Adam Phillips is the managing director of Techstars Washington DC, Techstars Equitech Accelerator, and founder of AthletesInnovate, a platform to match the energy and network of professional athletes with the educational needs of young people who need access to STEM education and resources.
Phillips began as one of the first five employees at a venture-backed Edtech startup and subsequently co-founded multiple venture-backed businesses. He also spent years working in policy and regulatory sectors as a senior attorney and director at the Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation.
Phillips shared his 10 Black tech commandments at Black Tech Week.
Share your 10 Black tech commandments.
– Stay Black. There’s an authenticity to being in a space that’s super important. It’s a difference maker.
– Learn the vocabulary. Some of this is just sounding like you belong. People can tell the second you open your mouth if you belong in this space.
– Figure out who you want to be. I’m still looking at the next thing and saying “who’s the person that’s doing the thing that I want to do.”
– Do the work. Nobody cares what you know and what you say if you can’t do the work.
– Know your strengths.
– You have to be aware of your weaknesses.
– You’ve got to be aware of trends. Trends aren’t the most important thing, but tech is all about the edge cases.
– Don’t burn bridges. There is no use in burning bridges.
– Stay true to your values. It’s important to have personal values and to understand what those are.
– Build things that matter in your life, business, and your friendships.
