Rasheeta Chandler
The Savvy Her mobile app, which provides women of color with comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information focused on HIV prevention. Also developing the mobile app PM3 to help mothers manage their health after having a baby.
“As a faculty member, I had done some consulting, so I wasn’t oblivious to working outside the academy. But it was never in my mind to start a company someday.
“In developing the first app, we were very meticulous and intentional about including the end user in every step of the process. We asked: What would be marketable to the user? Technology and innovation aren’t always developed for marginalized groups who are minorities. We were purposeful in a ‘for-us / by-us’ model to be sustainable.
“I was part of the inaugural cohort of Female Founders Forum at Emory, a program that helps women researchers develop as entrepreneurs. It provided me with additional insight into space of entrepreneurship and startups, and all that it takes to move through that realm.
“Because of that experience, I felt like the university was invested in me. Now I have a network.”