Connecting with Black tech founders for National Black Business month

I've just recently joined Product Hunt, and looking forward to connecting with the community here. I've been a software engineer for the last 30 years, and have often been the only Black engineer on the team (or the entire company). As the years have gone on, there has certainly been an uptick in Black people getting into tech - far more than when I first started out in the late 90's.

I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, around gangs and drugs; being a software engineer or an entrepreneur wasn't something that I had many examples of. So gravitating towards computers at an early age, becoming an engineer, and working on software was beyond "living the dream" for me.

It wasn't until I was mentoring a fresh batch of interns at Intuit one year that I started to think about building my own software. One particular intern was telling me about the software and company he wanted to build, and the examples he had of his dad starting his own company - it all seemed second nature to him.

My mindset started to shift from that point on, leading me to become an engineering leader at several companies since, but also to start my own ventures - none super successful, but full of lessons which I continue to build on.

I'm excited about connecting with the entire Product Hunt community, but wanted to reach out to any other Black founders - especially during National Black Business Month - to let you know you're not alone.

What has your experience in the tech industry been? What about as an entrepreneur or solo-founder?