Hank Williams
Technology entrepreneur. ClickRadio founder. Platform founder.
A source-backed introduction to his work, alongside Byron E. Burke’s personal account of how meeting Hank helped connect a life in music to a future in technology.
By Byron E. Burke · Sources checked October 28, 2026
A builder across generations of technology.
Hank Williams worked across personal software, internet media and interactive music. A Black Founders Conference biography identifies him as ClickRadio’s founder, chairman and CEO from 1998 to 2001, and its lead architect. [1]
Personal software and internet media
The same biography records his leadership of Pastel Development Corporation from 1988 to 1994, where he developed DayMaker, and his co-founding of the internet-development and broadcasting consultancy Cybersonic in 1995. [1]
ClickRadio and interactive music
ClickRadio was an early interactive internet radio service. In Byron’s recollection, the prototype brought together music channels, artwork, thumbs-up and thumbs-down controls, and a skip button. The published biography establishes Hank’s leadership and architecture role; the account of seeing the prototype comes from Byron’s own experience. [1] [5]
Platform and wider participation in technology
Pentagram’s 2013 account describes Platform’s mission to increase the participation and visibility of underrepresented groups in technology and entrepreneurship. It documents the organization’s identity work and inaugural summit at the MIT Media Lab. [2]
Pentagram’s firsthand account of the 2014 summit identifies Hank as Platform’s founder and describes the gathering at Morehouse College, co-hosted by Georgia Tech with #YesWeCode as a partner. [3]
An enduring recognition
All Star Code’s own account of its 2018 fifth-anniversary event documents the inaugural Hank Williams Trailblazer Award, presented to Demma Rosa Rodriguez with Hank’s wife, Dr. Mayida Zaal, participating. All Star Code is a separate organization that honored his memory. [4]
“Seeing a Black man building technology mattered to me.”
This line appears in the dedication to Before I Called It AI: My Road to Popâ One. Byron remembers hearing Hank explain the ClickRadio idea before seeing the prototype at its New York office. That encounter became part of the path he traces from music to AI. [5]
“Here was a Black man doing technology, explaining his concept, pursuing it, and bringing people into it. I could see someone building the sort of thing other people might only talk about. That mattered to me.”
The book connects this memory with questions about curiosity, learning, ownership and founder control. Its complete introduction is available to read on this site.
Personal recollections are attributed to Byron. Historical descriptions above link to published sources, including firsthand accounts from organizations involved in the work.
Sources and further reading.
- Black Founders Conference: Hank Williams speaker biography
Historical career record, including ClickRadio, Cybersonic, DayMaker and Kloudco. The page’s present-tense wording reflects when the biography was written.
- Pentagram: Platform — September 3, 2013
Firsthand account of Platform’s identity, mission and first summit.
- Pentagram: Platform Summit 2014
Firsthand account of the Morehouse College event and participating institutions.
- All Star Code: We turned five! — April 18, 2018
The organization’s account of its first Hank Williams Trailblazer Award.
- Byron E. Burke: Before I Called It AI: My Road to Popâ One
Personal recollections, dedication, introduction and the book’s dedicated remembrance of Hank Williams.
This page records historical work and personal influence. Current Platform operations and an authorized memorial-giving route have not been established here.
Help carry the story forward.
Were you part of Hank’s work, or do you have a published source that would help readers understand it? Contact Byron with the source and its context.
Share a source or remembrance