Melanie Samba's journey to becoming a tech founder is a testament to resilience, determination, and unwavering perseverance. Despite facing numerous obstacles as a Black female founder with no technical experience and a recent addition to her family, Samba defied the odds to launch SPROXXY, a groundbreaking SaaS-based conference intelligence platform.
With a background in corporate communications and marketing spanning two decades, Samba recognized the inefficiencies and challenges associated with organizing conferences and tracking metrics manually. Her experience using Excel spreadsheets to manage tasks highlighted the need for a more efficient solution.
During the pandemic, Samba seized the opportunity to address this need by hiring a design firm to build a tool tailored to her requirements. This marked the inception of SPROXXY, a platform designed to help companies and agencies track metrics that demonstrate the impact of conferences effectively.
Despite her initial apprehension about transitioning from marketing and communications to tech entrepreneurship, Samba embraced the opportunity to join 4thly's accelerator program. The program provided invaluable support, enabling her to refine her vision, develop her product, and prepare for the challenges of fundraising and market entry.
To ensure the alignment of her tech team with her vision for SPROXXY, Samba hired an in-house team and actively participates in all product development meetings. Her strategic approach to team building and product development underscores her commitment to delivering a cutting-edge solution to her customers.
Despite industry warnings of a challenging fundraising environment, Samba successfully raised a pre-seed round of $2.2 million, exceeding her initial goal and securing funding from reputable sources such as 4thly, Techstars, and New York City Economic Development's Founders Fellowship.
As the tech industry witnesses the emergence of AI-driven solutions, Samba believes that SPROXXY AI will revolutionize conference intelligence, driving spend efficiency and delivering unparalleled value to organizations. Her unwavering dedication and visionary leadership position her as a trailblazer in the tech entrepreneurship landscape.
Samba's remarkable journey from corporate communications to tech entrepreneurship serves as an inspiration to aspiring founders, particularly underrepresented entrepreneurs. Her story epitomizes the power of resilience, innovation, and determination in overcoming obstacles and achieving success in the competitive world of technology startups.