TECH CONNECT: SHERRELL DORSEY CREATES AN ECOSYSTEM FOR BLACK TECHNOLOGY WORKERS AND ENTREPRENEURS IN CHARLOTTE.

• Author: Cuthrell, Shannon
• Position: NC TREND: Game changer: Profile of a female leader - Interview

Experiments are a recurring theme in the life of Sherrell Dorsey, a Charlotte entrepreneur who started two businesses to provide visibility for other black innovators in the region. In spring 2016, two years after moving to the Queen City from Bridgeport, Conn., Dorsey launched The Plug, a daily newsletter covering entrepreneurs, communities and economic trends involving people of color. The publication is run by a team of six freelance journalists and one managing editor and also produces a database of black-owned coworking spaces in the U.S.

Later that year, Dorsey's idea expanded into a physical undertaking: BLKTECHCLT, a local event space and network of more than 2,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs. Dorsey and a team of six independent contractors offer weekly workshops teaching coding and business development and connecting tech workers to jobs with local partners. Annual membership costs $149, and nonmembers can pay a small fee to attend individual workshops. Last summer, BLKTECHCLT partnered with the city of Charlotte to run a coding bootcamp for 24 high-school students who ultimately landed internships at local companies.

Dorsey says her goal is to provide the visibility that black innovators have earned but haven't received. Mainstream media often overlooks stories of thriving black entrepreneurs and technologists, she says.

Often signing her newsletters, "Yours in hustle," Dorsey is a self-defined hustle junkie. Growing up in Seattle, she learned to code as a teenager and spent summers interning at Microsoft Corp. She earned an undergraduate degree from New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology and later worked in the beauty industry, doing freelance writing and web development on the side. Last year, she commuted to New York while completing a master's degree in data journalism at Columbia University.

BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA spoke with Dorsey about her startup journey, mission, fundraising experience and future plans. Comments were edited for brevity.

* WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START THE PLUG?

Being a tech-news junkie and staying on top of innovation trends, I was frustrated that all the tech newsletters I subscribed to were covering the same five to six tech billionaires, mostly white guys.

This wasn't representative of my experience interacting with women and people of color building incredible things. But these people rarely made the headlines. You would think they didn't even exist. If you're digesting a certain...