1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: I will Lucas and this is black Tach Green Money. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Al Fonzo Fons Terrell is the co founder and CEO 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: at Spill and Kenya Parhaim as Chief Growth Officer. Spill 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: is a social media at that presents a visual conversation 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,240 Speaker 1: moving at the speed of culture. The company recently launched 6 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: a million dollar community investment round which is live now 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: and we funded so you can own a piece starting 8 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 1: us off with you financy here. I'm interested in kind 9 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: of I don't even say evolution with the growth of Spill, Like, 10 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: you know, when we started off this as a culture 11 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: first platform, how does that or has it evolved over time? 12 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 2: War Like, how do you think about that today? 13 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:47,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's it's changed quite quite a lot, I'll say. 14 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 3: I think the first thing I want to say is 15 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 3: for those that aren't familiar with Spill, we came out 16 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 3: the gate really focused on being visual conversation at the 17 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 3: speed of culture. We really felt like there was something 18 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 3: missing from the space, and personally, having worked at platforms 19 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 3: like Twitter and been in the game for a minute, 20 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 3: you never win by duplicating something that already exists. You 21 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 3: win by innovating and building something new and exciting. So 22 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 3: we were really focused on, Okay, how do we give 23 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 3: people new tools to create those memes that lit up 24 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 3: the timeline when you were watching Insecure or Game of 25 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 3: Thrones or some of these big shows. How do we 26 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 3: create spaces where we can flex our cultural knowledge, build community, 27 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 3: all of that in real time. And so that was 28 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 3: the initial thesis. And what has evolved over time, I'd 29 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 3: say that we weren't necessarily planning for, but has been 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 3: really beautiful to see is community Spill has become a 31 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 3: place where people who are looking to find their tribe, 32 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:57,559 Speaker 3: their homies, their sometimes their lovers, their friends are coming 33 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 3: to it and having great success. So there's you know, 34 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 3: art spill and foodie spill and gamers spill. There's local 35 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 3: meetups starting in cities around the country. Atl spill Sphiladelphia 36 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 3: spillikin Valley even we've seen recently and we actually have 37 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 3: a couple that met on the platform, I believe right 38 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 3: around the time we launched. They got married of a 39 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 3: year later and two months after that announced that they 40 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 3: were pregnant. And I believe this is the first Spill 41 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,799 Speaker 3: baby ever we're going to have on the platform that's 42 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 3: literally going to be due any week now. 43 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,519 Speaker 4: Five weeks, five weeks. 44 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 3: So, yeah, we started out and we're still very much 45 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 3: a real time conversation platform. You're going to get your latest, 46 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 3: you know, breaking updates. We're getting even better at that. 47 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 3: But Spill is really a home, right, It's it's a community. 48 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 3: When people join, we say welcome home when they when 49 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 3: they enter onto the platform. 50 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 2: You know, Kay spoke on this a little bit. 51 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: But like when you watch you make assumptions when you 52 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: build something that people will use something in a certain way, 53 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: and then you put it in the hands of the 54 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: wild and they do things that you might not have anticipated, 55 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: Like are there things that when you were in those 56 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: early days thought they were going to do it some 57 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: way other than like community? Like you know, which is 58 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: a grade that Fund talked about. What unanticipated things have 59 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,679 Speaker 1: you realized are growing on the platform or ways of use? 60 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 5: Oh, I mean what fond just mentioned was incredibly surprising 61 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 5: to us. I mean, there's something powerful that last time 62 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 5: we were with you, right, we talked about how we 63 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 5: were matching our cultural fluency with our technological expertise and 64 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 5: building for tools that we need. Right, we're a team 65 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 5: that has the lived experiences to understand why a spill 66 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 5: existing is so vital and necessary and at a moment 67 00:03:55,080 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 5: like this is truly survival right. And when we talked 68 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 5: about some of the technology that we've brought to the 69 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 5: table around training AI to be culturally competent and be 70 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 5: used as a line of defense to help keep our 71 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 5: community safe, one of the things that I think has 72 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 5: been the most inspiring is that it's now for offense 73 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 5: as well too, not just defense. So this safety solving 74 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 5: for safety on our platform means that people are showing 75 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 5: up in authentic voice and making connections in real time, 76 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 5: further demonstrating to us that, like Fon said, community is 77 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 5: the most one of the most valuable things that people 78 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 5: are telling us that they need right now. And what 79 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 5: happens when you solve for community, people meet their new 80 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 5: best friend circles, They can find the love of their lives. 81 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 5: They can you know, get the encouragement that they need 82 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 5: from the community to start that manuscript, go for that 83 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 5: job promotion right and continue to live out their best 84 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 5: lives in a way that they're receiving that encouragement that 85 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 5: the real world oftentimes doesn't give to us. Whether we 86 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:17,840 Speaker 5: live in areas where we're disconnected from people who look 87 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 5: and have the same life experiences as us, or we're 88 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 5: still healing from some of the social isolationism that you know, 89 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 5: the Surgeon Generals has written about, you know, creating issues 90 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 5: following the pandemic. 91 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 6: Right, So I think that. 92 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:39,679 Speaker 5: Has been some of the most encouraging and affirming for us, 93 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 5: not necessarily surprising, but reaffirming for us. 94 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 6: Why our thesis aligns. 95 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, I want both of you guys to touch on this. 96 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:50,679 Speaker 1: When I started with you, Kenya, is I think about 97 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: being authentically cultural and leaning into authentic culture and scale 98 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: and sometimes those things can be odds, and I want 99 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 1: to know how you think about those. 100 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 2: I'll start with you ken You sure. 101 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 5: I mean we have a winning combination of both cultural 102 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 5: fluency and technological expertise, like I said, and we're building 103 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 5: Spill to be more than just a successful business model. 104 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 5: We are showing that platforms thrive when they center culture 105 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 5: driving communities, namely black communities, brown communities, queer communities, who 106 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 5: have historically made all of these other platforms pop but 107 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 5: have never had the tech built for them. We're showing 108 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 5: that that makes not just sense from a values perspective, 109 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 5: but it also makes business sense. We've been experiencing a 110 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 5: massive wave of growth. Q three and Q four alone 111 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 5: of last year twenty twenty four, we experienced over two 112 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 5: hundred and eighty percent growth in sign ups, and we're 113 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 5: also making money on spill. We're set to cross a 114 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 5: million dollars in annualized revenue this year. 115 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 6: Right. 116 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 2: A lot of people don't hit that. 117 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: A lot of people don't hit that, especially any revenue, any. 118 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,839 Speaker 6: Revenue, any revenue at all, for sure, for sure. 119 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 5: I mean, you know, and from an advertiser perspective, we've 120 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 5: had you know, ads and paid partnerships since day one 121 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 5: on Spill. 122 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 6: Every single rfp uh excuse me, every single. 123 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 5: Partner who has stepped up to the plate to run 124 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 5: a pilot with us has rfp'ed us again, Right, and 125 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 5: you know, we've got folks who are building with us 126 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 5: behind this model, and that's been incredibly validating, not just 127 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 5: on the community side, but also on the business side. 128 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 2: Finals. 129 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: Can you touch on this, you know, being leaning into 130 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: your culture or culture is authentically and scale. 131 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely. I think first we need to just talk 132 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 3: about the data. Right, Black people, Asian Americans, Spanic Americans 133 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 3: are the fastest growing communities in the United States period. 134 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 3: So I think we need to debunk this myth that 135 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 3: investing in these communities is a niche play. This is 136 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 3: not the case, and it's going to continue to be 137 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 3: the truth as we go forward. And so thinking about 138 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 3: how we position ourselves. We don't have to try and 139 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 3: be all things to all people necessarily all the time. 140 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 3: But we really just need to focus on solving the 141 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,119 Speaker 3: problems that our communities face. And if we do that well, 142 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 3: it actually solves a problem for everyone. Right, And when 143 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 3: we talk about the hate speech and harassment that's been 144 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 3: going on, when we started Spilled two years ago, we 145 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 3: knew this was bad, and this was a problem that 146 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 3: every single social platform has struggled with, largely because the 147 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 3: leadership of these platforms don't feel these problems personally. 148 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 4: Right, it's sort of an. 149 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 3: Academic thing or Okay, we'll get to it when we 150 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,719 Speaker 3: can sort of get to it. We understand that this 151 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 3: is the prerequisite to being a successful platform and sustaining 152 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 3: over time. So us being authentic starts with solving what 153 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 3: has what was a problem back then and is now 154 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 3: metastasized to the point where almost one out of every 155 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 3: four Americans that uses social media, and this is everyone 156 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 3: has experienced some form of hate speech and harassment in 157 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 3: the last twelve months alone. 158 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 4: This is insane. 159 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,680 Speaker 3: This is like a hate crime, and nobody is really 160 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 3: prioritizing it from the legacy platform standpoint. So for us, 161 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 3: authentic means really focusing on these problems that affect our 162 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 3: community and by solving them really well, we know that 163 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 3: not only will our community win, but so many other 164 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 3: folks who are looking for safe spaces now will also 165 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 3: win as well. 166 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 4: So, by all. 167 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 3: Intents and purposes, focusing on our communities is the best 168 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 3: business that you can do right now. It's not in 169 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 3: any way a niche play, and we need to debunk 170 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 3: that officially forever. 171 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: Want I want to highlight a phrase word I should 172 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:52,599 Speaker 1: say that both of you guys are touched on that 173 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:58,199 Speaker 1: safety online. And the part of what keeps us coming 174 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: back to platforms like this is like this necessary tension 175 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 1: like this. 176 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 2: We love to debate, We love to work through things 177 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 2: that that. 178 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: It's just a human thing to you know, battle out 179 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: whether we're talking about the game, we're talking about social 180 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 1: issues away like that's just. 181 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 2: What we do naturally as human beings. 182 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: And I think about my curiosity on how do you 183 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: foster that and ensure safety? 184 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 6: Yeah? 185 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 5: Sure, I mean, you know, we've got some of the 186 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 5: most progressive community guidelines, right, and I help to author 187 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 5: them myself along with top trust and safety professionals in 188 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 5: the industry, many of whom are black women too, right, 189 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 5: And so our community guidelines I encourage everybody to go 190 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 5: check them out on spill dot com. We mean what 191 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 5: we say, and we say what we mean, right. We 192 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 5: don't tolerate misinformation and disinformation. We don't tolerate hate against anybody, 193 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:54,720 Speaker 5: body shaming, debt naming. 194 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:55,320 Speaker 6: Right. 195 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,200 Speaker 5: We're very clear about what our rules are and most 196 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 5: importantly enforce them. People don't want to abide by the 197 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 5: rules of the House of Spill, you're out of here, right, 198 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 5: It's really clear. And so you know that safety team 199 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 5: looks like you know, humans in the loop, who are 200 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 5: a team of dedicated individuals who are on call twenty 201 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 5: four to seven, three sixty five, who are. 202 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 6: The human lines of defense. 203 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 5: And then again, you know, we're building one of the 204 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 5: first ever large language models for content moderation that is 205 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:37,559 Speaker 5: trained by the very people who get the most hate online, 206 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:42,319 Speaker 5: which you know fawnds just named black communities, queer communities, 207 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 5: brown communities, not just domestically but also abroad, and that 208 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 5: is a winning combination of safety. What we've noticed also 209 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 5: is that Spill is a community that has been leaning 210 00:11:55,520 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 5: into these guidelines because they're recognizing that when enforced, the 211 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 5: air is different in the spilloverse right, and they're starting 212 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 5: to govern themselves, so we don't even have to have 213 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 5: a heavy handed approach as you know, a moderation system 214 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 5: or trust and safety teams. The community has come in 215 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,839 Speaker 5: and leaned into some of the product features that we have, 216 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,079 Speaker 5: like you know, a tag that we have that's available 217 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 5: in composed that people can add, you know, an NSFW 218 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 5: filter on right. The community has said, hey, when you're 219 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 5: talking about triggering posts, we would love for you to 220 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 5: use that so that we can be kind as people scroll, 221 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 5: so that we don't trigger each other. That's community led 222 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 5: innovation with products that we've put forward. They're telling us 223 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 5: how they want to to, you know, engage with each other, 224 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 5: and that's been amazing. 225 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:54,679 Speaker 1: You know, finds I want to talk about, you know, 226 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 1: your journey as like a founder in this way, it's 227 00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,559 Speaker 1: like you know, you're working at some of the other 228 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: big company these previous of this, and you're running, you know, 229 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:04,959 Speaker 1: a startup now, and how. 230 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,359 Speaker 2: Have you had to develop as a leader. 231 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: And as you know, how you think about solving problems 232 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 1: and building teams and building companies and generating revenue and 233 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 1: raising money and all of these things, like how do 234 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 1: you how has that forced you to develop and grow? 235 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:23,719 Speaker 3: There's a whole podcast series that I will talk to 236 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:28,439 Speaker 3: you about the time, but I'd like to talk about 237 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 3: probably the things that are most relevant to our audiences, 238 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 3: especially your audience will because everybody's builders, right, That's what 239 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 3: afrotech is about, That's what Blavity's been about. And I 240 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 3: actually benefited tremendously from that community and thinking about starting 241 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 3: spill in the beginning. 242 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:46,680 Speaker 4: So I was, for those that don't know, I led. 243 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,120 Speaker 3: Social media at Twitter for three and a half years 244 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 3: right up until the acquisition by Elon Musk in November 245 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 3: of twenty twenty two. I was part of a wave 246 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 3: of layoffs, which I know a lot of people are 247 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 3: dealing with right now n fortunately, and two things came 248 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 3: clear to me at that moment. The first was I 249 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 3: need to do everything I can to support my teammates, 250 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 3: you know, my fellow colleagues. This is tough, right anytime 251 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 3: layoffs are happening. But the second was that it's time 252 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:17,600 Speaker 3: to build. And for me, particularly at that time, starting 253 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 3: as a non technical founder, that was a pretty daunting challenge. 254 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 3: And I think that mindset of just determination that no 255 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 3: matter what, I'm going to figure out. 256 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 4: A way to make something. 257 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 3: If I don't raise a dollar, if I got to 258 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 3: do whatever, like everything starts, I think from that particular mindset, 259 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 3: and that has what is what's magnetized. I think the 260 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 3: type of energy that we've been able to build around 261 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 3: spill from my co founder to building really great relationships 262 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 3: with some of our early investors. You know, it really 263 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 3: starts with that courage. We can't wait for other people 264 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 3: to tell us it's time or to give us permission. 265 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 3: We got to take it, and especially now in these environments, 266 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 3: that's the mindset that I think is the only way 267 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 3: we're going to move forward. 268 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 4: Now. 269 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 3: The reality of raising money, especially venture capital, as a 270 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 3: black founder is pretty daunting as well. Right, we raise 271 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 3: less than one percent of all venture capital every year, 272 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 3: and I think unfortunately it's been going down, right, I 273 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 3: think it was like one point five and now it's 274 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 3: one over the last couple of years, so we really 275 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 3: need to think creatively about how we you know, source talent, 276 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 3: how we hire people, and where we get this capital from. 277 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 3: So we've been benefit really lucky to have venture partners 278 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 3: come to the table pretty early. From the time I 279 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 3: was laid off. I was able to raise about two 280 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 3: point seventy five million within three months of being laid off, 281 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 3: and that is not a typical story, right, So we 282 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 3: understand that we are blessed and you know, need to 283 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 3: take this opportunity and maximize it. But at the same time, 284 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 3: we really wanted to do innovative things being an innovative company, 285 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 3: not just from a product standpoint, but also from our 286 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 3: business model. And from the moment we launched Spill in 287 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 3: the summer of twenty three, we had people asking us, 288 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 3: you know, users, community members. 289 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:12,240 Speaker 4: Hey, how can I invest? 290 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 3: Which is kind of crazy to think about that people 291 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 3: would want to invest in something at this stage, but 292 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 3: actually it was pretty revolutionary when we really stepped back 293 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 3: and looked at the opportunity. And you know, typically our 294 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 3: communities don't get access to early stage technological companies that 295 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 3: are on a fast growth trajectory and in twenty twelve, 296 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 3: there was a new law that was passed, the Jobs Act, 297 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 3: which basically said that you know, prior to this, literally 298 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 3: was illegal to invest in early stage companies if you 299 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 3: didn't make a certain amount of money. You literally had 300 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 3: to have I think north of a million dollars in 301 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:53,960 Speaker 3: personal net worth and all this kind of stuff. And 302 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 3: so after that, these crowdfunding platforms started emerging, and I 303 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 3: think even now it's still missed understood what the opportunity 304 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 3: is there. But we felt like, hey, what if we 305 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 3: could take the best of what's happening on venture and 306 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 3: you know, empower our community, especially because it's a community 307 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 3: driven products, to be able to participate in our success 308 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:17,439 Speaker 3: as well. So just a couple of days ago, we 309 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 3: launched our own Conversation campaign, where after a year of 310 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 3: talking to our partners, our venture team and everything, people 311 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 3: can now invest in Spill with as little as two 312 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 3: hundred and fifty dollars and participate in that success not 313 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 3: just from using the platform, but also as we continue 314 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 3: to grow and when you guys get to you know, 315 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 3: not just you know, have the conversation or join the conversation, 316 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 3: but own it too. And we think that's really exciting. 317 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,840 Speaker 1: Can you what like what qualities as you you know, 318 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,679 Speaker 1: you hire and hire levels of leadership in your career 319 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:54,440 Speaker 1: and in your personal journey? 320 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,120 Speaker 2: What qualities have you had to develop to be able 321 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 2: to do what you're doing now? It's a great. 322 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:04,360 Speaker 6: That's a great question. 323 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 5: I mean I have to start off and say that 324 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 5: I'm a two time founder myself, and working at Spill 325 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 5: is honestly the first time I've been one hundred percent 326 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 5: in house with another company in my whole career. So 327 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,920 Speaker 5: I arrived in the world of tech as somebody who 328 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:27,680 Speaker 5: was not traditionally trained to work in tech, but had 329 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:32,119 Speaker 5: a wealth of experience from being an entrepreneur for over 330 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 5: a decade. Right, and for all the entrepreneurs who are listening, 331 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,920 Speaker 5: y'all know, you have to develop a diverse skill set 332 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 5: to be able to run your own business, regardless of 333 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:44,719 Speaker 5: the industry that that's in. 334 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 6: Right. 335 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:51,159 Speaker 5: I started off at SPILL two years ago. I just 336 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,359 Speaker 5: I just celebrated my spiliversary. I say that with pride. 337 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 5: I started off with Spill two years ago as the 338 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 5: global Vice President for Community and Partnerships, where I was 339 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 5: responsible for owning and executing spills audience development strategy, developing 340 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:12,239 Speaker 5: partnerships and activations with media and brands, and you know, 341 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:16,400 Speaker 5: that was a dream come true. I could have never 342 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 5: thought that I'd work in tech, nor did I realize 343 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 5: how transferable my skill set was, coming in from working 344 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 5: in electoral politics, being a big advocate for civic engagement 345 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 5: and now fundraising. Now I stepped into the role at 346 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 5: the top of this year as Chief Growth Officer, a 347 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 5: title I could have never known, and I believe, you know, 348 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,239 Speaker 5: in consumer Social and one a few, if not the 349 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 5: only black woman to hold that title. So I carry 350 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 5: that heavily and I'm now responsible for optimizing our. 351 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:53,360 Speaker 6: Complete user journey. 352 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 5: But this role chief Growth Officer is one that I 353 00:19:57,119 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 5: had to grow into. 354 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 6: Funds can admit that too. I've I've had to. 355 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 5: Learn to look at things from a product perspective, from 356 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 5: you know, being data informed, having a very reciprocal relationship 357 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 5: with our community who is telling us in real time 358 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 5: how they want to use our product. And I've also 359 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 5: had to learn, you know, from an insights perspective, how 360 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 5: to how to develop relationships with our partners, our paid partners, 361 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:34,199 Speaker 5: and serve up products that are that meet their needs 362 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 5: but also center and value the opinions from the community 363 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 5: that I come from and that we're centering on our platform, 364 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,840 Speaker 5: and so, you know, it's a lot of learning in 365 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 5: real time, you know, not being afraid uh to misstep, 366 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:54,880 Speaker 5: but also leaning on the expertise of my fellow leaders 367 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 5: at SPILL. We have such a talented team that Fonds 368 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,959 Speaker 5: has curated and put together, and I am so deeply 369 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,800 Speaker 5: supported in this work and that makes, you know, me 370 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 5: have the courage to continue to stretch for the things 371 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,639 Speaker 5: that might be in my twentieth out of one hundred 372 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 5: percent tile. But I know that I am am you 373 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 5: know well well supported on the teams that we're on you. 374 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,680 Speaker 4: Know as well. 375 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 3: Sorry, if I could just double click, because Kenya often 376 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:28,480 Speaker 3: under sells what. 377 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 4: She've accomplished in this you know, I just. 378 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 3: Want to talk about the trust and safety piece for 379 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 3: a second, just because the whole industry is actually moving 380 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 3: away from this discipline. You know, Metas rolled back their 381 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,640 Speaker 3: trust and safety teams. We've seen it across the board, 382 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,080 Speaker 3: and Kenya stepped into this role not having any formal 383 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:49,200 Speaker 3: background or training in that world at all, and has 384 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 3: built not only the guidelines which essentially when you're building 385 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 3: a social platform it's like designing a country. You're like 386 00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 3: the designing laws that people are going to abide by 387 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,879 Speaker 3: to participate. And Kenya stepped up to this challenge not 388 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,639 Speaker 3: only designed a whole framework for governance on the platform, 389 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 3: but built the team from the ground up that is 390 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:15,199 Speaker 3: executing on this and informs the technological piece of it. 391 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:18,919 Speaker 3: Also informs how we enforce our guidelines in ways that 392 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 3: are thoughtful, right and have context versus just you know, 393 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:24,880 Speaker 3: a hammer that smashes everything right. 394 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 4: And I think you brought this up earlier. Will. 395 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,360 Speaker 3: What that has enabled people to feel is I can 396 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 3: be myself here. 397 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 4: I don't have to code switch. I can talk how 398 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 4: I talk all of that. 399 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 3: I can engage in dialogue, I can engage in even 400 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 3: you know, some debate here or there. But I also 401 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:45,119 Speaker 3: understand that it is about respect and this is a 402 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:49,119 Speaker 3: problem that trillion dollar companies have not solved. And Kenya 403 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,400 Speaker 3: has made tremendous, tremendous impact in this area on spill. 404 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 3: So I just want to give her her flowers for 405 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 3: that and also again shout her out for her new 406 00:22:58,320 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 3: promotions and chief growth. 407 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 6: Look, thank you. 408 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:03,119 Speaker 2: I love that. 409 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: I mean I think about you know, as somebody responsible 410 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: for growth, not solely, but yeah, you're leading growth and 411 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: even you find as you can chime in on this too, 412 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: Like the job is to figure out what people are 413 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 1: going to want tomorrow, not necessarily just today. 414 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 2: But we got to be ahead, you know, skating to 415 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 2: where the buck is going. Like what do you what. 416 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: Do you think social media looks like eighteen months from now, 417 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 1: twenty four months from now? 418 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 2: Like what are we going towards? What are you seeing 419 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 2: the data? 420 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:35,920 Speaker 1: And just in you know, you know, just recognizing trends 421 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:38,639 Speaker 1: that may not show up in data qualitative. 422 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 2: That's the where I was looking for qualitative. How do 423 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,919 Speaker 2: you what are we aiming at? 424 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 6: Sure? 425 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,639 Speaker 5: Well, first I have to lean in on the data 426 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,200 Speaker 5: that we are seeing. That's validated by the momentum that 427 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 5: we've been experiencing. Right, so people are flocking to spill 428 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:57,360 Speaker 5: and have been. I shared with you that we had 429 00:23:57,359 --> 00:23:59,880 Speaker 5: an over two hundred and eighty percent increase in user 430 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 5: sign ups. The money that we're that we're pacing to make, right, 431 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 5: we're crossing over a million dollars in annualized revenue coming up. 432 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 5: But that is all around again, you know, people wanting 433 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 5: and needing a product to help them find and connect 434 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:22,439 Speaker 5: with more people who think like them, who you know, 435 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 5: acknowledge and affirm their identities at all of their intersections, 436 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:32,520 Speaker 5: and who make them feel safe at a time like this, right, 437 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,719 Speaker 5: and a place where you can learn and grow in 438 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 5: an environment that you know isn't just around isn't just 439 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,359 Speaker 5: about being around people who think and look like you? 440 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 5: But where can I grow as an individual? Where can 441 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 5: I be challenged in ways that foster my own growth? 442 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:50,440 Speaker 6: Right? 443 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 5: And all of that is happening at Spill and again, 444 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 5: I think the momentum that we're experiencing validates that. Before 445 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 5: I hand it off to FONDS, I'll say that, you know, 446 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,680 Speaker 5: a lot of the products that we are coming out 447 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 5: with are emblematic of our visions for what we hope 448 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,399 Speaker 5: social to be. We're really building that in real time 449 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:14,359 Speaker 5: on FOND. Do you want to share some of that? 450 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 3: Absolutely, I think to add to some of the context 451 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 3: that we're seeing on the macro trends. There definitely is 452 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 3: a generational split. You know, folks who are you know, 453 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,600 Speaker 3: like myself, elder millennials. We you know, want to stay 454 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 3: informed and keep up to date, and that's a lot 455 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,760 Speaker 3: of what people in that sort of demographic are loving 456 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 3: about Spill. We have a team, you know, and shout 457 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:40,600 Speaker 3: out to Kenya's team that also leads this as well. 458 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 3: That's giving you those breaking push notifications. 459 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:44,880 Speaker 4: You know, whenever the. 460 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:49,359 Speaker 3: Latest Kendrick track drops coming at Drake or something else, 461 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,080 Speaker 3: you're going to find out about it on Spill first. 462 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 3: But the younger audiences we're seeing are really looking for 463 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:00,640 Speaker 3: that community piece in a much smaller way, right They 464 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,960 Speaker 3: want to curate and create their own subcommunities. And so 465 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 3: we launched a product, a group's product and Spill that's 466 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 3: in beta right now, and it was amazing. We had 467 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 3: thousands of groups created within the first week. And when 468 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,320 Speaker 3: you look at it, it's just this beautiful cornucopia of 469 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,919 Speaker 3: just all type interests you know, from you know, I mean, 470 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 3: my one of my favorite groups is pot It like 471 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,200 Speaker 3: It's hot that has for all the plants, zaddies and 472 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 3: daddies there. 473 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 4: Everybody's just showing off how they take how they take 474 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,800 Speaker 4: care of them, you know, to like Divine nine groups, 475 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 4: to original groups. 476 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 3: You know, to people that are interested in you know, uh, 477 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:41,920 Speaker 3: you know, legal back, you know, connecting with other people 478 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 3: with legal backgrounds or doctors or teachers or things like that. 479 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 3: We have Spill University, people are actually teaching courses on 480 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 3: the spill as as one of those examples. So I 481 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 3: think that that trend is going to continue. People are 482 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 3: going to look for places where they can not only 483 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 3: create and curate these subcommune unities, but then start to 484 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,959 Speaker 3: monetize them over time as well. I think that, you know, 485 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,160 Speaker 3: in a world where AI slop is going to take 486 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 3: over a lot of these bigger platforms, where people are 487 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 3: just content farming constantly to try and get engagement, it's 488 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,080 Speaker 3: going to put a premium on actual human interaction. 489 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 4: I think it's going to be like, wow, are there 490 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 4: real people here? Can I actually make a real connection? 491 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 3: And you don't need a ton of those like you 492 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 3: need really like five good friends in life to like 493 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 3: feel really satisfied. 494 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 4: But it's hard right to find. 495 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 3: That, and we feel like spill is going to be 496 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 3: an incredible tool for that in the future and going 497 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:41,080 Speaker 3: to make that a lot easier to find versus other platforms. 498 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,639 Speaker 5: We've been focused on three main pillars in our development. 499 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 5: That's culture, right what Fon said, serving up the hottest 500 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 5: of what's happening, you know, making sure you know what's 501 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 5: breaking news and informs uh had your experience in the world. Connection, 502 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,919 Speaker 5: like we've been saying, connecting you with you know, people 503 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:05,199 Speaker 5: who are of similar interest, helping you to grow and 504 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:09,880 Speaker 5: expand your networks in ways that are super meaningful. And commerce, right, 505 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 5: not just generating revenue on platform, but really leaning into 506 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:19,520 Speaker 5: what are the opportunities for our communities, which we know 507 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 5: have the largest purchasing power, right, what are the opportunities there? 508 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,400 Speaker 5: And I think most most recently, the trends that we're 509 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:32,320 Speaker 5: seeing around folks really wanting to be meaningful and intentional 510 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 5: with where their dollars are spent are also influencing our 511 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 5: perspective on what's possible and what we should might might 512 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 5: want to consider doing on spill as well too. So culture, connection, 513 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 5: commerce are what we're focused on, and we think that 514 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 5: that is an incredibly winning combination for the future of 515 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 5: social media. 516 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 1: He talked about this earlier, like the partners, the advertisers 517 00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 1: of people who. 518 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 2: Are you know, making thing they want to reach. Audience 519 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 2: is here. 520 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: And in the early days, you know, like there's there's 521 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: advertiser because we're trying to build legal attraction. 522 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:07,800 Speaker 2: But you're at that. 523 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: Point where you're getting to those your point, the RFPs 524 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,560 Speaker 1: and et cetera. And I wonder like how you balance 525 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 1: what advertisers want versus saying true to the culture your building. 526 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:22,440 Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a great that's a great question, and I 527 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 5: appreciate it. 528 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 6: And I have. 529 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:28,280 Speaker 5: To just offer a slight correction and say that we 530 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 5: had our first paid advertisers before we were even available 531 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 5: for public download. 532 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: Right, that's a break that I love that I just 533 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:42,640 Speaker 1: have generally generous that's say, generally people don't have advertises. 534 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 6: Generally people do not correct. 535 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,880 Speaker 5: Generally people do not, but we did, and and I 536 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,640 Speaker 5: just have to shout out our partners right at Horizon Media. 537 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 5: Right Lionsgate was our first paid partner before we launched. Right, 538 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 5: and these are folks that recognizeciens very clearly the value 539 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 5: of our communities. And as we've continued to grow, and 540 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:11,360 Speaker 5: the communities have been very vocal about the types of products, 541 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 5: offering insights into what they're into, and we've been able 542 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 5: to editorialize and tell the story about the how the 543 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 5: community is blossoming on spill. We've developed a really dope 544 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 5: reciprocal relationship with these advertisers, and so oftentimes people will 545 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:31,960 Speaker 5: come to Spill and say, man, I'm just so glad 546 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 5: that there's no ads here. They say it all the time, right, 547 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,960 Speaker 5: And that's a direct response to us serving up content 548 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 5: and making sure that partners come to the table with 549 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 5: information and products and opportunities for the community that don't 550 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,640 Speaker 5: feel like we're we or they are selling right. 551 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 6: And we're very open and honest. 552 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:59,040 Speaker 5: Fonds and I do regular town halls and our goal 553 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:01,600 Speaker 5: live feature on platform called Tea Parties. We just did 554 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 5: one the other day and somebody said in the chat 555 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 5: they had been on platform for a year, and we're like, 556 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 5: oh my goodness, just please keep it ad free. We 557 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 5: were like, well, we've had ads from the beginning, but 558 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 5: they're served up in ways that are meaningful to y'all, 559 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:20,400 Speaker 5: and you know, you know, I'm grateful for that. So 560 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 5: I think continuing to be very clear about what works 561 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 5: for us and have partners come to the table that 562 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 5: trust us. We've built trust where you know, we have 563 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,520 Speaker 5: partners who are now coming up on their fourth or 564 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 5: fifth paid campaign with us. They are building with Spill 565 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:41,920 Speaker 5: as Spill is building, and so there's a lot of 566 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 5: learnings there. There's a lot of insights there, but again, 567 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 5: we just appreciate partners who have come to the table 568 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 5: to say, y'all know what's going to work here, you 569 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 5: let us know and let's see what happens, and those 570 00:31:55,280 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 5: tests and learn opportunities have developed into you know, partners 571 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 5: evangelizing you know, fandoms on platform in organic ways and 572 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:10,920 Speaker 5: being able to build on that success campaign over campaign. 573 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 4: Funds. 574 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,480 Speaker 1: I want to start with I love to ask this question. 575 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: I just find it interesting personally, like what's in your 576 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,040 Speaker 1: a DC or everyday care? Like what are the things 577 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 1: fond has to have, whether it be you can't say 578 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: your phone, because that the people does. That's a give me, 579 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:26,880 Speaker 1: that's a gimme. You gotta have your phone. But what 580 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: are the things that funds got to keep nearby? 581 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:31,400 Speaker 4: Wow? 582 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 3: I think we were joking about this before, but you know, 583 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 3: there's no sleep in this game. So heavy on the 584 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,480 Speaker 3: face mask under eye patches, so I do not look haggard, 585 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 3: as I don't bring no haggard face to your esteemed show. Well, 586 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:53,640 Speaker 3: that's definitely getting getting heavy rotation these days. I'd say, 587 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 3: you know, I'm definitely an airpod's you know, yes, and 588 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,040 Speaker 3: got to have that on the movie. And I usually 589 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 3: care carry a pair of Buddhist prayer beads. I've been 590 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:12,200 Speaker 3: practicing Buddhism for about twenty years, and especially in this environment, 591 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 3: I've needed to stay grounded, and it's the higher powers 592 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,560 Speaker 3: more than ever with everything that's going on. So I'd say, 593 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 3: aside from the phone and keys and some basic stuff 594 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:25,120 Speaker 3: I keep, I keep it under eye patch so I 595 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:28,680 Speaker 3: don't look whack, and I keep some prayer beads so 596 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 3: my spirit don't look whack either. 597 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:33,320 Speaker 2: Kenya, what's in your everyday care? 598 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:35,880 Speaker 1: Your EBC? Like one are the things Kenya's got to 599 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:39,120 Speaker 1: have within arms weeks? Like before you need a house, 600 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:40,080 Speaker 1: before you leave the apartment. 601 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,560 Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, So I travel a lot. I be 602 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:47,560 Speaker 5: on the road all the time, and so this is 603 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 5: a good question for me. So one you saw me 604 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:51,760 Speaker 5: just hold this up. I drink a ton of water. 605 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:54,440 Speaker 5: We got to stay hydrated, We got to care for ourselves. 606 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 5: My favorite water cup is the spilled tumbler shameless plug okay, 607 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:05,600 Speaker 5: double insulated, stainless you fantastic. Uh you see what I 608 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 5: did there available at shop dot s. 609 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 6: Buil dot com. Uh we. 610 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,640 Speaker 5: And what else do I keep on me? You know, 611 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 5: I've had to really be really regimented about my mornings. 612 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:24,400 Speaker 5: And I've learned from Fonds in that way too. You know, 613 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:29,000 Speaker 5: as an entrepreneur, I had developed a strong muscle for 614 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:29,879 Speaker 5: you know. 615 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,080 Speaker 6: Hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle all. 616 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 5: The time, right, And you know, I've had to be 617 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,799 Speaker 5: really clear with like I start my mornings off with 618 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:41,640 Speaker 5: sound bowls. Now, I gotta make sure that I'm tuning 619 00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:47,080 Speaker 5: myself to be receptive and also uh to wash away 620 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,840 Speaker 5: some of yesterday if I wasn't able to before I 621 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:53,600 Speaker 5: passed out on my computer, uh, before I went to sleep. 622 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:55,239 Speaker 6: And then uh. 623 00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:59,000 Speaker 5: I've also loved uh diving into some of the products 624 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:03,440 Speaker 5: that I've learned from our Spill community. Like just before 625 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,600 Speaker 5: I got on this interview with you, to calm myself, 626 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,319 Speaker 5: I was coloring a page and a coloring book from 627 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:12,520 Speaker 5: an artist on Spill that I learned about, right, And 628 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:17,000 Speaker 5: that's just keeping some of those products around me that 629 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,600 Speaker 5: are infused in remind me the why of what I'm doing. 630 00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:24,520 Speaker 5: This work is incredibly affirming because the minute that I 631 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:29,160 Speaker 5: walk out of my sacred space, right, I'm reminded about 632 00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:31,680 Speaker 5: why we have to keep building and some of those 633 00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:35,600 Speaker 5: experiences aren't always the most positive. So I'm so grateful 634 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:41,120 Speaker 5: that we've built an ecosystem where we can continue to 635 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:46,719 Speaker 5: fuel up using the products that we are housing in 636 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:51,040 Speaker 5: spill that you know people come from the community to 637 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:55,600 Speaker 5: share with on platform, and you know that I also 638 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 5: am being unapologetic about what I need in order to 639 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 5: feel my best self because our communities deserve us at 640 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:04,320 Speaker 5: our best, so we got to make sure. 641 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:04,960 Speaker 6: We're hearing for us. 642 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:11,240 Speaker 1: Final one goes to you find I'm interested in your 643 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:15,080 Speaker 1: thoughts on what is something you are your team. I'm 644 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:16,800 Speaker 1: gonna let I'm gonna let you pick this. What is 645 00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 1: something you or you have your team do that you 646 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:28,360 Speaker 1: believe more startups or founders individually should adopt m great question. 647 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:35,000 Speaker 3: I'll pick one thing and try and sort of land 648 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:37,480 Speaker 3: this in a way that isn't super woo woo. But 649 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:40,319 Speaker 3: one thing that we started this year that I think 650 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:47,839 Speaker 3: is really helpful is collective team visualization. We as CEOs, 651 00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:52,400 Speaker 3: as leaders are really responsible for setting a clear vision 652 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:56,440 Speaker 3: that everybody can focus on and then help empower everybody 653 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:59,279 Speaker 3: on our teams to have the resources, the focus, and 654 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:03,120 Speaker 3: everything to accomplish their part so that everything everybody wins. 655 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:07,680 Speaker 3: But if everybody doesn't have the same picture of success 656 00:37:07,719 --> 00:37:10,920 Speaker 3: in their heads, or we don't really have a shared vision, 657 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:13,400 Speaker 3: then everybody's just kind of off on their own zone. 658 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:18,240 Speaker 3: And that's a big focus, especially for early stage companies 659 00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:22,439 Speaker 3: and building culture. So I encourage founders to do some 660 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:27,080 Speaker 3: shared visualization with your team. Take five minutes, I'm sure 661 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:29,360 Speaker 3: you all have some sort of all hands meeting or 662 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,480 Speaker 3: whatever it is, and just put something up on the 663 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:36,880 Speaker 3: screen or the board and have everybody just sit and 664 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:41,080 Speaker 3: say nothing and just visualize what does it feel like 665 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:44,520 Speaker 3: to be in that success, what does it smell like, 666 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,400 Speaker 3: what are the things that need to be true in 667 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:51,799 Speaker 3: order to get there? And really feel it viscerally, and 668 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:54,279 Speaker 3: then use that as the tone setter for the rest 669 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:58,319 Speaker 3: of your week that we've started experimenting with. And I 670 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,680 Speaker 3: think it's really starting to shape our tea culture in 671 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:04,000 Speaker 3: an exciting way, and I think also really builds trust 672 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:06,879 Speaker 3: with all the team members at a much deeper level, 673 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,239 Speaker 3: especially if you have teams like ours that are remote. 674 00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:12,880 Speaker 3: It is really hard to build a culture remotely, especially 675 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:16,239 Speaker 3: as a startup. So having that shared time to just 676 00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:18,719 Speaker 3: be like, what is our target, what are we after 677 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:22,120 Speaker 3: and it's more than just numbers, like feel it. What 678 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:25,720 Speaker 3: does that success feel like in your body, in your hands, 679 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:31,279 Speaker 3: what's true, what's happening? What is that reality like? And 680 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:34,840 Speaker 3: then it becomes much easier. I think to work backwards 681 00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 3: from there and go get it, and then you focus 682 00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:38,160 Speaker 3: on the next one. 683 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:39,400 Speaker 4: So that'd be my record. 684 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:43,040 Speaker 1: Black Tech Green Money is a production to Blavity afro 685 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,040 Speaker 1: Tech on the Black Effect Podcast Network and night Hire Media. 686 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:49,400 Speaker 1: It's produced by Morgan Debonne and me Well Lucas, with 687 00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:53,880 Speaker 1: additional production support by Kate McDonald and Jada McGee. Special 688 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,399 Speaker 1: thank you to Michael Davis and Lovebeach. Learn more about 689 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:58,960 Speaker 1: my guess other Tech. This shoff is an Innovatives afrotech 690 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:01,919 Speaker 1: dot Com. The video version of this episode will drop 691 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:04,160 Speaker 1: to Black Tech Green Money on YouTube, So tap in, 692 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:07,640 Speaker 1: enjoy your Black Tech Green Money, share us to somebody, 693 00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:09,280 Speaker 1: go get your money. 694 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:10,520 Speaker 2: Peace in love,