2 Ahau
Yellow Lunar Sun
Before Sight comes Sound
Hoof Beats like Heart-beats on
Blacktop –
Horse and Rider bound
For Work or Home
Seeking Sustenance as the Sun
Reaches Zenith – sere and severe
Clip-clop/ clip-clop / clip-clop –
A Brown sorrel Mare moves into View
With a side-saddled Shepherd
shouting, “Yasu!”
“Yasu! Πώς είσαι?” I respond –
He tips his Hat to me
Finally, bringing up the Rear
In this Ionian Cavalcade
A creamy Labrador Retriever
Panting in Anticipation and Thirst
She knows that in the final Reckoning
–
The Last shall be the First.
©Kleomichele Leeds
Angela Benton
Angela Benton (born May 22, 1981) is the Founder & CEO of NewME Accelerator. She has been recognized as a change agent and one of the Internet industries' influencers by numerous publications and outlets. NewME has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs launch businesses and raise funding from investors, most notably several companies from their equity portfolio have raised over $25MM in funding since its launch in 2011. Under NewME she publishes B20 (formerly Black Web 2.0) the premier online publication for African-Americans interested in Technology and New Media. Additionally, Angela and the NewME Accelerator were featured in CNN’s award winning documentary series Black in America: The New Promised Land: Silicon Valley in 2011.
Early life
Benton was born in Chicago, Ill., but spent most of her childhood growing up outside of Washington DC in Northern Virginia. She had her first child at 16 while attending Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, VA. Both resilient and determined, Benton graduated high school in 3 years and went on to attend several colleges, graduating magna cum laude in 2004. As a young, single mother, Benton made her own way into the world of design and coding in digital media, working in a number of capacities for the web giant, IAC. But Benton found her calling when she launched Black Web 2.0, which filled a gap for African-American professionals and aspirants in the digital space.
Early Career and Education
Benton’s experience spans a variety of industries and roles. She has worked at several IAC businesses including RealEstate.com, LendingTree.com, and RushmoreDrive.com. Additionally, she has held roles at Bizjournals.com, UPS, and Homes of Color Magazine. Throughout her career she has worked in a variety of roles in design, marketing, development, and digital strategy.
She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications and a specialization in Digital Design. She has also completed postgraduate coursework in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design.
Black Web 2.0
Benton launched Black Web 2.0 in August 2007. It is said that the site was launched out of her frustration to find information on what Blacks were doing in technology both from an entrepreneurial/startup and corporate perspective. The site quickly gained community among Black digerati and early adopters, giving them a place to be heard and featured. Markus Robinson, a partner in the site and its COO until 2010, was a key figure in growing the platform. In the early days of Black Web 2.0 Benton served as the editor and main writer for the site, along with Robinson, and used the platform to feature and discuss key topics in Black Culture, technology, and the intersection of the two. The duo often critiqued products and the digital strategies of African-American media businesses. They also forecasted trends in the arena, quickly becoming leading experts in the space.
In late 2010 Markus Robinson became a technology executive at Interactive One (Radio One). In 2013 NewME Accelerator acquired Black Web 2.0 and re-branded the site as B20. The new direction is more inspirational than previous versions, curating up and coming innovators/entrepreneurs and profiling their businesses, lives, and backgrounds. Benton's role has transitioned from Editor to CEO of the company that owns the site.
NewME & NewME Accelerator
In May 2010 Benton held a private summit called NewME Conference in Washington DC. The day and a half program included Black and Latino entrepreneurs, private equity investors, and top government officials like FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. The event, similar to a think tank, focused on gathering information from its attendees on how to make minority tech entrepreneurs more successful.
In November 2010 Benton traveled to Silicon Valley on an invitation from Google to speak to the company's Black Googler Network (BGN). During the trip she held an informal meet-up called NewME Meetup in the heart of the startup world, Palo Alto. Benton's work with the NewME Conference was a key ingredient for the launch of the NewME Accelerator.
In early 2011 Benton and Wayne Sutton collaborated on the first technology incubator (accelerator) for minorities, NewME Accelerator. The pair worked on the first iteration for 3 months and launched the program that helped 10 minority technology founders (8 of whom traveled from across the country and lived in a home together), primarily Black at the time, in June 2011. Uniquely, both Benton and Sutton embedded themselves into the program while also working on startup ideas of their own (Cued and Vouch) and running the accelerator. The program lasted 9 weeks and was both pivotal and groundbreaking on several fronts.
The first year of the program was a success, connecting participating Founders with a Silicon Valley network, over half a million dollars in funding, and notoriety from leading publications (mainstream and industry trades) like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, TechCrunch, and CNN. Key figures who participated in the program as mentors, speakers, or supporters are: Mitch Kapor, Tristan Walker, Vivek Wadhwa, Navarrow Wright, Google, Twitter, Facebook, et al.
In 2012 Sutton moved on to work with other projects in the technology industry and NewME. Accelerator was re-branded as NewME, which includes a variety of projects Benton works on to change the face of entrepreneurship in the technology industry. In 2013 NewME acquired B20, formerly Black Web 2.0, and launched a virtual version of the 12-week residential program called NewME VR. NewME has helped over 300 entrepreneurs in more than 5 countries. Its equity portfolio of companies has raised over $16MM since its launch in 2011.
CNN's Black in America & Silicon Valley's Race Problem
The NewME Accelerator's inaugural class was featured on CNN's fourth installment of Black in America, reported by award-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien. Benton was featured as one of the primary subjects in the documentary. The film's focus was on chronicling the stories of 8 NewME Accelerator participants who traveled to Silicon Valley to work on their startups, catapulted the NewME Accelerator to the national stage, and sparked a heated industry debate on the lack of minorities in technology. At the height of the debate tech maven Michael Arrington, known for his off- color comments, became a target of criticism.
Influence and accomplishments
Rankings Fast Company named Benton one of their Most Influential Women in Technology in 2010. Additionally, she has been included in Ebony’s annual Power 150 list since its December 2010/January 2011 issue. In 2010 she was ranked on The Root 100, an annual list of influential African-American's published by TheRoot.com, owned by The Washington Post. In 2011 she was ranked on that same list. In 2012, The Grio (founded by NBC News) published its list of African-American change makers, The Grio 100. Benton was ranked on that list. In February 2012 Benton was listed in 40 Women of Power under 40 by Black Enterprise Magazine. Business Insider named her one of the "25 Most Influential African-Americans in Technology".
Awards & Hall of Fame
Benton was inducted into Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) Hall of Fame in 2010. She was 29 at the time of her induction and is the youngest to be inducted. Other notable individuals in MMTC's Hall of Fame include Bob Johnson, Cathy Hughs, etc.
In 2010 Benton was a Woman of Power honoree by the National Urban League at their centennial conference in Washington DC. Other honorees included Laila Ali, Angela Bassett, etc.
Goldman Sachs recently (2013) named her one of the "100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs."*
AHAU
Kin 80: Yellow Lunar Sun
I polarize in order to enlighten
Stabilizing life
I seal the matrix of universal fire
With the lunar tone of challenge
I am guided by the power of free will.
The human revolves around its own nucleus and has its own magnetic field, just as a planet does.*
*Star Traveler's 13 Moon Almanac of Synchronicity, Galactic Research Institute, Law of Time Press, Ashland, Oregon, 2017-2018.
The Sacred Tzolk'in
Ajna Chakra (Gamma Plasma)
No comments:
Post a Comment