When African-American inventor Janet Emerson Bashen founded Bashen Corporation in 1994, she relied solely on her technical knowledge and passion. She didn’t have the money, so she ran her business from home. According to ThoughtCo, because she only had one client, the profits from the business were insufficient to cover the administrative costs.
Keeping tabs on her documents and records was one of the recurring challenges of running the business in its early stages. Regardless of how vigilant she was, some papers slipped out. That’s how she came up with the Linkline software in 2001, a web-based application that handled administrative tasks even when she wasn’t in the office.
Because the application was the first of its kind, Bashen said it took a lot of effort to design. Bashen Corporation’s services have now expanded to include other human resource-related services. Bashen’s influence grew as her client base expanded, propelling her to the forefront of using her own case management software.
In 2006, she received a patent for the software, making her the first African-American woman to be granted a patent for a software invention. She explained that the application was designed to make tracking claims and managing business records easier by eliminating the time-consuming paperwork that comes with running a business.
Bashen and her company have received national recognition for their achievements in the software industry. She testified before Congress in May 2000 about the impact of the FTC opinion letter on the third-party discrimination investigation. Her testimony, along with claims from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, resulted in a change in the laws governing third-party application usage.
In its annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States, Inc. Magazine named Bashen Corporation one of America’s entrepreneurial growth leaders in October 2002. In October 2003, the Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce presented Bashen Corporation with the Pinnacle Award. The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. also presented the entity with the prestigious Crystal Award for its business achievements.
Bashen was honored at the World Festival of Black Arts and Culture in Dakar, Senegal, in 2010. She has also created software to improve workplace diversity. The AAP Advisory, a subsidiary of Bashen Corporation that provides mentorship on best practices for affirmative action in the workplace, is one such piece of software. Aside from that, the company offers a support system to businesses in their pursuit of diversity in their ecosystem.
Bashen Corporation also has an application that allows small and medium-sized businesses to record and address workplace complaints. This tool is known as the 1-800Intake hotline.
Bashen was born in Mansfield, Ohio on February 12, 1957. Her mother was the city’s first Black nurse, and she grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. Throughout her formal education at an elementary school, she was subjected to racial discrimination.
Her education was furthered at Alabama A&M University, a historically black college. After marrying Steve Bashen, she relocated to Houston, Texas. She also earned a certificate in legal studies and government from the University of Houston. Her postgraduate studies were completed at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Administration.
Bashen once stated that her experience with racial discrimination as a child sparked her interest in social inequality and diversity.