How to Become a Laser Beam

Against Odds, Decks, and Stacks of Stats

Two percent is a token. That is the percentage of VC funding that women raise. For women of color, the number is a fraction of this fraction. The pipeline is part of the issue, but systematic biases around what a founder and leader "look" like and many other headwinds are against us too.

So what is a gal to do?

I have been on enough teams with incredible colleagues around me who have supported me and encouraged me throughout my career, and this is not going to be any different. I ask you, my friends, to share and promote TheTechMargin and TheFaceOfAI (stay tuned for more on our product launch, sneak peek of logo below).

5 months ago, I was laid off from a tech company I had strived to be a part of for most of my career. Close to 200,000 of my tech-worker colleagues felt the blow of "workforce reduction" across tech companies this year.

I realized something important in this turn of events. Sometimes the mountain we set out to climb is just a stepping stone that allows us to see the rest of the landscape; the valleys, rivers, bigger and more splendid mountains, etc.

I will be a shepherd to a future that makes room for bright minds of all genders and ethnicities to make waves of change and shape a world that works for them rather than against them.

You must get used to being uncomfortable sometimes if you want to be part of the change. You must build the muscle of questioning your own assumptions and for sure, the status quo.

Mountains Worth Climbing

I am not stopping, nor am I going backward, and I am certainly not deterred by the headwinds, incline of the mountain, insensitive comments from people who should know better, lack of support from people I would expect to be champions, rejection letters, competition, hard work, nor lack of representation in my field.

These so-called deficits are shaping me into a more strategic thinker, showing me who my allies are and are not, clarifying my intention, and distilling my vision.

Setbacks and rejection give me grit; I fight for a bigger purpose than money and success. I require funds only to fuel my mission, not as an end goal.

Setbacks can be holes we get stuck inside of or powerful signposts reminding us to go our own way because we have always done that anyway and will continue doing so.

Why?

My "why" for pouring myself into this internal choose your own adventure?

Solving our systematic biases requires blind-faith acts of courage by fearless trailblazers and our allies.

Yes, we will have to work harder than we should or sometimes feel we can, we will still be expected to explain ourselves and be nice, but we don't have to listen to the words of those that are not in the game themselves, we don't have to be anything other than ourselves, and we sure as hell don't have to "be nice."

We will leave signposts for the next wave by telling our stories and creating representation outside the system if the system won't support us.

When we create a system for representation that tells our stories, the future will be fairer; our energy will be used for creative work and not siphoned off to fight against a system that does not support us, and the next wave will be able to focus on important work and shaping our world for a collective future that works for people rather than against us.

I have seen the power of validating someone who does not feel they belong.

I have felt the growth of doing what I did not think was possible for "someone like me."

Building technology and content that elevates underrepresented people in tech is the mission of TheTechMargin.

To the senders of anonymous rejection letters that encourage applying again next year, If you want to support our mission, you know where to find me.

In the next chapter, I will tell the story of building a company as part of the IndieHacker community.

Lean into your unfair advantage and leverage what others consider a deficit.

The status quo exists to maintain mediocrity and comfort and is blindsided by outsiders.

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