Emma Obanye

Last updated
Emma Obanye
Emma Obanye.jpg
Obanye in 2023
Born1982 (age 41–42)
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Education Brunel University London
Queen Mary University of London
OccupationBusinesswoman
Known forOneTech, BuddyBounce
Website emmaobanye.com

Emma Joy Obanye (born 1982) is a British businesswoman and serial entrepreneur. She is founder and CEO of OneTech, a support program for entrepreneurs from underserved backgrounds, [1] [2] and co-founder of BuddyBounce, an "idolisation dashboard," which was acquired by Crowdmix in 2016. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Early life

Obanye grew up in Hackney, London, one of four children to a single mother. She studied engineering at Brunel University London and ecommerce at Queen Mary University of London. [6] [2] [7] [8]

Career

In April 2013, Obanye and friend Giulia Piu founded BuddyBounce, a "music-focused loyalty and influencer platform... [which] connect[s] fans, bands and brands." The "idolisation dashboard" was acquired by CrowdMix in 2016. She went through a depressive episode over the next three years, coping with the loss of identity that came with leaving BuddyBounce. She used this experience to discuss the lack of support for founders when their company. [5] [9] [3] [2] [4] In October 2018, she co-founded OneTech, a startup that helps connect tech and digital startups with venture capitalists and industry experts and provides resources such as training sessions and networking opportunities. While OneTech initially focused on "seed-stage tech startups with diverse founders," they have since broadened their scope to support diverse founders at all stages of the startup process. [10] [11] [1] [12] Originally established in London with the support of JPMorgan Chase, OneTech spun out from its mother company, Capital Enterprise, in May 2023. [13] [12] [14] [1] Obanye's other ventures include Mindful Team, a platform to measure and improve team culture; The Retrospective Game, card games for teams; and Journe, a platform to "share knowledge recipes." [2] [8] She is also the digital co-director of the climate education organisation Mind & Planet. [15]

In 2019, Financial Times named her among the 100 BAME leaders influencing the tech sector. [16] [8]

Personal life

After BuddyBounce was acquired in 2016, Obanye and her husband lived in Thailand for a few months before moving to Barcelona. [4] They have twin sons and have returned to England. [1] Obanye is a big fan of Manchester United. [6]

Related Research Articles

A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to go public, startups are new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo-founder. During the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to become successful and influential.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Pincus</span> American Internet entrepreneur

Mark Jonathan Pincus is an American Internet entrepreneur known as the founder of Zynga, a mobile social gaming company. Pincus also founded the startups Freeloader, Inc., Tribe Networks, and Support.com. Pincus served as the CEO of Zynga until July 2013, then again from 2015 to 2016.

Brent Shawzin Hoberman is a British entrepreneur and investor. During the dot-com boom, he co-founded lastminute.com with Martha Lane Fox in 1998, where he was CEO from its inception, before selling the business to Sabre in 2005 for $1.1bn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Finney</span> American author, entrepreneur, innovator, and businesswoman

Kathryn A. Finney is an American author, researcher, investor, entrepreneur, and businesswoman. She is the founder of Genius Guild, a $20 million dollar venture fund & studio that invests in Black entrepreneurs building scalable businesses that serve Black communities and beyond. She is also founder and Board Chair of The Doonie Fund, a social platform that provides micro-investment to Black women entrepreneurs. Finney first made her mark as a tech entrepreneur when she sold “The Budget Fashionista” after running the site-turned-media company for 11 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coworking</span> Practice of independent contractors or scientists sharing office space without supervision

Coworking is an arrangement in which workers for different companies share an office space. It allows cost savings and convenience through the use of common infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities and receptionist and custodial services, and in some cases refreshments and parcel acceptance services. It is attractive to independent contractors, independent scientists, remote workers, digital nomads, and people who travel frequently. Additionally, coworking helps workers avoid the feeling of social isolation they may experience while remote working or traveling and eliminate distractions in home office. Most coworking spaces charge membership dues. Major companies that provide coworking space and serviced offices include WeWork, IWG plc, Industrious, and Impact Hub.

Techstars is a pre-seed investor that provides access to capital, mentorship, and other support for early-stage entrepreneurs. It was founded in 2006 in Boulder, Colorado. As of January 2024, the company had accepted over 4,100 companies into its accelerator programs with a combined market capitalization of $106bn USD. Techstars operates accelerator programs in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adeo Ressi</span> American entrepreneur and investor

Adeo Ressi is the founder and CEO of Decile Group and Executive Chairman of Founder Institute. Decile Group is a full-stack venture capital platform for emerging managers worldwide and helped launch nearly 50% of all VC firms in 2023 with the VC Lab accelerator. Founder Institute, a pre-seed accelerator, operates chapters in over 250 cities and supports more than 7,000 portfolio companies. Ressi’s previous startups, including Methodfive, Game Trust, and Total New York, resulted in nearly $2 billion in exits by the age of 30. He has also launched 14 venture capital funds, served on the board of the X Prize Foundation, and created TheFunded.

Onevest, a New York–based investment crowdfunding site for startups that was acquired by Business Rockstars in April 2018, allowed entrepreneurs to raise capital from accredited investors. In July 2014, startups launching on Onevest had collectively raised over $66 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Chesterman</span> British internet entrepreneur

Alexander Edward Chesterman is a British Internet entrepreneur, co-founder of ScreenSelect, which later became part of online film distributor LoveFilm, and is the founder and former CEO of online used car platform Cazoo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Bentinck</span> British entrepreneur (born 1986)

Alice Yvonne Bentinck is a British entrepreneur. Along with Matt Clifford, she is the co-founder of Entrepreneur First, a London-based company builder and startup accelerator. Based in London and Singapore, EF funds ambitious individuals based across Europe and Asia to create startups. In 2017, it was announced that Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and Partner at Greylock, was leading a $12.4million investment into Entrepreneur First.

Entrepreneur First is an international talent investor, which supports individuals in building technology companies. Founded in 2011 by Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck, the company has offices in Toronto, London, Berlin, Paris, Singapore, Bangalore and San Francisco.

Christine Hunsicker is an entrepreneur and the CEO and Co-Founder of Gwynnie Bee, a retail industry online clothing subscription service that allows women to access an unlimited wardrobe. The company has shipped over 3 million boxes as of January 2016. Christine Hunsicker grew up in Pennsylvania. She attended Princeton University, where she played field hockey for the nationally ranked team and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Williams (entrepreneur)</span> Real estate technology entrepreneur

Ryan Williams is a technology entrepreneur best known as the CEO and founder of Cadre, a New York-based technology company. He was named to Fortune's "40 under 40" list for 2019, Forbes' "30 under 30" list for 2018, "Crain’s 40 under 40" list for 2017, is one of Commercial Observer’s "30 under 30" and has been profiled in Forbes, Ivy, and other publications. In February 2019 he was profiled and on the cover of Forbes Magazine in the "FinTech 50" issue; in 2022 he was a Business Insider "Top 100 Global Leaders Changing Business."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ommo Clark</span> Software designer

Ommo Clark is a Nigerian software designer, techpreneur, public speaker, CEO and founding director of iBez Nigeria. iBez Nigeria is an indigenous technology company that caters for the needs of businesses in emerging and underserved markets by developing software applications and online platforms and also trains software developers on software development processes. IBez is the producer of Handy-jack, the platform that connects artisans and professional service provider with their seekers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata</span> Nigerian technology entrepreneur and TV presenter (born 1979)

Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. also known as CFA is a Nigerian journalist and a former television presenter at Channels TV. He is into digital marketing and known as a technology entrepreneur with focus on business coaching and public speaking. He hosted the first virtual telehealth conference of Nigeria’s telemedicine company, CareClick with the theme ‘The Future Of Healthcare Today’ on 24 September 2020. He was involved in various ICT-related companies that contributed to the development of the Founder Institute. He is known as the founder of Pacer Venture and has links with Climate Action Africa. He is the MD/CEO of Anambra State ICT Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nneka Abulokwe</span> British Nigerian tech entrepreneur

Nneka Abulokwe, OBE is a British Nigerian tech and digital governance entrepreneur. She is one of the first Afro-Caribbean professionals in the UK to serve on the board of a leading European digital transformation organization, she is the founder and CEO of MicroMax Consulting. In 2019, she was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II as an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Business.

Louise Broni-Mensah is the founder of UK start-up Shoobs, an event discovery and booking platform with an emphasis on music pioneered by Black people, which is often labelled as urban music. In 2019 the Financial Times named her as one of 100 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders in technology.

Ryan Breslow is an American entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and chairman of Bolt, a one-click checkout technology company; a co-founder of Eco, a digital cryptocurrency platform; a co-founder of Love, a crypto pharmaceutical startup, and the founder of the dance non-profit, The Movement.

Anisah Osman Britton is a British tech entrepreneur. She is one of the youngest people to be awarded an Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours. She received the honor for her contributions to 'Diversity in the Technology Sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Homuth</span> Canadian businesswoman and writer

Katherine Homuth is a Canadian businesswoman, author, and inventor who is the founder and CEO of the textile company SRTX

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Meet OneTech, creating a more equitable and empowered startup ecosystem". Maddyness. 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Emma Obanye". TechInvest. Archived from the original on 2021-06-18.
  3. 1 2 Skingle, Hannah (2021-11-11). "12 VC Funds and Angel Networks Backing Diverse Founders in the UK". Beauhurst. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  4. 1 2 3 Nicol-Schwarz, Kai (2023-12-17). "'I felt lost and empty': Founders share their exit blues stories". Sifted. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  5. 1 2 Lee, Dave (2013-10-02). "Super-fan 2.0: Why loving One Direction can be hard work". BBC. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  6. 1 2 "You techie things... London's online entrepreneurs have a bright future". The Standard. 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  7. ↑ "Venture Crawl 2020". Brunel University London. 2020. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  8. 1 2 3 "Emma Joy Obanye". Gordon & Eden. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  9. ↑ Butcher, Mike (2014-03-07). "New Women-Led Angel Network Seed Funds Super-Fan Manager Buddybounce". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  10. ↑ Neville, Matthew (2023-09-20). "'Transformative' new programme to empower London's diverse business owners". Bdaily News. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  11. ↑ Kanarek, Mel (2022-12-13). "A report from South Yorkshire's first Tech Summit". Sheffield Digital. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  12. 1 2 Heathman, Amelia (2020-03-09). "How four female tech executives are helping close the digital skills gender gap". The Standard. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  13. ↑ Deamer, Lanna. "Supporting London's underrepresented tech founders". Startups Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  14. ↑ "OneTech Spins Out from Capital Enterprise to Support Underserved Communities in Tech Across the UK". Startacus. 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  15. ↑ "Meet the Team". Mind & Planet. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  16. ↑ Khalaf, Roula (2019-11-12). "100 Bame leaders influencing the tech sector". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.