Debut Capital Company investors and Olympic gold medalists Lauryn Williams and Sanya Richards-Ross, also of “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” became the first venture capitalists to invest in fast growing Black- and woman-founded tech hiring platform Us in Technology (UIT).
Recently, the pair joined Angel Investors and invested in UIT’s efforts. This, just as the technology startup prepares to release its new job and community platform this Fall. Us in Technology, originated in 2020, has helped diversify the technology industry by connecting historically excluded individuals with top tech companies committed to attracting, developing, and retaining underrepresented talent.
Us in Technology founder and CEO Kendrick Trotter and co-founder Nadya Collins say they’re very pleased with the new partnership.
“Since we were in an early funding round, we originally decided not to partner with VCs, despite the received interest,” says Trotter. “However, about a month ago I was invited to The Bridge Summit by my mentor and NFL player Kelvin Beacham.” The Bridge Summit, founded by former NFL player and Venture Capitalist firm founder Ryan Neece, is an annual event which focuses on bridging the gap between current professional athletes and venture opportunities. “That is where I connected to former Olympic champions Lauryn Williams and Sanya Richards-Ross. They’re part of Debut Capital’s Inaugural Investor-in-Residence Program,” explains the former Division 1 football player.
The reason for the collaboration? “Upon reviewing Debut Capital’s mission we felt strong alignment between our companies because of the mutual desire to help bridge the gender pay gap in the U.S. This is particularly important to us because more than 70 percent of hired applicants this year have been women, all of whom have the opportunity to earn six figures by the second year of their careers” adds Collins—a former executive at private equity backed EdTech company Evertrue and venture backed technology company Reprise.
“We are incredibly excited about helping UIT connect many more people of color, women, military veterans, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community to life-changing opportunities within the tech industry,” says Richards-Ross, about the partnership.
The partnership between UIT and Debut Capital marks the first time UIT has partnered with a venture capital firm. Prior to making the decision to accept funding from Debut Capital, Us in Technology raised from some of the industry’s most credible angel investors including ex-Google’s Corinne Drummond, Twitter’s Nick Caldwell, TD Bank’s Claudette Mcgowan and more. As part of the new partnership, UIT, with notable clients such as ServiceTitan and Airtable, Richard-Ross and Williams will also play a key role as brand ambassadors of Us in Technology, assisting with the growth of the already more than 10,000 person large marketplace of underrepresented professionals.
“Us in Technology drew my attention because UIT is not only creating wealth for underrepresented people through employment in tech companies,” adds Williams, “they are educating their members on financial literacy, empowering those in the community today to become the home owners and angel investors of tomorrow”.
