Kathryn Finney: Her Single Minded Path To Inspiring and Funding Brilliant Black and LatinX Founders

Guest overview

Kathryn Finney defies norms, conventions, and stereotypes. For this powerhouse of a human, there is no glass ceiling. From epidemiologist to entrepreneur, to investor, author, and mentor,  Kathryn is changing what is considered possible for a generation of marginalized and underrepresented Black and LatinX entrepreneurs. 

In this episode, recorded in two parts, we cover

• The impact of her parents and extended family
• Her father’s life pivot from brewing to coding in his 30’s which led her at aged eight to move from Milwaukee to Minneapolis.
• The early experiences of racism.     
• Her grandmother's role in nurturing her entrepreneurial spirit and exposure to fashion. 
• Her educational journey and impact
• The serendipity of illness in Ghana that led her to epidemiology at Yale 
• The life transition in her mid-twenties and setting up her fashion blog Budget Fashionista in 2004
• Being the first blogger invited to New York fashion week
• How her blogging opened the path to her first book deal
• Becoming a correspondent for the Today Show. 
• The shift that occurred in fashion blogging as the category grew in 2008/9.
• Joining an incubator program and confronting racial prejudice.
• Creating a Women’s Entrepreneurs Event Focus 100  
• Exiting her business in 2013.
• Creating the Project Diane a database of Black and LatinX women startups
• The genesis of her Digital Undivided 
• How Covid accelerated a life transition and the creation of her micro grant Doonie Fund
• Receiving funding from Pivotal Ventures for the creation of Genius Guild
• Building a coalition of like-minded change agents 
• Creating her Podcast and Book Build The Damn Thing, her ‘a battle-tested guide for every entrepreneur who the establishment has excluded’ 
• Her 2030 vision 
• Who we interview next?

Social Links

Instagram 

Linkedin 

Twitter 

Podcast 

Show Links 

Donor-Advised Funds 

Genius Guild

Doonie Fund 

Digital Undivided 

Project Diane

Build the Damn Thing - How to start a successful business if you are not a rich white guy 

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