Frank Denbow is a Christian artist, DJ, dancer, CS (computer scientist) and entrepreneur from New Jersey. He is currently a Startup Advocate at Microsoft for Startups , helping lead Microsoft’s engagement with the startup community in the United States. He served on Microsoft’s COVID-19 task force helping serve companies like Luminare . Prior he founded INK’A , a platform for producing top quality custom apparel for companies and influencers. Frank bootstrapped INK’A into millions in revenue (and felt all the pains as well, read about it here ) and enjoys supporting other entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem.
Born in Harlem, and raised by Jamaican & Guyanese parents in New Jersey, Frank caught the bug for entrepreneurship at an early age, selling cologne on eBay, and began programming in middle school. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s Computer Science program, Frank interned as a software developer at Apple before building his own companies. He crossed paths with Steve Jobs a few times and it left a lasting impression.
Art has always been a part of Frank’s life, as a dancer (reel here ) and paper artist (following in his mother’s footsteps as she runs Joy With Paper ). He posts some of his art explorations at MakeArt.Daily . Coupling his artistic interests with his background as a technologist, he helped craft events like Tech & Culture SXSW in 2019 and Tech & Culture February 2020 in partnership with Fueled By Culture .
Frank has held leadership positions in community organizations such as First Presbyterian Church as the first youth deacon and at Habitat for Humanity in Bergen County as the first youth board member. He also has worked on the Music Startup Meetup, Startup Weekend, Startup Digest, & Coalition for Queens, helping connect entrepreneurs with the resources they need. Out of this desire, he created INFLECTION , a community for profitable companies, which was featured in the New York Times . Frank taught the “Introduction to NYC Startup Community” course at General Assembly and consults on product marketing with collaborator Annie Maguire under Sage Labs .
An (extremely) amateur model & actor, Frank has done campaigns for Under Armour , Land Rover and Choze has a pasion for video editing and production (earliest music video can be seen [here]).
With passions for spreading computer science education and in affecting change in prison reform, Frank serves on the advisory board for Academy For Software Engineering (a Computer Science focused high school) & volunteers with organizations like Defy Ventures .
In his free time he enjoys traveling, fitness, and dancing salsa .
And featured in:
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(NY Times) How to Run a Business in 2020
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(NY Times) More Start-Ups Have an Unfamiliar Message for Venture Capitalists: Get Lost
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(Pando Daily) Startup Culture is Becoming Mainstream Culture, and Startup Threads is Capitalizing On It
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(BPM Supreme) Event Recap: ‘The Future of Music’ Featuring Leaders in Music and Tech
- Backend Capital
- Joy With Paper (My moms paper art instructional website, if you love me you will sign up)
- Stealth Community App
- Stealth Video Discovery App
- Stealth Street Art App
- Stealth Beverage Brand
- Stealth Apparel Brand Studio
- Scout Lab (Women-led marketing agency ex Airbnb / ex Levi Straus / ex fitmob-> acquired by Classpass)
- WorkWell (Women-led salary negotiation and job application agency)
- Banquetealo (Women-led catering company for Puerto Rico)
- 1 Second Everyday (Creating the story of your life, top ranked app)
- Swagup (Automated system for buying and delivering swag packs to your team and customers)
- IMPACT (Board member of IMPACT conversations about important topics)
- Helping You Transition To New York
- Hiring/Getting Hired In New York
- Feedback on your deck (have reviewed 1000s of decks) for storytelling and strategic updates
Nasdaq Spotlight: Frank Denbow, Entrepreneur
Startup Threads: Frank Denbow from Mashery
Headshots: Here