The Story

NewME started in 2010 with a conference in Washington DC that gathered some of the brightest minority led start-ups, seasoned business leaders, venture capital stakeholders and key government officials from the SBA, FCC, and NTIA (DOC).  Our goals were to:

  • Foster ideas and best practices to provide minority entrepreneurs with opportunities and platforms to freely explore, create, and innovate in ways that will spur new growth and participation in the free market;
  • Formulate an action plan to increase the number of successful minority new media ventures; and
  • Develop a policy framework for advancing and stimulating the growth and sustainability of minority new media start-ups.
  • Bring a confluence of individuals together to move the Internet economy in a more diverse and inclusive direction.

We learn so much from the day and a half conference!  By bringing together these individuals we were able to hear from entrepreneurs, the venture capital community, and government to try create real solutions.  The NewME Accelerator is a product of that gathering and will take the place of the conference in 2011.

2010 Speakers

Angela Benton
Kristal L. High
Mignon Clyburn, FCC Commissioner
Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke
Robert Townsend
Anna Gomez, Deputy Asst. Secretary, NTIA
Maureen Lewis, Director of Minority Telecommunications Development Program, NTIA
Antoinette “Toni” Cook Bush, Chairwoman FCC Diversity FACA Telecommunications Subcommitte
Terry Denson, VP Programming & Marketing, Verizon FIOS TV
Kety Esquivel, Executive Director, Latinos in Social Media
Juan Pablo Gionetti, CEO, National Hispanic Entrepreneurs Organization
David Grain, CEO, Grain Communications Group
Robert Greene, Principal, Syncom Venture Parners
David Honig, MMTC
Nigel W. Jones, Senior Partner, TWJ Capital
Carmen Ortiz-McGhee, President, The Marathon Group
Penny Pickett, Senior Advisor to the Administration and Acting AA for Entrepreneurial Development, SBA
Henry Rivera, Chairman, FCC Diversity FACA
Elliott Robinson, Associate, Syncom Venture Partners
Hank Torbert, Founder, Avondale Ventures
David Sutphen, Co-Chair, Internet Innovation Alliance
Giovanni Rodriguez, Co-Founder, The Conversation Group