The Future Of Tech Is Us: What I Took Away From 2025 BaddieCon
From AI agents and tech-powered haircare to activism and beyond, this year’s Baddie Con festival—held in NYC on Aug. 21 and Aug. 22—offered an exclusive glimpse into the innovators and brands shaping the future of technology in our rapidly evolving, AI-driven world. At the forefront of it all? Black women— leading the charge with bold ideas and breakthrough innovations.
For two unforgettable days, a powerful energy filled NYC’s Civic Hall. Black women of all ages—from college students to early-career professionals to those making bold pivots—came together, not just to listen, but to truly connect. They were there to grow, to learn from some of the most brilliant Black women in tech, and to find the kind of inspiration that doesn’t fade when the conference ends.
Don’t be afraid to pivot into tech.
The first day opened with a moment that set the tone for everything that followed: a fireside chat titled “Pivot Into Power” between Allie Joy Tsahey—founder of BaddieCon and Baddies In Tech—in conversation with keynote speaker, Valeisha Butterfield.
Butterfield’s presence was electric. She didn’t just talk about tech; she spoke of transformation, about power. About knowing when it’s time to leap, even if you don’t know exactly where you’ll land. She urged every woman in the room to tap into their networks, their stories, and their boldness to break into tech—or build something entirely their own.
Butterfield didn’t come from a tech background. Her journey started nearly two decades ago at HBO. From there, she moved into politics with the Obama campaign, then to the nonprofit world, and eventually to Google, where she became the Global Head of Inclusion. There, she helped create the State of Black Women at Google and Latinos at Google, expanding employee resources for women of color, according to her website.
The dedicated activist also launched the company’s first Disability Inclusion Summit in Tokyo and shaped initiatives that touched over 40,000 employees and hundreds of organizations around the world. Now, as the founder of Seed Media, Butterfield is channeling her experience into storytelling, hoping to inspire a billion people with the kind of stories that move culture and spark real change.
As she wrapped up her talk, she left the room with one message: Be “intentional” about your pivot and build a community that can support you.
“Really get under the hood of your model and make sure it works,” Butterfield told the audience. “Understand how to wield your power.”
As noted by Mashable, women earn only 19% of computer science degrees, and just 3% of those go to Black women. The gap becomes even wider in the workforce, where Black women hold only 2% of tech roles. But Butterfield’s story is living proof that with vision, persistence, and passion, those numbers don’t define what’s possible. It shows that Black women not only belong in tech; they can lead, innovate, and thrive at the highest levels.
We CAN build the tech needed for today’s world.
Other standout voices on Thursday were two dynamic innovators who are redefining how we use technology to serve and empower our communities: Cierra Gross, CEO of Worklution Inc., and Candace V. Mitchell, founder of MYAVANA. Both women are trailblazing new paths, not just in tech, but in the way we solve real problems for Black women, by Black women.
Under her company, Gross is the visionary behind two groundbreaking brands: Caged Bird HR, offering independent HR support to employees navigating workplace issues, and Wrk Receipts, an AI-tech powered app that helps users document workplace incidents, understand their rights, and get connected to legal resources in real time.
What makes her journey even more powerful is that she built it from the ground up. After experiencing a difficult situation with HR at her job—one she was equipped to handle due to her background in HR—Gross realized that many of her friends didn’t have the same tools or knowledge to advocate for themselves. That moment lit a fire in her. Since launching, she’s bootstrapped Caged Bird HR to over $1 million in revenue.
“I started Caged Bird really just to bridge that gap for women of color and people of color at the workplace because HR is not your friend,” she told the audience at the “Built By Baddies” panel hosted by Black Beauty Club Founder Tomi Talabi. “That really started to come to the forefront of employees’ consciousness.”
Wrk Receipts was a natural next step, designed to empower workers of color to confidently document and track their workplace experiences, making it easier to report incidents and advocate for themselves when facing unfair treatment. The successful app has already seen over 9,000 downloads since its launch in 2024, solid proof of demand for tools that center worker rights, especially for marginalized communities.
“The path to accountability in corporate America is documentation. Point, blank, period. But most people [are] not keeping records, or they are disorganized,” she explained. “I really just wanted to give y’all a safe space off of a company machine to track those things.”
Then there’s Mitchell, a true pioneer at the intersection of beauty, tech, and entrepreneurship. A proud computer scientist and Georgia Tech graduate, Mitchell, founded MYAVANA, a data-driven hair care company that uses AI to analyze hair strands and recommend personalized products.
Her “aha” moment came in her Georgia Tech dorm room, shortly after going natural. Struggling to find products that truly worked for her texture, she envisioned a platform that could decode the science of Black hair. That spark evolved into a revolutionary business.
Mitchell’s work has landed her on Forbes 30 Under 30, WWD’s Top 50 Beauty Innovators, BET Honors, and more. The haircare guru said her mission is to empower every woman of color to use MYAVANA as a tool to care for their crown, so that they can walk with confidence, pride, and their heads held high.
“Hair impacts every part of your life, including your career,” Mitchell told the audience.
Tech-minded corporate workers will excel in the age of AI.
The path into tech isn’t one-size-fits-all. For some, it’s entrepreneurship. For others, it’s through the corporate world, which is evolving rapidly, especially with the rise of AI. That was the theme of day two, and it left me completely energized.
I sat in on a panel about the growing influence of AI in corporate settings, where a Black woman leader in product development—who asked to remain anonymous—shared a powerful insight: AI-powered bots and agents are quietly being developed and sold at scale across industries. And yet, few Black women are at the table building them. She made it clear: this is an untapped market, and we need to be the architects of it.
Her advice? Learn the fundamentals of AI product management, from data literacy to product thinking. She recommended Lenny’s Newsletter as a solid starting point, full of resources to help anyone break into the space with confidence and clarity.
It was also encouraging to hear that some companies are actively preparing their employees for this future. I spoke with Mariana Marceillac, a Learning and Development Manager at Yahoo, who’s part of the company’s Emerging Careers and Learning team. Her mission is to make sure everyone at Yahoo feels empowered to work alongside AI—not intimidated by it.
“We want to bring and leverage the value that AI can bring into our goals and also into the way we work, so making it a companion as much as possible, without taking what makes us human,” she explained during the Baddie Con job fair on Friday. “That human edge is still needed in organizations to perform.”
When interviewing for a role at Yahoo, Marceillac recommended that candidates highlight how they are currently using AI—whether in their jobs or everyday life—ethically, responsibly, and analytically to enhance their productivity and decision-making.
“We want to see how you approach new challenges and solve and create solutions leveraging it,” she added.
BaddieCon taught me that the future of tech is already here, and Black women are more than ready to lead it. Whether through entrepreneurship, product development, or internal innovation, we’re not just participating in the future; we’re building it.
To the 300,000 Black women who left or were pushed out of the workforce in July: don’t be afraid to pivot into tech. Take the time to invest in yourself—whether that means enrolling in a coding class or exploring emerging tech skills. These tools can open new financial pathways and help create transformative change in our communities in ways we’ve only begun to imagine.
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