Key insights

• ⏳ Identified inefficiencies in the barbershop industry such as long wait times and cash-based transactions
• 💻 Realized the lack of tech solutions in the haircut experience
• 👥 Both co-founders had no prior history in the barbershop industry or computer science
• 🚀 Despite non-traditional backgrounds, pursued computer science and identified the need for a tech solution in the barbershop industry
• ⚙️ Background in engineering at Facebook and Google
• ❌ Lack of support for people interested in computer science
• 💡 Desire to create technology to improve lives
• 🌐 Founding Squire and Edlist to support underrepresented individuals in tech
• 🔍 Self-reflection is crucial before starting a company
• 👩🏿‍💼 Validation and inspiration from successful black women entrepreneurs
• ✨ Creating opportunities and shining a light on underrepresented communities in the startup world
• 🌟 Overcoming self-doubt and reaching for ambitious goals
• ⚡ Recognizing the inherent risks in starting a company
• 📊 Strategic planning and research for setting up for success
• 🧵 Identifying Y Combinator as a common thread among successful startups
• 🛠️ Structured support as a beneficial factor for entrepreneurial success
• 📅 Setting timeline for achieving milestones like building MVP and getting user feedback
• 👩‍🎓 Acquiring initial users by engaging with students outside computer science classes
• 💈 Overcoming challenges by taking barber chair to co-working spaces due to barbershops' reluctance
• 🌞❄️ Enduring challenging situations during summer, winter, and difficult terrains
• 🌈 Supporting diversity and creating a space for people in the technology community
• 🔑 Encouraging more diverse solutions to solve unsolved problems
• 💰 Bridging the racial wealth gap through technology
• 🔗 Providing opportunities for resilient problem solvers

Q&A

• Why is supporting diversity and creating space in the tech community crucial?

  Supporting diversity and creating space in the tech community is crucial for encouraging more diverse solutions, bridging the racial wealth gap through technology, and providing opportunities for resilient problem solvers. It aims to solve unsolved problems and contribute to a more inclusive and innovative technology landscape.

• What key elements are involved in a startup journey?

  A startup journey encompasses product development, user acquisition, and persistence through challenges. It involves setting timelines, acquiring initial users, overcoming hurdles, enduring challenging situations, and adapting to diverse environments while building and growing the business.

• What factors contribute to entrepreneurial success?

  Entrepreneurial success involves overcoming self-doubt, recognizing the risks in starting a company, employing strategic planning, and accessing structured support. Identifying Y Combinator as a common thread among successful startups highlights the significance of structured support in the entrepreneurial journey.

• What important topics did Arnell Ansong and Phaedra Ellaines Slamkins discuss?

  Arnell Ansong, CTO of Ed Lift, and Phaedra Ellaines Slamkins, CEO and Co-founder of Promise, discussed the importance of self-reflection before starting a company and empowering underrepresented communities in the startup world. They emphasized the need for self-reflection, drew inspiration from successful black women entrepreneurs, and focused on creating opportunities for underrepresented communities.

• What inspired the co-founders to establish Squire and Edlist?

  The co-founders, with a background in engineering at Facebook and Google, observed the lack of support for individuals interested in computer science and desired to create technology to improve lives. This led to the founding of Squire and Edlist to provide support and opportunity for underrepresented individuals in the tech industry.

• What motivated the co-founders to develop a tech solution for the barbershop industry?

  Despite their non-traditional backgrounds in barbershops and computer science, the co-founders identified inefficiencies such as long wait times and cash-based transactions. They realized the lack of tech solutions in the haircut experience and pursued the development of a tech solution.

• 00:02 Co-founders noticed inefficiencies in the barbershop industry and lack of tech solutions, despite their non-traditional backgrounds in barbershops and computer science, they pursued the development of a tech solution for the industry.
• 01:01 Two entrepreneurs founded tech companies, Squire and Edlist, to provide support and opportunity for underrepresented individuals in the tech industry.
• 01:54 Arnell Ansong, CTO of Ed Lift, and Phaedra Ellaines Slamkins, CEO and Co-founder of Promise, discuss the importance of self-reflection in starting a company and empowering underrepresented communities in the startup world.
• 02:48 Entrepreneurial journey and the pursuit of success through structured support and strategic planning.
• 03:43 A startup journey involving product development, user acquisition, and persistence through challenges.
• 04:38 Supporting diversity and creating a space for people in the technology community is crucial. Encouraging more diverse solutions and opportunities can help bridge the racial wealth gap and solve unsolved problems.