Sara Menker Covers TIME Magazine's Most Influential Companies Issue

In a beautifully written essay by Eden Shapiro for Time Magazine, Sara Menker is their cover story in a vibrant pink jacket and natural hair.

In here IG post introducing her cover, Sara wrote "In a world where pattern recognition rules, building a company that seeks to write new rules (and break most of the existing ones) is incredibly challenging at times but ultimately rewarding. Having a brilliant, dedicated and mission-driven team that keeps you going as you all work on bringing a vision to life is everything...and I have seriously won the lottery on that front. I am so proud of what Gronies have built. Thank you @time for recognizing our work. Link in bio. #time100
📸 @joshuakissi (black Photographer)
Hair: @monaeartistry
Makeup: @andibeauty

Photo Editor : @Dilysng of Time⁣
Assistants : @garren.pryce⁣
Digi Tech : @will_woods ⁣
Hair: @monaeartistry ⁣
Retouching : @this_is_a_love_letter

Menker was the cover for INC Magazine's Oct 2020 issue.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Sara Menker comes by her nightmares honestly. She was born in Ethiopia in 1982, shortly before a two-year famine resulted in the death of up to a million of her compatriots. Menker was too young to have firsthand memories, and her family was solidly middle class—her mother was a seamstress for Ethiopian Airlines, and her father worked in IT for the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa. Still, the famine left a searing impression on Ethiopian society and Menker, and the years that followed were marked by shortages and deprivation. Sugar was rationed, as was gasoline. Driving on Sundays was prohibited.

Her childhood imprinted a profound sense of how easily life can be disrupted by catastrophic forces, and the importance of preparing for looming disaster. That worldview and her commodities-trader background inspired Menker in 2014 to found Gro Intelligence, a startup that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help confront two of the biggest challenges faced by humanity: food security and climate change. “It’s about getting ready for disaster,” says Menker. “It’s about hedging for the downside risk.” The timing is excellent for a company focused on forecasting and managing climate disaster. In the U.S. alone last year, there were a record 22 climate-related disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each. In all, the droughts, cyclones, wildfires and storms combined for a staggering $95 billion in damage. With such headlines fresh in the minds of investors, in January Gro raised $85 million. Backers include prominent tech investors Intel Capital and Africa Internet Ventures (a strategic partnership between TPG Growth and EchoVC). Menker is one of the handful of Black female founders who have the potential to achieve unicorn status, the term applied to startups valued at $1 billion or more.

 Read full article at Time.