Building an Inclusive Corporate Culture in Tech: A Fireside Chat with Bill Powers
In a tech industry often criticized for homogeneity, performative diversity initiatives, and institutional bias, few conversations hit as deeply or honestly as the one hosted by Black Tech Link featuring Bill Powers, CEO of Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), and moderated by Starletta Quarles, CEO of UrbanX Marketing. This fireside chat, part of Black Tech Link’s broader conference on workforce inclusion, took a raw and powerful look at what it truly means to build an inclusive corporate culture—from a C-suite perspective that’s both human and real.
The Origin Story: From Pothole Patrol to Half a Billion in Funding
Bill Powers opened by sharing the unconventional story of how CMT began—born out of an MIT research project called Cartel, designed to understand what mobile phone sensors could do when placed in cars. From those humble beginnings, Cambridge Mobile Telematics now powers vehicle data systems used by insurance companies, automakers, rideshare apps, and connected car ecosystems across the globe.
Powers and his co-founders, Dr. Hari Balakrishnan and Sam Madden, began the company with a bold vision: make roads safer through better driver awareness. Today, their work impacts driver behavior through apps that use mobile sensors to track acceleration, braking, phone use, and more. Their core mission? Combat distracted driving with the very phones that cause it.
Funding Without Venture Capital: Integrity Over Hype
One of the most striking elements of the conversation was how CMT raised more than $500 million without relying on traditional venture capital. Instead, Powers and his team secured strategic investments from customers—global companies who believed in the product and were willing to pay for it.
Powers explained the reasoning behind avoiding early-stage VCs. “If you’re giving up 40 or 50 percent of your dream to someone else, you better be sure they have the same values,” he warned. His advice to entrepreneurs was clear: If you can, build value first. Find revenue early. Raise on your terms, not theirs.
Who Is Bill Powers?
Bill’s story is one of resilience. A Boston native who grew up blue-collar and lost his father at 17, he was homeless for a time and climbed his way through sheer grit. His early life included vocational school, basketball scholarships, nightclub promotion, and eventually sports marketing. His network, his hustle, and his values got him in the door—and his leadership kept him there.
Far from the prototypical tech CEO with an Ivy League CS degree, Powers built his empire by staying true to five core gifts: integrity, leadership, courage, curiosity, and fearlessness. And, he emphasized, it was never about checking a box. It was about doing the work and doing it right.
What Real Diversity Looks Like
The central topic of the fireside chat was creating an inclusive corporate culture. Powers didn’t mince words: “Diversity is about getting the best ideas from different people. Not the same ideas from the same kinds of people.”
He explained that true diversity is about background, upbringing, life experience, and perspective—not just race or gender. He acknowledged the problem of institutional bias, especially when companies only recruit from a narrow list of elite universities. “If you only look at resumes from MIT or Stanford, you’re missing out on candidates who have worked ten times as hard for their 3.9 GPA.”
To make change, CMT got intentional.
Intentionality Over Initiatives
The 2020 murder of George Floyd profoundly impacted Powers. “I’m not trying to save the world,” he said. “But I am in a position to make a difference.” His first move was to hire someone he trusted—Stephen Graham—to lead the charge internally, not just manage optics.
That personal approach made the effort more than corporate PR. It became a cultural pillar.
From George Floyd to Corporate Accountability
Many small business owners overlook retirement planning, but Patricia emphasized its importance—especially when comparing LLC and S-Corp structures. While S-Corp owners avoid self-employment tax, they contribute less to Social Security unless they pay themselves a decent salary. Without setting aside funds in a 401(k) or SEP IRA, S-Corp owners may shortchange their future retirement benefits.
On the other hand, LLC owners pay into Social Security through self-employment tax and might rely on those benefits later in life. The key, according to Patricia, is proactive planning—setting up retirement accounts and working with a tax professional to optimize contributions and reduce current-year taxes.
Real Stories, Real People
The conversation was filled with personal anecdotes that revealed the heart behind the strategy. Powers recalled a father who was skeptical of the internship program and concerned it might be performative. After a long, honest conversation, the father gave his blessing. That relationship, Powers said, validated the company’s commitment to doing this the right way.
He also shared the story of a young man from a Southern university who posted his resume on LinkedIn. Powers saw it, reached out directly, and got him into the interview pipeline. “That’s fearlessness,” he said. “He just did it.”
From Performative to Transformative
Starletta Quarles praised CMT’s work as “transformative,” noting that few companies could match the progress they had made in just a few months. Powers emphasized that none of the hires were charity—everyone was qualified, but their resumes might have been overlooked in a traditional recruiting process.
His message was consistent: “Qualification comes in many forms—life experience, resilience, hunger. Don’t overlook that.”
Final Thoughts: Talk Less, Listen More
When asked what he would do differently, Powers said he’d “talk less and listen more.” It’s a powerful admission from a CEO—and one that perfectly encapsulates the heart of inclusive leadership.
If diversity is going to work, it must be embedded in how a company thinks, hires, promotes, and grows. CMT’s example is a model of intentional, honest, and human inclusion—and a reminder that the tech industry can do better when it listens more than it speaks.
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