Today in the guest chair, we have Mandela SH Dixon. She is one of the only black women who has navigated the tech space as a VC-backed tech startup founder, global startup ecosystem builder, and VC portfolio services director.
Mandela began her career in Silicon Valley in 2011 as a startup founder backed by Kapor Capital, 500 Startups, and Imagine K12 (acquired by Y Combinator). Thereafter, she led a global entrepreneurial program called Startup Weekend Education (acquired by Techstars) that spanned six continents and empowered thousands of entrepreneurs to launch edtech startups.
Most recently, Mandela worked at venture capital firm Kapor Capital, where she supported the success of over 120 tech startups and launched the Founders' Commitment, a first-of-its kind initiative teaching founders how to bake diversity and inclusion into the DNA of their early stage startups.
To-date, Mandela has shared her frameworks for success on over 65 stages, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, and Facebook. She has also received several recognitions, including being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List, LinkedIn's Top 10 Voices in Venture Capital and Startups, and Medium's Top 10% of Writers. Most recently, Mandela co-founded Founder Gym, an online training center that teaches underrepresented founders how to build successful tech startups (applications for Cohort 2 are now open).
On this episode, we get into:
What it was like to walk away from her first company Why it’s so important to her to democratize access to information in Silicon Valley Why there needs to be more transparency among founders How seeing both sides of the table and all aspects of the startup ecosystem has shaped her experience The start of Founder Gym and more!Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Google Play
Links mentioned on this episode
Founder Gym Mandela’s Medium articles Masters of Scale by Reid HoffmanClick here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss
AnnouncementsSide Hustle Pro is now over 5600 members strong. If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook
This episode is brought to you by FreshBooks. FreshBooks is offering an unrestricted 30 day free trial for all my listeners. No credit card required. Visit FreshBooks.com/SIDEHUSTLEPRO and enter SIDE HUSTLE PRO in the how did you hear about us section.
This episode is brought to you by Skillshare. Skillshare has a special offer just for my listeners: Get two months of Skillshare for just 99 cents. To sign up, go to Skillshare.com/hustlepro to start your two months now.
Social Media InfoConnect on Instagram:
Mandela - @mandelaSH
Side Hustle Pro – @sidehustlepro
#SideHustlePro
Ep 117: How Power Couple Monique and Chevalo Wilsondebriano started Charleston Gourmet Burger Company
Ep 116: Entrepreneur Diaries: Do I need therapy? What my nutritionist told me & more
Ep 115: How This Corporate Dropout Went From Engineering to Launching A 6-Figure Coaching Business w/Jereshia Hawk
Ep 114: How to Kick Imposter Syndrome to the Curb and Become a Fiercer Woman w/ Catherine Soliz-Rey
Ep 113: Therapy for Black Girls' Dr. Joy Harden Bradford on How Founders Can Take Care of Their Mental Health
Ep 112: How to Run a Business with Your Friends with Curly Girl Collective
Ep 111: How The Shade Room Founder Angelica Nwandu Launched A Media Company on Instagram
Ep 110: Everything You Need to Know About Sales Funnels w/ Expert Kim McCarter
Ep 109: Entrepreneur Diaries: What I’ve Learned 9 Months into Entrepreneurship
Ep 108: How To Get Your Niche Brand Into Major Retailers with Aycee Brown
Ep 107: How Branson Centre CEO Lisandra Rickards is Shaping Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean and Beyond
Ep 106: The Founder of Healthy Roots Dolls on Empowering Black Girls To Embrace Their Natural Hair
Ep 105: Meet the African-American Woman Dominating the Airport Retail Landscape
Ep 104: Meet Janice Bryant Howroyd: The first African American woman to run a $1-billion business
Ep 103: Ask Nicaila Anything
Ep 102: How Celebrity Choreographer Luam Went From Pre-Med to Creating Dance Moves for Beyoncé
Ep 101: How Lindsey Day Co-Founded CRWN Magazine
Ep 100: How Candice Idehen Founded Harlem's Luxury Bed of Nails Salon
Ep 99: How Tina Wells Grew Buzz Marketing Group into a 7-Figure Enterprise
Ep 98: How Venture Capitalist Ebony Pope Is Paving The Way For Startups To Get Funding
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Pharmacy Podcast Network
Aktörspodden
The Power of Storytelling
The Ramsey Show
Planet Money