WEBVTT - Phonz and Kenya Parham of SPILL on How Social Media is Evolving and Creating Opportunities 0:00:01.600 --> 0:00:05.640 I will Lucas and this is black Tach Green Money. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:09.680 Al Fonzo Fons Terrell is the co founder and CEO 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:14.360 at Spill and Kenya Parhaim as Chief Growth Officer. Spill 0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:17.440 is a social media at that presents a visual conversation 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:21.240 moving at the speed of culture. The company recently launched 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:24.280 a million dollar community investment round which is live now 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.600 and we funded so you can own a piece starting 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:31.480 us off with you financy here. I'm interested in kind 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:34.600 of I don't even say evolution with the growth of Spill, Like, 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:36.519 you know, when we started off this as a culture 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:40.320 first platform, how does that or has it evolved over time? 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:42.280 War Like, how do you think about that today? 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:47.200 Yeah, it's it's changed quite quite a lot, I'll say. 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:48.960 I think the first thing I want to say is 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:52.120 for those that aren't familiar with Spill, we came out 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:56.240 the gate really focused on being visual conversation at the 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:59.920 speed of culture. We really felt like there was something 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:03.520 missing from the space, and personally, having worked at platforms 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:05.800 like Twitter and been in the game for a minute, 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:10.399 you never win by duplicating something that already exists. You 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:14.240 win by innovating and building something new and exciting. So 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:18.040 we were really focused on, Okay, how do we give 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:21.280 people new tools to create those memes that lit up 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:24.960 the timeline when you were watching Insecure or Game of 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:28.120 Thrones or some of these big shows. How do we 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:33.679 create spaces where we can flex our cultural knowledge, build community, 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.679 all of that in real time. And so that was 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:41.800 the initial thesis. And what has evolved over time, I'd 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:44.959 say that we weren't necessarily planning for, but has been 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:49.080 really beautiful to see is community Spill has become a 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:52.920 place where people who are looking to find their tribe, 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:57.559 their homies, their sometimes their lovers, their friends are coming 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:00.800 to it and having great success. So there's you know, 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:05.560 art spill and foodie spill and gamers spill. There's local 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:11.239 meetups starting in cities around the country. Atl spill Sphiladelphia 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:15.840 spillikin Valley even we've seen recently and we actually have 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:19.720 a couple that met on the platform, I believe right 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:22.200 around the time we launched. They got married of a 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:25.760 year later and two months after that announced that they 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.560 were pregnant. And I believe this is the first Spill 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.799 baby ever we're going to have on the platform that's 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:34.240 literally going to be due any week now. 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.519 Five weeks, five weeks. 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.320 So, yeah, we started out and we're still very much 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:43.440 a real time conversation platform. You're going to get your latest, 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.560 you know, breaking updates. We're getting even better at that. 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:50.520 But Spill is really a home, right, It's it's a community. 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:53.480 When people join, we say welcome home when they when 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:56.600 they enter onto the platform. 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.520 You know, Kay spoke on this a little bit. 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:02.320 But like when you watch you make assumptions when you 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:05.000 build something that people will use something in a certain way, 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:07.320 and then you put it in the hands of the 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:10.200 wild and they do things that you might not have anticipated, 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:13.200 Like are there things that when you were in those 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:15.480 early days thought they were going to do it some 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:17.440 way other than like community? Like you know, which is 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.919 a grade that Fund talked about. What unanticipated things have 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:24.679 you realized are growing on the platform or ways of use? 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:30.960 Oh, I mean what fond just mentioned was incredibly surprising 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.880 to us. I mean, there's something powerful that last time 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:37.160 we were with you, right, we talked about how we 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:42.960 were matching our cultural fluency with our technological expertise and 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:47.440 building for tools that we need. Right, we're a team 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:51.400 that has the lived experiences to understand why a spill 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:55.000 existing is so vital and necessary and at a moment 0:03:55.080 --> 0:04:00.320 like this is truly survival right. And when we talked 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:02.720 about some of the technology that we've brought to the 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:06.520 table around training AI to be culturally competent and be 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:09.520 used as a line of defense to help keep our 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:12.880 community safe, one of the things that I think has 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:18.680 been the most inspiring is that it's now for offense 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:23.480 as well too, not just defense. So this safety solving 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:26.880 for safety on our platform means that people are showing 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:31.920 up in authentic voice and making connections in real time, 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:36.839 further demonstrating to us that, like Fon said, community is 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:40.200 the most one of the most valuable things that people 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:43.240 are telling us that they need right now. And what 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:46.400 happens when you solve for community, people meet their new 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:49.680 best friend circles, They can find the love of their lives. 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:53.039 They can you know, get the encouragement that they need 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:57.440 from the community to start that manuscript, go for that 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:02.320 job promotion right and continue to live out their best 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:07.480 lives in a way that they're receiving that encouragement that 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:12.720 the real world oftentimes doesn't give to us. Whether we 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:17.840 live in areas where we're disconnected from people who look 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.320 and have the same life experiences as us, or we're 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:25.560 still healing from some of the social isolationism that you know, 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:30.719 the Surgeon Generals has written about, you know, creating issues 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:32.040 following the pandemic. 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:33.680 Right, So I think that. 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:39.679 Has been some of the most encouraging and affirming for us, 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:43.560 not necessarily surprising, but reaffirming for us. 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:45.520 Why our thesis aligns. 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:48.560 Yeah, I want both of you guys to touch on this. 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:50.679 When I started with you, Kenya, is I think about 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:56.480 being authentically cultural and leaning into authentic culture and scale 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:59.960 and sometimes those things can be odds, and I want 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:01.159 to know how you think about those. 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:03.400 I'll start with you ken You sure. 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.520 I mean we have a winning combination of both cultural 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:10.880 fluency and technological expertise, like I said, and we're building 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:13.640 Spill to be more than just a successful business model. 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:18.760 We are showing that platforms thrive when they center culture 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:23.039 driving communities, namely black communities, brown communities, queer communities, who 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.960 have historically made all of these other platforms pop but 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:29.840 have never had the tech built for them. We're showing 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:33.120 that that makes not just sense from a values perspective, 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:37.080 but it also makes business sense. We've been experiencing a 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:40.680 massive wave of growth. Q three and Q four alone 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:44.320 of last year twenty twenty four, we experienced over two 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:48.120 hundred and eighty percent growth in sign ups, and we're 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:51.600 also making money on spill. We're set to cross a 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:55.200 million dollars in annualized revenue this year. 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:55.760 Right. 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:56.880 A lot of people don't hit that. 0:06:56.920 --> 0:07:01.560 A lot of people don't hit that, especially any revenue, any. 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:04.839 Revenue, any revenue at all, for sure, for sure. 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:08.320 I mean, you know, and from an advertiser perspective, we've 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:12.280 had you know, ads and paid partnerships since day one 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:13.160 on Spill. 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:18.720 Every single rfp uh excuse me, every single. 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:21.520 Partner who has stepped up to the plate to run 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:25.280 a pilot with us has rfp'ed us again, Right, and 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:29.080 you know, we've got folks who are building with us 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.680 behind this model, and that's been incredibly validating, not just 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:34.800 on the community side, but also on the business side. 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:36.200 Finals. 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.840 Can you touch on this, you know, being leaning into 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.920 your culture or culture is authentically and scale. 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:45.160 Yeah. Absolutely. I think first we need to just talk 0:07:45.200 --> 0:07:50.400 about the data. Right, Black people, Asian Americans, Spanic Americans 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.920 are the fastest growing communities in the United States period. 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:57.360 So I think we need to debunk this myth that 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:01.520 investing in these communities is a niche play. This is 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:03.920 not the case, and it's going to continue to be 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:08.080 the truth as we go forward. And so thinking about 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:11.680 how we position ourselves. We don't have to try and 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.920 be all things to all people necessarily all the time. 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:17.120 But we really just need to focus on solving the 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.119 problems that our communities face. And if we do that well, 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.160 it actually solves a problem for everyone. Right, And when 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:26.400 we talk about the hate speech and harassment that's been 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.240 going on, when we started Spilled two years ago, we 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:31.600 knew this was bad, and this was a problem that 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:35.280 every single social platform has struggled with, largely because the 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:38.760 leadership of these platforms don't feel these problems personally. 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:40.120 Right, it's sort of an. 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:42.760 Academic thing or Okay, we'll get to it when we 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.719 can sort of get to it. We understand that this 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:50.000 is the prerequisite to being a successful platform and sustaining 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:54.240 over time. So us being authentic starts with solving what 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:56.640 has what was a problem back then and is now 0:08:56.760 --> 0:09:00.480 metastasized to the point where almost one out of every 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:04.040 four Americans that uses social media, and this is everyone 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:07.600 has experienced some form of hate speech and harassment in 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:09.360 the last twelve months alone. 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:11.040 This is insane. 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:14.680 This is like a hate crime, and nobody is really 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:18.480 prioritizing it from the legacy platform standpoint. So for us, 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:22.160 authentic means really focusing on these problems that affect our 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:25.320 community and by solving them really well, we know that 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:28.240 not only will our community win, but so many other 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.880 folks who are looking for safe spaces now will also 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:31.600 win as well. 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:33.640 So, by all. 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:37.120 Intents and purposes, focusing on our communities is the best 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:40.560 business that you can do right now. It's not in 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:44.200 any way a niche play, and we need to debunk 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:45.600 that officially forever. 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.920 Want I want to highlight a phrase word I should 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:52.599 say that both of you guys are touched on that 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:58.199 safety online. And the part of what keeps us coming 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:01.560 back to platforms like this is like this necessary tension 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:01.840 like this. 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:04.240 We love to debate, We love to work through things 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:04.600 that that. 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.280 It's just a human thing to you know, battle out 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:09.400 whether we're talking about the game, we're talking about social 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:10.680 issues away like that's just. 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:12.480 What we do naturally as human beings. 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.760 And I think about my curiosity on how do you 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:22.120 foster that and ensure safety? 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:22.640 Yeah? 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:26.600 Sure, I mean, you know, we've got some of the 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:31.240 most progressive community guidelines, right, and I help to author 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:35.560 them myself along with top trust and safety professionals in 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:38.800 the industry, many of whom are black women too, right, 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.480 And so our community guidelines I encourage everybody to go 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:45.480 check them out on spill dot com. We mean what 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:47.760 we say, and we say what we mean, right. We 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:52.640 don't tolerate misinformation and disinformation. We don't tolerate hate against anybody, 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:54.720 body shaming, debt naming. 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:55.320 Right. 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:59.200 We're very clear about what our rules are and most 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:03.120 importantly enforce them. People don't want to abide by the 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:07.440 rules of the House of Spill, you're out of here, right, 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:14.160 It's really clear. And so you know that safety team 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:19.000 looks like you know, humans in the loop, who are 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:23.600 a team of dedicated individuals who are on call twenty 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:26.560 four to seven, three sixty five, who are. 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:27.920 The human lines of defense. 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:30.240 And then again, you know, we're building one of the 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:33.160 first ever large language models for content moderation that is 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:37.559 trained by the very people who get the most hate online, 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:42.319 which you know fawnds just named black communities, queer communities, 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:46.280 brown communities, not just domestically but also abroad, and that 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:50.960 is a winning combination of safety. What we've noticed also 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:55.480 is that Spill is a community that has been leaning 0:11:55.520 --> 0:12:01.120 into these guidelines because they're recognizing that when enforced, the 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:05.880 air is different in the spilloverse right, and they're starting 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:09.280 to govern themselves, so we don't even have to have 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:13.360 a heavy handed approach as you know, a moderation system 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:16.720 or trust and safety teams. The community has come in 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:20.839 and leaned into some of the product features that we have, 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:24.079 like you know, a tag that we have that's available 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:28.520 in composed that people can add, you know, an NSFW 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.400 filter on right. The community has said, hey, when you're 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:35.120 talking about triggering posts, we would love for you to 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:37.920 use that so that we can be kind as people scroll, 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.880 so that we don't trigger each other. That's community led 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:45.120 innovation with products that we've put forward. They're telling us 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:49.520 how they want to to, you know, engage with each other, 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:50.960 and that's been amazing. 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:54.679 You know, finds I want to talk about, you know, 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.280 your journey as like a founder in this way, it's 0:12:57.320 --> 0:12:59.559 like you know, you're working at some of the other 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:02.760 big company these previous of this, and you're running, you know, 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:04.959 a startup now, and how. 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:07.359 Have you had to develop as a leader. 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:10.280 And as you know, how you think about solving problems 0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:13.960 and building teams and building companies and generating revenue and 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.000 raising money and all of these things, like how do 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:19.160 you how has that forced you to develop and grow? 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.719 There's a whole podcast series that I will talk to 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:28.439 you about the time, but I'd like to talk about 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:31.480 probably the things that are most relevant to our audiences, 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:35.240 especially your audience will because everybody's builders, right, That's what 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.520 afrotech is about, That's what Blavity's been about. And I 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:42.360 actually benefited tremendously from that community and thinking about starting 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:43.480 spill in the beginning. 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:46.680 So I was, for those that don't know, I led. 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:49.120 Social media at Twitter for three and a half years 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:53.000 right up until the acquisition by Elon Musk in November 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:57.000 of twenty twenty two. I was part of a wave 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:58.880 of layoffs, which I know a lot of people are 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:02.480 dealing with right now n fortunately, and two things came 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.000 clear to me at that moment. The first was I 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:07.800 need to do everything I can to support my teammates, 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:10.640 you know, my fellow colleagues. This is tough, right anytime 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.640 layoffs are happening. But the second was that it's time 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:17.600 to build. And for me, particularly at that time, starting 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:21.120 as a non technical founder, that was a pretty daunting challenge. 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:25.440 And I think that mindset of just determination that no 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:27.840 matter what, I'm going to figure out. 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:29.280 A way to make something. 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.600 If I don't raise a dollar, if I got to 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:36.720 do whatever, like everything starts, I think from that particular mindset, 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.240 and that has what is what's magnetized. I think the 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:42.800 type of energy that we've been able to build around 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:47.440 spill from my co founder to building really great relationships 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:50.200 with some of our early investors. You know, it really 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:53.400 starts with that courage. We can't wait for other people 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.200 to tell us it's time or to give us permission. 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:59.960 We got to take it, and especially now in these environments, 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:02.640 that's the mindset that I think is the only way 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:03.680 we're going to move forward. 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:04.520 Now. 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:08.880 The reality of raising money, especially venture capital, as a 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:12.560 black founder is pretty daunting as well. Right, we raise 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:15.880 less than one percent of all venture capital every year, 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:18.680 and I think unfortunately it's been going down, right, I 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:20.880 think it was like one point five and now it's 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:23.880 one over the last couple of years, so we really 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:28.080 need to think creatively about how we you know, source talent, 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:31.000 how we hire people, and where we get this capital from. 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:35.840 So we've been benefit really lucky to have venture partners 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:38.960 come to the table pretty early. From the time I 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:42.200 was laid off. I was able to raise about two 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:45.800 point seventy five million within three months of being laid off, 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:48.960 and that is not a typical story, right, So we 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.360 understand that we are blessed and you know, need to 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:55.880 take this opportunity and maximize it. But at the same time, 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:59.680 we really wanted to do innovative things being an innovative company, 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.040 not just from a product standpoint, but also from our 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:05.280 business model. And from the moment we launched Spill in 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:08.480 the summer of twenty three, we had people asking us, 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:10.560 you know, users, community members. 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:12.240 Hey, how can I invest? 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.480 Which is kind of crazy to think about that people 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:19.240 would want to invest in something at this stage, but 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:22.280 actually it was pretty revolutionary when we really stepped back 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:25.880 and looked at the opportunity. And you know, typically our 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:31.160 communities don't get access to early stage technological companies that 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:35.320 are on a fast growth trajectory and in twenty twelve, 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:37.680 there was a new law that was passed, the Jobs Act, 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:41.560 which basically said that you know, prior to this, literally 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.640 was illegal to invest in early stage companies if you 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:46.880 didn't make a certain amount of money. You literally had 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:49.520 to have I think north of a million dollars in 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.960 personal net worth and all this kind of stuff. And 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:58.040 so after that, these crowdfunding platforms started emerging, and I 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:01.440 think even now it's still missed understood what the opportunity 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.560 is there. But we felt like, hey, what if we 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:07.720 could take the best of what's happening on venture and 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:11.520 you know, empower our community, especially because it's a community 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:14.600 driven products, to be able to participate in our success 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:17.439 as well. So just a couple of days ago, we 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:21.280 launched our own Conversation campaign, where after a year of 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.680 talking to our partners, our venture team and everything, people 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:27.240 can now invest in Spill with as little as two 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:31.280 hundred and fifty dollars and participate in that success not 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.280 just from using the platform, but also as we continue 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:38.280 to grow and when you guys get to you know, 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:41.879 not just you know, have the conversation or join the conversation, 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:44.280 but own it too. And we think that's really exciting. 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:49.840 Can you what like what qualities as you you know, 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:52.679 you hire and hire levels of leadership in your career 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:54.440 and in your personal journey? 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:57.120 What qualities have you had to develop to be able 0:17:57.160 --> 0:18:02.760 to do what you're doing now? It's a great. 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:04.360 That's a great question. 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:06.840 I mean I have to start off and say that 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:11.280 I'm a two time founder myself, and working at Spill 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:15.240 is honestly the first time I've been one hundred percent 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:18.800 in house with another company in my whole career. So 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:22.920 I arrived in the world of tech as somebody who 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:27.680 was not traditionally trained to work in tech, but had 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:32.119 a wealth of experience from being an entrepreneur for over 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:35.520 a decade. Right, and for all the entrepreneurs who are listening, 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:39.920 y'all know, you have to develop a diverse skill set 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:43.280 to be able to run your own business, regardless of 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:44.719 the industry that that's in. 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:45.240 Right. 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:51.159 I started off at SPILL two years ago. I just 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:54.359 I just celebrated my spiliversary. I say that with pride. 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:57.080 I started off with Spill two years ago as the 0:18:57.080 --> 0:19:00.520 global Vice President for Community and Partnerships, where I was 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:06.720 responsible for owning and executing spills audience development strategy, developing 0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:12.239 partnerships and activations with media and brands, and you know, 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:16.400 that was a dream come true. I could have never 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:20.280 thought that I'd work in tech, nor did I realize 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:26.240 how transferable my skill set was, coming in from working 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:30.040 in electoral politics, being a big advocate for civic engagement 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:34.159 and now fundraising. Now I stepped into the role at 0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:37.080 the top of this year as Chief Growth Officer, a 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.520 title I could have never known, and I believe, you know, 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:44.239 in consumer Social and one a few, if not the 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:48.399 only black woman to hold that title. So I carry 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:52.240 that heavily and I'm now responsible for optimizing our. 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:53.360 Complete user journey. 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:57.080 But this role chief Growth Officer is one that I 0:19:57.119 --> 0:19:58.040 had to grow into. 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.760 Funds can admit that too. I've I've had to. 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:07.240 Learn to look at things from a product perspective, from 0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:12.080 you know, being data informed, having a very reciprocal relationship 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:16.080 with our community who is telling us in real time 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:20.000 how they want to use our product. And I've also 0:20:20.080 --> 0:20:24.960 had to learn, you know, from an insights perspective, how 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:30.080 to how to develop relationships with our partners, our paid partners, 0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:34.199 and serve up products that are that meet their needs 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:38.240 but also center and value the opinions from the community 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:42.359 that I come from and that we're centering on our platform, 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:44.840 and so, you know, it's a lot of learning in 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:49.000 real time, you know, not being afraid uh to misstep, 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:54.880 but also leaning on the expertise of my fellow leaders 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:58.600 at SPILL. We have such a talented team that Fonds 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:01.959 has curated and put together, and I am so deeply 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:05.800 supported in this work and that makes, you know, me 0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:10.840 have the courage to continue to stretch for the things 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:13.639 that might be in my twentieth out of one hundred 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:17.760 percent tile. But I know that I am am you 0:21:17.840 --> 0:21:22.720 know well well supported on the teams that we're on you. 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:24.680 Know as well. 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:27.320 Sorry, if I could just double click, because Kenya often 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:28.480 under sells what. 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:31.960 She've accomplished in this you know, I just. 0:21:31.880 --> 0:21:33.840 Want to talk about the trust and safety piece for 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:36.800 a second, just because the whole industry is actually moving 0:21:36.840 --> 0:21:40.320 away from this discipline. You know, Metas rolled back their 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:42.640 trust and safety teams. We've seen it across the board, 0:21:43.160 --> 0:21:46.080 and Kenya stepped into this role not having any formal 0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:49.200 background or training in that world at all, and has 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:53.359 built not only the guidelines which essentially when you're building 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:57.040 a social platform it's like designing a country. You're like 0:21:57.160 --> 0:21:59.720 the designing laws that people are going to abide by 0:22:00.200 --> 0:22:03.879 to participate. And Kenya stepped up to this challenge not 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:07.639 only designed a whole framework for governance on the platform, 0:22:07.920 --> 0:22:10.600 but built the team from the ground up that is 0:22:10.720 --> 0:22:15.199 executing on this and informs the technological piece of it. 0:22:15.240 --> 0:22:18.919 Also informs how we enforce our guidelines in ways that 0:22:19.040 --> 0:22:22.760 are thoughtful, right and have context versus just you know, 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:24.880 a hammer that smashes everything right. 0:22:25.200 --> 0:22:27.160 And I think you brought this up earlier. Will. 0:22:27.880 --> 0:22:31.360 What that has enabled people to feel is I can 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:32.440 be myself here. 0:22:32.760 --> 0:22:35.080 I don't have to code switch. I can talk how 0:22:35.119 --> 0:22:36.280 I talk all of that. 0:22:36.359 --> 0:22:39.200 I can engage in dialogue, I can engage in even 0:22:39.440 --> 0:22:41.960 you know, some debate here or there. But I also 0:22:42.080 --> 0:22:45.119