Sock it to 'Em!

A wunderkind turned-seasoned tech-entrepreneur shares her secrets for success.

- Caroline V. Clarke

TO BE SURE, THERE IS A DEARTH OF WOMEN OF COLOR BUILDING BUSINESSES and careers in tech. But there are also some incredibly successful women stepping in to lead and quietly doing the work that’s changing our world. Case in point: Birame Sock.

Born in Senegal and raised in several African countries, including Niger, Sock was educated at the University of Miami in broadcasting and computer science, and is the newly installed president and COO of New York-based Function(x) Inc. Her role at Function(x) is a corporate one that enables her to flex the entrepreneurial muscle she built launching some of the most revolutionary products of our time—think pop music ringtones and digital receipts—through her own startups.

In 2002, just a few years out of college, Sock founded Musicphone Inc., a wireless entertainment company. Acquired by Gracenote Inc. for an undisclosed seven-figure sum in 2007, Musicphone was the first to launch a wireless music recognition service called MusicID with AT&T Wireless and Virgin Mobile USA.