The Black Entrepreneurs Experience

Calvin Brown, software, technology, and cloud architect at Kairu Consulting, talks with Ben about his experience as a Black entrepreneur. Calvin entered the tech world through an unpaid summer internship at 17 years old. Today, he is a success story representing minority communities. Ben and Calvin discuss his journey and the challenges he faced.
About the speaker

Calvin Brown

Kairu Consulting http://www.kairuconsulting.com/

 - Kairu Consulting http://www.kairuconsulting.com/

Calvin Brown is a tech founder with experience managing global teams and multi-million dollar software deliverables. His software architecture background, coding capabilities, and keen understanding of the entire process help inform his mindful but competitive approach.

Show Notes

Quotes

  • “You're also a successful black entrepreneur, which is something that should be discussed and appreciated because I think that we all want there to be more minority representation. And part of that is creating great role models like yourself.”

  • “I noticed that not only were they successful at what they were doing, it seemed really simple. It was very much like music. They would record or do something once and they would sell it multiple times...”

  • “I didn't understand nepotism or any of these things before I just thought like, Hey, I'm probably smarter than that guy. He's doing it. I'm sure I could do it. That was literally my motivation.”

  • “When you tell people where you're from, they're trying to figure out the path like how in the hell is this possible? And that question, I don't see with some of my white peers. Now, I will say that talent plays a huge role.”

  • “With hundreds of products, I still get asked, '' Do you guys know how to do this?” Hundreds of products, literally for the world's largest companies...”

  • “Does this fit your needs? Is this what you're looking for? Right. Does this fit your budget? These are really just check boxes, right? If you don't want it, then you have a competitor, right? Software is very flexible in that way.”

  • “I think that being a role model coming from where you're from, coming from your background is special and something that should be applauded and appreciated.

About the speaker

Calvin Brown

Kairu Consulting http://www.kairuconsulting.com/

 - Kairu Consulting http://www.kairuconsulting.com/

Calvin Brown is a tech founder with experience managing global teams and multi-million dollar software deliverables. His software architecture background, coding capabilities, and keen understanding of the entire process help inform his mindful but competitive approach.

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