25 Incredible Black-Owned and Black-Led Businesses

Salamander Hotels & Resorts embraces gracious hospitality and presents guests with all the comforts of home in a sophisticated, yet casual style. Beyond their incredible accommodations, their employees are at the heart of every unique experience, making Salamander Resort & Spa a fun and gratifying place to work. They invite you to join their friendly, diverse, and enthusiastic team of professionals, who strive to provide the very best in service and are driven to maintain their Five-Star Rating by the Forbes Travel Guide, which has catapulted their spectacular resort into one of the world’s most coveted and elite destinations. They offer professional privileges, training and growth—as an expanding luxury hospitality portfolio, the advantages and opportunities are endless.

Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. They help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by seven million members, they move decision-makers in corporations and in the government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. By designing strategies powerful enough to fight racism and injustice—in politics and culture, in the workplace, in criminal justice, community life, and wherever they exist—they are changing both the written and unwritten rules of society. To do this work, their staff must be strategic, innovative, and dedicated to this mission. Until justice is real.

CEEK’s mission is empowering the creative community with the tools they need to monetize their artistry digitally. CEEK is where artists, from Lady Gaga to Quavo and other rising stars, are connecting with their fans in exciting virtual worlds. With multiple software and hardware patents, they deliver world-class immersive content across mobile, desktop, Smart TV, and VR headsets—equipping their customers with delightful innovations that take their artistry to new heights. If you are adaptable, detail-oriented, enjoy taking on challenges, like working in unconventional ways or on tasks that require creativity, and thrive in a dynamic, high-pressure environment, then CEEK is the place for you.

Backed by Y Combinator and Bessemer Venture Partners, Bankjoy is a fast-growing startup on a mission to deliver the best digital banking experience from end to end. They are hitting a growth phase and will more than triple in size this year. They are looking for people who thrive in a startup environment and want to be part of their exciting growth. They have a remote-first culture and will continue to scale that way. They believe in building beautifully. This applies to their product as well as their company. Leveraging the best industry tools to do their jobs that will scale, and help them all achieve success. They believe in leadership. They look to hire self-driven experts that take charge when given autonomy.

Helium Health is building critical infrastructure to strengthen Africa’s healthcare systems. They are dedicated to empowering all healthcare stakeholders by giving them the tools and actionable data they need to make the best and most informed decisions to transform healthcare across the continent. Their overall goal is to make world-class healthcare a reality for the six billion people in emerging markets and they are determined to deliver this future. This is no small feat, which is why they constantly search for individuals with the perfect mix of talent, passion, and boldness. At Helium Health, you are guaranteed meaningful work that will make an impact, and the chance to innovate alongside a team of brilliant minds and hearts.

Valence is a VC-backed tech platform and community dedicated to creating new paths to success for Black professionals. Their mission is simple: to unlock the global combined power of Black professionals to create massive economic and social progress. They started by building out their network of talented and ambitious Black professionals from a variety of industries. Now they’re taking it a step further by engaging, empowering, and educating them through inspirational events, executive coaching, mentorship, and career opportunities.

As their community expands, their team is as well. They look to hire employees who believe in their mission and are committed, driven, and transparent.

SIRUM’s team is fiercely committed to enabling everyone to access affordable medication, whether that means building software that helps them move $575,000 worth of medications each week or helping shape donation laws for a dozen states. Founded at Stanford University by Y Combinator alumni, SIRUM is on an ambitious growth path that gives team members opportunities to collaborate across every part of the organization and play a key role in the direction of their technology and company. They’re a fast-paced startup with no typical day and are looking for team members who enjoy taking ownership of their work, making a direct impact on the health and well-being of patients, and working alongside a driven yet fun-loving team.

Pilotly is passionate about creating meaningful engagements between content creators and audiences around the world, helping creators get detailed feedback that ultimately betters their business outcome. They operate between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, creating amazing products to gauge audience response, discovering what content will work with which audience, and learning about the consumer population at large through big data. It’s a lot of fun having a front-row view to the epic changes happening in media consumption and distribution today. Learn more at www.pilot.ly.

Hurdle exists to ensure that individuals can show up whole, operate with joy, and live with power. This translates in team members’ daily interactions with their own colleagues as well as with their larger community. They pride ourselves on being a balanced place to work and encourage self-care practices daily. They look for individuals who want to work toward improving the mental health of marginalized communities, and who actively seek to operate in service. They are a safe space. They know what it’s like to be marginalized because of your identity. They honor your culture instead of ignoring it. They believe you when you speak your truth. They are here to help you live that truth loud.

Upswing believes that every student should have equitable access to the resources necessary to succeed. From day one, they’ve believed that helping more students make it through college is a critically important challenge to address. Since 2014, they’ve helped colleges around the country prevent nearly 50,000 students from dropping out and they believe that this is just the beginning of the impact that equitable access to education can have. They are a group of passionate and mission-driven individuals looking to make education possible for all who want to achieve it, and as they grow, they are looking to hire additional team members who share their passion and drive.

CURLS’ mission is to make CURLS accessible to every curl everywhere. From babies to adults, CURLS beauty brands of products are specifically formulated to cater to each textured hair’s needs at all age ranges. The CURLS collections are available nationwide in the U.S. at major retailers such as Target, Walmart, Sally’s Beauty Supply, Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens. Salons and boutiques also carry CURLS professional and styling collections for their niche clientele in their local markets. In addition to finding the products at these retailer’s stores and online shops, they also offer their products to every curl online at CURLS.biz. As the company continues to expand, employees have room to grow. This is a great opportunity to join a purpose-driven business and contribute in a meaningful, measurable manner.

New employees at 4Degrees join a talented set of peers, working to accomplish goals they can all be proud of. Their culture combines elements that are sometimes in tension, but together define what it means to work at 4Degrees. For example, ambitious and driven: They have big goals and they care deeply about achieving them; empathetic and flexible: They hire adults and as a result, they care much more about achievements than hours worked, and give their team members the autonomy to take charge of how they get it done; and growth: They invest in the growth of their team members as well as the growth of the company—and they shape the experience of each employee to help them accelerate their own professional trajectory.

At Black Girl Sunscreen, their mantra is “we strive for excellence.” Their team works to ensure their customers know they are their number one priority. They are passionate about what they do and their brand, as well as educating their consumers on the importance of protecting their skin from the harmful rays of the sun. As their team enjoys working from home, their founder encourages a cohesive work environment where opinions are valued and autonomy is encouraged.

Esusu is a mission-focused company and a fintech platform. Their employees come from various backgrounds and their members are spread across the world. In early 2020, their cofounders, Abbey Wemimo and Samir Goel, were named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for social entrepreneurs. As a company, their mission is to be the preeminent global financial identity provider by 2023. They will bring this to fruition by upholding their company values: gratitude, forward together, realizing full potential, ever-evolving, and purposeful profit.

LifeWeb 360 is on a mission to awaken our empathetic world. They are a women-led company and have been growing rapidly as communities are unable to come together physically to mourn a loved one. They’ve been getting press for the work they’re doing, including in Chicago Inno, The New York Times, USA Today, HuffPost, San Francisco Chronicle, and US News & World Report. They recently received a $50K investment from the Google for Startups program to round out their friends and family round. They were also recently featured on Chicago Inno’s 21 Startups to Watch in 2021 list.

souk + SEPIA endeavors to connect a global audience of underserved and underrepresented fashion enthusiasts. Their flagship brand is catered towards women within the fast-fashion demographic originating from the African Diaspora. They are a small, nimble team based in Newark, NJ, with big ambitions and room to grow.

Players’ Lounge mission is to provide all gamers with an opportunity to make money doing something they love: playing video games. They are an innovative, nimble startup that is trailblazing an entirely new industry within video games. They are a team of passionate self-starters who believe that they can change the face of casual competitive gaming via a social mobile app. They are looking for employees who are confident, collaborative, supportive, and unafraid to speak up and offer their opinion. They value achievements and direct contributions to the company rather than raw hours worked. If you want to make a big, direct impact in a fast-growing company and work with tremendous autonomy in a remote environment, Players’ Lounge could be the place for you to grow your career.

At Mented, employees bring their whole selves to work because changing the landscape of beauty—and the world along with it—requires more than intelligence; it takes passion, grit, and character. They are building a diverse team that loves helping their community feel beautiful.

At Urban Bush Women, their work is rooted in six core values: Catalyzing for Social Change; Building Trust through Process; Entering Community and Co-Creating Stories; Celebrating the Movement and Culture of the African Diaspora; Recognizing that Place Matters.

They recognize, celebrate, and promote each individuals’ assets, as integral to the fulfillment of their mission and values. Professional development is an essential part of their organization. Everyone is encouraged to actively seek professional development opportunities. They also nurture leadership skills and facilitate the use of art as a means of encouraging social responsibility and civic engagement.

As a high-growth nonprofit with a mission to serve Black and brown women entrepreneurs, they offer a highly collaborative workplace where employees can operate with autonomy and play a part in creating a more equitable world where every idea has a chance to succeed. Thriving at Black Girl Ventures Foundation looks like taking initiative, being a team player, being flexible, and understanding the importance of entrepreneurship in creating value for the women and communities they serve.

Fini Shoes is committed to offering flexible, eco-friendly footwear. Their shoes are designed in New York and handmade in Portugal. Their goal is to continue to refine their shoes in order to best fit each and every one of their customer’s needs, and they want their customers to be engaged with them as they develop their brand and evolve with future trends. Join the Fini team to bring the ultimate experience, delivering quality sustainable products and offering top customer service.

Stimulus is a young startup backed by amazing investors, including Google for Startups, and they are growing with support from Microsoft and more. Their company culture is unique, creative, and passionate about building better relationships. They are a small-but-mighty group with more than 20 years of combined experience in product, business, and technology. Their team of eight, which is remote and in-office, enjoys challenges and learning every day. They are dynamic and energetic, and love their work. They value the contribution of all their team members because they all participate in the success of Stimulus. Currently, they are offering contract-to-hire opportunities.

At Naturalicious, what they love most about their work is that they get to take others with them on their journey to the top of the beauty game. They believe that every woman is perfectly gorgeous. They create products to enhance her glow and help her shine brighter to transform every woman’s confidence so remarkably that she realizes she is the standard of beauty. Their fast-growing personal care and beauty business is an environment where highly organized and efficient individuals can utilize their skills to work in an effective team. Whether you are working in the day-to-day production, in management, or customer service, everyone is there to excel together. They are a collaborative team that supports each other just as much as they support their customers.

Five to Nine was founded by two women who are passionate about cultivating belonging in the workplace. Their vision is to create a one-stop shop for workplace leaders to design impactful programs, connect with a community of program leaders, and access resources to create a radically transparent culture that develops, connects, and upskills teams to be the best.

At Five to Nine, they show up for each other, act with empathy, and bring their authentic selves to work every day. Their goal is to create a space where everyone feels welcome. They bring passion and energy to work, knowing that active participation is essential to create better outcomes. They value those who speak thoughtfully, encourage and respect diversity of ideas, and listen carefully with an open mind.

Patientory Inc. is a population health data management and analytics company. Through their Patientory mobile app and enterprise software tool Neith, they provide access and insights and comprehensive healthcare data and analytics to improve population health outcomes and employ personalized care plans. This is achieved by integrating a blockchain-enabled platform to gather and analyze siloed healthcare data to employ care plans that consider the entire history of the patient, including daily lifestyle factors, and in turn, reduce the cost of care.

Scholly’s team is dedicated to developing a comprehensive, game-changing academic success platform for students, parents, and institutions to help all individuals access and afford the higher education opportunities they desire. Scholly is an easy way for high school, undergraduate, and graduate to get matched with personally tailored scholarships.

Scholly is a fast-paced company full of camaraderie and hard work. With its team’s collective experience in education technologies, operations, marketing, and branding, they are solidifying their platform and strengthening their business in order to better achieve their vision to help all students reach their potential.