26 Oct - 28 Oct
Wednesday - Friday
Walt Disney World
Coronado Springs Resort
Orlando, FL
BITCON is the annual conference for the Blacks In Technology community hosted by Blacks In Technology, LLC (BIT) and the 501(c)(3) Blacks In Technology Foundation.
The 2022 conference will be a hybrid of in-person and live streamed main stage, attended by IT professionals, university students, and a variety of afro-technologists and futurists.
This year we anticipate that over 1,000 techies will come to Disney World for BITCON 2022. You’ll be joined by technology leaders and IT professionals from the world’s largest companies, promising new startups, influential investors and leading journalists.
Attend workshops and training sessions from beginner to expert. Topics and tracks include: Web 3, cryptocurency, NFT, metaverse, AI & ML, gaming & e-sports, cloud/DevOps, cybersecurity, data science, social responsibility & policy, career development, entrepreneurship, and storytelling.
Participate in one of the largest career fairs for diverse tech talent. Dozens of companies are looking for top tech talent and they are leaning into diversity.
Plus 40 of tech’s most respected leaders, influencers, and thought leaders
Baratunde Thurston
Baratunde Thurston is a writer, activist, comedian, and techie. He wrote the New York Times bestseller How To Be Black and served for five years as director of digital for the satirical news outlet The Onion.
When he’s not delivering talks at gatherings such as Tribeca Film Interactive, SXSW, and TED, he writes the monthly back page column for Fast Company and contributes to the MIT Media Lab as a director’s fellow.
The Emmy-nominated Baratunde currently hosts a Lenovo sponsored television series, Lenovo Late Night I.T. and has his own show on PBS entitled America Outdoors.
Felecia Hatcher
Felecia is the CEO of Pharrell William’s Black Ambition Opportunity Fund, author of Genius Jam and the Co-Founder of the Center for Black Innovation. Felecia is an innovative powerhouse, personal transformation speaker, entrepreneur and author, who’s work shapes the way individuals show up, are valued, and financially benefit from playing full out in the innovation economy. Companies like, Google, Spotify, Door Dash, Target, Samsung, and Etsy call on Felecia to help them empower their teams and shape their inclusive innovation strategies and empower their team to step into their Zone of Genius. Felecia has been featured on the NBC Today Show, MSNBC, The Cooking Channel, Wall Street Journal, and White House Champion of Change Honoree.
Arlan Hamilton
Arlan Hamilton is an investor and the founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital. In May 2020, Hamilton released her first book from Penguin Random House entitled It’s About Damn Time, which is based on her personal journey into entrepreneurship and venture capital.
In 2015, Hamilton founded Backstage Capital, a fund that invests in “underestimated founders”. Underestimated founders for the fund are defined as women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community. To date, Backstage Capital has raised more than $20 million and has invested in more than 150 startups.
In June 2019 Hamilton received recognition from Business Insider as one of the 23 most powerful LGBTQ+ people in tech.
Simon T. Bailey
A keynote speaker, a success coach, an author, television host, and philanthropist, Simon T. Bailey’s purpose in life is to help you discover your brilliance. Every single person has brilliance within them. The problem is that this brilliance often gets buried by society’s rigid rules on how we are allowed to use our talents and abilities. It’s only when we learn to shift our way of thinking that we can find our spark.
Simon T. Bailey has the insight and inspiration to help you find your spark and unleash your brilliance to the world. With his more than 30 years of experience, he has worked with over 2,000 companies in 50 different countries. He has helped countless people find their spark, and he’ll help you find yours too.
3 FINALISTS WILL COMPETE FOR A $10,000 NON-DILUTIVE CASH PRIZE
Rules & Regulations
Do you have an idea for a tech startup, but you just need some “friends and family” funds to get it off the ground? We have your back family. Here’s how you can get in the game…
Qualifications
- Founder(s) identify as Black or African American
- Less than 2 years old and less than 10 employees
- Must be technology focused
Prize
- $10,000 non-dilutive cash prize
- Travel and hotel to BITCON 2022
PLATINUM SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
BITCON 2022 will host speakers, workshops, career and networking opportunities in a jam packed 3 days of events.