Tech Inclusion 2019 Speaker Spotlight: Irma L. Olguin Jr., CEO and Co-Founder at Bitwise Industries
Interviewed by Antonia Ford
In 2013, Irma L. Olguin Jr. decided to build a company focused on strengthening the tech industry in Fresno, Calif. and leveraging it as the economic driver to remake the city. Bitwise Industries now operates with the goal of activating human potential for the technology industry in underdog cities across the United States.
As CEO and co-founder, Irma oversees the company’s operations teams, as well as the technology-focused training program of Geekwise Academy, and software development firm, Shift3 Technologies. A main component of her role is ensuring the company’s fidelity to mission, strategy, and long-term goals.
Previously, Irma created 59DaysOfCode, a software development competition to highlight and encourage the Central Valleyʼs tech industry. She co-founded Hashtag, an open workspace for designers, developers, and entrepreneurs to collaborate. And, she co-founded Edit LLC to solve efficiency and data issues in the agricultural industry.
I had the opportunity to ask Irma a few questions about her journey as a founder and what makes Bitwise unique. Originally hailing from the Central Valley myself, I was eager to learn more about innovative tech ecosystems being born in the heart of California’s agricultural region.
I was not disappointed.
CC: Bitwise is based out of Fresno, California. What are some of the unique challenges that come with working in that ecosystem? What are some of the rewards?
IO: The challenges of building a technology hub in Fresno are precisely why we did it. We wanted to show people from unexpected places could make world class software. The first hurdle we had was convincing the people of Fresno and the surrounding areas that the technology industry was a viable option available to them. When you’re from a rural community it can be easy to think your professional options are limited. Once we had people believing that and enrolling in Geekwise classes, earning higher wages and lifting the region’s economy was attainable, we wanted to do more.
We realized we needed to raise outside capital and that meant convincing a new group of people that our results were real, repeatable and that they should care. Fortunately, we see a lot of value in doing things the hard way and so we stayed true to our original mission of creating something to turn-around underdog cities. If we wanted to make raising VC money easier, we could have moved to the Silicon Valley, but that would have defeated the purpose of why we were attempting to raise the series A.
CC: The Bitwise Hive has a very unique look. What was the inspiration behind its colorful exterior? Why is it called the “hive”?
IO: We strive to build collaborative spaces that feel like something you would imagine being the home to innovation. Each building we open has its own personality designed to serve a unique need in the community where it stands.
The distinctive beehive mural that extends across the entire Bitwise Hive, was painted by local artists, Robert Amador and Joshua Wigger. This building is a living piece of artwork that beautifies the most visible panorama into Downtown Fresno. Beyond the creative design that is the entire building, the inside is meant to encourage innovation and collaboration. When you look at the building from afar it looks like a beehive and just like bees working together to build up a community, we wanted to create something symbolizing how Fresno can work together to build up its downtown. Ultimately, it demonstrates how collaborative minds enable individuals to do amazing things.
CC: As a female Latinx founder, what is some advice you can give other underrepresented founders that they can only learn from someone who has raised venture capital?
IO: The one piece of advice I would tell people is to get to that, “no” as soon as possible. When we began the process of looking for VC money, we knew nothing about what a series A was, or how to go about asking for a check.
I realized looking back that we wasted a lot of time talking to people that were never going to commit to the round. Since, this was our first attempt at raising institutional capital, we didn’t know that it wasn’t out of place to ask for money in the first meeting. We didn’t want to come across in a bad light, damage a relationship or look like we didn’t know what we were doing, so we spent a lot of time talking around what we actually wanted. In retrospect, I understand that we were often speaking to people that didn’t have the ability to say “yes” and instead would dance around just saying “no”. Don’t be afraid to ask the difficult questions early on. It will save you time and help sort who is actually mission-aligned and interested in working with your company.
CC: What is one simple thing that everyone can do today to foster a more inclusive environment at work?
IO: Be open to the idea that talent can come from any place and can have meaningful impact on your organization. If you can change the mindset for only looking at the top 1 percent, and instead look at more qualitative characteristics, you’ll find that you automatically have a more inclusive workforce that is better suited to solve the challenges facing modern organizations. People from different backgrounds will be more agile, will see problems differently and will offer up unique solutions that simply are not possible from a homogeneous workforce.
When you get a resume that doesn’t necessarily fit the traditional mold of what you’re looking for, don’t count them out. Take a chance and bet big on people — more often than not, they will surprise you.
CC: What is one fun tech item you recently discovered?
IO: The tech is going on four years old, but I recently rented a car that had CarPlay in it. I’ve thought for years that car manufactures should stop installing radio head units entirely and simply install big iPhones. Cut out the poor software and user interfaces and go with something that works, is robust and usually simple to use. CarPlay comes as close to that as I’ve seen and I no longer understand why we wouldn’t put that tech in every car coming off a lot. Hey, car manufacturing world! It’s time!
Irma is coming to San Francisco on September 12, 2019 for the 5th anniversary of Tech Inclusion! We’d love for you to hear from her and our entire agenda of amazing speakers. This year’s theme is Equity. Empowerment. Allyship. Join us on day one, with opportunities for tech companies to connect with candidates during our career fair. Day two features keynotes, panel discussions, solo talks and, an interactive session focusing on equity, empowerment, and allyship across the tech ecosystem. Learn new solutions, meet diverse people who care, be stretched in a safe environment, and gain new tools and strength to advocate for change.
About Change Catalyst:
Change Catalyst empowers diverse, inclusive, and sustainable tech innovation — through events, consulting, research, and training.
Our Tech Inclusion programs explore and develop innovative solutions to tech diversity and inclusion.
Our Startup Ecosystem programs help underrepresented entrepreneurs and investors to start, scale, and fund world-changing businesses.
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