Kezia M. Williams, Chief Executive Officer
Kezia M. Williams is the founder of The Black upStart - a national initiative to train African-American entrepreneurs. She has over ten years of experience training millennials to crowdfund grants benefiting small businesses. She has managed initiatives for two national nonprofit organizations that serve African-American donors and entrepreneurs.
Currently, she leads United Negro College Fund's (UNCF) national entrepreneurship initiative. This program - funded by a $25 million grant - teaches African-American undergraduate and graduate scholarship recipients how to start successful and profitable businesses. Williams designed the program and led the effort to launch it by recruiting and awarding the inaugural cohort, developing a curriculum that taught scholars how to overcome entrepreneurial obstacles specific to African Americans, and led the effort to create an online learning community connecting scholars to mentors. She also co-organized UNCF's inaugural Young, Black and Innovative event which connected 600 Black consumers with 10 African-American startup organizations.
Prior to UNCF, she led Capital Cause, a nonprofit organization that involved a network of 5,000 mostly African-American young philanthropists in funding grants to start-up nonprofit organizations.
As part of the Black upStart team, she uses her network to find the most qualified thought leaders, industry experts, entrepreneurs and academics to ensure quality programming for all involved.
Instagram: @keziamw | Email: kwilliams@theblackupstart.com
Meet the Team
Erikka Hamer, Operations Director
Bio forthcoming
Mikea Hughley, Creative Manager
Bio forthcoming
Faculty (Contract) - Financial Professional
What is Skillhouse by The Black upStart:
The Black upStart’s Skillhouse expands upon our current entrepreneurship training courses and curates a traveling popup school for the culture that teaches the New Majority how to build wealth by multiplying their streams of income and acquiring cash flow thus generating assets. Graduates increase their wealth aptitude and increase their economic position in a global economy.
Position Description:
The Black upStart is seeking a licensed and/or certified financial professional (CPA, etc) to teach new investors how to form an investment circle. Ideal candidates will understand how to identify and evaluate stock market trends and advise on how to make informed investment decisions about real estate investment trusts (REITs) and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Additional industry knowledge about how to buy stock in the cannabis and technology industries is ideal but not required. In-depth knowledge about how to define key investment group terms, required LLC paperwork and partnership agreements, how to recruit and retain members and manage investor meetings is required. Past experience participating in an investment group is a must
Requirements:
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3+ years of experience as a licensed or certified financial professional (Adviser, CFP, Broker, etc)
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3+ years as a broker is a plus
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Experience evaluating the market especially: ETFs and REITs
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In-depth knowledge about the cannabis industry and/or technology industry is a plus
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Investment Circle/Club Member (former or current)
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In classroom teaching experience
Submit your resume and LinkedIn profile to info@theblackupstart.com
Apply by: November 18, 2019
Faculty (Contract) - Attorney
What is Skillhouse by The Black upStart:
The Black upStart’s Skillhouse expands upon our current entrepreneurship training courses and curates a traveling popup school for the culture that teaches the New Majority how to build wealth by multiplying their streams of income and acquiring cash flow thus generating assets. Graduates increase their wealth aptitude and increase their economic position in a global economy.
Position Description:
The Black upStart is seeking an experienced and informed attorney to teach a one hour course about business creation to motivated, new investors interested in learning how to formulate a limited liability corporation (LLC). The ideal candidate will be a practicing attorney with at least three years of experience advising small business owners during the startup phase with a special interest in working with the New Majority. Teaching experience is essential.
Requirements:
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Juris Doctorate
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3+ years advising small business owners on legal matters related to business creation, taxes, contracts, staying in compliance with federal and state regulations, online platforms to use to register your business outside of an attorney, etc
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Classroom experience is a must
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Personality
Submit your resume and LinkedIn profile to info@theblackupstart.com
Apply by November 18, 2019