Giselle Melo

Julia Collins is a serial entrepreneur who spent her career building food companies including Zume Pizza where she became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company. Today, Julia leads Planet FWD, the leading carbon management platform for consumer companies, where she is making it easier to bring climate-friendly products to market. Empowering the next generation of sustainable consumer companies through its proprietary software, Planet FWD’s platform reduces the cost and complexity of creating sustainable and carbon neutral products. The platform is inspired by Planet FWD’s own snack brand, Moonshot, which launched in 2020 as the first climate-friendly snack brand. In addition, Julia sits on the advisory council for Launch with GS and the Food for Climate League board, serves on the All Raise operating committee, and is an EIR for Cleo Capital. She is an active angel investor focused on funding female entrepreneurs and BIPOC founders.

Esosa Ighodaro is the co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech, the organization that aims to identify, support and encourage black women to build the next billion-dollar business. Black Women Talk Tech is the largest collective of black women tech founders therefore bringing a unique understanding of the challenges Black women face and the advantages they bring to the tech industry. As co-founder, Esosa co-leads business strategy and strategic partnership development and leads the organization’s marketing endeavors.

Esosa has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience including founding two influencer marketing businesses. Additionally, she has more than 12 years of marketing and operation experience as a serial entrepreneur, and as a former bank executive at Citigroup where she developed high-performing growth strategies and oversaw implementation for key lines of business.

Her achievements at her past companies led to several articles and past awards, including being named 100 Most Powerful Women by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2019 and one of the 50 Inspirational Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017, and Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch by Paste Magazine. This ultimately lands her features in ELLE, Forbes, NBC, The Huffington Post, USA Today, and many more. Esosa graduated with a bachelor of science in finance from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. She and her husband now live in Puerto Rico, and enjoy fashion, travel, and food.

Nicole D. Smith is the editorial audience director for Harvard Business Review, where she focuses on growing digital readership and creating online content. Prior to HBR, she worked at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ESSENCE magazine and CNN. Nicole is also an adjunct professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta, and a frequent guest speaker and moderator. She holds degrees from the University of Georgia and The George Washington University.

Paul Carrick Brunson is a serial entrepreneur, television host, and columnist whose specialty lies in teaching others. An internationally recognized expert in interpersonal relationships, personal development, and entrepreneurship, he currently serves as a featured business columnist for USA Today, co-host of UK’s Celebs Go Dating television show, co-host of UK’s Married at First Sight, and host of the Better with Paul LIVE podcast.
Major media outlets throughout the world, such as Good Morning America and The New York Times in the U.S., The Guardian and Sunday Brunch in the UK, and The Jamaican Observer and TVJ in Jamaica have sought Paul’s insights on everything from finding love to pursuing entrepreneurial passion. Named as a Top Voice on LinkedIn and the world’s most influential matchmaker by the Matchmaking Institute, Oprah Winfrey said herself that, “Paul is much more than a matchmaker.”
The heart of his work is centered on impacting lives through mentorship and developing a new generation of servant-leaders with a desire to change the world. Paul is the founder and chair of “Give Love, Build Hope” – a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming schools in rural areas of the Caribbean. A proud second-generation son of Jamaica, Paul’s greatest achievements are in his roles of husband and father. When he’s not serving the world, he’s serving his family – likely with a Red Stripe beer in one hand and a good book in the other.

Arlan Hamilton, founder at Backstage Capital and Runner, is a serial entrepreneur, author and master multi-tasker.

She founded Backstage Capital in 2015 to invest in founders who are people of color, women and/or LGBTQ. Since its founding, Backstage has raised nearly $30 million and invested in 200 startups led by underestimated founders. Arlan is also the founder of Runner, a startup that connects outstanding operations talent with inclusive companies.

Arlan published her book, “It’s About Damn Time,” in 2020, detailing her journey from homelessness to venture capital. Arlan also hosts podcasts “Your First Million” and “Demystifying Faith,” and is the executive producer on “The Valley,” a daily soap opera that is like “General Hospital” but for the tech industry.

Arlan is a big proponent of paying it forward and supporting other underestimated people in the tech industry and beyond. She’s a limited partner in funds at Collab Capital, Ganas Ventures, Lightship Capital, RareBreed Ventures and several others. Meanwhile, Arlan and her mother, Mrs. Earline Butler-Sims, founded a scholarship program for Black students at Oxford University and HBCU Dillard University.