Abadesi Osunsade: Tune into your uniqueness

– In your Medium Article "When You’re A Black Female Founder You’ll Hear A Lot More No’s. Don’t Let That Stop You" you said "As underrepresented folks in tech, we often identify opportunities in our community that those in the majority groups are not aware of. We have to be careful about whose advice we listen to." Can you expand on that and how that would apply to our community of mid-level engineers?

Tune into your uniqueness. Think about who is missing from the conversation as you design and build and consider how to prioritize their needs and experiences. Suddenly you are defining your niche and adding value in ways you haven’t before.

– You said you "want to level the playing field in a working world that doesn’t optimise for the success of women." Can you talk more about that and how that ties into your work at Hustle Crew?

Research shows how men and women face double standards as they navigate the workplace. Studies even show how women of color feel less supported by their line managers than white women. We are all aiming for similar goals but facing different challenges. At Hustle Crew I create content that educates our industry on structural oppression, bias and the barriers we uniquely face as we aim to be our most productive selves at work.

– There are a different set of challenges in managing a team verse your or second job in tech. Can you talk about some of the challenges you faced moving towards the higher roles in your career?

Increasing in seniority is challenging because you’re suddenly tested not just for your project contributions but your ability to manage people and politics. It becomes much more important to invest in your self awareness and self improvement: therapy, coaching, community, courses. 

– What do you think will be important in tech for 2020? Any trends you forecast seeing?

The most fascinating thing is tech that saves us from tech. We understand the costs on our mental and physical health of being so connected, going from dopamine hit to dopamine hit as we infinite scroll socials and check notifications. I’m interested in tech that helps us have a healthier relationship with tech. Also femtech and sextech where underserved needs are getting the attention they deserve.

3 silly things:

I want a pet goat

I also want a pet tortoise (so cute!)

I spend too much money on matcha lattes

3 accomplishments

Financial Times Top 100 Influential Leaders in Tech

Elle Magazine Woman To Follow on Instagram

Selected by Mayor of London to design a program FUtureStartupNow to help under 25s from underrepresented backgrounds break into tech

-IG +Twitter handles

@abadesi

@hustlecrewlive