"411": Ten entrepreneurs will get five minutes to pitch the audience and then three minutes of questions about their idea. After the last pitcher has answered questions from the audience, attendees will then vote for the three (3) winners who will split the prize money equally. When: First pitch will be at 6:00pm with doors opening at 5:30pm and everyone out by 8:00pm Where: Our gracious hosts are the great folks at Instrument. Their amazing HQ is located at the One North development in the heart of inner N/NE Portland on North Williams Ave.

Who: This event is the brainchild of Stephen Green @PDXStepheng, economist, entrepreneur & strong advocate of CHEATING to support small businesses. By day he is the Community Manager for Townsquared where he is engaging area small businesses to support each other and share knowledge. Stephen, along with others in the community have been looking to spread broader narratives about black founders locally. This event wouldn't be possible without the support of some amazing partners; Instrument, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Silicon Florist, Digital Trends, Built Oregon, ClientJoy, Albina Community Bank, Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP, Business For A Better Portland

Why: To connect the region's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem with the increasing number of African-American founders.

Cost: Tickets are $22 with ALL PROCEEDS from ticket sales going directly to the three winners. Bring some extra cash to make sure you leave with some event swag.

We usually sit in a circle. We listen, share, encourage: rinse, repeat.

*Friends and any guests are welcome.

Code Switching or Soul Switching

Our panel will seek to give thought to the complex role of power in constructing and maintaining discursive and societal claims of identity through “code switching.” or what some call "soul switching" which refers to the actions of a particular person and/or group that is assumed to break from their own “natural” practices to perform codes “not their own” for the purposes of fitting in, acquiring capital, and accessing spaces not easily afforded.

Panelists include:

• Dr. Mona-Lisa Pinkney - Sr. Director, Cybersecurity @Nike
• Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia - Asst. Professor School of Medicine & Executive Director Avel Gordly Center of Healing @ OHSU
• Lakecia Gunter - VP Programmable Solutions Group @ Intel
• Grace Andrews - Senior Solutions Engineer @ New Relic

Moderator:

Deena Pierott - Diversity Strategist and BWiSTEM Co-Founder

A free, virtual networking opportunity for Black startup founders around the US, organized by Accenture and PIE (https://piepdx.com)

Join Accenture for an exciting networking event for tech founders. Connect with Black founders, investors, and Accenture industry experts from across North America.

Keynote speaker: Dr. Charlton McIlwain

Author of the recent book, Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice, From the Afronet to Black Lives Matter, Dr. Charlton McIlwain is Vice Provost for Faculty Development & Engagement at New York University, and Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU Steinhardt. He works at the intersections of computing technology, race, inequality, and racial justice activism. He has served as an expert witness in landmark U.S. Federal Court cases on reverse redlining/racial targeting in mortgage lending, and recently testified before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services about the impacts of automation and artificial intelligence on the financial services sector. He writes regularly for outlets such as The Guardian, Slate's Future Tense, MIT Technology Review and other outlets about the intersection of race and technology. McIlwain is the founder of the Center for Critical Race & Digital Studies, is the President of the Board for Data & Society Research Institute, heads NYU’s Alliance for Public Interest Technology, and is NYU’s Designee to the Public Interest Technology University Network.

Founders attending this event will have the opportunity to...

• Meet Kathy Ross and Dujon Smith, leads of the Accenture Black Founders Development Program
• Hear about recent Accenture Ventures start-up investments and our FY23 goals
• Participate in peer-to-peer networking with founders and investors from across North America

Peer-to-Peer networking hosted on Mixtroz (https://www.mixtroz.com/).

PitchBlack 2024 is sold out. But you can still see all of the pitches. Live from the comfort of your favorite web browser. Just visit the PitchBlack site on Wednesday evening to catch the livestream: https://pitchblackpdx.com

The PitchBlack pitch competition gives Black entrepreneurs a platform to connect with the broader startup ecosystem — while also awarding them with cash prizes to help their concepts flourish. Last year’s competition awarded $80,000 in total prize money to innovative Black businesses, and this PitchBlack will be bigger and better than ever. Grab your tickets today!

TICKETS: $29