Richard Cummins is a Product Marketing Manager at Spotify who previously worked at Google for almost a decade in advertising solutions roles.
Richard is also an adviser and founding member of UK Black Tech, a member of the Black Angel Group, and will soon be releasing a documentary on the experiences of inspirational UK-based Black startup founders.
We caught up with Richard to find out how he became so well connected and to discuss the various roles he has occupied within the tech ecosystem.
What initially attracted you to the tech sector?
RC: It was organic. At university I founded a clubbing website with friends which listed club nights both in the UK and across Europe. I started learning how to monetise the content we were making, in particular by researching how Google AdSense worked. Running the website made me realise that I wanted a job in the tech industry as I approached graduation.
My first post-graduate job in tech was as a member of an IT support team, but I was still curious about ad tech and I soon moved on to a role at a GroupM ad network, working on monetising content online. I haven’t looked back since!
You’re an adviser to UK Black Tech (UKBT) – how does the organisation work to make the UK tech sector more ethnically diverse?
RC: In 2017 I attended a UKBT event focused on initiatives which closely aligned with those I was working on at the time as part of the Black Googler Network (an employee resource group). UKBT has a variety of goals. It’s partly about promoting tech entrepreneurship in the Black community, but also about developing the skill set of Black tech professionals, present and future. We’ve run coding programmes to upskill technical knowledge and regularly publish reports on current and future trends.
I also think it’s important to have a strong network within the tech community and UKBT helps with that. We’ve all been to networking events which feel stuffy and awkward, and that feeling can be amplified for Black entrepreneurs. UKBT events are the opposite – they’re relaxed, yet professional, and I always feel comfortable in the room.
Tech has, of course, been adversely impacted by the economic downturn. Can you see any long-term silver linings for tech?
RC: I see an economic downturn as an opportunity for disruption and, in particular, for new players in the market to make their mark. Many unicorns can trace their history back to the financial crisis in the late noughties. Look at Slack, which started in 2009 after the credit crunch. Whilst bigger, existing players in the market are focused on cutting costs, new players can operate lean, buck the trends and grow during the downturn.
I’m currently seeing lots of startups leveraging large language models to make everyday business processes more efficient.
How did you get involved with the Black Angel Group and how does it differ from other angel networks?
RC: During my employment at Google, I founded a community at Google for Startups, London focused on Black entrepreneurship and it got me interested in angel investing. The community led to many valuable connections and relationships. I then enrolled in Andy Ayim’s Angel Investing School and the African Angel Academy to further educate myself.
I realised that you don’t need substantial wealth to start angel investing and that you can build a portfolio through a variety of smaller investments. It was a proud moment to become one of the founding members of the Black Angel Group, a collective of strategic Black angel investors who are Google employees from around the world. Since then, I have invested in exciting startups such as Pager and AudioShake.
Can you tell us about one of your angel investments? What was the key factor about the company and/or the founders that made you invest?
RC: I’ve invested in Moonhub, which was co-founded by Dami Hastrup. Moonhub produces virtual reality training modules for larger corporates to train their staff using VR headsets. The major attraction was the calibre of the founding team – they pitched really well and I bought into their vision.
What three traits do you typically see in the most successful tech entrepreneurs?
RC:
- Risk-taking. Successful founders rarely play things safe all of the time.
- Open-mindedness. It helps remove boundaries and create opportunities.
- Knowledge. They usually have a deep understanding and clear vision of the area in which their business operates.
What advice would you give to a first-time founder when starting up their tech business?
RC: Engage with other founders and people who have deep expertise in your areas of focus, or put together an advisory board. You won’t know everything, so surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps. There’s never a limit to the amount of strategic advice you can take on board.
Not all money is good money. Carry out due diligence on prospective investors and understand the other investments they’ve made. Speak to other startups they’ve invested in. What did they add to the business? Is that what your business needs?
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