Profile: Deneisha Franklin

Meet Deneisha Franklin. Co-Founder & Secretary, Black Tech Columbus (#BlackTech614).

Name: Deneisha Franklin

Job: Co-Founder & Secretary, Black Tech Columbus (#BlackTech614)

City: Columbus

Hometown: Bedford

Q: What do you do at #BlackTech614?
#BlackTech614 is creating an authentic space for Black tech professionals to connect, collaborate, and create. We are dedicated to creating a safe space for Black technology professionals to be their authentic selves by providing continuous opportunities for knowledge expansion, professional development, and creating an easily accessible network of genuine support.

Our primary framework has revolved around providing our community with opportunities for professional development, learning communities, and social events with the goal of partnering with other companies and organizations to actively move Black tech talent through the pipeline.

Q: What’s a problem you're working to solve?
It’s hard to pick just one! There are plenty of broken processes in the tech space, especially when it comes to how we approach Black talent. At the end of the day, a lot of it comes down to access - or lack thereof.

Access can mean many different things depending on the context, but as an organization we look at it from the lens of how we are all connecting, collaborating, and creating - and more importantly, what are the resources that we need to do so effectively? This means figuring out how we can connect Black founders and entrepreneurs to capital, creating networking/sponsorship opportunities, collaborating with other organizations to provide access to training, and ultimately creating visibility for our community both internally and externally.

So from a high level, access is huge, but there is a ton that goes into that.

Q: What’s a lesson you’ve learned that's shaped your work?
In this kind of work, companies and organizations tend to relate the perceived lack of Black tech talent to be a skills gap, but I will wholeheartedly call this out as a myth every time! Sure, there will always be folks entering the field and wanting to level up, so the need for skill development will always be there. But realistically, we should all be constantly learning, growing, and developing our skills so that is not a plausible reason for our failure to advance and accelerate Black talent in this industry.

Another myth is that there is not enough Black talent in the tech space for companies to hire. This one blows my mind because it’s simply not true! #BlackTech614 has a community of hundreds of technologists at all different career stages - 97% who identify as Black and 65% who identify as women. I would say that a majority of the time, the barriers to entry and advancement fall on the backs of those companies and organizations. Sure, there are fewer Black people in technology if you look at it solely from a demographic stand point, but that doesn’t mean they’re hard to find - you just have to be willing to intentionally recruit, nurture, and develop them. I’ve learned that many companies are open to collaborating for events or workshops, which really is incredible - but the industry tends to lose steam when it comes to actually hiring and promoting Black talent in the tech space.

Q: What’s a trend in technology or innovation that doesn’t get enough attention?
I’m definitely biased, but what we’re doing and building at HubSpot is absolutely mind-blowing to me (my day job is as a Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Program Manager at HubSpot). Obviously we have an incredible product, but I think the way that we use it to serve our customers is really admirable - our goal is to help millions of organizations grow better and I think that’s apparent in everything that we do both internally and externally. I’ve been seeing more and more companies finding ways to use tech for good and I don’t know if you’d consider it a trend, but that’s definitely something I want to see more of.

Q: What’s one moonshot idea that could help make Ohio a world leader in technology and innovation?
Ohio is an incredible place for technology and our tech footprint is only continuing to grow. We always hear folks say that there is a ‘war on talent’, which I totally understand because I spent a couple of years in the recruiting space. However, imagine the kind of impact we could have if we all pooled our resources, networks, and knowledge to truly invest in the development of talent. There is truly so much untapped talent out there and it’s time for us to really work together in a big way. When we do that, everybody wins.

I don’t know exactly what this looks like, but #BlackTech614 is working on some really cool things that might be a great starting point, so stay tuned!

Q: What’s a recent book, podcast or news story that you found interesting?
Well I’m currently reading the book ‘Black Buck’ by Mateo Askaripour for an upcoming Black History Month discussion. I’m not done just yet, but I think it’s so interesting. The book tells the story of a young Black salesman and what it’s like to navigate as the only Black person in a fast-growing tech startup. Technology sales is a huge part of the industry, but not something we typically focus on when we talk about the experiences of Black people in technology - highly recommend!

Q: What's your favorite place in Ohio?
For the past few years, I’ve really enjoyed eating hot dogs at an evening Clippers game!

Q: What makes Ohio special to you?
Ohio has always been home for me. My family and friends are here and I just love that I can go from the city to the suburbs to the country all in a matter of 30 minutes (or less)!

Connect with Deneisha on LinkedIn.