We asked some of our UTC 2022 speakers what Metamorphosis means to them— from personal transformation to the steps a business takes to thrive during waves of change, Metamorphosis means growth and survival.
STEVEN MOYO, CEO of WELFIE
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
“To me the metamorphosis is the ‘pivot’. Most entrepreneurs enter this world with a mission and vision that is well defined. The reality is that what you and your company will become will be very different than what you had in mind. We enter hungry for knowledge and curious, we learn about our customer, our market and best practices. And those that understand that they, and their company, needs to go through a metamorphosis or pivot to transform into what works, wins and can have real impact. Those are the ones that make it.”
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
“I am a doctor. I was never trained in business or entrepreneurship. Transforming into a CEO and Founder is a process I am still undergoing. But the more I evolve, listen and learn, my company, Welfie, is directly impacted and improved. The metamorphosis is not a moment in business. It happens every day.”
CRYSTAL ADESANYA, CEO of KIIRA HEALTH
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
“I believe making big, meaningful change starts with having an idea that has the capacity to change the world and executing on it. Change starts with a small spark but needs the fire that comes with passion, hard work, and commitment that is the core of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are constant learners and change makers who can pivot to solve big problems with the same mission in mind. That’s what metamorphosis in tech is all about. Finding big problems to solve that will change the lives of millions in an ever-changing world.”
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
“I came to the US as an international student without a lot of options for work. I became an entrepreneur by necessity very early with an end goal of eventually becoming an attorney. My business took off, and I knew I had to build something special but building Kiira came out of a personal health experience and a need to change healthcare through technology. I had to take a big risk to not pursue law and pour my work into building a company with the capacity of changing millions of lives and that is what truly transformed me into who I am today.”
DANIEL TURNER-LLOVERAS, MD, CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT of SALUDCONTECH
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
“For true metamorphosis to take place, we must center lived experience when developing digital solutions and apply a health equity lens to the work that we do. Until leadership reflects the population served we must make sure there are leaders with firsthand community knowledge that are at the table. Only then can we lead, shape, and fund a more equitable future.”
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
“I had to overcome imposter syndrome and think outside the box to create my own vision of what a physician should look like.”
TIYA GORDON, CO-FOUNDER & COO of ITSELECTRIC
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
“Laughing! What immediately comes to mind is chrysalis – which is when an insect is at the stage of development when it in a larvae form and is protected by a hard cover, before it becomes a moth or butterfly.”
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
“All startups are like a chrysalis – and we need to wait and see if they emerge a butterfly. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, having lived through the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and now living at the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, I experienced a very real “the sky is falling” moment.”
There were ambulances going by my apartment every 30 seconds, there were lines out the door at the supermarket, schools shut down, temporary refrigerated morgues were parked near hospitals, New York City declared an emergency. It was truly terrifying.
It led to a life-changing decision.
Given the climate events that then dovetailed with COVID in terms of flooding, fires, and the nation’s general unpreparedness for these events, I decided to take everything I’ve done and put that into cleantech to try and make a difference for the future with regards to the climate crisis. In April 2021 Nathan King and I co-founded itselectric.”
PAUL FRANCIS, CEO of KIGT
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
“Reshaping 100 years of human habit globally but more importantly locally.”
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
“Asking myself consistently, “am I who I say I am?” – this question helps tremendously. The unknown is inevitable as an entrepreneur so I’ve had to embrace being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Growing a company while co-parenting has truly shaped some lasting habits as entrepreneur, as a father, and as a human.”
TAYLOR MCPARTLAND, CEO of SCALE HEALTH
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
“Evolution or change for the better.”
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
“I have evolved to being a much more mission driven and impact driven founder from a founder entirely focused on financial raises and outcomes. I’m passionate about empowering other entrepreneurs who share a similar vision for making the world a better place for all.”
CHUKA IKOKWU, FOUNDER & CEO of DIVERCITY.IO
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
“In the tech and entrepreneurship worlds, metamorphosis, which I define as adaptability to changing times and flexibility to pivot your product as needed, is a solid requirement.”
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
“More than anything, my metamorphosis as a founder has had me evolve from being B2C focused to B2B focused even though I am still very end-user-centric. This evolution came as a result of the desire to build a scalable workforce enablement business.”
ZIP GOULD, FOUNDER OF GAIA GREEN EARTH
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
Metamorphosis is a deep transformation to something through abrupt change. It is duplicating itself in our work as infrastructure partners. We saw it during covid and now there are simultaneous metamorphosis happening all over the world in digital silos creating new realities at scale. This is a great time to dream but an even better time to act and create.
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
When we started Gaia it was a consulting partner for communities to reimagine infrastructure and communities. We faced the process of being teachers of work that hasn’t been fully imagined and now we are seeing it accelerating, we went from discussing theory of transformation to being tools of transformation. As a founder, taking on debt and raising capital, building teams, destroying teams, is something you are never fully prepared for until you do it. I had to overcome my gentleness that comes from serving impacted communities who have suffered and place on my warrior headdress to get my people what they need which is access to free internet, cheap energy, clean water and clean organic food. While we haven’t completed our mission we are doing it everyday which means change is inevitable.
KYLE HILL, PRESEDENT & HEAD OF DIGITAL ASSETS at TROIKA
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
Metamorphosis is a striking change of form in an animal after birth that helps it adapt to a random, dangerous, and chaotic universe. It often carries the burden of pain, isolation, responsibility, and sacrifice in exchange for faster growth. In the startup world, founders are asked to metamorph themselves constantly to survive, even if it means isolating themselves from family, friends, and loved ones as they search for product-market fit and growth opportunities. But in the end, natural selection will favor metamorphosis if founders have sufficient capital and nurturing environment to survive their transformations.
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
I needed to overcome the fear of failure. Startups don’t work out for a lot of reasons, but it’s not worth crying over spilled milk. Over the years I learned to trust my judgment in situations and not dwell on past mistakes. I’m also learning how to be more patient in my investments, knowing it takes 7-10 years to build a disruptive company in any industry.
KIMBERELY NIXON, MANAGING PARTNER at OPEN VENTURE CAPITAL
What does metamorphosis in tech mean to you?
I launched to leverage my experience as an operator in the health and wellness space. From the start, I wanted to be purposeful and intentional about making space for more black women to join as investors. I had a hard time explaining my intent, because so many funds are focused on investing IN black founders, and I am focused on investing WITH black women.
And then I found the words. I took a breathwork class with an incredible instructor, Manoj Dias. Manoj is co-founder a OP E N, a modern mindfulness company. In a recent on Instagram Manoj captured my intent so eloquently. He said, “We have a pretty deeply ingrained negativity bias…our brains are hardwired to look for what could go wrong or what is wrong, in almost every situation. It’s a [survival instinct], a byproduct of our evolution…it meant life or death to us in pre-historic times. A way for us to overcome this is to develop a positivity bias.
We have all the stats that support negative bias – we know that black women founders receive less than 1% of all venture dollars, we know that less than 1% of all fund managers are black women. We are keenly aware of the racial wealth gap. We know our homes appraise for less, that our salaries are a fraction of that of our white male counterparts and that most venture funds don’t have any black investors. We have this information reinforced for us every. Single. Day.
The antithesis is action. It’s commune, it’s outreach, it’s intentionality. It’s a search for beauty in the process. It’s “noticing the moments when nothing is wrong”, as Manoj says. It’s creating more opportunities to look for what could go right, until things going right becomes your common place. Raising this fund, and centering black women as investors – that’s where we want to build a groundswell of positivity bias, until it is commonplace.
What personal metamorphosis have you experienced in your career?
In order to start a fund, be intentional about my cap table and add value to founders and do it on my terms I had to do three things: 1. Let go of the “ideal” career path 2. Release the need for external validation 3. Have a basic level of financial freedom that I could then help other people to get to. The importance of financial freedom can not be overstated. It’s not about being wealthy, it’s about owning your time and deciding what to do with it. I want that for more black women.
UTC is a day where you can foster connections and gain mentorship, advisement, new networks, and even investment opportunities to help you undergo your own metamorphoses so that you can thrive in your career.
Come transform with us, Plug In family. We are offering our existing community a 50% discount. Use our code: PISLA-COMMUNITY-50 at the registration checkout. Sign up. Tell a friend.