As a Black female founder and mother, Jade Kearney knows what it takes to thrive as a Black woman in entrepreneurship.
The She Matters CEO has been connecting Black women through a shared experience since the launch of her mobile app. The digital platform supports Black women and women of color “who experience postpartum comorbidities” by helping promote and build healthy habits. The app allows women to track their progress and celebrate their success. “She Matters decreases instances of Black Maternal Morbidity by providing Black mothers with community, culturally competent care and culturally relevant resources,” Kearney shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE. “We bridge the gap between provider and patient by offering a culturally competent certification for hospital networks and individual practitioners.”
Kearney’s contribution to the digital health space has been highlighted during several industry appearances, such as her recent appointment at the beginning of 2023 as a keynote speaker at NYC Women in Tech Digital Health Edition and VIVE Health Conference in Nashville. “My co-founder and I look at digital health as a relationship connector between patient and provider,” she said. “We are the only Fem Tech startup that holds providers accountable for their cultural competency to decrease Black Maternal mortality, and we are both Black women doing this.”
The Pink Book
In 2022, She Matters released The Pink Book, a yearly guide to pregnancy that provides a plethora of resources for expecting and current Black mothers, including locations to safe hospitals for delivery where they are likely to receive the best maternal care.
“I was inspired to create The Pink Book after my own search for a hospital to deliver my children in,” Kearney said.
Kearney’s guide eliminated the extensive search for culturally competent care for Black women facing medical emergencies. “I want She Matters to be the premier data hub for postpartum statistics for Black women. We are focusing on that through strategic partnerships, new and improved technology, and last but certainly not least, our community of Black Mothers,” she added.
Cultural Competence Certification
The platform offers training for healthcare providers through its Cultural Competence Certification. The program’s mission reflects the She Matters initiative to “improve health outcomes for Black women who experience postpartum complications.”
The program provides comprehensive training and support as providers identify their organization’s Objectives & Key Results (OKRs). Participants also receive asynchronous training, support office hours, and custom reporting.
Members of the She Matters community have access to free donated therapy sessions. The app extends its directory of other culturally competent healthcare professionals and those who receive training through the platform’s certification program. In March 2023, She Matters received a waitlist of over 2,000 Black mothers searching for culturally competent mental health care.
Supporting Black Female Founders
Along with her passion for supporting Black mothers, Kearney focused on using her own entrepreneurial experiences to extend informational resources to aspiring and present entrepreneurs. She founded Black Girl’s Tech Day to help make the entrepreneurial journeys of other Black female founders easier.
“I’ve had such a hard time because of a learning gap and lack of mentorship in the tech space that most white men don’t experience. I wanted to change that, so I created ‘Black Girls Tech Day.’”
Black female founders in tech congregate during the conference to network, learn, and celebrate each other’s contributions to entrepreneurship. Attendees are exposed to expert panels, funding resources, and mentorship.
As a Lean Startup Expert, Kearney wanted entrepreneurs of color to gain knowledge through her own lived experience. She released her guide to Black entrepreneurship, Lean While Black, to detail the principles of lean startup methodology concerning BIPOC founders.
“I have encountered racism throughout my life, but never as prominent as when I sought out venture capital,” Kearney shared. “I wanted to document this process to validate the experiences of other Black founders, so when there are thoughts of insecurity or when you question if it’s you or them, that creates the divide between funding. Black founders understand that the space isn’t diverse, and it probably isn’t [our] idea. It’s their lack of interest in our innovation.”
Kearney looks forward to hosting this year’s Black Girls Tech Day conference in New York and Los Angeles.
