2022 UNICORN
AMBITION CONFERENCE

The Black Men Talk Tech Unicorn Ambition Conference will bring together entrepreneurs, investors and practitioners to share actionable, relevant and timely insights to help grow your business.

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October

20-21

Making room in the tech ecosystem for the Black Innovator

GET TICKETS HOTELVENUE

Unicorn Ambition Conference is a national tech conference providing exposure and resources to Black tech founders who are building innovative companies and focused on massive growth, or becoming the next "unicorn." Since inception, the conference has highlighted Miami and South Florida as an emerging tech hub. Our 4th annual conference will take place on October 20th -21st, in Miami.

Our previous conferences have brought together some of the best practitioners and entrepreneurs in the business.

The experience provides thought provoking panels, workshops, startup pitches, and networking. Attendees leave with new relationships that they can turn to for advice, camaraderie, partnerships, and investments.

2022 SPEAKERS

Chinedu Echeruo

Founder,
Love & Magic Company

Luke Cooper

Founding Managing Partner,
Latimer Ventures

Dhani Jones

TV Host, Entrepreneur,
Former NFL Player

Yonathan Elias

Media Correspondent,
Ebony Magazine

Jeanine Suah

Expert In Residence
Brex

McKeever Conwell

Founder & Managing Partner,
RareBreed Ventures

Roy Scott

Founder
Healthy Hip Hop

Henri Pierre-Jacques

Managing Partner,
Harlem Capital

Dujon Smith

Global Program Manager,
Accenture Venture

Jacques-Philippe Piverger

Founder,
GoodLight Capital

Jeff Lindor

Founder,
Gentleman's Factory

Lizbeth Flores

Co-Founder & Partner,
PAG Law

Morgan Tucker

Managing Director,
Accenture

Kylan Kester

Growth and Business Designer,
Accenture Song

Maya Martinez-Davis

US President,
GSK

Derrick Miles

Founder,
CourMed

Gerty Simon

VP, Regional Diversity Officer,
Morgan Stanley

Purvis Bell

Principal,
NextEra Energy Investment Group

Cleveland Grady

Field Sales VP,
GSK

Alexander Knight

Senior Vice President,
Cooley

Dominique Reese

Head of DE&I,
Plug and Play Tech Center

Bryan Young

Founder,
Home Lending Pal

Jean-Pierre Barthelemy

Chief Technology Officer
OnRamp

Angela Matheny

Director of Investment Staff & Diverse Manager Equity, Crewcial Partners

Victoria Kennedy

Founder & GP
Seed to Harvest Ventures

Jenieri Cyrus

VC
Urban Innovation Fund

Nichole Bestman

Director, The Immerse Program,
Bubble

Andre Conway

Financial Advisor
Morgan Stanley

Tasha Garcia

Financial Advisor,
Morgan Stanley

Peter Eccles

Managing Partner, New York
PAG Law

Nina Levermore

Senior Director
GSK

Jon Belgrad

Program Officer
Knight Foundation

Samuel Fagbamigbe

Product Specialist
TikTok

PITCH COMPETITION

Our pitch competition will feature founders from all over the country. We accept applications from tech and tech-enabled startups. If you’re interested in pitching them please apply. Every year is super competitive, good luck!

Conference Date: October 20-21, 2022

APPLY TO PITCH (Health Tech)APPLY TO PITCH (SAAS B2B)

PAST SPEAKERS

Marlon Nichols

Shu Nyatta

Brian Brackeen

Monique Idlet-Mosley

Kalam Dennis

Travis LeBlanc

Rodney Williams

Nasir Qadree

Andrew Olaleye

William Crowder

Travis Holoway

Daricus Releford

Kai Bond

Nan Wang

Ian Falou

Solomon Hailu

THE BENEFITS

NETWORKING

Breakout sessions and opportunities between panels to connect with other founders, investors, and practitioners.

INVESTOR ACCESS

Opportunities to speak with investors all in one centralized location. Get that elevator pitch ready!

WORLD-CLASS CONTENT

Our curated content was carefully designed to speak to the issues at the heart of what tech founders are dealing with today.

PITCH EVENT

Come promote your company, get exposure, get connected to investors, win prize money, all tech startups welcome. Details to follow.

WORKSHOPS

Conference Attendees will have breakout sessions that will allow the founders to connect with other founders and investors in real world exercises.

FIRST-CLASS SPEAKERS

All of our speakers have been vetted by the BMTT team and are well respected within the tech community and beyond. Keep an eye on this ever growing list of speakers.

INSIGHTS

Prepare to take notes as we plan to deliver a full day of new ideas and content that you can take back to your startup and get to work on buiding out that Unicorn.

The Complete Agenda

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1:00PM - 3:30PM

Tech & Hoops

Join the Black Men Talk Tech 2022 Unicorn Ambition Conference attendees for an informal game of hoops.

Unknwn
261 NW 26th Street
Miami, FL 33127

October

6:00PM - 9:00PM

Kitchen Social
3404 N Miami Ave
Miami, FL 33127

Elite Networking Reception & Pitch Competition Powered by Accenture

Kickoff Unicorn Ambition with us at the Elite Networking Mixer. Join us for cocktails, conversation, and a pitch competition!

‍

7:15PM - 7:45PM

Pitch Competition powered by Accenture and FPL

4 Selected startups will pitch for 2 minutes and a chance to win up to to 5k cash and additional prizes.

Kenyon Williams
Accenture

Purvis Bell
NextEra Energy

Abiodun Johnson
Black Men Talk Tech

Kitchen Social
3404 N Miami Ave
Miami, FL 33127

7:50PM - 8:20PM

Kitchen Social
3404 N Miami Ave
Miami, FL 33127

Enterprise B2B SAAS Startups Panel with Accenture

Join three leaders across different levels at Accenture for a dynamic fireside chat focused on the unique opportunities available to black male founders in technology. Learn more about ways to break into corporate venture capital, how to align with enterprise strategic goals in an industry like security, and helpful resources from the university and entrepreneurship ecosystem to sustain and scale your enterprise technology business.

Dujon Smith
Accenture Venture

Morgan Tucker
Accenture

Kylan Kester
Accenture Song
‍

8:00AM - 8:30AM

Doors Open + Breakfast

Penthouse at Riverside Wharf
125 SW North River Drive
Miami, FL 33130

October

8:30AM - 8:35AM

Host Welcome
‍

Your host with the most will kick off the event at 8:30 am sharp and keep you informed and entertained throughout the day.

Yonathan Elias
Ebony Magazine

8:35AM - 9:00AM

Welcome from BMTT Team + Market Update

During this panel we review the power of the Pitchbook platform and the private market data it provides. We also take a look at venture capital market activity -- what investors have been investing in Year-to-date versus historically (company stage, industry, etc.). If you're in need of funding from the early-stage investing market you need to attend.

Abiodun Johnson
Boris Moyston
Evan Leaphart
Black Men Talk Tech co-founders

Jon Belgrad
Knight Foundation

9:05AM - 9:35AM

Acceleration Programs for Diverse Founders

‍

What are the benefits of startup accelerators and are there any accelerators for underrepresented minorities?

Dominique Reese
Plug and Play

Boris Moyston
Black Men Talk Tech

9:40AM - 10:20AM

You've Secured Funding! Now What?: Establishing Generational Wealth Powered By Morgan Stanley

The share of Black venture capital partners is stuck at an average of 3%. The average size of their first fund is less than half that of the industry norm. Black investors are making inroads in the US venture capital industry, but their impact is limited because they attract less capital than what is typical. How do we confront these challenges and what tangible resources or advice can we offer? What comes next? Tune into this conversation to learn how your business funding can help you to establish generational wealth.

Gerty Simon
Tasha Garcia
Andre Conway
Morgan Stanley

10:25AM - 10:55AM

Morning Keynote:
‍
Fireside Chat with Entrepreneur, Investor, Media Producer, and Former NFL Player Dhani Jones

‍

Join us for this keynote conversation with Dhani Jones about his transition into entrepreneurship and investing after a successful football career. He is joined in this discussion by Alex Knight of Cooley, LLP.

Dhani Jones
Entrepreneur, Investor, + Former NFL Player
‍
Alex Knight
Cooley LLP

11:00AM - 11:40AM

The Startup Journey

These startup founder discuss their journey to find a problem worth building a company around, putting together a team, testing the product out on early adopters, raising funding, and working toward scale. These founders will be vulnerable and discuss not only the highs of entrepreneurship, but also the lows.

‍Derrick Miles
CourMed
‍
Bryan Young
Home Lending Pal

Roy Scott
Healthy Hip Hop

Evan Leaphart
Black Men Talk Tech

11:45AM - 12:25PM

Product Management: Improve Customer Experience and Maximize Revenue

‍

Listen to our product manager expert discuss a framework for building out a platform for your business. Learn how to improve customer experience and maximize revenue. We'll walk the audience through an actual case study of how to build and improve your tech platform.

Victoria Kennedy
Seed to harvest
‍
Nichole Bestman
Bubble.io

Jean-Pierre Barthelemy
OnRamp
‍

12:30PM - 1:30PM

Networking, Visit Booths & Lunch

1:40PM - 2:20PM

Harnessing The Power of Community

‍

Two community builders will discuss the importance of community and how to grow and nurture them. They will discuss their backgrounds and their journey to becoming community architects. Learn how to manage your communities and leverage them to grow and scale your business.

Jeanine Suah
Brex, Rezilyent Capital
‍
Jeff Lindor
Gentlemen's Factory

Abiodun Johnson
Black Men Talk Tech
‍‍

2:25PM - 3:05PM

Venture Capital: The New Movers and Shakers

Top VC investors discuss their investing activities over the last 12 months and give insights into what they are looking to invest in over the next 12 months. They will discuss some of their most interesting portfolio companies and what factors convinced them to invest in those companies.

Henri Pierre-Jacques
Harlem Capital
‍
McKeever Conwell
RareBreed Ventures
‍
Jacques Phillippe-Piverger
GoodLight Capital

3:10PM - 3:50PM

Managing Investors: Funding Vehicles, Investor Relationship, Cap Table Management
‍

Players in the legal and investment fields discuss the latest in funding vehicles for early stage companies: accelerators, SPVs
‍
Lizbeth Flores
PAG Law

Peter Eccles
PAG Law
‍
Jenieri Cyrus
Urban Innovation Fund
‍
Angela Matheny
Crewcial Partners, LLC

3:55PM - 4:25PM

Keynote: Getting to an Exit

Luke Cooper and Chinedu Echeru discussed how they built companies and positioned them for exit. They have both have sold two companies. Chinedu and Luke will explore how plan for and dirve massive outcomes with your startup.

Luke Cooper
No Mud, No Magic
‍
Chinedu Echeruo
Love & Magic Company

Abiodun Johnson
Black Men Talk Tech

4:30PM - 5:10PM

GSK Pitch Competition

4 Selected startups will pitch for 2 minutes and a chance to win up to $15k cash and additional prizes

Cleve Grady
GSK

Nina Levermore
GSK

Samuel Fagbamigbe
Tik Tok

Abiodun Johnson
Black Men Talk Tech
‍‍

5:10PM - 5:35PM

Fireside Chat with Maya Martinez-Davis the U.S. President of GSK

Boris Moyston the co-founder of Black Men Talk Tech will have a fireside chat discussion with Maya Martinez-Davis the U.S. President of GSK

Maya Martinez-Davis
GSK
‍
Boris Moyston
Black Men Talk Tech

5:35PM - 5:45PM

Pitch Winners Announced

Maya Martinez-Davis
GSK
‍
Boris Moyston
Black Men Talk Tech

5:45PM - 6:00PM

Closing Address

That's a wrap for Unicorn Ambition 2022!

Abiodun Johnson
Black Men Talk Tech

Boris Moyston
Black Men Talk Tech

Evan Leaphart
Black Men Talk Tech

6:00PM - 9:00PM

Closing Mixer

The Wharf Miami
_{114 SW North River Dr Miami, FL 33130}

After the conference, it's time for a Closing Mixer Reception at The Wharf Miami. Don't miss the $5 Tito's drink special before 7 pm.

RSVP for the Closing Mixer here