Cheryl Contee
Birth placeUnited States
OccupationBlogger, Writer, Entrepreneur

Cheryl Contee is an American entrepreneur, CEO, blogger, and writer. She is co-founder and CEO of a digital marketing agency, Do Big Things.[1] Before founding Do Big Things, Contee co-founded Fission Strategy[2] and Attentive.ly.[3] In 2019, Contee released her book, “Mechanical Bull", which details her history as a non-traditional startup founder.[4] She received her B.A. from Yale University and has an International Executive M.B.A. from Georgetown University.[5]

Entrepreneurship

In May 2008, Contee co-founded Fission Strategy, a women- and minority-owned tech startup. Fission was an Internet strategy and web development firm that specialized in nonprofits and foundations.[6] In 2006, Contee also co-founded Jack and Jill Politics, named one of the top 10 black blogs in 2008, where she wrote under the pseudonym "Jill Tubman”.[7]

In June 2012, Contee went on to co-found Attentive.ly, a tech startup specializing in influencer marketing technology, serving as their Strategic Advisor. In 2016, Attentive.ly was acquired by Blackbaud for $ 4 million,[8] making it the first tech startup with a black female founder on board in history to be acquired by a NASDAQ-traded company.

In 2018, Fission Strategy merged with 270 Strategies, a digital consulting firm, to create Do Big Things, where she currently leads as the CEO.[when?] Do Big Things is a mission-driven digital marketing agency that specializes in working with non-profits and progressive political campaigns. In 2019, Contee released her book, “Mechanical Bull: How You Can Achieve Startup Success", which details her history as a rare Black female startup founder.

In addition to her business ventures, Contee co-founded #YesWeCode,[9] now DreamCorps Tech,[10] which represents the movement to help over 100,000 low opportunity youth to become high quality coders.[11]

Recognition

Contee was included in the first "The Root 100" list of established and emerging African-American leaders.[12] Huffington Post listed her as one of the "Top 27 Female Founders in Tech to Follow on Twitter" in 2011,[13] as did Black Enterprise. Fast Company named her one of their "2010 Most Influential Women in Tech".[14] Contee was also named in "The Influencers 50" in Campaigns and Elections magazine.[15] In 2019, Kate Spade NY and Conscious Company named Contee one of 2019’s “World Changing Women”.[16]

Media and board appearances

Contee's work has been published or featured by media including NPR’s How I Built This Resilience Series, The Washington Post, The New York Times,[17] San Francisco Magazine, BBC,[18] MSNBC and CNN, HuffPost Live,[19] Social Venture Circle,[20] Silicon Republic,[21] Stanford Social Innovation Review, Harvard Business Review, and MarketWatch/Dow Jones.

She is also on several boards and advisory committees, including Netroots Nation,[22] CovidMD.org, Hopewell Fund,[23] Center for Cultural Power, and Digital Undivided. She has been an affiliate of the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society.[24]

References

  1. ^ "Home". Do Big Things. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  2. ^ "Cheryl Contee – Fission Strategy". Fission Strategy. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  3. ^ "Our Founders | Attentive.ly". attentive.ly. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  4. ^ Contee, Cheryl (October 8, 2019). "Advice on Launching a Tech Startup When You're Not a White Man". Harvard Business Review. – via hbr.org.
  5. ^ "Cheryl Contee Linkedin". Archived May 11, 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Things, Do Big (2018-09-06). "Launched! 270 + Fission Team Up to Create Do Big Things". Do Big Things. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  7. ^ "Electronic Village: Top Ten Black Blogs (Jul 2008)". Electronic Village. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  8. ^ "Blackbaud Acquisition Ups Its Position in Higher Ed". The NonProfit Times. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  9. ^ "Team". #YesWeCode. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  10. ^ "Cheryl Contee – Inside Venture Capital". ozonex.quvent.com.
  11. ^ "Cheryl Contee". the Guardian
  12. ^ Authors. "The Root 100 Profiles". The Root. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  13. ^ "27 Female Founders in Tech To Follow". The Huffington Post. August 29, 2011. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  14. ^ "THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY 2010 – Cheryl Contee". Fast Company. March 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  15. ^ "The Influencers 50". campaignsandelections.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  16. ^ "Cheryl Contee on Perseverance and Building Equitable Organizations: World-Changing Women Podcast". SOCAP Global. 5 June 2020.
  17. ^ Bai, Matt (6 August 2008). "Is Obama the End of Black Politics?". The New York Times
  18. ^ "Live: G20 Summit as it happened". news.bbc.co.uk. 2 April 2009.
  19. ^ "HuffPost Live". live.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  20. ^ Social Venture Network (July 2, 2014), ""Never Stop" – Cheryl Contee, CEO, Fission Strategy", retrieved 2016-02-18
  21. ^ Ardill, Lisa (14 July 2020). "Why this black woman founder sees diversity as an 'economic imperative'". Silicon Republic
  22. ^ "Cheryl Contee Named Chair of Netroots Nation Board of Directors – Netroots Nation". netrootsnation.org. January 10, 2019.
  23. ^ "2020 Full Disclosure". hopewellfund.org.
  24. ^ "Cheryl Contee | Berkman Klein Center". cyber.harvard.edu. 24 March 2020.