#172: Stephanie Lampkin, Fortune 40 under 40, and Founder & CEO of Blendoor, an Inclusive Recruiting & People Analytics Software, on Building Bridges, Prioritizing Corporate DE&I, and the Challenges of Fundraising as a WOC

Stephanie Lampkin is the founder and CEO of Blendoor, an AI and people analytics platform that helps companies hire and retain a diverse workforce by mitigating unconscious bias and leveraging big data and analytics to drive more meritocratic decision-making. Candidates are sourced from hundreds of strategic partners & universities and presented to recruiters without name, photo or dates. Then, Blendoor integrates with a company’s HR systems to track candidates based on demographics to identify where & how bias happens; this transparency drives accountability within orgs, teams, and even individual hiring managers. In addition to measuring bias, Blendoor provides metrics that demonstrate the ROI of diversity & inclusion initiatives. With data & AI, they aim to move the discussion from social good to business intelligent.

Stephanie has had a 15 year career in the tech industry founding two startups and working in technical roles at Lockheed, Microsoft, and TripAdvisor. She holds a BS in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from MIT.

Connect with Stephanie Lampkin

• Blendoor

• YouTube

• Twitter

• Facebook

• Instagram

• LinkedIn

• [email protected]

Some of the Topics Covered by Stephanie Lampkin in this Episode

• How Stephanie taught herself coding at age 13

• What Blendoor is and what led Stephanie to found it

• Stephanie's original vision for Blendoor and how it has pivoted and evolved into what it is today

• How Stephanie created the idea at a hackathon

• How Stephanie approaches customer acquisition

• The early fundraising process for Blendoor and what she learned from it

• The importance of relationship building

• Product development as an AI SaaS B2B company

• How Stephanie has defined her ideal customers and approached sales

• Stephanie's move to Silicon Valley

• Leveraging press and PR for sales

• Building out the team for Blendoor

• How Blendoor sources diverse talent

• How Stephanie approaches partnerships for Blendoor

• Identifying and onboarding clients that are ready to work with Blendoor

• The importance of DE&I and getting companies to prioritize it

• The challenge of fundraising as a black woman

• The business model for Blendoor

• The big vision for Blendoor

• Stephanie's advice for entrepreneurs

• How Stephanie recharges away from work

• Stephanie's book recommendations

• Stephanie's entrepreneurial experience founding Hoowenware prior to Blendoor

• Deciding to get an MBA

• How to get involved with Blendoor

Subscribe to the Just Go Grind Podcast

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• YouTube

Want to Join a Supportive Community of Ambitious Founders?

Learn more about the Just Go Grind Founder Community, a group of more than 90 founders learning and building together each week 👇