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Speaker 1: Well, we didn't talk about the podcast. What are you

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Speaker 1: excited about the podcast? Let's do that. So this is

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Speaker 1: what Morgan the Bond, co founder and CEO at Bravity

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Speaker 1: says to me after we've talked for about an hour.

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Speaker 1: I just finished asking her about her thoughts on lifestyle companies,

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Speaker 1: her bomb community and friendships with other rock star founders,

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Speaker 1: and her thoughts on the importance of black media since

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Speaker 1: she was first up on Black Tech Cream Money. What

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Speaker 1: she wanted to talk about was what we can expect

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Speaker 1: from the show. I'm gonna be asking things that you

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Speaker 1: may not hear other places, right. I want to I

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Speaker 1: want to dig. I want to ask the follow up

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Speaker 1: for the interviewer who didn't get to ask the follel

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Speaker 1: I want to dig into those things that we haven't

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Speaker 1: gotten an opportunity for these people to speak on. So

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Speaker 1: I'm very excited about that. Well, I'm so grateful for

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Speaker 1: you because a lot of what we do at Bravity

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Speaker 1: was a vision in the mind, and you've been able

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Speaker 1: to come on board and bring it into real life

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Speaker 1: and ensure that we are a place of accessibility. Um

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Speaker 1: And I'm really grateful for you because of that, because

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Speaker 1: I don't think that we could have done it without

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Speaker 1: you gotten this far, and we have so much room

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Speaker 1: to grow and so much more that we should be doing.

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Speaker 1: And um, this podcast is a natural extension of what

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Speaker 1: we've already committed to as a company. And I hope

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Speaker 1: that this podcast can be something that's an extension of

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Speaker 1: the mission of ensuring young Black entrepreneurs and young Black

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Speaker 1: professionals and technology can rise to be leaders within our community,

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Speaker 1: have ownership, have equity, and get the behind the scenes

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Speaker 1: along the way that they don't have to know a

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Speaker 1: Deshaun or me because they can hear us right here

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Speaker 1: on this podcast, given you exactly what we need to know,

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Speaker 1: what you need to know, what I should have known,

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Speaker 1: so that we could all move faster towards our future together.

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Speaker 1: So I want to I want to entertain our audience.

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Speaker 1: I want to educate our audience, and I want to

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Speaker 1: make sure that when they finished an episode they got

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Speaker 1: something to go do. That's right, That's absolutely right. So

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Speaker 1: I'm tuning in. I think we should get into the

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Speaker 1: nitty gritty of all the money that all the money

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Speaker 1: contracts and money, black tech, green money. That's why we

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Speaker 1: came up with the baby. I'm Will Lucas and this

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Speaker 1: is Black Tech, Green Money. I'm going to introduce you

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Speaker 1: to some of the biggest names, some of the brightest

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Speaker 1: minds and brilliant ideas. If you're black, in building, or

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Speaker 1: simply using tech to secure your bag, this podcast is

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Speaker 1: for you. Morgan Devon is a co founder and CEO

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Speaker 1: at Blavity, which is home to the the Afro Tech Shadow

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Speaker 1: and a can travel new Ark. She's raised over ten

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Speaker 1: million dollars in adventure funding to expand her empire and

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Speaker 1: leads a team of over seventy people. She's been featured

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Speaker 1: in nine Week's Top thirty Media and Tech Innovators, inks

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Speaker 1: Top one hundred Female Founders, Forbes, Top fifty Women in

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Speaker 1: Tech in America, and it's also Forbes thirty Under thirty

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Speaker 1: year long. I asked her about the power of the

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Speaker 1: black voice and how black media can leverage technology to

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Speaker 1: amplify it. Well, I think black media was created because

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Speaker 1: of the need for us to connect as a community.

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Speaker 1: We couldn't use the mainstream distributions of information. They weren't

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Speaker 1: built for us, they weren't owned by us, and they

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Speaker 1: did not want us to communicate with one another. So um,

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Speaker 1: you know, media has been critical for our own advancement

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Speaker 1: as a community. Is particularly given that we're as a

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Speaker 1: part of the diaspora. By nature that we weren't connected,

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Speaker 1: we weren't physically together, and that was by design, by

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Speaker 1: their design, that we were torn away from one another

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Speaker 1: throughout this country. So having our own media brands and

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Speaker 1: as as early as Frederick Douglas, I mean that is

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Speaker 1: that is the beginning of the entire infrastructure that Gravity

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Speaker 1: UM has been following and built on. So do you

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Speaker 1: feel like a responsibility you know, spanning all your brands

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Speaker 1: or you have the gravities to travel to ours, afrol

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Speaker 1: text and on any and more. What type of responsibility

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Speaker 1: do you feel if you feel a responsibility to black

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Speaker 1: awareness of what UM it takes to make us make

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Speaker 1: progress for us? You know, I think about the progress

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Speaker 1: of our community and gravity is responsibility in two different

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Speaker 1: ways because in some ways it's incredibly overwhelming when you

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Speaker 1: look at a macro level of what Bravity Inc. The

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Speaker 1: big corporation that we are UM, the impact that we're

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Speaker 1: responsible for in the industries that we're holding accountable. I mean,

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Speaker 1: Bravity Inc. Is responsible for holding accountable the technology industry, UM,

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Speaker 1: the venture capital, industry through Afrotech, Hollywood production, UM, the news,

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Speaker 1: mainstream media corporations, police brutality, social justice through Gravity news

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Speaker 1: and Bravity politics, elected officials, local, state, regional, national, UM.

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Speaker 1: There's just so much many places and people in industries

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Speaker 1: that we are UH shining a light on and stories

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Speaker 1: that were shining light on, and really UM at the

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Speaker 1: macro level, it can feel overwhelming, and so my strategy

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Speaker 1: oftentimes is what can we make a difference at today

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Speaker 1: and what is Braravity Incs unique opportunity to make a difference.

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Speaker 1: And I challenge our writers, are our audience, our community,

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Speaker 1: and everyone on our team to constantly ask that question, well,

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Speaker 1: what is our unique contribution and what we're uniquely positioned

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Speaker 1: to make an impact here? Particularly when I think about

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Speaker 1: afro tech UM, we're because of our scale and because

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Speaker 1: of the clients that we have, we can make a

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Speaker 1: big difference. And because we're venture funded from some of

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Speaker 1: the top vcs in the country and perhaps arguably in

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Speaker 1: the world, we can make a difference there too because

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Speaker 1: I can hold my own investors accountable, which will have

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Speaker 1: an implication within the VC community. So UM we take

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Speaker 1: it very seriously. There's this Black af episode where Tyler

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Speaker 1: Perry is sitting down with Kindred Burst and Um talking

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Speaker 1: about his you know, neglect of white people's takes on

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Speaker 1: his work, right, and but he's in the business of

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Speaker 1: serving his audience and that's really all he cares about

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Speaker 1: and if they are into it, he's he's good. And

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Speaker 1: so I wonder your thoughts on that particular perspective with

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Speaker 1: regards to what you're building. Uh, I can't make it

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Speaker 1: that far into black I can, obviously, I probably four

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Speaker 1: or five. I think that was like the best show period.

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Speaker 1: I liked it. I just couldn't get through it. But

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Speaker 1: it wasn't because I didn't. You know, I don't know

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Speaker 1: if I agreed with all the all the Twitter haters, um,

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Speaker 1: but for me, Um. Yeah. When we first started the company,

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Speaker 1: we explicitly said, I do not care what white people

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Speaker 1: want need think. I don't care what they think we

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Speaker 1: should do and what they should build. I started the

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Speaker 1: company without any funding, and I waited over a year

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Speaker 1: to get investments and take outside investments, partially because I

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Speaker 1: didn't want to be influenced by what they wanted us

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Speaker 1: and need to be for them. And even as we've grown,

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Speaker 1: I was just on a call literally today with a

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Speaker 1: black VC, and I was like, you should lead our

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Speaker 1: Series B, because honestly, that's I don't want. I don't

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Speaker 1: want if I don't have to. If we're in a position,

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Speaker 1: um to have the best vcs in the world and

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Speaker 1: they're also black, let's do that because you get on

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Speaker 1: my board. You know, I need people around us, around

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Speaker 1: our company, around our mission, around my employees, around our

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Speaker 1: audience that are a reflection of our passion. Now, if

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Speaker 1: you're down and you're with it, and you understand what

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Speaker 1: we're doing and you support us, like g V is

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Speaker 1: on our board and they've been incredibly supportive and they

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Speaker 1: get it, that's that's all right too. I'm all right

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Speaker 1: with that, UM. But my preference is always going to

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Speaker 1: be our own because I think that it has such

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Speaker 1: an a significant residual impact on everything that that people touch.

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Speaker 1: When you, when you're owners of your own destiny and

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Speaker 1: your own brands, do you think we potentially underestimate the

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Speaker 1: scale of building for black people. Yeah? I got that

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Speaker 1: question a lot, which was are you artificially like already

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Speaker 1: segmenting off the fact that your company can only ever

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Speaker 1: be as big as fourteen percent of the US population

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Speaker 1: and you know, and you're already opting into a smaller

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Speaker 1: percentage of the total market. And my response to that is,

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Speaker 1: have you heard of Africa? Have you heard of Brazil?

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Speaker 1: You know, and and it's just such an American point

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Speaker 1: of view that, uh, that we're limited to what we

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Speaker 1: see right around us, and the rest of the world

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Speaker 1: just doesn't function like that. And because of the Internet,

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Speaker 1: you know, in my opinion, the opportunity for a black

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Speaker 1: brand is limitless because we are one of the fastest

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Speaker 1: growing sets of populations within the world regarding our economic

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Speaker 1: wealth as well, because we're rising up into the middle

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Speaker 1: class around the world with access to technology in job

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Speaker 1: development and multinational corporations and so um that is the work.

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Speaker 1: We have an opportunity to make that a reality. Now,

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Speaker 1: there are systemic reasons why that may not happen, um,

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Speaker 1: but we have an opportunity with the sheer numbers in

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Speaker 1: in other countries and other continents that um make companies

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Speaker 1: like Gravity and or any black brand a very profitable

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Speaker 1: business opportunity. I remember Jessica Matthews speaking at Afrotech seventeen.

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Speaker 1: I want to I want to say it was seen

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Speaker 1: and She talked a little bit about the investment she

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Speaker 1: got from the continent. But I wonder, um, what your

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Speaker 1: ideas on the black business opportunity, Cause we've done, we've dabbled,

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Speaker 1: especially we were or doing a lot of things coming

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Speaker 1: off the continent on on afro tech dot com, And

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Speaker 1: I wonder what your thoughts are on how afro tech

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Speaker 1: can make impact for people who are living there now,

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Speaker 1: whether it's networks, connections or what is it. You know,

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Speaker 1: I don't know that I've given that enough thought quite yet.

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Speaker 1: I still feel like we have a long way to

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Speaker 1: go here in the US, and there's a lot that

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Speaker 1: I would need to do to learn and to make

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Speaker 1: sure that we do that appropriately. And what I'd most

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Speaker 1: likely do is hire someone um who is already there

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Speaker 1: that lives in Nigeria. We probably start with Nigeria and

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Speaker 1: or London, UM, and perhaps goanna and do a regional

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Speaker 1: country based strategy, you know, because each each country has

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Speaker 1: its own flavor, its own problems, its own system, its

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Speaker 1: own infrastructure, and uh, you know, just Nigeria alone is

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Speaker 1: a b billion times bigger than the black population of

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Speaker 1: the US. Like you can build a whole blavity over

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Speaker 1: there so it's a it's a huge, huge opportunity, UM.

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Speaker 1: And yet I still feel like Afro tech in the

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Speaker 1: US hasn't fully made reach our full potential. We still

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Speaker 1: have a lot of work to do when it comes

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Speaker 1: to equity and tech, and we have a lot of

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Speaker 1: work to do, and when it comes to advancement of

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Speaker 1: black professionals in the technology industry and also access to

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Speaker 1: funds beyond just a cute hundred k two hundred k

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Speaker 1: check from vcs that people are doing right now. I

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Speaker 1: want you to lead People's series A. I want you

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Speaker 1: to lead People's Series B. I want you to buy

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Speaker 1: and acquire these companies. Then I'm gonna go abroad. But

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Speaker 1: we still have some some ways to go here. And

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Speaker 1: you know you're among I don't want to say a few,

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Speaker 1: because there have been more black women who have raised

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Speaker 1: a lot of money than we may know that or

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Speaker 1: that get the respect of it, UM, But I wonder

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Speaker 1: how you think about your role in making sure that

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Speaker 1: the investment pipelines have more Morgans in them. It's a

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Speaker 1: great question. Will I've struggled with that question because in

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Speaker 1: some ways I've watched other black founders that were a

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Speaker 1: part of the few burnout completely because they um were

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Speaker 1: always giving to everyone else, and I imagine that that

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Speaker 1: was very difficult for them, because the inbound of requests

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Speaker 1: for one on ones or speaking or advising or angel

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Speaker 1: investing can be exhausting. And I've certainly felt that for

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Speaker 1: myself and have to have had to balance the ebb

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Speaker 1: and flow of being a public figure when I really

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Speaker 1: didn't expect to sign up to be a public figure.

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Speaker 1: I really started this business because I wanted to start

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Speaker 1: a business and make a difference. I didn't factor in, um,

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Speaker 1: the fact that I needed to be a personality or

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Speaker 1: a role model. I'm happy and grateful and humbled that

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Speaker 1: I am for people, but I also um, it is

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Speaker 1: any second job in a lot of ways, on top

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Speaker 1: of a very hard job already of running a successful companies.

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Speaker 1: So UM, what I believe is my unique contribution is

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Speaker 1: building the scalable systems and tools and platforms and enabling

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Speaker 1: other people to continue to carry the torch and to

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Speaker 1: help them carry a big torch that's loud, that has fuel,

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Speaker 1: and to put more fuel on their fire. And that

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Speaker 1: is what we can do with afro Tech, with the brand,

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Speaker 1: with platforms like this new podcast UM with our user

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Speaker 1: generated content platform with gravity and making sure that we

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Speaker 1: as an institution are able to empower other people and

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Speaker 1: make it easy. You don't need to know me. My

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Speaker 1: hope is that you don't need to know who I

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Speaker 1: am to benefit from the work that we do at

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Speaker 1: this company. Yeah, you make me think about UM. In

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Speaker 1: this interview, I spoke with Charles Hudson at afro Tech

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Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen and I asked him about, you know,

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Speaker 1: when you're the only or one of few black vcs

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Speaker 1: who may be at a conference. UM, not an afrotech

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Speaker 1: because he's because everybody's you know, pretty much black in

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Speaker 1: afro Tech. But if you at a conference and you've

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Speaker 1: got a couple of US peppers sprinkle, then right, and

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Speaker 1: you become the only guy who they feel I can

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Speaker 1: relate to what they're coming from. And how does it feel? UM?

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Speaker 1: Not wanting to be and I don't want to speak

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Speaker 1: for anybody, but you know you you said you felt

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Speaker 1: like it's a second job being the representation UM. But

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Speaker 1: how do you manage in a way being the only

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Speaker 1: one that that people can see as If I can

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Speaker 1: just get the Morgan, then I'm gonna get I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: get the answer I need. If I can just get

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Speaker 1: the Charles Hudson, I'm gonna get somebody who understands that, Okay,

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Speaker 1: I need this money to do X, Y and Z.

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Speaker 1: It's such a tough question, Will and I really really

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Speaker 1: do struggle with it because every person that emails me

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Speaker 1: and says, hey, can we have fifteen minutes? Or hey

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Speaker 1: can you look at my dad? Can you warm intro

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Speaker 1: me to someone? It is a decision making calculus of

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Speaker 1: am I taking away from gravity? Am I taking away

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Speaker 1: from my self care? Am I taking away from my family?

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Speaker 1: Am I taking away from my partner? Am I taken

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Speaker 1: away from from everything? You know? And? Um? I still

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Speaker 1: say yes a lot of the time. I also have

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Speaker 1: tried to create again scalable structure so that I can

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Speaker 1: say yes more easily, so I say, well, I would

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Speaker 1: love to chat with you. Are you on my email list?

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Speaker 1: Do you follow me on Instagram? Have you listened to

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Speaker 1: these podcasts? Have you watched these videos? If they're like yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,

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Speaker 1: I'm like I stop. But if they're like you have

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Speaker 1: a newsletter, I'm like, you haven't really tried that hard.

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to try harder than you have to

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Speaker 1: help you. If you really want to know my advice,

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Speaker 1: I try as much as possible to make my information accessible,

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Speaker 1: my point of view accessible, um and I think that

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Speaker 1: more black vcs and founders should try to give back

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Speaker 1: in that way, so that there's also an archive and

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Speaker 1: a library of information for those people who maybe don't

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Speaker 1: even know how to even reach you to ask you

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Speaker 1: that question. What if they can find that Twitter threat,

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Speaker 1: if they can find the Medium post, if they can

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Speaker 1: see something that was shared by someone else, you're giving

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Speaker 1: them more opportunities to just have this information and normalize

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Speaker 1: some of the things that we talked about in tech

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Speaker 1: and that to me, I think about the Morgan version

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Speaker 1: of myself when I was sitting in St. Louis and

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Speaker 1: I didn't know the difference between Mountain View being in

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Speaker 1: the mountains and mountain View being in California. I thought

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Speaker 1: mountain View was like literally in like Michigan, in the mountains,

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Speaker 1: you know, And I didn't know why I was I

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Speaker 1: supposed to know. It wasn't part of my story, it

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Speaker 1: wasn't a part of my vision, It wasn't in tech Crunch.

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Speaker 1: Tristan at the time Tristan Walker was the highest Black

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Speaker 1: person that I had ever seen, and it was because

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Speaker 1: he was at four square and like I think he

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Speaker 1: was b D And I apologize Trison if I'm I'm

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Speaker 1: beturing your title, but like that was like the biggest

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Speaker 1: Black person in tech Crunch at the time, you know.

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Speaker 1: So we've come a long way since when I was

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Speaker 1: a girl in St. Louis um and I'm proud of

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Speaker 1: us for that, but we still have a long way Togo.

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Speaker 1: The Black Growth Network from Blavity, Inc. Provides Black small

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Speaker 1: business owners and entrepreneurs with the funding, resources and network

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Speaker 1: needed to stabilize and growth the business. And you're invited

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00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:19,600
Speaker 1: to join our network of startups, angel investors, and vcs,

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Speaker 1: which can open the door to even more funding and

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00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:27,800
Speaker 1: opportunities like pitch competitions. We're building black economic empowerment together.

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Speaker 1: Check it out now at Black Growth Network dot com.

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Speaker 1: That's Black Growth Network dot com. If you aren't subscribed

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Speaker 1: to the Afro Tech newsletter, are you really about that life?

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Speaker 1: All the exclusive content and subscriber only promotions can only

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Speaker 1: be secured by becoming an Afro Tech insider. Join for

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Speaker 1: free now and joint dot Afrotech dot Com. After two

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Speaker 1: years of hosting the afro Tech conference in San Francisco,

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Speaker 1: the hardest Silicon Valley, Morgan decided to move the conference

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Speaker 1: to Oakland, closer to the community she wanted to expose

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Speaker 1: to the black wealth opportunity in tech hes She is

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Speaker 1: at the kickoff of events. So there's just a lot

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Speaker 1: of doubts that um I had to work through and

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Speaker 1: our team had to really process to be able to

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Speaker 1: make this move and to feel confident about it. And

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Speaker 1: really what it came down to at the end of

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Speaker 1: the day was like, okay, again, ten years from now,

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Speaker 1: twenty years from now, when we're thinking about the future

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Speaker 1: and we're looking back at what we've done and what

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Speaker 1: we're doing for the next generation, are we going to

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Speaker 1: be proud of where this is? Right? Are we going

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Speaker 1: to be proud that we're putting money and resources into

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Speaker 1: this city? Not necessarily right, but Oakland, absolutely right. We're

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Speaker 1: buying out all the restaurants, We're buying out all the clubs,

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Speaker 1: were hiring all the turn up and running bravity In

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Speaker 1: this brands afro Tech, Shadow and act Travel Now are

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Speaker 1: as well as her own personal brands in Rows Essentials,

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Speaker 1: works Mark, and the growth notebook can take. It's told.

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Speaker 1: I asked Morgan about how she manages to carry this

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Speaker 1: world on her shoulders. I am, um, someone who very

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Speaker 1: much has boundaries with my time. I think time is

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Speaker 1: the most valuable thing that we all have. And UM,

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Speaker 1: I've learned the hard way what happens when I don't

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Speaker 1: put restrictions on um my time and I give myself

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Speaker 1: too much to everyone around me. UM. So for me,

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Speaker 1: it means that I don't typically have meetings after a

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Speaker 1: certain time because I know that my brain is fried.

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Speaker 1: I try to give it all that I have from

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Speaker 1: the morning to about three o'clock, and then after that

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Speaker 1: It's like if you're after that tail in and that

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Speaker 1: meet it at that three class, you don't get what

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Speaker 1: you get. But and I still have to have the meeting,

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Speaker 1: you know, Um, but the people around me know that

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Speaker 1: they know that, and or I'm explicit about it because

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Speaker 1: it's portant to me that I show up at my best.

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Speaker 1: And I also, UH spend my weekends I work. I

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Speaker 1: basically wake up at the same time every day. It

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Speaker 1: doesn't really matter what day is. I think, as an entrepreneur,

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Speaker 1: your Saturday and your Tuesday the same difference. Like Yeah,

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Speaker 1: until we had like real employees that were like over

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Speaker 1: fifteen people, I didn't even really respect holidays. I was like, what,

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Speaker 1: uh tomorrow holiday? What y'all talking about? Because the work

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Speaker 1: doesn't stop. But now at this point, I know that

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Speaker 1: entrepreneurship is a journey in a lifetime. For me, it's

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Speaker 1: it's a way of life. There is no final destination.

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Speaker 1: It's just a part of who I am. And so

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Speaker 1: I've learned how to have a routine that allows me

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Speaker 1: for that sustained work ethic. So I wake up at

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Speaker 1: the same time every day, I do the same thing

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Speaker 1: every morning. Um. And then you know, I work hard

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Speaker 1: for the first few hours of the day so that

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Speaker 1: by twelve o'clock on a Saturday, when it's time for

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Speaker 1: brunch and the beach, I'm gone. I'm out and I'm

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Speaker 1: enjoying myself and I feel good. I don't feel guilty.

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Speaker 1: I got my work done, um, and I'm also able

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Speaker 1: to have a full day. I wonder how you developed

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Speaker 1: as a leader, because I think about so many of

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Speaker 1: the founders that we see these days, you know, coming

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Speaker 1: to very young late teens, early twenties and thirties even

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Speaker 1: and you know a lot of these folks in in

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Speaker 1: in many respects have not had like a ton of

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Speaker 1: career experience, but they come in, found a company, grow

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Speaker 1: a team, and have to learn along the way. So

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Speaker 1: I'm interested in like the things that you've done, like

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Speaker 1: books you've read or class Like what have you done

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Speaker 1: to develop into a leader? Yeah? I started the company

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Speaker 1: and I was twenty uh three when I first had

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Speaker 1: the kind of we're going to do a thing moment um,

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Speaker 1: and in twenty four when it launched publicly, and um,

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Speaker 1: you know, some six years in. And one interesting thing

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Speaker 1: about being a young founder is that you you are young,

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Speaker 1: which gives you a certain level of privilege of not

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Speaker 1: having the responsibility that others typically have in their mid thirties. Um.

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Speaker 1: And so I was able to do things like sleep

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Speaker 1: on the couch and sleep on the floor. I was

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Speaker 1: able to do things like, uh, you know, sit and

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Speaker 1: work for fifteen hours straight and do it every day.

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Speaker 1: I was able to do those things, and um, certainly

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Speaker 1: I could do them now, but the consequences would be

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Speaker 1: my charder, my knees would start hurting an old lady,

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Speaker 1: um and and I don't want to sleep on the

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Speaker 1: couch anymore, I want to bet UM and so in

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Speaker 1: a lot of ways, though that stage and that that

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Speaker 1: time in my life gave me so much freedom to

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Speaker 1: make a ton of mistakes UM, and there were mistakes

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Speaker 1: that it impacted very few people because we weren't that

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Speaker 1: big and UM, it was very genuine and authentic, and

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Speaker 1: it still is now. But I have a much larger responsibility.

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Speaker 1: With an employee base and being the chairwoman of the

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Speaker 1: board and huge investors who have invested millions of dollars

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Speaker 1: into our company, I have a much larger impact for

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Speaker 1: the mistakes that I make UM, and I take that

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Speaker 1: very seriously, and so I have UM surrounded myself with

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Speaker 1: advisors who hold me accountable. Two of my best advisors

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Speaker 1: are my co founders, Aaron and Jeff Um. You know,

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Speaker 1: Aaron can say things to me that most people cannot

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Speaker 1: say with me at least hearing them. And Jeff is

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Speaker 1: the voice of reason so many times when I feel defeated,

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Speaker 1: and he centers me and centers us as a group

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Speaker 1: on the purpose of our our business and not to

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Speaker 1: get to UM tied into the scents and pennies and

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Speaker 1: dollars of what we're doing. But while we're doing what

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Speaker 1: we're doing and how to get it done and so UM,

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Speaker 1: I think having advisors has been critical for me. And

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Speaker 1: then I learned a lot through other entrepreneurs. So I

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Speaker 1: hold very close to me entrepreneurs who are either investors

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Speaker 1: or friends. So Deshaun from Maven, you know, I will

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Speaker 1: call him. I remember one of the first phone calls

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Speaker 1: I had with Deshan. Well, de Shan was actually one

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Speaker 1: of the first people who kind of shamed me into

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Speaker 1: quitting my day job because I used to see him

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Speaker 1: at the Black Founders meetups UH in San Francisco. The

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Speaker 1: Black Founders group was started by Monique and a few others.

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Speaker 1: Moniquitter and I used to go to those networking hours,

431
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,120
Speaker 1: but I still had my day job, and so Deshaun

432
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,720
Speaker 1: was like, if I see you one more time talking

433
00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,040
Speaker 1: about this bravity and you still have a day job,

434
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,480
Speaker 1: I'm not going to talk to you. And I was like,

435
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,560
Speaker 1: this is harsh, bro and UH, and so I quit.

436
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:45,280
Speaker 1: I quit, And the next time I saw him, I

437
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,080
Speaker 1: told him UM, he was one of the people who

438
00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:49,040
Speaker 1: pushed me over the edge. But I remember this time

439
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,400
Speaker 1: that I called Deshaun and UM really for business advice

440
00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,280
Speaker 1: and as an advisor, I was getting a term sheet

441
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,920
Speaker 1: and UM, I didn't know much about pricing the business,

442
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,520
Speaker 1: and I didn't really understand the math. I didn't understand

443
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,520
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff when it came to the seed round.

444
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:08,720
Speaker 1: I made a lot of legal mistakes early on in

445
00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,080
Speaker 1: the business. I made a lot of mistakes about structure

446
00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:15,640
Speaker 1: and I just didn't know UM and UM very expensive

447
00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,320
Speaker 1: mistakes to clean up, by the way, so everyone get

448
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,480
Speaker 1: a good lawyer if you're at the seed stage. UM,

449
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,080
Speaker 1: it's more expensive later. And but I remember calling to

450
00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,679
Speaker 1: Sean and I said to Sean, I was almost crying.

451
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 1: I was like, are you telling me I have to

452
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:35,320
Speaker 1: sell twenty percent of my business that they want twenty percent?

453
00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:38,680
Speaker 1: That I'm gonna own less because when you have co founders,

454
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,439
Speaker 1: like I'm gonna own less than seventy five percent of

455
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:50,480
Speaker 1: my company. And he was like, uh, yes, and not

456
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,480
Speaker 1: only that, but you're gonna keep giving away to any

457
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:56,680
Speaker 1: percent every time. Because I didn't know nobody talks about

458
00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:58,280
Speaker 1: these things, and these are the things the white boys

459
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,159
Speaker 1: talk about. They just they talked about this stuff all

460
00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:02,960
Speaker 1: the time. We need to do a better job in

461
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,680
Speaker 1: our community talking about the numbers and talking about the

462
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,000
Speaker 1: nitty gritty. And that's why the communities of like Afrotek

463
00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:11,760
Speaker 1: are so important because we get we get through all

464
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 1: the fun stuff and then we really become friends and

465
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 1: then it's really like, yo, let me send you this.

466
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,520
Speaker 1: This is how you negotiate this deal. This is how

467
00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,960
Speaker 1: you negotiate this stock at this company that you're working at.

468
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,640
Speaker 1: This is how much they really pay people at this company.

469
00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,800
Speaker 1: Like we get to actually get into that type of

470
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,399
Speaker 1: discussion and that type of advisorship with one another. And

471
00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,960
Speaker 1: that's just been I've made so much more money because

472
00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:38,400
Speaker 1: I can talk to my other business friends about how

473
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 1: to structure deals. That's beautiful. Um, what I respect about

474
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:47,639
Speaker 1: you is your respect for lifestyle brands too, and um,

475
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,320
Speaker 1: not just these super scaled monsters, right, And do you

476
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:56,119
Speaker 1: think enough of us recognize the potentially life changing wealth

477
00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:59,639
Speaker 1: capacity lifestyle companies can have. Well, I think that we

478
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,520
Speaker 1: are going. I think that media makes things evan flow,

479
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:07,200
Speaker 1: and I think as a black entrepreneurial community, we are

480
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 1: awake to the possibilities and the sexiness of venture capital

481
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,639
Speaker 1: and how that can accelerate the business and scale the

482
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:18,040
Speaker 1: business and solve one of the systemic problems that we've had,

483
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,560
Speaker 1: which was access to capital. Previously, the only way we

484
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,720
Speaker 1: could get capital was through banks, and we all know

485
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,639
Speaker 1: what those numbers look like. So this is a new

486
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,160
Speaker 1: frontier of financing, which I think is very exciting, and

487
00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:33,000
Speaker 1: I love how many new entrepreneurs are pitching and really

488
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,200
Speaker 1: put themselves out there to go raise or go raise

489
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:40,160
Speaker 1: a million dollars. That's beautiful to me. I also think

490
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:46,280
Speaker 1: that there is a interim and intermediary um type of

491
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:50,520
Speaker 1: fundraising that more people should consider, which is not going

492
00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:52,560
Speaker 1: after the huge VC rounds, although I do think we

493
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:54,879
Speaker 1: should there are people that should do that, but also

494
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,439
Speaker 1: going after angels and building out and getting investment in

495
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,720
Speaker 1: that way for lifestyle businesses. And a lifestyle business can

496
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:06,359
Speaker 1: still mean you make in dollars in revenue. It doesn't

497
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:10,359
Speaker 1: mean you know that you only can afford a basic lifestyle.

498
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,040
Speaker 1: It means that you are building a business not necessarily

499
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:19,880
Speaker 1: to be a billion dollar valuation or or uh million

500
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:24,720
Speaker 1: dollar exit um. And it's something that the Blavity team

501
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:27,480
Speaker 1: we've considered multiple times to say, you know, what, if

502
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,240
Speaker 1: all we ever were were as big as we are today,

503
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,159
Speaker 1: are we okay with that? Like? Are we okay with

504
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,199
Speaker 1: this lifestyle? Are we okay with the team structure? Do

505
00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,200
Speaker 1: we have enough money like to pay our our team?

506
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:41,840
Speaker 1: Do we have enough money in the bank just in

507
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,640
Speaker 1: case hits the fan, like I don't know, a pandemic,

508
00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:49,720
Speaker 1: like do we have enough? Do we have enough? Is

509
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:52,960
Speaker 1: this enough? It's a question we ask ourselves every six

510
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,960
Speaker 1: months because it's so important. You know, I don't know that.

511
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,600
Speaker 1: I always want to be chasing after the next biggest

512
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,760
Speaker 1: valuation or the next big round of funding. How do

513
00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:05,760
Speaker 1: you think about being like a multifaceted entrepreneur Because you've

514
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:09,080
Speaker 1: got several media companies, especially under Bravity and you've got

515
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,840
Speaker 1: him Rosen, You've got ult Journal and how how do

516
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:14,520
Speaker 1: you think about being able to do these different things

517
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 1: and still having lands of focus. Well, Gravity is my

518
00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,400
Speaker 1: number one and always will be. It's like your firstborn,

519
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:24,960
Speaker 1: you know, it's like but also Gravity has grown up

520
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,160
Speaker 1: a little bit. Gravity is basically in like middle school

521
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:32,280
Speaker 1: right now. You know, there's other people who are um

522
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 1: working on Blabby every day. Blabty grows while I sleep. Um,

523
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,480
Speaker 1: we have a huge vision that people can rally around,

524
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,960
Speaker 1: that people understand. Um. I have also shifted my day

525
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,000
Speaker 1: to day role to be an executive, which is very

526
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,920
Speaker 1: different than being an early stage founder. Um. The thing

527
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,640
Speaker 1: about means I enjoy being an early stage founder. I

528
00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:56,520
Speaker 1: enjoy being an executive in the place that I am now,

529
00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:00,280
Speaker 1: but I really enjoy being at the beginning. I think

530
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:04,719
Speaker 1: it's just so much fun. There's no expectation, there's no pressure, UM,

531
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,880
Speaker 1: and you're just solving problems without you know, all the hoop,

532
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,760
Speaker 1: love it all and all the approvals. I still have

533
00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:11,880
Speaker 1: to get approvals of CEO of blabty you know this

534
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,400
Speaker 1: look like did you get that up? Prother? Like? Who

535
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,120
Speaker 1: I gotta get this approved by? Um? But I love it.

536
00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,080
Speaker 1: It's it's a beautiful thing. UM. I also enjoyed just

537
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:23,840
Speaker 1: going and just making and innovating, and so I started

538
00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:26,880
Speaker 1: in Rows Essentials, my skincare company, because I also wanted

539
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,320
Speaker 1: to learn a new type of business, of consumer business

540
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,760
Speaker 1: with product and supply chain, and I've learned a lot.

541
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,120
Speaker 1: I have so much respect for my sisters who have

542
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:41,160
Speaker 1: consumer beauty companies. Melissa Butler, um Lester's Pink Like, there's

543
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,560
Speaker 1: so many amazing people who have done this at scale.

544
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:49,320
Speaker 1: I'm like, y'all really working. So much respect to those women, UM,

545
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,520
Speaker 1: and I also from a balanced point of view, it

546
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,040
Speaker 1: ebbs and flows. One of the beautiful things about having

547
00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,840
Speaker 1: these side businesses. You know, if I don't post on

548
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,840
Speaker 1: Instagram on eros Essentials for a week or two weeks,

549
00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:06,360
Speaker 1: nobody cares, you know, um. And so that also gives

550
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,640
Speaker 1: me just some creative freedom to to allow myself to

551
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:14,280
Speaker 1: m and flow with my own entrepreneurial spirit and um

552
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:16,560
Speaker 1: it's something that I needed for my own mental health.

553
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,880
Speaker 1: And also when I think about the future of Morgan

554
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,680
Speaker 1: Dubon the person, I think it's important for every single

555
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,760
Speaker 1: person who's listening to this podcast to not just consider

556
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,200
Speaker 1: who you are in your role, but also who are

557
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:31,440
Speaker 1: you in the long term. For me, it's important that

558
00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:35,000
Speaker 1: Blavity lives beyond me. It's not called Morgan Dubon and Co.

559
00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,920
Speaker 1: For a reason. Most people who read our content or

560
00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:40,960
Speaker 1: go to afro Tech, they don't know who I am,

561
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:44,560
Speaker 1: and I love that. Please, I don't want you to

562
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:47,400
Speaker 1: know who I am. I didn't start off this business

563
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:52,960
Speaker 1: for that reason, and so I hope that my future

564
00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:57,800
Speaker 1: can be a multifaceted future. UM. And therefore I need

565
00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:01,680
Speaker 1: to learn and continue to evolve and also bring those

566
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,920
Speaker 1: things that I'm learning back into Blacky as a company. Um,

567
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,640
Speaker 1: you know, because I learned about supply chain and products,

568
00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:09,760
Speaker 1: I know that we probably should not do that business

569
00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:13,800
Speaker 1: within Blacky and so many other other examples of things

570
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:17,360
Speaker 1: that I've learned. But um, yeah, So I'd like to

571
00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:19,880
Speaker 1: get a list of, let's say, four things from you

572
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:24,280
Speaker 1: that any entrepreneur who wants to build companies in the

573
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:28,320
Speaker 1: vein of what you've been able to accomplish, um, things

574
00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,120
Speaker 1: that they should do. And I'll give the first one.

575
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:31,920
Speaker 1: I said four because I'm gonna give the first one time.

576
00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,360
Speaker 1: Pretty sure I believe you would give. And that's build

577
00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:38,560
Speaker 1: an email list. Yeah yeah, I'm fan of me about lists.

578
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:42,840
Speaker 1: Give me four things that strong entrepreneurs should be doing.

579
00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:47,840
Speaker 1: Two in the macro, just build their business. Um, so

580
00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:50,800
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs who are building a business. If I were building

581
00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:54,240
Speaker 1: a business today as an entrepreneur, I would absolutely start

582
00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:57,600
Speaker 1: with an email list, um for my audience, not like

583
00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:59,760
Speaker 1: a personal brand emailst would an email list for my

584
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:01,840
Speaker 1: and and I would start to release content on a

585
00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:04,959
Speaker 1: weekly basis, probably daily basis, because you learned so much

586
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:07,480
Speaker 1: about what people click, what they share, what they open

587
00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:10,520
Speaker 1: for a very cheap amount of money and you build

588
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:14,080
Speaker 1: your own communication. UM. If I were building today, i'd

589
00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:18,840
Speaker 1: also probably considered getting people's full numbers UM, because you know,

590
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,160
Speaker 1: that's kind of the next big wave UM. Back in

591
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:26,280
Speaker 1: the day, that wasn't really an option for me. UM,

592
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:31,360
Speaker 1: And I would think earlier about what kind of leader

593
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:34,960
Speaker 1: you want to be. UM. You know, I made an

594
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:39,280
Speaker 1: intentional decision with Aaron and Jeff, my co founders, that

595
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:42,480
Speaker 1: we did very much care about what kind of company

596
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,600
Speaker 1: we wanted to be, and that we wanted it to

597
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,280
Speaker 1: be a company. We wanted it to everyone to work

598
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,000
Speaker 1: in the same room and to work around a shared vision.

599
00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:54,720
Speaker 1: And we felt like being a startup that stood for

600
00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,840
Speaker 1: something and was public about it UM mattered. We could

601
00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,720
Speaker 1: have built a company that was behind the scenes, UM,

602
00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: that was poorly run by contractors all around the world UM,

603
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:08,040
Speaker 1: and there was no culture, but we got the product done.

604
00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,560
Speaker 1: We could have done that UM. The outcome would have

605
00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:13,440
Speaker 1: been quite different, And it was an intentional decision to

606
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:15,080
Speaker 1: do it this way. Now this way has been way

607
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:19,920
Speaker 1: more painful. Lord, let me tell you, I don't know

608
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,279
Speaker 1: that I would I would do it again, but it

609
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:28,839
Speaker 1: is quite painful, UM. To manage people you know, being

610
00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:32,320
Speaker 1: a people manager and a people leader is in itself

611
00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,440
Speaker 1: a full time job. And uh, we all our first

612
00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:38,880
Speaker 1: time managers and first time people leaders at this scale

613
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,000
Speaker 1: until we've learned a lot. We made a lot of

614
00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,520
Speaker 1: mistakes and um, but I wouldn't change it for the

615
00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,080
Speaker 1: world because I'm very proud of the careers that we

616
00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:50,120
Speaker 1: were able to launch, the people that we took chances

617
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,359
Speaker 1: on that wound up being huge, phenomenal leaders within our

618
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:57,920
Speaker 1: company and or moved on to other great careers and

619
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,120
Speaker 1: other companies that wouldn't have taken a chance on them

620
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,239
Speaker 1: if they hadn't worked at Gravity first. And so I'm

621
00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,200
Speaker 1: very proud of the alumni of our company and the

622
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:08,319
Speaker 1: people who are still with us today. So I'm a

623
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:11,760
Speaker 1: capitalist and I try not to be romantic about business,

624
00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:16,000
Speaker 1: and I think, um, I wonder how you convey the

625
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,920
Speaker 1: business reality that some things just won't work and you've

626
00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,200
Speaker 1: got to kill it and still inspire people to have

627
00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,560
Speaker 1: passion about what they're doing. Well, well, you know, working

628
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:28,200
Speaker 1: at Gravity, I'm not afraid to say that didn't work.

629
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,239
Speaker 1: We have to move on. UM. I also tried to

630
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:34,840
Speaker 1: have a community and a culture of innovation at the company,

631
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:40,440
Speaker 1: so we are oftentimes having our teams show early versions

632
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,920
Speaker 1: of new products that we're releasing, get few feedback sessions

633
00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:48,719
Speaker 1: about UM new products that are coming out before they're

634
00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:51,839
Speaker 1: really ready for public eye. It's important for every role

635
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,320
Speaker 1: within the company that we have those open feedback sessions

636
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:57,880
Speaker 1: so that people also can learn the process of building

637
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,439
Speaker 1: and shipping products ideas product jacks, so that they want

638
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:04,800
Speaker 1: to one day can go and get that done. UM.

639
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:08,760
Speaker 1: I also try to be explicit even before one gets

640
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,319
Speaker 1: to blavity, that we are a company. We are not

641
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:16,799
Speaker 1: a non for profit and it's critical that we uh

642
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,600
Speaker 1: are a for profit entity because I'm able to invest

643
00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:23,800
Speaker 1: more cash flow back into the business that continues to

644
00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:26,360
Speaker 1: allow us to grow to impact more people. We're building

645
00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,320
Speaker 1: sustainability so that one day we will be a sustainable, large,

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00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,680
Speaker 1: profitable enterprise. And that is critical for for even the

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00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:37,080
Speaker 1: mission of our company, which is black happiness. Right, it's

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00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:39,839
Speaker 1: all black people are happy, is the mission of our company.

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00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:43,080
Speaker 1: And that means economic freedom, That means ownership, that means power,

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00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:45,280
Speaker 1: being able to give people a piece of the company

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00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,719
Speaker 1: and give everyone equity in the company who's an employee.

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Speaker 1: You know, those things are important to me and um.

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Speaker 1: That means that as a part of being a capitalist,

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00:36:54,239 --> 00:36:58,000
Speaker 1: being a part of a capitalist economy, not everything's gonna work.

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00:36:58,120 --> 00:36:59,960
Speaker 1: Some things are gonna get more investments, some things are

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00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:02,160
Speaker 1: some things are gonna get cut. Sometimes those cuts are

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00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:07,240
Speaker 1: gonna feel arbitrary or hurt, or feel like we're leaving

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00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:09,960
Speaker 1: something behind or leaving something on the table. And my

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00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:11,840
Speaker 1: answer is, sometimes we are going to leave money on

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00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:13,200
Speaker 1: the table. But it's because I'm trying to go to

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00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:16,239
Speaker 1: this other table. There's got a bigger, bigger feast over year,

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00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,400
Speaker 1: and we gotta leave this little appetizer on the tables.

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Speaker 1: You know, somebody else can eat it, you know, um,

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Speaker 1: but not everybody can see that. And so I've definitely,

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00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:28,000
Speaker 1: over the years built up some thick skin um for

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00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:29,799
Speaker 1: being the person who has to say, you know what,

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00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:31,919
Speaker 1: we're gonna leave this on the table and we're gonna

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00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:33,799
Speaker 1: go do another table. And I know that you'll want

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00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:36,480
Speaker 1: to eat this, and I know that it looks good

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00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:39,120
Speaker 1: and it's gonna taste good, but I promise you we

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Speaker 1: have something else over you. It's very good. Ansome Morgan Duvon,

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00:37:45,000 --> 00:38:02,160
Speaker 1: thank you so much. You're very welcome. Black tech green

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00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:04,680
Speaker 1: money is the production of blackt The afro Tech is

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00:38:04,719 --> 00:38:08,160
Speaker 1: produced by Morgan Davon and me Will Lucas, with additional

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00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:13,480
Speaker 1: production support by Love Beach, Stephanie Bogu, raveneer Born. Special

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00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,120
Speaker 1: thank you to Michael Davis's car, Savon Jan you know

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00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:19,000
Speaker 1: like the Wine and yes that's his real name, and

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00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:23,200
Speaker 1: Kerrka Green. Learn more about Morgan Davon, other tech disruptors

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00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,600
Speaker 1: and innovators at afro tech dot com. Go get your money,

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Speaker 1: peace and love,