Roadmap to Billions comes to Toronto for the first time
Roadmap to Billions has taken the tech-world by storm, and now it comes to Toronto, Canada.
By Jessica Alex
It all started in 2017, when Black Women Talk Tech founders Esosa Ighodaro and Regina Gwynn decided to launch a tech conference designed specifically for Black women entrepreneurs in the tech space. Their mission from day one has been “to identify, support, and encourage Black women by providing the necessary resources to create the next billion-dollar startups.”
In preparation for the Toronto conference, I had a chance to catch up with co-founder Regina Gwynn to learn more about her entrepreneur and tech journey, Black Women Talk Tech, and the annual Roadmap to Billions event.
How it all started.
In my interview with Regina, I wanted start off by diving into the motivation behind Black Women Talk Tech.
Jessica: What inspired you both to get into entrepreneurship and tech?
Regina: My dad was an entrepreneur so I grew up learning about how to create a career path through business formation. Tech is all around us, and is a powerful tool that can improve our quality of life –– and so it was important to tap into the tech ecosystem to explore ways to build generational wealth for my community.
Jessica: What is the foundation of Black Women Talk Tech?
Regina: Black Women Talk Tech is the largest resource platform for Black women in tech, from both an entrepreneur and tech professional perspective. Our Roadmap to Billions conferences provide a way to educate, amplify and fund Black women. We’ve hosted these conventions for 8 years and Toronto is our second global market (we launched our global series in London [UK] last year).
Roadmap to Billions (RTB)
Roadmap to Billions is an annual conference that has served thousands of Black women entrepreneurs. In fact, RTB has become the largest gathering of black women tech founders in the world!
Jessica: What is the ultimate goal of ‘Roadmap to Billions’?
Regina: We want to change the way tech conferences support women of colour. We’ve designed Roadmap to Billions to touch every aspect of our attendees, and give them a different experience than what they would find at a mainstream tech event.
Jessica: What inspired you to bring Roadmap to Billions to Toronto?
Regina: Over the years we’ve looked at our attendee data for our NYC events, and saw that there was always a contingent of women coming from Toronto, so we were like, hmmm, what’s going on up there? We started coming to Toronto over a year ago, to learn more about the ecosystem and to find ways to support.
Jessica: What can people expect by attending Roadmap to Billions?
Regina: Get ready for powerful conversations about personal branding, fundraising tips and tricks, how to build a stand-out resume and AI trends and considerations. We’ll also learn more about the state of the Canadian Black tech ecosystem and where there’s growth and opportunity.
Challenges facing Black women entrepreneurs
A study published back in 2021, entitled “Rise up” surveyed 700 Black women entrepreneurs in Canada. Some of the key findings regarding challenges Black women entrepreneurs face included, “(78.5%) agree or strongly agree that access to financing was an issue. This is followed by the cost of borrowing 74.7% agree or strongly agree and access to equity or capital with 69.9%."[1]
As someone who has worked with and connected with many Black women entrepreneurs, I asked Regina for her perspective on the challenges Black women entrepreneurs face.
Jessica: What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve found Black women have faced in the tech space and entrepreneurial space?
Regina: Access to capital is always a challenge, same here in the US. But also the social capital, the access to the right rooms and people in those rooms is equally important.
Thoughts on tech trends
From AI to blockchain technology to sustainability, there are several trends to look out for in the coming year. I asked Regina what her thoughts and insights were on the latest tech trends.
Jessica: Are there any tech-related trends that we should be looking out for heading into 2025?
Regina: I’m seeing a lot of green tech/sustainability startups in the market, and there’s heavy funding from both public and private sector to launch these early stage innovations.
Jessica: What would you say to brands who are weary about using AI?
Regina: Each brand has to decide to what extent AI will be a part of your business, but it will definitely play a role, if not for your business model, then for your customers or other shareholders. Tech companies are spending billions of dollars to incorporate AI systems into their product offerings, which will then influence how their customers (all of us) will use them. It’s better to adopt some level of AI competency sooner than later.
Jessica: How can tech play a role for brands that are looking to become more sustainable-friendly?
Regina: Tech can be used in so many ways, from tracking carbon emissions to sending automatic notifications for your electric vehicle usage. Depending on the goal, technology provides the tools that can achieve results faster and more accurately.
A special thank you to Regina for taking the time to give us more insight to Black Women Talk Tech and Roadmap to Billions.
Keep reading on to learn more about the Toronto conference!
The upcoming Roadmap to Billions conference takes place on September 29-30th in Toronto, Canada.
The 2-Day in-person conference for Black women founders will include:
A $30K Pitch Competition
Coaches Corner
Mentor Marketplace
Workshops and much more
Get your tickets here!
(You will be redirected to the purchase page)
Guest speakers include Claudette McGowan, the founder of Protexxa and co-founder of The Firewood, Amoye Henry, co-founder and lead investment manager at Pitch Better, Ashley Wright, founder at Blacks on Blockchain, and Lauren Maillian of LMB Group and many more!
Past attendees like Candice Matthews Bracken of Lightship Capital says, “Black Women Talk Tech has helped our organization find two portfolio companies for venture capital investment and we look forward to many more,” while Roshawnna Novellus of EnrichHER says, “Black Women Talk Tech made me re-imagine the possibilities of Black women coming together to celebrate one another. I'm so grateful to be a part of the BWTT network.”
Don’t miss out on this event! Head to https://bit.ly/RTBToronto-Tickets to get your tickets.
To learn more about Black Women Talk Tech, check them out on the following channels:
Website: https://blackwomentalktech.com/
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BWTalkTech
To learn more about Roadmap to Billions, visit their site at https://roadmaptobillions.ca/.
About the Founders of Black Women Talk Tech
Esosa Ighodaro
Esosa Ighodaro is the co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech, the organization that aims to identify, support and encourage black women to build the next billion-dollar business. Black Women Talk Tech is the largest collective of black women tech founders therefore bringing a unique understanding of the challenges Black women face and the advantages they bring to the tech industry. As co-founder, Esosa co-leads business strategy and strategic partnership development and leads the organization’s marketing endeavours.
Esosa has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience including founding two influencer marketing businesses. Additionally, she has more than 12 years of marketing and operation experience as a serial entrepreneur, and as a former bank executive at Citigroup where she developed high-performing growth strategies and oversaw implementation for key lines of business.
Her achievements at her past companies led to several articles and past awards, including being named 100 Most Powerful Women by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2019 and one of the 50 Inspirational Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017, and Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch by Paste Magazine. This ultimately lands her features in ELLE, Forbes, NBC, The Huffington Post, USA Today, and many more. Esosa graduated with a bachelor of science in finance from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. She and her husband now live in New York, NY and enjoy fashion, travel and food.
Connect with Esosa on LinkedIn.
Regina Gwynn
Regina Gwynn is the co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech, the organization that aims to identify, support and encourage black women to build the next billion-dollar business. Black Women Talk Tech is the largest collective of black women tech founders therefore bringing a unique understanding of the challenges Black women face and the advantages they bring to the tech industry. As co-founder, Regina co-leads business strategy and strategic partnership development and leads sponsor relations.
Regina Gwynn launched her first tech startup in 2014 with TresseNoire, a platform that empowers women of colour to celebrate their textured hair with a personalized beauty routine that works. Its virtual beauty coach takes the guesswork out of finding the right natural hair products and services by matching your individual hair profile to a beauty regimen designed by experts (so you can get the best twist out or the perfect wash n' go style the first time, every time)! This innovative product is currently in private beta.
Regina started her career in the Product Development Executive Training program at Federated Department Stores (now Macy’s Inc.), and successfully launched three exclusive brands during her tenure. After graduating from the Kellogg School of Management with her MBA, Regina was a management consultant with the Monitor Group (now Monitor/Deloitte Consulting) and worked with clients within the beauty, media and healthcare industries. She was then tapped to lead marketing at The Apparel Group, where she built the department from scratch and launched the company’s first e-commerce site for its signature brand, Foxcroft Collection.
Regina has served on the Board of Directors for BRAG, a nonprofit for diverse retail professionals & Rising Tide Capital, an entrepreneur development program based in Jersey City, NJ. Regina loves to travel, dance and watching her favourite football team, the New York Giants.
One of Regina’s favourite quotes is from Coco Chanel, “A girl should be two things: Classy & Fabulous.”
Connect with Regina on LinkedIn.
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Footnotes:
[1] You can read the full report here: “Rise Up: A Study of 700 Black Women Entrepreneurs”
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