Businessman Ted Lucas went from creating millionaires in the music business to creating the Technolij Innovation Center at Florida’s only Historically Black College and University (HBCU).
Meet Ted Lucas
Lucas founded the independent music label Slip-N-Slide Records. He told AFROTECH he knew how to seek talent and people before they saw it in themselves.
“I wanted to be the one behind getting the deals and getting the deals done. So, I found my niche, how I work, and what works best for me to be in the music business,” he said.
Slip-N-Slide Records, established in 1994, has launched the careers of artists including Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross, and Plies, among others.
However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucas noticed a move toward the technology sector.
He aimed to position the minority community in Miami, Florida, after seeing people move there to open up tech companies.
“I said, “If I don’t get out in front of this, people that look like me are not going to be educated. They’re not going to know what’s going on in the tech space, and they’re not going to be able to get jobs,” said Lucas.
“They are not going to be able to live in Miami,” and I just took it upon myself.”
Technolij
Lucas founded Technolij, a non-profit organization focused on closing the racial wealth gap through technology education in 2021.
In collaboration with academic, industry, philanthropic, and governmental partners, Technolij provides measurable and sustainable solutions to address the barriers to the digital divide, such as training and access to capital for tech businesses.
The organization equips students with the chance to re-skill and up-skill, preparing them for transformative employment opportunities in the tech space.
They do this through various programs collaborating with places like Flordia Memorial University, the state’s only Historically Black College and Univesity (HBCU).
The Technolij Innovation Center
After Lucas connected with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, the Technolij Innovation Center was created in January 2023.
The partnership with Technolij is part of the larger mission to ensure technological advancement is available to all Black and Brown communities in South Florida.
It also wants to ensure that the infinite potential of technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship is accessible to these communities.
The center is open to students and community members, offering programming such as talks from local entrepreneurs and nationally recognized technologists, philanthropic events, and educational workshops.
The center is supported through partnerships with JP Morgan Chase Bank, Career South Florida, Venture Miami, Miami Gardens Mayor, and Council Members.
There have already been testimonials from the lab as, most recently, 29 students were recognized for completing the Technolij Innovation Center’s first sex-week B2B Tech Sales Bootcamp.
“To go out to an HBCU and open up an innovation tech hub that they didn’t have before the pandemic to allow students on the campus to get jobs in the tech space, to be able to pay for the tuition, to be able to send money back home to their families, those are the things that excite me,” Lucas told AfroTech.
“Now it’s time to make as many millionaires in the tech space as possible.”
