We had the good fortune of connecting with Jack & Kenau Victor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jack & Kenau, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
We want our legacy to be like David and Goliath. Everybody knows about this story and heard about how a small guy named David was able to take down a giant like Goliath. We want people to remember the same thing about us. My wife, who is also my business partner, and I created a brand that is trying to take down the giant of underrepresentation & lack of diversity & inclusivity in tech. To take it one step further, we want to push for more public schools in black & brown or disadvantaged communities to implement STEM as a part of their curriculum right along with music, art, PE, etc. The world is evolving and becoming more focused on technology and taking things to the next level by starting to make machines do the work which creates more demand for people to learn these tech skills so they can get a job and not get replaced by a machine. They are testing self-driving trucks and an autonomous grocery store just opened in Fayetteville, GA! All of this is happening but there are still communities and individuals that have no clue how to acquire these skills. They also feel like there is no representation of themselves in the tech industry because when you think of tech (or STEM) an older white male pops into your head because that is who dominates the tech space. This is the Goliath or giant that we are facing and we want to be remembered as the 2 little David’s that helped slay that giant by fighting for diversity and teaching some of these skills to those that do not have access to it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I am not wearing my entrepreneurial hat I am working in my profession as a Technical Analyst while my wife works remotely as a Claims Analyst 2 for an insurance company in the cancer claims department. In my tech role, I am very hands on at various sites and locations in the southern half of Georgia. I get to travel and enjoy the Georgia scenery while responding to tickets as they come in. My personality and people skills set me apart from others because your average tech is not approachable, very quiet and focused on their work so their not going to engage too much with their customers or clients. As for me, however, I am definitely the opposite of that which is what sets me apart because I have people skills, very approachable, and willing to come out of my quiet shell to ensure they receive the best customer service.

This is probably one of the things that I am proud of, which is my ability to be the example for my colleagues to help them break out of their shell. My customer service skills has given me the highest satisfaction scores at my places of work and I receive awards and recognition that reflect a positive light on the company I work for.

Getting to where I am today was quite challenging at first due to my struggle with passing the Comptia A+ certification, in which it took me 7 tries but I persevered until the end. I also had to overcome my lack of confidence in myself due to the underrepresentation in the tech industry. Luckily, I had a supportive I.T. manager and wife along with others that helped motivate me as well. Along the way I learned some valuable lessons such as being my genuine self while trusting in my expertise and skills that I worked hard to obtain. I had to continue to tell myself that I belong in this field and I worked hard to get here.

In the end, I want everyone to know that my story started out rocky but I am still here and I hope others can get motivated by my perseverance to continue accomplishing whatever it is that they are working towards. I started a brand to speak to the areas of tech that need to be addressed based on my personal experience. A message on a t-shirt speaks volume and opens conversations so we are glad to have started Techky Apparel and tapped into delivering a message through fashion.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Fun places to go in Georgia would be Candytopia, Illuminarium, Coca Cola Factory, and the mini Germany in Helen, GA is also interesting and fun. Some places to eat would be Milk and Honey, SouthCity Kitchen, and for drinks the rooftop bar at the Battery Hotel in Atlanta which also overlooks the Baseball stadium was a nice vibe with beautiful scenery.

It is also pretty cool to check out the waterfalls that Georgia has and some of the historical sites like the Civil Rights museum next to Coca Cola Factory because Georgia has a lot of history that took place here.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A few names right off the top of our heads that we want to give recognition to is Anthara, a serial Tech entrepreneur, who gives us insight on business especially in the tech space, collaborates with us, and loves our brand. We also want to shout out Michelle from Dream Corps TECH, which is an organization founded by the late Prince & CNN contributor Van Jones that is trying to accomplish the same things as us by teaching tech skills to Black & Brown Communities. Ever since we met Michelle she has been so kind and supportive. She also loves our brand and has collaborated with us as well so we definitely have to give her some recognition. There are so many names of family, friends, and supporters in the cyber world that have been following us on this journey, cheering us on, reposting our content, whispering our name in private settings and so much more. They know who they are and we want to give them credit too. Last but certainly not least, we are thankful for this feature and being able to share our story.

Website: https://techkyapparel.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techkyapparel/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/techkya?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Techkyapparel/

Image Credits
Credits go to Techky Apparel Brand, LLC

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.