Success Stories - Black Tufts Alumni in Entrepreneurship and Technology

Tufts Entrepreneurship Network (TEN) is pleased to bring you the seventh event in its series of monitor-side chats.  We'll be chatting with some of our Black Tufts Alumni and exploring the black experience and identity in the world of technology and entrepreneurship.

Please join us as we hear from Kofi Asante, Timi Dayo-Kayode, Gozi Uzoma about their experience, success and identity, in the world of startups, venture capital, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Panelists

Kofi Asante, A17: Kofi is the Head of Strategy and Business Development at Elroy air. Elroy Air is building an autonomous vertical take off and landing system that can deliver 300 lbs of cargo over a 300 mile range. Their mission is to improve the quality of life around the world by expanding the reach of express logistics. Prior to Elroy Air, Kofi was a part of Uber's Advanced technology strategy group team which launched Uber freight.  During his time at Uber freight, Kofi built an Uber entity he named "Powerloop" which decreased wait time for drivers by creating a shared pool of pre-loaded trailers for any carrier drop and hook. The division is now expanding nationwide enabling drivers to seamlessly "loop" to their next load utilizing their "power" unit. The program has helped thousands of drivers maximize their work day and come home early to their families all at the same time.  Kofi’s ventures both at Uber and Elroy Air have been featured in the Wallstreet Journal, Techcrunch, Forbes and Business Insider.

Gozi Uzoma, A10: Gozi is a Product Manager at Box. Box is an enterprise cloud content management platform with the mission to power the way the world works together. She is currently working to empower the admin experience along with the users and groups experience. Previously Gozi also worked on the Platform team focusing on developer products.  Gozi received her bachelor’s degree from Tufts University in 2010 with a major in Biology and a minor in Studio Art. She started her career in education teaching in Baltimore Public Schools with Teach For America (TFA). With an interest in scaling her reach in education, she moved to the business side of education and joined a growing charter school network, and expanded the network by 15 schools in 5 years. The increasing presence of technology in the education sector paired with a desire to develop additional business sense, inspired Gozi to apply to business school and she received her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2018. Her entrepreneurial focus and interest in technology led her to pivot into Product Management post graduation.

Timi Dayo-Kayode, A20: Timi is the co-founder and CEO at Worksense. Worksense empowers people leaders to seamlessly track and mitigate unfair biases in employee compensation and promotion decisions at scale.  In conjunction with his role at Worksense, he also leads community efforts at Envision Accelerator, a virtual accelerator for womxn and/or people of color who are currently in college, have recently graduated, or are dropouts. Envision is supported by individuals and firms like Eliot Horowitz, Arlan Hamilton, Ryan Hoover, General Catalyst, Lerer Hippeau, Harlem Capital, and many more.  He is also very passionate about entrepreneurship in Africa and leads a group of young diasporan Africans as the President of Roundtrip where they are committed to leveraging the social and financial capital of young Africans in the diaspora to support the African startup ecosystem.  Timi has been featured on Forbes, Bostinno, and the Boston Business Journal for his work with startups.

Akua Okunseinde, A06: Akua is currently a Global Account Executive at Google, where she manages global advertising for technology clients. She is also the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Karité, a shea butter based skincare brand she started with her sisters. Akua has nearly 15 years experience in sales, marketing and strategy, having previously worked at American Express at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. Akua earned her MBA with a concentration in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from Columbia Business School, and her BA in Economics and Political Science.