Sanna Gaspard became a crowd favorite at the 2024 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit in Las Vegas after she made a bold move in front of hundreds of attendees. At one of the conference lunches, comedian Sherri Shepherd, one of three Black women currently hosting a daytime television talk show, was guest of the day.
During the question-and-answer period, Gaspard went up to the designated microphone and shot her shot. She introduced herself as a Black entrepreneur, severely underrepresented in the field of technology, and asked if she could come on Shepherd’s show. After a few laughs of shock at Gaspard’s boldness, fellow Black female professionals began to cheer Gaspard’s question. Shepherd joked about what if she had Beyoncé scheduled on the show one day. Would Gaspard want the superstar singer to wait for her? Gaspard then went to her notes to reiterate what Shepherd said herself during the lunch discussion.
“You said the Sherri show’s blessings should allow everyone to eat,” Gaspard said.
Shepherd eventually caved and said Gaspard could get a segment on the show if she brought sponsorship dollars to support it. About three executives around the room immediately volunteered to sponsor Gaspard’s trip to the show.
Gaspard is the founder and CEO of Rubitection. As attendees stopped by to applaud her popular public pitch, Gaspard contextualized the path that led to her first Women of Power Summit.
What is Rubitection?
Rubitection is a health tech company. We’re developing an AI-enabled platform for the assessment and management of chronic wounds and chronic dermatological conditions.
How long have you worked in tech?
My background, in terms of what I studied, is in tech. I’m a biomedical engineer. I have my [bachelor’s], master’s, and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, with a specialization in medical device development commercialization; so, I would say almost all my life. [Even] as a child, I was tinkering with things and coming up with inventions and ideas. All my life, I’ve been in tech.
Who was the first person to show you tech was a career choice?
No one really showed me. It was just [my] natural inclination, like an artist [gravitating] to painting or a singer [gravitating] to singing. I like science, learning, making things, and problem-solving.
[Really, when] I needed to go to high school and prepare for college, I realized I needed to figure out what my major was going to be for my lifelong job. That’s how I thought about it, so I decided [I was] going to go to the library, bring my library card, and they would have these big employment books. [I] went to the appendix in the back of the book [and] looked for things that had to do with problem-solving, making things, and science. I found out that making things was being an engineer, and then I looked for an engineer who also [made] science stuff, so I found biomedical engineering.
We took 1st place at the Boston Scientific #ConnectedPatientChallenge in Boston on June 15th, 2023! Our successful win gives us an opportunity to connect with medtech and healthcare stakeholders in the #Boston area. Learn more about it here: https://t.co/kQZStiNdSc pic.twitter.com/08RIWQjYgG
— Rubitection (@Rubitection) July 26, 2023
You spoke earlier about being underrepresented often at professional conferences. What has the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit been like for you?
Being here has been awesome. This is my first time. I would recommend everybody come. Let me be more specific: every Black woman should come. It’s a great way to work with professionals, women who are driven [and] who also want to be a part of a supportive community, which is really hard to find. In my space, I don’t find that very often, and I’m struggling to cultivate that because [there are] just not enough people … hearing everyone’s perspective, their experience and seeing how everyone wants to be helpful blew my mind.
