Founding a Tech Media Company Covering the Black Innovation Economy with Sherrell Dorsey

May 5

Listen to the episode on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts

Listen to the episode on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts

Sherrell Dorsey is the founder and CEO of The Plug—a digital news and insights platform covering the Black innovation economy. Her work has been featured in VICE, The Washington Post, Seattle Times, The Information, and more. Sherrell has been a contributing writer for notable publications like Columbia Journalism Review, Fast Company, Black Enterprise, and others. In 2018, she was named an inspiring woman in tech by CNet, and most creative people in business by AdWeek in 2021.

Prior to launching The Plug, Dorsey served as a marketing manager for companies like Uber and Google Fiber. She holds a Master's degree in data journalism from Columbia University.

She is the author of Upper Hand: The Future of Work for the Rest of Us published by Wiley.

This episode is for you if:

You want to learn how Sherrell built a digital news and insights platform
The Black Innovation Economy fascinates you
You value journalism and want to find a community who does too
You are juggling many ideas, and want to grow one first

Looking for something specific?

[4:10] Sherrell and her grandfather’s story
[5:30] Storytelling about Black folks in tech, what they were building, where they were building it, who was funding them
[6:00] Started as a daily newsletter and as interest climbed, Sherrell started asking how can we build the Black Bloomberg and pull together insights that the greater business community can use
[7:45] How technology shaped Sherrell’s childhood
[17:47] Having a digital presence, a few internships, and a few portfolio projects helped to set Sherrell apart
[27:00] The early days of The Plug
[31:50] How do you say focused on the most important things?
[33:48] The power of “giving people access to information”
[34:15] “How can I continuously build products, tools, literature or even games that help us navigate our minds and communities”
[39:00] Saying hi to strangers in hotel lobbies and bars
[43:44] Founders solving acute problems that benefit us all

Listen to the episode on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts

Get: Upper Hand by Sherrell Dorsey