Meet VINCENT

In 2013, after working his way up through the technology industry as a systems administrator and a network engineer, he encountered a bump in the road that changed the course of his career. 

He was working on a project that required him to migrate emails from an old server to a new one, and he found the task to be overly cumbersome. It was just the latest in a series of occurrences that frustrated Williams.

“We’re trying to do business the right way, for the right reasons,” he said. “Struggles or no, that’s something that’s a huge source of pride for me.”

Despite those struggles, throughout his journey in founding and operating Orchestrate Tech, Williams said he’s never lost sight of his initial motivation to help people.

“As minority entrepreneurs, we’re always rowing against the tide, but you get back what you put in,” Williams said. “Treating people the right way and doing things for the right reasons will lead to success.” 

So when the new coronavirus spread across the country this year and when the protests sparked by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor broke out, Williams saw and understood the impacts they’d have on minority-owned businesses. 

“These things have been a bit more difficult for minority business owners in particular to address,” he said. “And they’re complicated issues that you just can’t narrow down to a soundbite, but they need to be talked about all the same.”

With the obstacles facing many small businesses in mind, Williams offered insight and advice for minority and non-minority entrepreneurs alike. 

“Everyone’s path to success looks different,” he said. “It won’t look like what you see on TV or in Silicon Valley, especially now. It can twist and turn and sometimes go out of sight, but it won’t go away.”