Squire, Edlyft, Promise: The Journey, Challenges, & Impact

TL;DR

Three Black founders (Squire, Edlyft, Promise) describe how their personal experiences with unsolved problems—inefficient barbershops, lack of CS support, government debt—led them to start mission-driven tech companies. They cite self-reflection, Y Combinator’s structure, and in-person customer discovery as key enablers.

Key insights

• The founders had no prior industry or tech experience relevant to their startups (e.g., barbershop vs. software).
• Getting a haircut was still cash-based with long wait times, untouched by software for decades.
• Many potential CS students are intimidated and never try because they don’t see themselves as “computer science people.”