Each year, over 400,000 new businesses are launched in the United States and about 80% of these will survive their first year. However, only 50% remain afloat after five years of being established. At Gravity Speakers, we work with founders, CEOs, and managers who can guide you and offer tips on how to improve your business model, strategy, team management, or scaling-up for the long run. From startups to multinationals, our business keynoters can speak to every aspect of business.
Sofiat Abdulrazaaq is the co-founder & CEO of Goodfynd, a fintech platform enhancing accessibility for mobile food businesses. A serial entrepreneur and privacy expert, who brings a decade of experience translating business goals into developed products. She has held prior leadership positions at some of the largest Fortune 500 and billion-dollar nonprofit organizations and operates her own consulting practice. As a founder of SBA Strategies, she empowers entrepreneurs and champions underrepresented voices in business.
Sheena Allen is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and creative architect. She is the CEO and Founder of TOO.AI, an AI venture focused on advancing human health, wealth, and capabilities. She also founded CapWay, a fintech ecosystem for financial inclusion. Sheena has been featured in various documentaries and publications, including Inc Magazine and Forbes.
Ivelyse Andino is an Afro-Latina health equity innovator born and raised in The Bronx. She is the founder and CEO of Radical Health and a Commissioner on the New York City Commission on Gender Equity. In 2015 she founded the first Latina owned Public Benefit Corp in New York State.
Emily Best is the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark. An advocate for equity inclusion in the entertainment industry (and the entire working world), Best regularly speaks at conferences and events about leveraging entertainment to build equity and sustainability for everyone, crowdfunding, and pitching, building equitable startups, and serves as an advisor and mentor to dozens of early-stage companies.
Aubrey Blanche-Sarellano is The Mathpath (Math Nerd + Empath), VP of Equitable Operations at Culture Amp, and a startup investor, and advisor. She questions, reimagines, and redesigns the systems that surround us to ensure that all people access equitable opportunities.
Brian Brackeen is a General Partner at Lightship Capital, the Cincinnati-based VC firm dedicated to backing underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Midwest. Brian lectures extensively around the world on entrepreneurship, code, the digital economy, AI and machine learning — and participates in mentorship programs for organizations like Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code and The School District of Miami.
Candice Matthews is a General Partner at Lightship Capital, where she finds and funds high growth, minority-led companies operating in underserved ecosystems throughout the Midwest. She also directs programming at Lightship Foundation, the inclusion-focused entrepreneur enrichment program guiding minority founders with instruction in product development, brand building, leveraging artificial intelligence for business and fundraising.
Jennifer Brandel is an award-winning journalist, founder and organizer whose work spans journalism, civic engagement, democracy and entrepreneurship. She’s a dynamic, sought-after keynote speaker and workshop facilitator. Brandel began her career in journalism reporting for outlets including NPR, CBC, WBEZ, The New York Times, and Vice. She is the founder of Hearken, which helps institutions better listen and respond to their stakeholders.
Madison Butler is a Black, queer woman, and a survivor. Her work is focused around designing spaces and creating scalable strategies to achieve psychological safety. An outspoken advocate for mental health, she is passionate about facilitating hard conversations through storytelling, data, and tough empathy, removing stigma around trauma, and advisor for being “human at work”.
Courtney Caldwell is the Cofounder & CEO of beauty-tech startup, ShearShare, the largest provider of on-demand salon and barbershop space rentals and the most affordable leases in the market. She is also an award-winning entrepreneur and tech founder and has spent two decades building winning teams in tech marketing.
Dr. Tye Caldwell is the Cofounder & Chief Strategy Officer of ShearShare. Recognized as a tech visionary and industry pioneer, Dr. Caldwell’s mission is to help beauty and barbering professionals around the world maximize their earnings potential. He has worked in beauty for 25 years as a master barber-stylist, educator, and small business coach, offering his 20+ years of industry knowledge as a proven roadmap.
Cheryl Campos is a serial maverick, aligning her passions to achieve success across multiple arenas. As the CEO of a leading financial nonprofit and a professional model and actress, Cheryl possesses a unique and powerful dual perspective that bridges the analytical and creative worlds. Her dynamic career embodies innovation, resilience, and the limitless potential of following one's diverse passions.
Kanika Chadda Gupta is a seasoned CNN television journalist turned podcaster and mother of three (including twins). As a television personality and seasoned journalist, Kanika knows how to deliver as a live speaker, moderator, and emcee. She speaks on topics including modern motherhood, women’s empowerment, DEI, guiding corporations to better serve their employees who are parents (parental leave, benefits, etc), living a life of purpose (discovering your dharma), AAPI & South Asian heritage, lifestyle and entertainment.
Heidi Connal is a seasoned technology executive with over twenty years of experience building collaborative, compassionate, and high performing individuals and teams. She works with visionary leaders to identify new opportunities within themselves for growth, learning, and contributions. Her techniques cultivate emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and courageous introspection.
Ugwem Eneyo is co-founder and CEO of SHYFT Power Solutions, specializing in the use of IoT software and big data to improve access to clean, reliable and affordable energy solutions in markets that struggle with grid resiliency. Ms. Eneyo explores how we use tech to create ‘grids of the future’ but particularly in emerging markets. She’s given talks on the nexus of energy and sustainable development to global thought leaders, including the World Bank.
Britteny Floyd-Mayo, affectionately known as “Yoga Bae”, is the mastermind behind one of the most diverse and inclusive wellness spaces across the globe. In her untouchable lane, she’s curated an innovative yoga experience designed to affirm lifestyles of wellness and total self-care.
Andrea Guendelman is a writer, speaker, and entrepreneur who specializes in Expansive Leadership—helping individuals and organizations unlock potential through openness. She is a leading force in creating platforms for minority professionals and the tech industry. Through her own experiences as a Harvard-trained corporate lawyer and an entrepreneur, she co-created Bevisiblelatinx, Wallbreakers, and most recently, Speak_.
Arlan Hamilton is a remarkable entrepreneur who built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a VC firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT.
Harold Hughes is the CXO and co-founder of Catalyst Labs, an entrepreneur support organization he co-founded to help provide entrepreneurs with the resources and community they need to launch, build, and scale their companies. As a web3 builder, he is the founder of Bandwagon, a South Carolina-based live experience technology company. Harold published "A Kids Book About Blockchain" to help educate people "from 6 to 60" about the revolutionary technology that Bandwagon specializes in. Harold is also an active angel investor, primarily investing in women, people of color, and Black founder-led companies.
Shontavia Johnson is an entrepreneurship and innovation expert who has helped hundreds of people build personal brands, businesses, and intellectual property portfolios. Founder of the Brand and Business Company. Shontavia is an entrepreneur, creator, Liberty Fellow through Aspen Institute, and a Fulbright Specialist. She shares her message to audiences globally.
Max Lenderman has a pulse on the future so that you and your business can win today. As founder and chief creative officer, he is a pioneering authority on purpose-led brand building, experiential marketing, and large-scale advertising campaigns.
Mark Levy is a seasoned globally-minded Employee Experience Leader who has chosen to work for big-hearted companies and focus on how he can unleash the talents and passions of a company’s employees. Mark was the pioneer of designing the Employee Experience at Airbnb and most recently at Allbirds, showing organizations what is possible when you empower employees and rethink HR.
Called a “master storyteller,” Anthony McLean delivers lively, actionable presentations on Culture, Wellness, and Inclusion. Author of “All Fired Up: Optimize Mental Health to Ignite Joy and Fuel Peak Performance”, he’s worked with leading organizations such as PepsiCo, AT&T, Intel, TD Bank, Coca-Cola, and more. McLean shows audiences how human connection is the key to boosting individual and team performance.
A survivor, entrepreneur, and international keynote speaker – Norliza is a force globally recognised for her achievements and accolades. She is Founder of Mind Hub Directory, improving mental health is a passion and commitment for Norliza and her team. She is a qualified psychotherapist, transformation executive coach, entrepreneur, storyteller, and keynote speaker, inspiring individuals to live their best possible life. Norliza presents an impassioned and compelling story of true grit and resounding resilience. A story of overcoming impossible adversities, triumphing against all odds, and becoming a self-made, highly successful entrepreneur.
Damian Pelliccione (they/them/theirs) is the CEO and Co-Founder of Revry, the world’s first LGBTQ Global Content Streaming Network. With over 15 years of experience in the digital and new media world and as an avid speaker, passionate about supporting the LGBTQ community in both authentic representation and entrepreneurship, Damian has spoken at more than over 250 conferences and film festivals around the world.
Rachel Rodgers is the CEO/Founder of Hello Seven, a company empowering women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA individuals to build seven-figure businesses. She's a bestselling author and has appeared on major media outlets. As an attorney-turned-entrepreneur, Black woman, and self-made millionaire, Rachel's mission is to help end the cycle of overworking, under-earning, and financial stress. She also runs The Hello Seven Foundation, a non-profit addressing disparities in maternal health care.
Neil Sahota (萨冠军) is an IBM Master Inventor, United Nations (UN) Advisor, Artificial Intelligence (AI) subject matter expert, Faculty at UC Irvine, and author of Own the A.I. Revolution. With 20+ years of business experience, he works with organizations to create next-generation products/solutions powered by emerging technology.
Dona Sarkar is the Chief Troublemaker of Microsoft’s AI Extensibility Program, a BIPOC woman in tech leader, Multi-published author, and Owner of the ethical luxury fashion brand Prima Dona Studios. She was recently named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Productive People and Cosmopolitan magazine's Businessperson of the Year.
Dr. Astrid J. Scholz is a serial entrepreneur in social innovation and systems change. As a recovering nonprofit executive turned tech entrepreneur, Astrid is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Armillaria, and Co-Founder and Capital Lead of Zebras Unite. Astrid’s work focuses on democratizing innovation and capital to solve today’s wicked problems.
Lolita Taub is a GP at Ganas Ventures where she invests in pre-seed and seed community-driven companies in the US and Latin America. She is a woman of color with 13 years in tech, micro-influencer, an international keynote speaker, 2x TEDx speaker whose work in venture capital and tech has been recognized on Forbes, Inc.com, The Huffington Post and Entrepreneur.com among other publications.
Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years and has written about California and its politics for a number of publications, including the Sacramento Bee and The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Walters frequently appears on CNN, Fox, and other networks, commenting about political developments in California.
Aniyia Williams is a creator, inventor, and tech changemaker. She serves as Executive Director of Black & Brown Founders, co-founder of Zebras Unite, and founded and led the fashion tech company, Tinsel. Aniyia addresses topics of diversity, equity and inclusion in tech, the economic future of creativity, self-awareness and mindfulness, alternatives to venture capital, fashion technology, hardware design, and parenting while building a startup.
Rodney Williams is the Co-founder of SoLo Funds, the largest community finance platform and the US’s only Black-led Certified B Corp fintech grounded in the hope and mission to build a community that enables financial autonomy for all. Prior to SoLo, Rodney founded LISNR and led the company to over $40M in funding, numerous awards, and partnerships across retail and financial services. Rodney’s career started at Procter & Gamble in brand management where he was a critical catalyst in the company’s digital strategy and started in eCommerce & social media.
Mara Zepeda is a co-founder of Cola Love, a catalytic community and economic development design studio in Columbia, South Carolina. She is also the Co-Founder of Zebras Unite, an international and intersectional hybrid cooperative and non-profit creating a more ethical, inclusive, collaborative, and sustainable approach to building businesses. She is a systempreneur and serial social entrepreneur and she speaks about and leads workshops on education, trust, social networks, and the future of business internationally.