Candice Matthews-Brackeen is the founder and CEO of Lightship Foundation, the Cincinnati-based firm that supports underrepresented, early-stage transformational businesses. She has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience and founded the Cincinnati Chapter of the Black Founders Network (BFN) to address the need for increased diversity and inclusion efforts for local entrepreneurs. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Cincinnati and was a Hewitt-Kautz Fellow. She took a few moments out of her busy schedule just before the start of Black Tech Week to talk to Porsha Mitchell at rolling out.
Let’s talk about Black Tech Week. Where did it start? How did we get here?
Black Tech Week started nine years ago. Felecia Hatcher and Derick Pearson are the founders. They started in Miami. Originally, they ran a coding school called Code Fever. Code Fever was a place where children could learn how to code. And then their parents started getting jealous. And they started to learn how to code, too.
Black Tech Week grew, caught Lightship’s attention, and your company bought it. Now, you’re running this three-day conference. How did you select Detroit, and why?
They have a thriving black tech ecosystem, but it [doesn’t] mean that they always had a good megaphone or a way to shine a light. We’re only here to shine a light on good work already happening and [bring] some of the resources we already have.
How do you balance being a female CEO with all your other responsibilities?
It doesn’t always work well. Let’s just be honest. Let’s be very clear. I thought I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I’m not built for that. My mom was, and that’s cool. My grandmother was. That’s awesome. But I’m not a stay-at-home mom. [My children have] always been at work with me, no matter what that thing was. They’re pretty independent, and they have been for a long time. I also have a great co-parent in their father, and then they have a great bonus dad in Brian [Brackeen], my partner and husband.
Now, for other women who aspire to be CEOs, what are non-negotiable skills you must have?
You have to constantly be okay with learning. Right? If you’re not reading, if you’re not finding a mentor, that’s non-negotiable. People who say their idea is the only idea are the wrong people. People believe that [CEO] is a glamorous role, and it’s not. I’m on the road [for] 26 weeks of the year, and sometimes more. [And that sounds super fun]. Well, I’m gonna tell you there are some cities I’ve been to so many times, I really would rather be in my bed. You work all day, every day when you’re a CEO. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It is not for the faint of heart … and you [have to] have the stomach for the hard days, you know.
