Hadiyah Mujhid is founder and CEO of HBCUvc, a not-for-profit organization that helps black students learn about entrepreneurship and venture capital. The organization works with Historical and Black Colleges and Universities in the US and the goal is to promote diversity in tech entrepreneurship and venture capital.

We sat down to speak with Mujhid to find out how the idea for HBCUvc was born and what prompted her to leave her comfortable job at Lockheed Martin and explore the world of entrepreneurship? Was her transformation as an entrepreneur a gradual one or one where she decided this was the moment and decided to shed all her doubts and embrace an unchartered territory?

Mujhid grew up in Philadelphia and credits her grandmother and extended family for instilling a love for learning. Her goal was to become a doctor. When she did not get into a medical school she fell back on Plan B, which was to become an engineer. She knew she could make a good living as an engineer, and she did. One of the first investments when she started earning was in buying a home.

After graduating as an engineer Mujhid  joined Lockeed Martin and relocated to Silicon Valley. While working at her safe job in Silicon Valley she got a ring side view of the world of  tech startups and was drawn to it. Was her transformation as an entrepreneur a gradual one or one where she decided this was the moment and decided to shed all her doubts and embrace an unchartered territory? Tune in to find out.

This conversation with Mujhid is part of Season 2 of our TV series on Women in STEM and highlights the role of “hidden figures” in Silicon Valley. This episode is sponsored by Zoho.

This interview aired on TV in the US.

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