#StartupsEverywhere profile: Netta Jenkins, Co-Founder, Dipper
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Netta Jenkins (left) and Jacinta Mathis (right), the Co-Founders of Dipper.
A Platform to Help Professionals of Color Make Informed Career Choices
As nationwide protests over police brutality and inequality continue, industries across the U.S. are reevaluating their diversity and inclusion initiatives in order to more effectively combat systemic racism within their own ranks. One startup that has been focusing on these workplace inequalities is Dipper, a platform launched last year that lets Black and Latinx professionals share and review their company experiences in order to help other professionals of color make more informed career decisions. We recently spoke with Netta Jenkins, the Co-Founder of Dipper, to learn more about Dipper’s work, the experiences of entrepreneurs of color, and some of the steps that need to be taken in order for the tech industry to better support underrepresented founders and their ideas.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I grew up in Johnston, Rhode Island, which was a predominantly white, affluent neighborhood. Both of my parents are from Liberia, and we were the only Black family in that neighborhood at the time. At age seven, I watched a white woman spit in my mom’s face and say, “Blacks don’t belong in my neighborhood.” At age eight, my mother and I were in the car and a police officer had pretty much pulled us over in our driveway and asked my mom if she was lost. And I remember my mom looked at me because I was very confused and she said, “Don’t worry, we’ll talk about it when you get older, but these are some of the things you might experience throughout your life.”
I went to middle school in that town and experienced more racism. I remember a young white boy saying to me, “I heard you’re African. Why don't you climb this tree? I want to see how fast Africans can climb trees.” That stuck with me. I remember heading home that day and crying about it to my mom. And she said one thing to me that was so pivotal. She said, “I didn’t bring you into this world to cry about things. I brought you into this world to create change.”
When I was moving on to high school, I thought that you had to be in a position of leadership in order to create an impact. So I ran for president of my freshman class, and I remember our student council president saying to me, “Netta, your big job is to fold flowers for the freshman float.” And I remember looking at him and saying “I’m not here to fold flowers for the freshman float. I’m here to create change.” And that guy laughed so loudly in my face, but that’s exactly what I did. I started challenging the teachers and the entire school so much until the local news station came to cover the things that we were doing. That’s when I knew that, whatever I was going to do in life, it was going to be fighting for equality and people—whether marginalized groups, or people in general who are feeling excluded.
Tell us more about Dipper and how you got the idea for the platform.
As an executive at IAC for Mosaic and ASK Applications, the work that I was already doing was around diversity, equity, and inclusion. When I first started with the company, I started off with recruiting. I immediately navigated to a dear friend of mine, Jacinta Mathis, who became the Co-Founder of Dipper. And we started talking about some of the gaps within organizations and companies and what we could both do to create change from a diversity, equity, and inclusion standpoint. Both of us have pretty large networks and were executives at that time, so there were people who would gravitate towards us that asked us how they could create change, or talked about some of their workplace experiences.
And Jacinta and I realized that there was no platform that focused on professionals of color and their workplace experiences. We continuously hear all of these terrible stories about how Black and Brown people aren’t being heard in the workplace. A lot of companies want to put together diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, but they overlook the intersectionality of it. They don’t focus on or dive into how these issues impact Black employees or Latinx employees. So we said, “Okay, we have to put out a platform that lets professionals of color share their workplace experiences and make more informed decisions.”
If they have access to an organization’s profile and see reviews placed there from other professionals of color, and they’re all negative, then they’re no longer going to want to go there—which is going to alleviate a lot of that stress. But If they go to another organization’s profile and see that professionals of color are thriving there, that there’s upward mobility, that there are professionals of color in executive level positions, and that there’s access to learning and development opportunities, they can start making more informed decisions. And it helps them because then their productivity and performance spikes, and their mental health is good.
We also want to be sure that companies are being held accountable, but that they can also improve. One of the things Jacinta and I noticed is that many companies lack data. We’re not talking about the general data of Black or Brown people of color who are experiencing racism at this percentage or at this rate. We’re talking about specific examples, like the microaggressions that professionals of color have experienced at a company. What percentage of people have experienced the same thing, and what has the company done? That’s the kind of data companies lack when measuring the success of what they’re doing. Because we want them to improve, we would be able to speak with them about the necessary steps they would need to take. So it’s a great way for organizations to listen to professionals of color through these reviews, and then strive to be better through these measurable actions.
We launched last year, and we’ve been working with our engineering team to build out the most effective platform that we can for our members. We’re really being intentional and slow with that process because we want it to be as ideal as possible.
What has Dipper taught you about the experience of professionals of color in the workplace?
We conducted our own survey and found that 87 percent of professionals of color are now excited, motivated, and ready to share their work experiences. That’s something that many professionals of color were very much afraid to do before. So we’re seeing that people are a lot bolder, and we’re seeing that people are no longer staying at organizations and taking that type of work treatment or bullying. They’re alright with leaving. There are a lot of hidden articles and stories about professionals of color who have committed suicide because of a negative work experience and the pressure of having to stay at that job or company because they have to feed their family. It’s nice to see that people are taking a stand and saying, “No, my mental health comes first, and I will be okay because I know that there’s another opportunity available for me.”
What’s awesome is that our platform is still being built out, but professionals of color are already connecting, sharing, and giving advice to one another. In terms of learning and development, it’s been a great way for people to learn how to navigate things effectively, or ask questions about things that they’ve experienced. Maybe their manager didn’t believe them about something, and they want to know how to navigate that issue. So someone else in the Dipper community can tell them that they’ve had the same experience and then give them advice on what to do. And they can also learn about different ways to find sponsors or champions within an organization who are willing to talk about them when they’re not in the room.
Entrepreneurs of color often face additional barriers when it comes to launching a startup. What do you think the startup community can do to better support Black and Brown entrepreneurs?
I think the number one thing for folks who want to help and stay committed is to look at the gaps first. Black women statistically receive 0.2 percent of venture capital. That is a major, major gap. A lot of times, VC firms aren’t looking for early-stage entrepreneurs or businesses, which is another big barrier. And a lot of Black and Brown entrepreneurs cater their services towards Black or Brown people, and investors can’t see the vision or the mission of their companies. So they don’t understand their focus, and then they skip over those entrepreneurs. If they look hard enough though, and if they really want to, they will find startups led by entrepreneurs of color.
A lot of entrepreneurs also really want venture capital immediately, but they need to understand the value of their company before they give away equity. Having advisers who can talk about how to scale and have a network of founders is really key, because some professionals of color might not have that network and might be starting from scratch.
What startup and tech-related policy issues do you believe should receive more attention from state and federal lawmakers?
I think there should be something passed that allows states to give a certain amount of funding—I’m not sure how much— without a company or investor getting equity. If there could be some legislation that gives a minimum amount of funding for organizations that want to build hubs for Black and Brown entrepreneurs, then there should be support around that effort.
If you’re committed to doing that, then there has to be a minimum of three advisers to help with that: one focused on the financial aspects of startups, one focused on marketing and branding, and one focused on the product and service-side of the business. There has to be something consistent in order for us to bridge this gap that’s happening.
I know you’re based in New York City. What is it like to be an entrepreneur of color in the city?
It’s very different for me because I’ve built a large network and really believe in that type of engagement. Some people don’t have the network and it’s hard for them to build it. Since I have corporate experience, I have built these relationships. When you have people around you who are super supportive of your work, that’s extremely helpful.
The hard part is keeping organized, and sometimes it isn’t possible. You may drop the ball on meetings or on getting something fully prepared. But at the end of the day, it’s also knowing you can't do it all and that you’ll need help. I have two young children under two-years-old, and I’m learning from them every single day that life is about being prepared. We weren’t expecting COVID to hit us the way it did, but when I heard about it I made sure we had everything in the house just in case we couldn’t go out.
What is your goal for Dipper moving forward?
We’d like every single professional of color in the world to be a part of this platform so they can share their experiences and help others make better informed decisions. When I think of Dipper, I also think of our legacy. I think of my children and how they may be business owners or entrepreneurs themselves, or they may be employees. If they’re employees, I want them to be treated the right way. And if they’re leading companies, I want them to treat other people the right way. If we can see organizations begin to offer that same treatment, and if they’re able to measure their effectiveness with the tools that we’re providing, then it’s a win-win for us and for society.
If your company is committed to Black and Brown employees sharing their work experiences to help other professionals make better informed career decisions, then consider donating to Dipper: Paypal at hello@ourdipper.com and Venmo @ourdipper.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
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