LaTonya Fourte’ Lyles, co-founder of Spotzcity
LaTonya Fourte’-Lyles, co-founder of Spotzcity, discusses her role managing a technology diversity firm and explains why championing Black women adds value to the industry.
What are your responsibilities and why did you select your career?
I am a supplier diversity practitioner and a co-founding managing partner of a technology diversity firm. My responsibilities include setting the strategic vision for the supply chain strategy. Along with my partner, we share a great deal of the duties required to run a business. The most fulfilling aspect of my role is helping our customers achieve their goals of diversifying their organizations and creating economic impact in the very communities that I come from.
As a Black woman, what do you consider your superpower(s) to be?
As a Black woman, I consider my superpower to be the ability to be analytical. I am a very process-oriented individual and I think in process and even learn in process. The way my mind works is if I am at A and I know that I need to be at Z, I fill in the blanks step-by-step to get to the end result. My superpower has helped me to be successful in many aspects of my career. I am able to better understand problems and how to drive behaviors and implement strategies.
What thoughtful or encouraging piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t be so hard on yourself and forgive yourself. I understand when you are Black in corporate America, you don’t get to make the mistakes or get the clemency that your peers enjoy. Although perfection is often the expectation for people who look like you, it is not attainable, it’s okay to make mistakes. Excellence requires missteps in order to grow.
Why is it important for more experienced Black women to reach back and help younger women of color?
Mentoring is a pivotal aspect of achievement in corporate America. We as experienced Black women have to reach down and pull up our younger sisters. That is how we will create generational wealth. If we do not help younger women of color avoid those pitfalls and miscalculations, we will find ourselves making major recessions in the corporate arena. We cannot afford these regressive steps. We are standing on the shoulders of so many who took the hits on our behalf.
What is the value of creating Black-owned technology as an entrepreneur?
When my business partner and I developed SpotzCity, the first thing that we said is that we are two Black girls in tech. The value is that we are often told that black people, especially women, do not have the skills to create technology. Well, [we] are living proof that Black women can create, run and grow a technology solution-oriented business. We think that it is important for black women and other women of color who have been told that this isn’t something that you are known for, to understand someone’s limitation of you does not have to be your reality.
