiters"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3017.55,"endTime":3020.994,"body":"people to really feel like they are part of a"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3021.032,"endTime":3024.638,"body":"conference in a way that's meaningful for them. If they're trying to get job, they're"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3024.654,"endTime":3028.434,"body":"trying to network, that sort of thing. So it is"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3028.472,"endTime":3032.306,"body":"going to sell out and I want you to really be there. And I'm intentional"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3032.338,"endTime":3036.182,"body":"about making it smaller because I want to make sure people"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3036.236,"endTime":3039.926,"body":"have that touch point that they need. And sometimes people get real lost in"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3039.948,"endTime":3043.642,"body":"the huge conferences, but shout out to all my huge conferences because I'm definitely"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3043.696,"endTime":3047.242,"body":"a supporter of those vibes as well. So it will sell"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3047.296,"endTime":3050.97,"body":"out. Definitely get involved. Blackbenditech.com"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3051.04,"endTime":3054.686,"body":"where you can buy your ticket now. Early bird is on sale. All right, make"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3054.708,"endTime":3057.418,"body":"sure you tap in. Make sure you're in the building. You never know who you're"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3057.434,"endTime":3060.75,"body":"going to meet. Women, you never know if you'll meet your husband."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3064.29,"endTime":3067.954,"body":"I tell people, man, these black tech conferences is a great place to find your"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3067.992,"endTime":3071.598,"body":"boo, man, we're all intentional about our futures."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3071.694,"endTime":3075.446,"body":"All right, so, yeah, everybody, thank you for joining in, listening and make sure"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3075.468,"endTime":3078.55,"body":"to tap in with us in the future. Big tech energy. We're out."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3078.7,"endTime":3079.4,"body":"Thanks."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3084.17,"endTime":3087.766,"body":"Membership in black and HR means community and being a part of a"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3087.788,"endTime":3091.466,"body":"culture of like minded individuals. You have a"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3091.488,"endTime":3095.082,"body":"culture within a culture, especially in the black community. And"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3095.136,"endTime":3098.954,"body":"black at HR is that professional culture. We have fun, we"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3098.992,"endTime":3102.566,"body":"laugh and joke about things that are related to us in the workplace,"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3102.678,"endTime":3106.094,"body":"but we also have serious aspects as well where we help each other"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3106.132,"endTime":3109.726,"body":"grow. And it's just one of those places where I can go"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3109.748,"endTime":3113.486,"body":"to any time of the day, pose a question, and"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3113.508,"endTime":3116.48,"body":"I'm going to get all type of answers, but I'm going to get support."},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3117.17,"endTime":3120.062,"body":"And we all work together to give advice, to give"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3120.116,"endTime":3123.934,"body":"insights, to share tips. The networking is"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3123.972,"endTime":3127.798,"body":"amazing. The people that I've spoken to have allowed me"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3127.804,"endTime":3131.526,"body":"to learn things about myself that I didn't know. So what does"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3131.548,"endTime":3135.298,"body":"that do? When I go to my next interview, I have that confidence"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3135.474,"endTime":3139.106,"body":"when I walk in to be able to explain and speak on what I've"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3139.138,"endTime":3142.566,"body":"done in the past and prove that I am the person for the"},{"speaker":"purpose, it's going to keep you up to two or 03","startTime":3142.588,"endTime":3143.16,"body":"job."}]}