Ep. 010: Felecia Hatcher-Pearson & Derick Pearson Unplugged

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On this episode of Black Tech Unplugged I chat with Felecia Hatcher-Pearson & Derick Pearson, husband/wife duo and creators of Black Tech Week. Not only do we talk tech in this episode, but we also talk about how real life and tech truly correlate. Also, Derick & Felecia have created numerous businesses so of course we had to talk lessons and tips so future tech entrepreneurs can have an upper hand in the game!

Felecia Hatcher is on a mission to rid communities of innovation deserts by working with community leaders and government officials to create inclusive and diverse tech/startup ecosystems as the Co-Founder of Code. Fever, Black Tech Week and Tribe Cowork and Urban Innovation Lab. Code Fever is an initiative connects minority led startup founders to capital through their VC in Residence program, tech skills training for African American and Caribbean youth and young adults in the areas of technology and entrepreneurship through full stack development coding boot camps, in school programs and an annual week long emerging technology summit called BlackTech Week and in 2018 launch Tribe Co-Work and Urban Innovation Lab to provide innovation hubs in Black Communities. Hatcher has raised over 3 million dollars to support Code Fever’s work which sits at the intersection of economic development and inclusive innovation. As an Author, Social Entrepreneur and the former “Chief Popsicle” of Feverish Ice Cream, Hatcher was named one of the Empact 100 Top 100 Entrepreneurs under the age of 30 by the White House and Kauffman Foundation in 2011, a 2014 White House Champion of Change for STEM Access and Diversity, Ruth Shack Honoree, 2017 Comcast/Nationswell Tech Impact Allstar, a Black Enterprise 2017 TechConnext Game Changer and 2016
Innovator of the Week, Essence Magazine Tech Master, and featured on the NBC Today Show, MSNBC, FORBES, INC, The Cooking Channel, & Grio’s 100 African American’s Making History. Hatcher is also the author of 5 books: Start your Business on a Ramen Noodle Budget, Focused, Become an Epic Expert, PopPreneurs and the C Students Guide to Scholarships.

Derick Pearson is the COO and Co-Founder of Code Fever, a 501c3 Not-For Profit dedicated to dramatically shifting the way minority communities engage and create value within the innovation sector, focused on drawing resources, training, networks, funding, and inclusive policies into the Black community to build an asset and talent filled space where innovation thrives.

As the COO of Code Fever and Blacktech Week, Derick secured significant financial and strategic support from Morgan Stanley, the Knight Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, the Kenan Charitable Trust, Ford, and others to execute a national, inclusive tech education and startup ecosystem strategy and VC in Residence Program. Through Code Fever, Derick has trained over 3000 youth, successfully recruiting participants, built a team to support the organization, obtained over 3 million in funding while also creating partnerships with: colleges, universities, governments, businesses, not-for-profits, and foundations.

In this episode you will learn: