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

<p><strong><em>Guest overview</em></strong></p><p>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,&nbsp; Kathryn is changing what is considered possible for a generation of marginalized and underrepresented Black and LatinX entrepreneurs.&nbsp;</p><br><p>In this episode, recorded in two parts, we cover</p><p><br></p><ul><li>The impact of her parents and extended family</li><li>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.</li><li>The early experiences of racism.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Her grandmother's role in nurturing her entrepreneurial spirit and exposure to fashion.&nbsp;</li><li>Her educational journey and impact</li><li>The serendipity of illness in Ghana that led her to epidemiology at Yale&nbsp;</li><li>The life transition in her mid-twenties and setting up her fashion blog Budget Fashionista in 2004</li><li>Being the first blogger invited to New York fashion week</li><li>How her blogging opened the path to her first book deal</li><li>Becoming a correspondent for the Today Show.&nbsp;</li><li>The shift that occurred in fashion blogging as the category grew in 2008/9.</li><li>Joining an incubator program and confronting racial prejudice.</li><li>Creating a Women’s Entrepreneurs Event Focus 100&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Exiting her business in 2013.</li><li>Creating the Project Diane a database of Black and LatinX women startups</li><li>The genesis of her Digital Undivided&nbsp;</li><li>How Covid accelerated a life transition and the creation of her micro grant Doonie Fund</li><li>Receiving funding from Pivotal Ventures for the creation of Genius Guild</li><li>Building a coalition of like-minded change agents&nbsp;</li><li>Creating her Podcast and Book Build The Damn Thing, her ‘a battle-tested guide for every entrepreneur who the establishment has excluded’&nbsp;</li><li>Her 2030 v