The "Why" of the 2ndF Minority Achiever Initiative Program

There was an idea. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to achieve the outcomes that many of us aspire to. To show the world that despite the challenges and obstacles, great things can be Achieved.

Okay this is a paraphrasing of Nick Fury’s famous Avenger Initiative quote. It is also an encapsulation of the truth of one of the core missions of 2ndF. We are identifying remarkable people; giving them the tools, the education and the support to turn their dreams into reality. In doing so, we hope to inspire future generations; increase overall minority participation in the technology economy and to create significant wealth building opportunity for those who do the work needed. In the next few paragraphs, I will go deeper into the program and our aspirational outcomes.

What do we mean by remarkable people? We are seeking people who share the following:

·       Big dreams and goals within the high growth technology sector

·       Have the requisite education/skills to operate within the tech community

·       Be truly open to coaching and peer mentoring

·       Be ready and willing to take the necessary calculated risks

As a long time entrepreneur and investor, I have engaged with hundreds of people who have one or two of the above traits, Very rarely do I meet a person that has all four of the above. When you combine that with the fact that minority representation is limited in the technology industry from the start, we are searching for very special people. True outliers.  

What do we mean by becoming something more? As a minority within our society, you are automatically operating on your back foot. There are always challenges and barriers that prevent one from accessing opportunity. Achievers, however, must surpass those challenges. They have to become more than what the world expects of them. They have to grab the next rung on the ladder and relentlessly push forward. Our expected outcomes for Achievers are:

·       Founder/Co-Founder of a high growth technology company

·       Founding Team Member of a high growth technology company

·       C-Sute Execuitve of large enterprise technology business

·       Partner/General Partner within the technology venture industry

In all cases of the above, we are industry agnostic as long as it falls within the definition of high growth technology. It’s a focused, high bar but we are certain this is attainable.

The program will offer three cohort tracks:

The Aspirational Founder Track- A existing or recently graduated college student who is in the early learning phase of their journey

The Existing Founder/Operator Track- One who is already running or leading within and existing high growth early stage company/venture fund

The Executive Track- One who is a senior leader (VP or Sr. Director) and looking to achieve both C-Suite and/or Board level career exposure

What will 2ndF bring/offer? The focus of our offering will not be simply money. We also are not interested in extracting financial or equity resources from the participants. This is not an accelerator. Our program will go for one year with 3-4 in person gatherings and once monthly virtual engagements within the cohorts. This is not a short race so those who aren’t up for the challenge; there are plenty of other program options that may better suit. What we will bring during that one year process is:

·       Cohort Peer to Peer Engagement

·       Education Content

·       External Mentor Matching

·       Targeted Financial/Programmatic Support

The combination of the above areas are our first efforts at starting the process of opening doors and identifying opportunities. The design of this program comes from research and personal experience around what worked and what appeared to not work across a number of other programs. As the program grows, we will make adjustments based on feedback from participants and new learnings.

The Personal Why-On a personal note, I have taken a path that is not the norm for many people. I have learned some really hard lessons; taken some arrows and sacrificed both mentally and physically to reach the place where I am today. I am hoping that I can be a guide to those who are out there thinking they want to take a similar journey. Maybe just maybe fewer arrows involved and even more incredible outcome await.

Achievers Assemble!