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Speaker 1: I'm Will Lucas and this is Black Tech. Dreen Money.

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Speaker 2: Morgan Debonne is a serial entrepreneur, executive, and corporate advisor.

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Speaker 1: She's foundering CEO at Blavity, Inc.

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Speaker 2: The leading digital media company for black culture and millennials.

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Speaker 2: It's on the Afro Tech, Glavity News twenty one to ninety, Travel, Noir, Shadow.

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Speaker 1: And Act, and Blavity TV.

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Speaker 2: She's an advisor in influential global brands and companies including Pepsi, Co,

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Speaker 2: American Airlines, Cees, and other businesses.

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Speaker 1: She's also an Angel investor.

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Speaker 2: A lot of people, including myself, have been advocating in

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Speaker 2: recent years that things like coding and engineering should be

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Speaker 2: required for students in the elementary and high school level,

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Speaker 2: right alongside foreign languages, as they might provide for long

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Speaker 2: term stability and employment. But shocking to many major tech

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Speaker 2: companies are laying people off, even their engineering departments. How

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Speaker 2: should we be looking at this?

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Speaker 3: We're certainly going through a shift in how companies were

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Speaker 3: built in the last ten years would be very different

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Speaker 3: than how the next ten years of companies will be built,

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Speaker 3: and we're seeing companies recalibrate towards that future. What we

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Speaker 3: also know is that people who are getting laid off,

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Speaker 3: particularly those with technical roles, are typically finding a job

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Speaker 3: within thirty days. So it's a bit of a shift.

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Speaker 3: What we're hearing from companies is that, look like building

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Speaker 3: a product takes a lot of time, and it takes

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Speaker 3: a lot of team and manpower and woman power people power, right,

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Speaker 3: and what it takes to maintain something is oftentimes less

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Speaker 3: or requires different skills. And so when we were in

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Speaker 3: a high growth period of time in the economy, and

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Speaker 3: for a lot of these big tech companies, they needed

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Speaker 3: as many people as possible, they needed bodies so that

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Speaker 3: they could actually scale their businesses. And then as things

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Speaker 3: slowed down, they said, look, we actually can be more

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Speaker 3: efficient and just operate as opposed to being in this

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Speaker 3: high growth phase. At the same time, there's other companies

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Speaker 3: like AI companies, where they need to grow as fast

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Speaker 3: as possible right now. So we're just seeing a shift

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Speaker 3: in the labor market get particularly for technical talent. Now,

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Speaker 3: I think non technical talent is having a bit of

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Speaker 3: a tougher time because there's all these other roles that

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Speaker 3: support big tech companies. Right You've got recruiters, you've got

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Speaker 3: marketing folks, you've got people in people, operations, all of

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Speaker 3: the complementary roles that help build an incredible company, and

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Speaker 3: that's where we're seeing people be slower to hire, slower

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Speaker 3: to find new jobs, and see a bit of a

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Speaker 3: recalibration there. So you know, I think tech companies are

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Speaker 3: still always going to be one of the fastest ways

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Speaker 3: for professionals to grow wealth because you don't just get

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Speaker 3: paid your salary. You also get paid typically stop stock options,

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Speaker 3: and the salary bands are typically higher than a non

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Speaker 3: tech company, but it doesn't come without some risk.

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Speaker 2: So one of the things I love talking to you

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Speaker 2: about is this balance between big business and small business

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Speaker 2: because you're one of the few people I know who

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Speaker 2: can talk just as educated and smartly about small all

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Speaker 2: businesses and lifestyle companies. And I know a lot of

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Speaker 2: small business owners who are rethinking how they hire, you know,

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Speaker 2: outsource their social media, you know, management and etc. Because

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Speaker 2: you can now.

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Speaker 1: Use tools like chat GPT to write.

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Speaker 2: Five, ten, twenty versions of a caption for you and

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Speaker 2: you just need the image now to go alongside of it.

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Speaker 2: So what do you think for those people who may

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Speaker 2: not be engineers, but they were the tech person in

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Speaker 2: the room who knew.

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Speaker 1: How to use the tech.

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Speaker 2: What what are some of the things that you think

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Speaker 2: they should be thinking about, and how to continue to

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Speaker 2: provide value and continue to support themselves when there's so

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Speaker 2: many other things. Now I got content for the whole week.

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Speaker 3: You know, I think that there's always evolutions and technology.

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Speaker 3: I mean, think about it. Back when we grew up,

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Speaker 3: you had to go to the library, and what did

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Speaker 3: you have to do. You had to go to the library.

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Speaker 3: You got to go get these little cars, all the

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Speaker 3: car that you need, but you got to get it

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Speaker 3: to the librarian. You know, you got to do all

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Speaker 3: these things. Now you're going to the library. You go

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Speaker 3: to a computer and you say this is what I need, right,

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Speaker 3: and it tells you where it's at. And I haven't

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Speaker 3: been to the library for a couple of years. It

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Speaker 3: may even be easier than that these days. So I

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Speaker 3: don't view artificial intelligence, and most specifically generative artificial intelligence right.

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Speaker 3: AI has been around for a very long time. Machine

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Speaker 3: learning has been around for a very long time. What's

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Speaker 3: new is the generative AI. And I don't view that

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Speaker 3: as a risk to people's ability to get work done.

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Speaker 3: I view it as an enabler for more efficiency. Right,

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Speaker 3: the same twenty minutes that it would take you to

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Speaker 3: go to the card catalog, now it takes you a

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Speaker 3: minute and a half on the computer. That gives you

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Speaker 3: more time to find out what books you want read

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Speaker 3: the books, et cetera. So how can you leverage your

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Speaker 3: brain to use these tools to help make your life easier.

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Speaker 3: I read a number that said that only fourteen percent

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Speaker 3: of the country has actually ever used chat GPT. So

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Speaker 3: if you're listening to this right now and you have

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Speaker 3: used chat GPT, if you're using it as a part

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Speaker 3: of your daily life already, you're like light years ahead

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Speaker 3: of everybody else. So really, you can't lose. You just

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Speaker 3: need to continue to learn how you can incorporate it

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Speaker 3: into the work that you're doing every single day, in

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Speaker 3: the task that you're doing, so you have more time

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Speaker 3: to spend with your family, more time to get high

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Speaker 3: value work done, more time to rest. Right, there's so

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Speaker 3: many benefits to it.

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Speaker 2: You just said something that sparked my interest because we're

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Speaker 2: still super early, and I don't think people who are

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Speaker 2: not living this every day realize that there's so much

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Speaker 2: of the world who still hasn't even ever tried chat GPT.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, completely. I think it's around thirty percent of Americans

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Speaker 3: have heard of it, right, maybe thirty to forty percent.

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Speaker 3: The Pew Research Center just put out a report on it,

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Speaker 3: but actually try it, use it, create an account, put

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Speaker 3: in a prompt. You know. That's that's less than half

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Speaker 3: of that.

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Speaker 2: And so when I look back at that's all went

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Speaker 2: back to the first episode of Black Tech, Green Money,

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Speaker 2: and you were the first us on this three years ago,

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Speaker 2: and we had conversations about afro tech. And when you

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Speaker 2: look back at what you intended afro tech to be

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Speaker 2: when you first got the idea for it, at the time,

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Speaker 2: there was no place we really saw ourselves. There was

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Speaker 2: no room that we could gather in.

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Speaker 1: And you know, have this convening of the annual delegation.

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Speaker 2: Right of black tech talent in the country. Help, how

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Speaker 2: do you see afro tech continuing to evolve as we

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Speaker 2: do grow in numbers in this industry, in an industry

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Speaker 2: that use technology.

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Speaker 3: You know, afro tech has definitely become a festival all

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Speaker 3: on its own. I'm really proud of how far we've

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Speaker 3: come from the days when we were like four hundred

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Speaker 3: and fifty people in the Westfield mall and downtown San Francisco,

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Speaker 3: people are always like no, like, no legit. Like we

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Speaker 3: were in the mall, you know, trying to get everybody

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Speaker 3: in and people were trying to sneak in, and it was,

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Speaker 3: you know, a beautiful moment of community. And now we'll

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Speaker 3: be back and often this year with anywhere between twenty

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Speaker 3: thousand people plus, all techies, innovators, people who have an

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Speaker 3: interest in figuring out how they can leverage the digital

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Speaker 3: revolution to their own benefit, for their communities, for their families,

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Speaker 3: for their own knowledge, for their own contribution to society.

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Speaker 3: So I'm proud that we've been able to create this

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Speaker 3: mass community, not just for the event that happens every year,

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Speaker 3: but also our regional events now that we have we

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Speaker 3: have happy hours all over the country, New Orleans, New York, Seattle.

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Speaker 3: We've got hundreds of thousands of people reading our website

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Speaker 3: every single day learning about new technologies and new executives

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Speaker 3: who are doing incredible work. So I'm proud that the

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Speaker 3: young version of me, the black girl in Saint Louis

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Speaker 3: that was twenty years old trying to figure out what

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Speaker 3: I wanted to do with my life, would be able

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Speaker 3: to go to a site like afrotech now and have

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Speaker 3: one hundred thousand different options of what it could look

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Speaker 3: like to be a part of this tech ecosystem, as

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Speaker 3: opposed to what I saw, which was one article every

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Speaker 3: to nine months about somebody black doing something interesting in tech.

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Speaker 3: So I'm really hopeful for the future of our Black

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Speaker 3: community at large. And I mean it's getting so big well,

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Speaker 3: I can barely even keep trapping stuff. Like I see

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Speaker 3: new apps, new founders raising money every day, and I'm like,

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Speaker 3: oh man, you better go. I'm so proud of everybody.

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Speaker 2: You know, across the country, there's this movement against the

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Speaker 2: EI work, you know, Affirmative Action just being struck down recently.

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Speaker 2: A lot of states are you know, put putting up board,

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Speaker 2: putting up walls that don't allow the e I work

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Speaker 2: to thrive in et cetera. And with the work afrotech

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Speaker 2: is done to create to help us see ourselves number

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Speaker 2: one in these spaces, I want to get your thoughts

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Speaker 2: on how effective that work of creating spaces for us

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Speaker 2: has been with getting us hired.

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Speaker 1: In places that we were already qualified for.

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Speaker 2: But we're getting the opportunities to work in versus in

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Speaker 2: the large part this is the view I come from.

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Speaker 1: But I realized the value of both perspectives is.

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Speaker 2: Creating our own tables, you know. So it's I'm not

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Speaker 2: of the mind to just beat down the walls to

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Speaker 2: create opportunities at a table that doesn't.

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Speaker 1: Want me there.

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Speaker 2: I want to create my own tables, and I want

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Speaker 2: to get your thoughts on how do we think about

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Speaker 2: these things?

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Speaker 3: You know, I believe that people of color in this

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Speaker 3: country are the new majority. So there of course is

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Speaker 3: going to be a backlash from people who are about

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Speaker 3: to be the new minority at trying to keep us

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Speaker 3: slow our growth as much as possible. And currently they

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Speaker 3: have the systems and the tools and the infrastructure to

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Speaker 3: be able to do that because they're the people in power,

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Speaker 3: and they have, you know, hundreds of years centuries ahead

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Speaker 3: of us to be able to maintain that power. But

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Speaker 3: we're catching up faster than they can slow us down.

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Speaker 3: You know. I believe that I'm a hopeful pragmatist in

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Speaker 3: a lot of ways, and I believe that our communities,

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Speaker 3: people of color, you know, even the LGBT community, I mean,

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Speaker 3: anyone who is deemed a minority in this country is

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Speaker 3: gaining power, which is one of theations for the backlash.

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Speaker 3: It's one of the reasons why they're trying to tighten

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Speaker 3: controls on people's uteruses and trying to say that no,

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Speaker 3: you guys are equal now, you don't need these special treatments, right,

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Speaker 3: And it's just it's not true. They're wrong, But I

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Speaker 3: believe it's a result of the fact that we're gaining

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Speaker 3: traction here. So I think that all progress doesn't come

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Speaker 3: without tension. And the key is, to your point, stay

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Speaker 3: focused and keep fighting the problem, not the people, because

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Speaker 3: that's going to be ultimately what continues to allow us

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Speaker 3: to push forward. And I agree with you. I mean,

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Speaker 3: we're seeing now We've always had ideas about what we

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Speaker 3: want to do in the future, how we want black

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Speaker 3: folks to have our own channels of distribution, our own networks,

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Speaker 3: have our own financial systems, you know, have our own

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Speaker 3: venture capitalists, and you're seeing it. Black vcs, even though

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Speaker 3: they're having a tough time, still have never raised more

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Speaker 3: money than what we've raised. Black founders, even though we're

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Speaker 3: having a tough time, collectively, we have never had as

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Speaker 3: much assets as we we have had in the last

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Speaker 3: couple of years. You know, even startups business owners. The

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Speaker 3: twenty twenty huge influx of cash that went into black

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Speaker 3: folks hands. Uh, you know that stuff was put to

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Speaker 3: good use and a lot of organizations that I know, so,

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Speaker 3: you know, even the NAACP like their budget three x

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Speaker 3: and since George Floyd's murder, but that's going to go

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Speaker 3: a long way for us as a people, as a community.

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Speaker 3: I want to talk about social media. I'm curious, well,

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Speaker 3: your perspective on Spill and Threads and all the things

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Speaker 3: going out. What do you think do you think's going

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Speaker 3: to make it?

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Speaker 2: Also, I was going to ask you about this because

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Speaker 2: I you know, I wasn't gonna name any the Bible.

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Speaker 2: I'm like, I was gonna let you name them if

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Speaker 2: you wanted to, because you know, I'm on Threads.

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Speaker 3: We're on a podcast.

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Speaker 1: Listen, this is what it is.

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Speaker 2: And so it's so interesting to me because I was

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Speaker 2: super excited, and I to say, I'm not excited anymore

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Speaker 2: about Spill because I think it has an interesting lane.

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Speaker 2: I think the lane one of one of the things

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Speaker 2: I've value and businesses is like valuing niche and I

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Speaker 2: think that that's okay. And this is actually something I

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Speaker 2: learned from you It's like you don't have to be

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Speaker 2: striving to be this humongous unicorn in the CE. You

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Speaker 2: can have a very thriving, good company, growing company, and

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Speaker 2: still be in the realm of Silicon Valley a small

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Speaker 2: lifestyle theme, and lifestyle doesn't necessarily mean you're doing two million.

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Speaker 2: It can mean you're doing twenty it can mean you're

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Speaker 2: doing thirty million.

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Speaker 1: Dollars a year.

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Speaker 2: And you were actually somebody on this podcast who helped reframe.

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Speaker 1: My thinking on that.

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Speaker 2: And so I feel like Spill even fan base in

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Speaker 2: a way, like they have this lane that if they

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Speaker 2: can stay authentic to that, there could be opportunity there.

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Speaker 2: I think it's harder now when you have an app

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Speaker 2: that can come out like Threads, that automatically has your

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Speaker 2: population and automatically you come into the gate with followers,

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Speaker 2: it's really hard to compete with that, and you don't

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Speaker 2: have to go build an audience.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. My recommendation to the Spill founders is that

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Speaker 3: they don't try to compete with Twitter, and they don't

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Speaker 3: try to compete with Threads. You know, you build for

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Speaker 3: your target demographic of the black community, the talkative, conversational

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Speaker 3: black community, and figure out how you can uniquely solve

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Speaker 3: our problems. Because thread to your point, is going to

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Speaker 3: be the size of Twitter on this trajectory in the

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Speaker 3: next less than a year, right, and so there's going

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Speaker 3: to be just a lot of noise, just like there

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Speaker 3: is on Twitter already, just like there is on Instagram.

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Speaker 3: And Meta is one of the biggest companies in the world.

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Speaker 3: They're going to continue to be incentivized to build for

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Speaker 3: the majority and the people who are going to be

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Speaker 3: advertisers at the end of the day, and so at

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Speaker 3: some point we will be secondary to their priority. I mean,

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Speaker 3: I think they did a great job seeding it. I

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Speaker 3: know a lot of people who worked on the threads

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Speaker 3: app that are internal at Meta, and they have black

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Speaker 3: employees who are involved in building this so that they

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Speaker 3: had an inclusive team. But you can already see it's

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Speaker 3: just going to be Instagram. But with words, yeah, you know,

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Speaker 3: it's not gonna be It's not even like actually gonna

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Speaker 3: be how Twitter was, where you've got to meet new

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Speaker 3: people and get in different interest groups and kind of

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Speaker 3: dig deep into different conversations. I don't think that's what's

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Speaker 3: going to happen. I think it's just going to be

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Speaker 3: the same people you've all on Instagram. We've our follow

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Speaker 3: up threads, and people are gonna be pontificating and using

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Speaker 3: chat GPT like they do on LinkedIn right now, and

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Speaker 3: it's just going to be this like weird LinkedIn hybrid

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Speaker 3: with Instagram.

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Speaker 2: So what do you say to founders who are out

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Speaker 2: raising money? And like, if the Spill guys were raising

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Speaker 2: money today, I'm imagine it'd be a lot harder to do.

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Speaker 1: That versus months ago when they did it.

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Speaker 2: It's but we always get caught up in this trap

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Speaker 2: of well, how do you compete with the thing that's

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Speaker 2: out there? How do you create your mote, how do

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Speaker 2: you create your authentic lean to where you can grow,

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Speaker 2: especially if you're taking outside capital. How do you prove

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Speaker 2: to people that you can survive in a water that

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Speaker 2: Twitter exists in, that thread now exists in If I'm spilled, Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I mean my perspective is that Spill has an opportunity

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Speaker 3: to build a community, and they can do something that

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Speaker 3: Clubhouse messed up on, right, which is to build a

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Speaker 3: community that is self sustaining, right, And I recommend that

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Speaker 3: they building a revenue stream immediately. Don't go the role

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Speaker 3: of trying to get one hundred million user names and

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Speaker 3: then be AD supported, because that's one of the reasons

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Speaker 3: why Twitter is having a tough time, and that's one

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Speaker 3: of the reasons the Reddit's having a tough time. It's

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Speaker 3: because they're all ads supported. Now fan Base, I mean,

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Speaker 3: I do feel bad for fan Base a little bit

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Speaker 3: right at wrong time. You know, if fan Base came

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Speaker 3: out this year or last month and was able to

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Speaker 3: get wrapped up in the PR campaigns of Twitter and Threads,

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Speaker 3: they could be just as successful. It's a very different build,

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Speaker 3: Like it's a different solution to the same problem. But

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Speaker 3: my recommendation, at least fan Base is not AD supported,

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Speaker 3: I guess, is my point, right, Like, I think it's

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Speaker 3: smart to have a different type of business model behind

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Speaker 3: the app, because if you're going to be ad supported,

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Speaker 3: then you have to go for scale, which is going

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Speaker 3: to put you up against the.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, this brings up an interesting conversation I've been I've

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Speaker 2: had on this podcast several over the last episodes. Is

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Speaker 2: this idea of being mission driven versus opportunistic. And even

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Speaker 2: with the guys from the Slim and Huskies I talked

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Speaker 2: about this with and so like they didn't grow up

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Speaker 2: loving pizza, you know, right, But they found an opportunity

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Speaker 2: to do something, and not often do we get an

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Speaker 2: opportunity just to be opportunistic. But we were told you

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Speaker 2: have to have a mission and you have to have

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Speaker 2: a like you know, you're trying to make a change

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Speaker 2: in the world. And I think both things are valuable.

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Speaker 2: Like when I shop at Target, I'm not shopping at

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Speaker 2: Target because I believe in Target's mission. They happen to

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Speaker 2: have what I need. But as black exactly but too

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Speaker 2: but so often we are put in the position of like,

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Speaker 2: you have to believe in something and talk about your

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Speaker 2: mission and your values and is that always fair or

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Speaker 2: can we just be opportunistic?

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Speaker 3: Ooh, I mean you're talking to somebody who I believe

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Speaker 3: in both for sure. I mean I think that if

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Speaker 3: you only build things for money, it won't work. Like

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Speaker 3: you have to be motivated by more than just money.

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Speaker 3: You know, there's cheaper, faster ways to make money in

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Speaker 3: this world than to build an app, or to try

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Speaker 3: to build a huge social network or black community, or

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Speaker 3: try to build a media company for black millennials. Right like,

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Speaker 3: so so no, I think you've got to be you've

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Speaker 3: got to have some sort of purpose driven reason to

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Speaker 3: be successful at scale. I'm sure there's outliers. I'm sure

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Speaker 3: there's people who don't give a shit and build companies,

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Speaker 3: huge companies. But I think that most people who are

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Speaker 3: successful have some other motivator other than money.

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Speaker 2: So let's put Blavity in this conversation, because Blavity is,

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Speaker 2: you know, the biggest black platform on the internet. You know,

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Speaker 2: kudos to the entire team for achieving what we've achieved.

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Speaker 2: And I was, I was just reading Debora Le's book,

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Speaker 2: I Am Debora Lee Is she was describing how bet

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Speaker 2: grew and and because of the growth that they had

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Speaker 2: in their or mid nineties, you know, late nineties, a

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Speaker 2: whole bunch of other opportunities presented themselves. They were chasing

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Speaker 2: a clothing line at once, they wanted to do magazines

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Speaker 2: and all these different things and original content even and

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Speaker 2: so as Blavity continues to grow and be bigger and

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Speaker 2: more successful and bring on more talented people, how do

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Speaker 2: those how do you think about those opportunities for Blavity

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Speaker 2: to dip its toe into other verticals that allow it

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Speaker 2: to be more than just a publisher in that way.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we have a three year vision for

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Speaker 3: the company that I socialized and collaborated on with our

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Speaker 3: executive leadership team. Because to your point, there's always more.

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Speaker 3: When you are serving an underserved community that has such

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Speaker 3: a huge impact, like black culture, then you could do anything.

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Speaker 3: I could do a clothing line, we could have a

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Speaker 3: book club, we could have a we could buy a

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Speaker 3: little town and make a little Black adobia. But we

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Speaker 3: can do whatever we want, right, So the question is

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Speaker 3: how do you evaluate that stuff? And to me, you

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Speaker 3: got to have a really clear mission envision. Currently we're

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Speaker 3: on a pathway to get to one hundred million in revenue,

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Speaker 3: you know, that's our business target and pretty soon, right

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Speaker 3: And the reason why we're picking that number is partially

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Speaker 3: because we believe that's a number for freedom. I want

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Speaker 3: to make sure that this company is lives beyond me,

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Speaker 3: that it's an institution that is an advocate and a

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Speaker 3: distribution channel for people who are doing interesting things and

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Speaker 3: helpful things for underserved voices in this country, whether that's

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Speaker 3: talent acquisition and building out our new product, talent Infusion,

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Speaker 3: which helps companies hire and recruit black talent and have

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Speaker 3: really awesome talent pools, or it's Home and Texture, our

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Speaker 3: new brand that focuses on inter your design and helping

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Speaker 3: millennials explore if home buying is the right experience for them,

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Speaker 3: or how they want to decorate, or what they're going

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Speaker 3: to do with their pets and their kids rooms and

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Speaker 3: all these types of things. You know, I want to

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Speaker 3: make sure that we're there at every life cycle at

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Speaker 3: the same time. To your point, like, it's really critical

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Speaker 3: to not get distracted, and that getting distracted is not

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Speaker 3: mean we don't test stuff. I can give you one

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Speaker 3: hundred things if we have tested that that worked out.

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Speaker 3: Do you remember lunch table I do Black TV lunch

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Speaker 3: table sum at twenty one. I mean I could name

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Speaker 3: off the whole thing, and those things don't embarrass me.

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Speaker 3: To me, I'm like, yeah, this is our this is

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Speaker 3: our job is to test and see what is important

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Speaker 3: and sticky to our customer, our target demographic, and if

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Speaker 3: they like it, we'll keep building it.

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Speaker 2: So we're talking about focus in a way right now.

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Speaker 2: And we just talked about these new social media apps,

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Speaker 2: and I wonder how you decide what you will share

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Speaker 2: because I think about this with the opportunity thread provides

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Speaker 2: and what you just discussed with Lavity's sense of focus

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Speaker 2: on what it wants to be. How do you decide,

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Speaker 2: because there's an opportunity for people to grow a new

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Speaker 2: audience on things like Threads because it's it's blue ocean

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Speaker 2: right now. Maybe in a week it won't be such,

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Speaker 2: but right now there's an opportunity. How do you decide

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Speaker 2: what's on brand for you? Or do you have a

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Speaker 2: you know filter of all this is not on brand?

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Speaker 2: I want to talk about these things well.

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Speaker 3: On spell I didn't put my government name because I

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Speaker 3: wasn't sure if it was just going to be a

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Speaker 3: bunch of gossip. I was like, I don't know, I'm

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Speaker 3: a little like my profile picture is not on there.

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Speaker 3: I am just observing because any that calls itself was

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Speaker 3: like find the tea for black folks, you know, So

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Speaker 3: let me not make myself the target on here and

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Speaker 3: let me just be a passive viewer. So yes, I

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Speaker 3: am very cautious just to make sure that things are

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Speaker 3: going on on Threads. I think it's interesting because you

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Speaker 3: have all of your instrum followings, but then you actually

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Speaker 3: have to say something interesting. You can't just like post

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Speaker 3: a cute picture, you know. I started a podcast, the

434
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,840
Speaker 3: Journey Podcast, because I wanted to talk and share my

435
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,440
Speaker 3: thoughts and my ideas and really be in dialogue with

436
00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:16,000
Speaker 3: really interesting people. And that has been a really fun

437
00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:18,560
Speaker 3: space for me because I don't feel like, you know,

438
00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:20,960
Speaker 3: it's a ten second clip or it's a just a

439
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,800
Speaker 3: photo moment. It's really a genuine conversation where there can

440
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,320
Speaker 3: be nuance and people can actually understand my perspective and

441
00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:29,159
Speaker 3: I can learn their perspective as well. Threads is going

442
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,200
Speaker 3: to be interesting. I believe that it's going to either

443
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,600
Speaker 3: revert straight to how people were on Twitter, because I

444
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,600
Speaker 3: don't think people change. I don't think humans change Twitter.

445
00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:42,240
Speaker 3: The platform inherently is not bad. It's the people and

446
00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:46,639
Speaker 3: it's the rules. So do we believe that Zuck is

447
00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:52,080
Speaker 3: going to create better rules and empower nicer people. I'm

448
00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:54,640
Speaker 3: not sure. Will Yeah, I'm not sure. What do you think?

449
00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:58,600
Speaker 2: Well, I think there's already people who would complain about

450
00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,640
Speaker 2: their filtering and banning of people that Twitter has obviously

451
00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,240
Speaker 2: let in. You know, Alex Jones can can have a voice,

452
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:08,920
Speaker 2: Tristan Tate, Andrew t can have a voice. And Andrew

453
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,680
Speaker 2: if you are ever seeing like a Tristan Tate or

454
00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:13,879
Speaker 2: Andrew Tape. They talk about it. They only show cars

455
00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:17,320
Speaker 2: on Instagram and we're banned because of the other global

456
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,919
Speaker 2: narrative around who they are. And so I think we're

457
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,040
Speaker 2: already seeing it because of Facebook's policies.

458
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,240
Speaker 3: We're already seeing that, right, So, I mean, we'll see it.

459
00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:27,960
Speaker 3: And I think it's such a fun generation for us

460
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:29,320
Speaker 3: to be a part of. I mean, we're getting to

461
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,040
Speaker 3: see these things, the rise of empires that we thought

462
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:35,959
Speaker 3: would never fail. We never thought clubhouses failed. We were

463
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,960
Speaker 3: all pissed about Clubhouse and how black people built it

464
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:41,760
Speaker 3: and how they raise all this money and like all

465
00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,520
Speaker 3: this stuff. You know, nobody was Clubhouse do it right now?

466
00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,240
Speaker 3: You know. So I'm old of my breath. I'm not

467
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:50,159
Speaker 3: going to have our team built out a whole content

468
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,720
Speaker 3: strategy for Threads and do all this stuff against it,

469
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:56,840
Speaker 3: because I think that everything is up for grabs right now.

470
00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:58,840
Speaker 3: It's a beautiful, wild wild west of the Internet.

471
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,680
Speaker 1: Do you think we were too excited about crypto.

472
00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:05,080
Speaker 3: Ooh that's a tough question. You know. I was a

473
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,480
Speaker 3: I wasn't a crypto advocate. I was a blockchain Web

474
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,960
Speaker 3: three advocate and just making sure people understood I believe

475
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,680
Speaker 3: blockchain is still a fantastic innovation and solution to many

476
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:20,920
Speaker 3: many things, like the idea of having a centralized point

477
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:27,119
Speaker 3: of information that is not able to be disrupted or

478
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,800
Speaker 3: frauded or anything is something we still need. In fact,

479
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,440
Speaker 3: we may need it more because of generative AI. I

480
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:37,399
Speaker 3: need to know if this photo has been touched by

481
00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,760
Speaker 3: AI or what is the original source. I need to

482
00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:45,240
Speaker 3: know if this book is actually just an aggregation of

483
00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:48,399
Speaker 3: seventeen different books, what is the original source. So I

484
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:53,840
Speaker 3: believe blockchain still has a world in for us, Like

485
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:55,520
Speaker 3: there's a world in which blockchain is still a lot.

486
00:24:56,160 --> 00:25:00,399
Speaker 3: I believe that NFTs, which was basically a photo that

487
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:07,160
Speaker 3: granted you membership with benefits, was bullshit and like you're

488
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,159
Speaker 3: talking to somebody who had like a couple of n

489
00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,440
Speaker 3: f G right, I mean, I'm always gonna play the game,

490
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 3: But like, yeah, I think NFTs gave Web three a

491
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,760
Speaker 3: bad rap. But I believe in the fundamentals of a

492
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:20,800
Speaker 3: disabrogated source of.

493
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:26,560
Speaker 2: Truth that because we have these shifting conversations in tech,

494
00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:28,600
Speaker 2: you know, it was the metaverse and then we start

495
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:30,600
Speaker 2: talking about the metaverse, and it was AI before the

496
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,920
Speaker 2: AI was ar and VR all these different things, and

497
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,640
Speaker 2: you know the metaverse, which Facebook tem changed its name

498
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,040
Speaker 2: to it, and people say, you probably shouldn't have done

499
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:45,520
Speaker 2: that because because the conversation changed. But then you have

500
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 2: Apple who puts out or will will release next year

501
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,399
Speaker 2: an entire probably a game changer for.

502
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,359
Speaker 3: The that that sector immediately.

503
00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:56,159
Speaker 1: Oh you got to have it.

504
00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:01,040
Speaker 2: It's a mandatory, even though price point will price a

505
00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:02,040
Speaker 2: lot of people out.

506
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:07,080
Speaker 3: But initially, all technology is expensive initially, So how do you.

507
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,920
Speaker 2: Think about as an investor, because you're an investor, also,

508
00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 2: how do you think about with what I just said?

509
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:15,560
Speaker 2: I was I think it just came to my mind

510
00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,920
Speaker 2: the Warren Buffet quote, be you know, scared when everybody's greedy,

511
00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,359
Speaker 2: be greedy when everybody else is scared. How do you

512
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:24,919
Speaker 2: think about those things when these technology happens this fast?

513
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,679
Speaker 3: Well, As an investor, I'm relatively conservative with my investments.

514
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,400
Speaker 3: I invest in people. I don't invest in technologies.

515
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:33,159
Speaker 1: So I invest in.

516
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,560
Speaker 3: People and founders that I think are incredible and deserve

517
00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:40,680
Speaker 3: to win, you know. And you know, I'm an angel

518
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:43,040
Speaker 3: investor in gold, I'm an angel investor in a company

519
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,200
Speaker 3: called boxed Up. I'm an angel investor in a company

520
00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:50,360
Speaker 3: called public. You know, I like companies that are created

521
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:57,800
Speaker 3: by people who care. Now from a stocks perspective, and

522
00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:02,159
Speaker 3: like a General Mark Great perspective, you know, you kind

523
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:03,800
Speaker 3: of want to let the big boys play it out.

524
00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:06,960
Speaker 3: If something's really trendy, it doesn't really matter if you

525
00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:10,000
Speaker 3: jump on it in day one versus like day five hundred,

526
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,920
Speaker 3: because if it's really trendy, it's going to be great

527
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,200
Speaker 3: for a really long time. Right. If if you could

528
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:19,000
Speaker 3: have bought Facebook stock or Metas stock, I guess whether

529
00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:21,280
Speaker 3: it was year one or even year two, you still

530
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:25,200
Speaker 3: would have made an incredible return. Right. So for me,

531
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,159
Speaker 3: there's no really like rush to try to be the

532
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:32,680
Speaker 3: first into any sort of new technology. I think is

533
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,520
Speaker 3: better to wait as an investor. Sorry, just to be

534
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:36,720
Speaker 3: clear as an investor.

535
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,800
Speaker 1: Okay, got it, got it. You've got a new podcast.

536
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:41,560
Speaker 1: You just touched on it.

537
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:43,320
Speaker 2: You have two podcasts now. I'm not sure if you're

538
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,160
Speaker 2: going to keep doing work smart. I think there's value

539
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,400
Speaker 2: for there for sure, But I want to talk about

540
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:50,760
Speaker 2: the journey for a second. This is, you know, to Fine,

541
00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,679
Speaker 2: there's a more personal it's a more personal, intimate Morgan

542
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,720
Speaker 2: the bond that we than we've seen. It delves into

543
00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 2: the captivating stories of purpose driven achievers on their question

544
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:00,720
Speaker 2: for living.

545
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:01,520
Speaker 1: Their best lives.

546
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:04,359
Speaker 2: I want to talk about what this means for you

547
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:09,280
Speaker 2: as a brand and as a personality a successful black woman,

548
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:14,160
Speaker 2: an entrepreneur, a founder and investor, and more. People want

549
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:18,480
Speaker 2: to know you, and how do you think about creating

550
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,840
Speaker 2: this type of content that lets people know more about

551
00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,160
Speaker 2: you personally and why that might be important.

552
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, I wanted to create this podcast to your point,

553
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:33,600
Speaker 3: because I wanted to have a place to have a

554
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:37,120
Speaker 3: conversation and I felt like Instagram and Twitter and all

555
00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:40,480
Speaker 3: these other platforms was too transactional and it wasn't enough

556
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 3: about like really seeking the nuance. Because I think that

557
00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:45,560
Speaker 3: the devil's in the nuance. I think that's really where

558
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,360
Speaker 3: the real meat of all of our lives are is

559
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,440
Speaker 3: in the gray area. It's not what's black and white.

560
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,480
Speaker 3: That stuff's easy to figure out, and that stuff is

561
00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,760
Speaker 3: easy to explain, you know. So I've made some different

562
00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,040
Speaker 3: choices in my life that our contrary. I started this

563
00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,080
Speaker 3: company when I was twenty four. I made a decision

564
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:06,160
Speaker 3: that I was going to live my twenties hard, that

565
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,760
Speaker 3: I was going to work my ass off and make

566
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:12,160
Speaker 3: a lot of personal sacrifices so I could live fully

567
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,240
Speaker 3: in my thirties and beyond, you know, And I made

568
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,240
Speaker 3: a decision to move. I left the coast. I left

569
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:23,320
Speaker 3: LA to move to Nashville, the middle of Tennessee, right

570
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,040
Speaker 3: in the peak what people would think is the peak

571
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:31,600
Speaker 3: of my career. My perception is I left LA so

572
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:34,560
Speaker 3: that I would not peak in that moment of my career,

573
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:38,440
Speaker 3: so that I could continue to be a contributor and

574
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,000
Speaker 3: a builder and a leader in the space, and so

575
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:46,600
Speaker 3: that I had longevity as an entrepreneur. And I just

576
00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:50,479
Speaker 3: believe that social media is a lot of really surface

577
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:53,400
Speaker 3: level things. And my hope is that the podcast can

578
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,320
Speaker 3: help provide people who think differently, people who want to

579
00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 3: live an extraordinary life and want to on their own terms,

580
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:03,440
Speaker 3: whatever those terms mean for them, that I'm able to

581
00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:05,120
Speaker 3: help give them the tools and the stories to be

582
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:05,640
Speaker 3: able to do that.

583
00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 2: You know, I brought up work smart, and one of

584
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:11,840
Speaker 2: the motto, I guess you can call it a work smart,

585
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,440
Speaker 2: so you can work smarter, not harder, right, And I

586
00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,800
Speaker 2: guess you can probably think about that and you can

587
00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,480
Speaker 2: challenge this, but I think about it in the way

588
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,600
Speaker 2: of like the four hour work week, and you know

589
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:24,320
Speaker 2: this idea of you know, we need to chill out

590
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 2: on grind culture and all these different things, and in

591
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,360
Speaker 2: a way to be the devil's advocate, like you could

592
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:36,320
Speaker 2: talk about, hey, you know, money isn't everything, but you

593
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:36,960
Speaker 2: got the money.

594
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:39,800
Speaker 1: But when you don't have the money, money is everything,

595
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:40,600
Speaker 1: you know.

596
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:45,120
Speaker 2: So how does your intention of that idea of working

597
00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:49,280
Speaker 2: smarter not harder, and the intention of hey, I'm trying

598
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:51,800
Speaker 2: to actually find my success, how do they not correlate

599
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,320
Speaker 2: to each other because you had to grind.

600
00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:55,080
Speaker 1: To get there.

601
00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,120
Speaker 3: I'm a capitalist stuff, right, I mean, I'm not one

602
00:30:58,160 --> 00:30:59,840
Speaker 3: of those people who's going to say, you know, just

603
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:05,680
Speaker 3: live up the land, like screw capitalism and we shouldn't

604
00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:09,520
Speaker 3: have to do like I'm not that person, you know me, Right,

605
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:14,800
Speaker 3: I'm like, no, you want to beat the odds, there's

606
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,880
Speaker 3: got to be some sort of extraordinary variable for you

607
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,840
Speaker 3: beating the ads, and which in my control is yeah.

608
00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,600
Speaker 3: And I believe in I believe in privilege as well,

609
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:27,040
Speaker 3: Like I had opportunities that were afforded to me from privilege.

610
00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:31,160
Speaker 3: I was born into a two parent household, upper middle

611
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,680
Speaker 3: class in Missouri, you know, so I had that already.

612
00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,000
Speaker 3: Is a privilege. We were born in America. That's a privilege.

613
00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:39,200
Speaker 3: So I believe it taking advantage of the opportunities and

614
00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,560
Speaker 3: the privileges that you have, being mindful of those. But

615
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,480
Speaker 3: then you also have to do the work right. And

616
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:49,240
Speaker 3: this kind of there's a lot of narratives and like

617
00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:52,880
Speaker 3: work less right. So that's not what I'm trying to

618
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:54,640
Speaker 3: say when I talk about work smart. I mean, if

619
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,480
Speaker 3: you listen to the theories that I have, the frameworks

620
00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:59,640
Speaker 3: that I use, it's really about discipline and being your

621
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:02,880
Speaker 3: best right. And that's just got to be a reflection

622
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,320
Speaker 3: of whatever your baseline is, because we all start at

623
00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:09,120
Speaker 3: different baselines. And that's what I try to talk about

624
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:10,680
Speaker 3: on the podcast, that's what I try to talk about

625
00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:13,760
Speaker 3: in my newsletters, and that's what I coach the small

626
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,000
Speaker 3: businesses that I work with. I was like, Okay, what

627
00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,720
Speaker 3: is your baseline, what is your truth? And then what's

628
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:20,640
Speaker 3: the gap between your truth and where you want to be,

629
00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 3: and then let's start taking actions to get there. And

630
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:26,960
Speaker 3: it might mean you have to be uncomfortable temporarily, but

631
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,840
Speaker 3: the truth and the vision should be so freaking juicy

632
00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,440
Speaker 3: that she's like, I'm okay being uncomfortable for two years,

633
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:35,680
Speaker 3: I'm okay being comfortable for six months, I'm okay being

634
00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:39,480
Speaker 3: uncomfortable for ten years because my vision is so good

635
00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:41,040
Speaker 3: that it's going to work out.

636
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm so glad you mentioned Saint Louis and you

637
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:45,720
Speaker 2: mentioned Nashville, and.

638
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:50,200
Speaker 1: I wonder could you have done? Because what I think.

639
00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:52,400
Speaker 2: About when I do every episode of this podcast is

640
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,800
Speaker 2: most of us do not live in La New York

641
00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:57,560
Speaker 2: or Atlanta, or but most of us are in just

642
00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:01,080
Speaker 2: random cities, you know, spread across the country, and so

643
00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:05,280
Speaker 2: often content to help us find success is based from

644
00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:09,800
Speaker 2: those locations, and it comes from those perspectives. Could you

645
00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:14,520
Speaker 2: have achieved what you did? And obviously this is hypothetical

646
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,920
Speaker 2: having stayed or only living in the Midwest, did you

647
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:19,440
Speaker 2: have to go?

648
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,760
Speaker 3: Yes, I had to believe. I do not believe that

649
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,960
Speaker 3: I could have achieved what I've achieved at the age

650
00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:32,640
Speaker 3: and the speed that I did living in Saint Louis, Missouri.

651
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,560
Speaker 3: There's just not enough resources and there's not enough social

652
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:40,520
Speaker 3: capital for this level of ambition that I had and

653
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,520
Speaker 3: the vision of blavity being in Silicon Valley. You know,

654
00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 3: I started the company living in San Francisco now Silicon Valley.

655
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:49,800
Speaker 3: You can't follow my model because everything has changed. You know,

656
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:51,880
Speaker 3: moving to San Francisco is today is not the same

657
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:55,200
Speaker 3: thing as moving to San Francisco ten years ago. Over

658
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:59,000
Speaker 3: ten years ago, right So, but at the time, it

659
00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:02,280
Speaker 3: was an epicenter of social capitals, at the center of innovation.

660
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,680
Speaker 3: Your lift driver had a at you know, your apartment.

661
00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:09,560
Speaker 3: Everybody who lives within your apartment building was working for

662
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,279
Speaker 3: a really cool startup and going to hacker houses after work,

663
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,440
Speaker 3: and all types of incredible innovation was happening. Probably the

664
00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,760
Speaker 3: same way. It feels the same way that when everyone

665
00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:22,520
Speaker 3: moved to Miami, when people were working on Web three,

666
00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,880
Speaker 3: it was like everyone in Web three is spending time

667
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:29,560
Speaker 3: in Miami. Right So, being a part of communities has

668
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,000
Speaker 3: been what has helped feel me to success. And I

669
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:35,960
Speaker 3: believe that whatever you're building, if you want to be

670
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,600
Speaker 3: a country music star and you want to be a

671
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:42,480
Speaker 3: music writer, moving to Nashville is where your community is.

672
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:46,080
Speaker 3: If you want to be a part of black culture

673
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:50,640
Speaker 3: and hip hop, you probably should move to Atlanta, you

674
00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:52,600
Speaker 3: know what I mean. Make it where the best are

675
00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:55,520
Speaker 3: making it. And then when you move somewhere else, You're

676
00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:56,800
Speaker 3: going to be like, I'm a big fish in a

677
00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:57,359
Speaker 3: small path.

678
00:34:58,200 --> 00:34:58,439
Speaker 1: Yeah.

679
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,560
Speaker 2: I want to end this talking about afrotech, but before

680
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,920
Speaker 2: I do, I want to just talk because if anybody

681
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:07,840
Speaker 2: follows you on social media, they get to learn a

682
00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,120
Speaker 2: little bit about how you operate daily. You know, you

683
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:13,480
Speaker 2: love mancia and journaling is obviously a thing for you.

684
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:17,080
Speaker 1: Yes, talk about what helps.

685
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:21,879
Speaker 2: You manage your life as an entrepreneur, as a personality,

686
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,359
Speaker 2: even like some of those tactical things like I got

687
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,759
Speaker 2: to have, you know, my AirPods, like that if I

688
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:28,759
Speaker 2: don't have my AirPods, I can't survive, Like, like, what

689
00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:31,600
Speaker 2: are some of those things that mean something to you

690
00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:32,840
Speaker 2: in order to function?

691
00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:37,120
Speaker 3: Well, I think it's changed over time. The one thing

692
00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,360
Speaker 3: that hasn't changed is I was I had a virtual assistant,

693
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,520
Speaker 3: like probably within the first few weeks of founding blavity,

694
00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:46,000
Speaker 3: even back when I was twenty four, when it was

695
00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:48,360
Speaker 3: like weird for someone to have an assistant, you know,

696
00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:53,360
Speaker 3: But I've always valued my time over the cash, and

697
00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:56,279
Speaker 3: so I was willing to pay to offset some of

698
00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,040
Speaker 3: the tasks, the research, some of the things that I

699
00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,319
Speaker 3: felt like someone else could do. Eighty percent as good

700
00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:02,880
Speaker 3: as I could. That was my threshold. If you can

701
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:04,560
Speaker 3: do it eighty percent is as good as I can,

702
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:07,640
Speaker 3: then like you should probably do it first. Right, So

703
00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:13,320
Speaker 3: having a virtual assistant, a personal assistant, or now I

704
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:15,520
Speaker 3: have a chief of staff, you know, has been really

705
00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:17,440
Speaker 3: critical to my ability to be able to juggle so

706
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,000
Speaker 3: many different types of businesses and teams and you know,

707
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,320
Speaker 3: have somewhat of a life, right. I think that's probably

708
00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:28,800
Speaker 3: the number one contributor to my to my sustainability in

709
00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:33,080
Speaker 3: this world and not being burned out. The second thing

710
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:38,239
Speaker 3: is my iPhone. I use my iPhone like more than

711
00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,960
Speaker 3: I use my laptop or my desktop. You know, I

712
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:42,800
Speaker 3: can spend all day on my iPhone and get a

713
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:47,520
Speaker 3: lot of work done. And I think that people underestimate

714
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:52,880
Speaker 3: this tool. Right here, I think that you really have

715
00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:56,560
Speaker 3: an entire computer operating system in your hands. You can

716
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:59,040
Speaker 3: be anywhere. You don't need to be at home. You know,

717
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:00,520
Speaker 3: you don't need to be in front of a desk

718
00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:02,920
Speaker 3: to get a lot of work done, picking up the

719
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:06,760
Speaker 3: phone and just making a call, right writing out your ideas,

720
00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:13,280
Speaker 3: taking notes. So having an assistant and having a phone,

721
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:17,920
Speaker 3: iPhone and Wi Fi. Yeah, unto baby.

722
00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:19,680
Speaker 1: Real quick.

723
00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:22,480
Speaker 2: How is the process, because you talk about this on Instagram,

724
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:24,160
Speaker 2: how's the process of writing a book for you?

725
00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:24,839
Speaker 1: How's that going?

726
00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:27,400
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, writing a book is one of the

727
00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:30,319
Speaker 3: hardest things I've ever done. I thought it wasn't going

728
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:31,880
Speaker 3: to be that hard. Like, you know, people are like,

729
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:34,040
Speaker 3: I went on a retreat and I wrote my whole book,

730
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:37,840
Speaker 3: and you know, I'm like, Nahvi, that's bullshit. You you

731
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:40,040
Speaker 3: definitely did more than just go on vacation and write

732
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:44,000
Speaker 3: a book like this thing takes a lot of self reflection.

733
00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:47,560
Speaker 3: You know, I wanted didn't want to write a memoir.

734
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,359
Speaker 3: I wanted to write a really tactical book. I don't

735
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:52,800
Speaker 3: think my life's that interesting. I think what's interesting is

736
00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:56,480
Speaker 3: how we've all worked together, how my co founders and

737
00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:58,719
Speaker 3: I have worked together, how my investors and I have

738
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:01,880
Speaker 3: worked together, how early employees have worked together and to

739
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:07,560
Speaker 3: build this thing. And I also have realized that I

740
00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:10,239
Speaker 3: had a lot of trauma as a founder, as a

741
00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:14,320
Speaker 3: black founder, as a female founder, and I've blocked a

742
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,480
Speaker 3: lot of it out because it didn't serve me to

743
00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:19,360
Speaker 3: hold on to it, to have a chip on my shoulder.

744
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:24,200
Speaker 3: It didn't serve me to keep that stuff. But when

745
00:38:24,239 --> 00:38:27,560
Speaker 3: you're writing a book, you got to go back. You've

746
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:29,719
Speaker 3: got to ask different people about, well, what was your

747
00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:32,800
Speaker 3: perception of that one time we miss payroll? What was

748
00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:35,719
Speaker 3: your perception of that? Well we had that conference ince

749
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,160
Speaker 3: in the mall, what was your perception of what was

750
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:42,439
Speaker 3: your perspective of this? And so I've learned a lot

751
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,320
Speaker 3: about from other people's perspectives, you know, talking about this

752
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,560
Speaker 3: book through this process, and I'm really proud of how

753
00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:51,680
Speaker 3: far we've come and how we've defied the odds. I mean,

754
00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:56,400
Speaker 3: it really is an incredible feat of really less than

755
00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:58,960
Speaker 3: three hundred people coming together to decide to do something

756
00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:01,719
Speaker 3: and have this kind of impact. It's a beautiful thing.

757
00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:05,920
Speaker 2: Has been being that you are a journaler someone who journals?

758
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,279
Speaker 2: Has that been helpful to you in writing this book?

759
00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:13,360
Speaker 3: Yes and no. Yes, because there's definitely a lot of

760
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:15,600
Speaker 3: things that I wrote out. Like I remember when I

761
00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:18,040
Speaker 3: was first raising money, I wrote out, you know, who

762
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:20,000
Speaker 3: I wanted to raise money from and how much I

763
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:24,000
Speaker 3: wanted from them. So it's beautiful to see be like, oh,

764
00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:26,919
Speaker 3: like low Ki, I did that right. And then there's

765
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:29,440
Speaker 3: other things where I'll like write out like you know,

766
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:30,840
Speaker 3: I want to wake up in the morning and do

767
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:32,839
Speaker 3: this and do that. I do a lot of affirmational

768
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:35,400
Speaker 3: journey where you're kind of like projecting into the future

769
00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:40,440
Speaker 3: and writing things out like visualization, and then there's all

770
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:42,719
Speaker 3: types of stuff I'm like, definitely didn't do that, Like

771
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,839
Speaker 3: thank god, ye that did not come to light.

772
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:50,560
Speaker 2: All right, let's end this talking about afro Tech. What

773
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:52,400
Speaker 2: for the last couple of minutes, I have you so

774
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:54,680
Speaker 2: afro Tech November this year back in Austin.

775
00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,000
Speaker 1: Also have afro Tech Executive this fall.

776
00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:02,399
Speaker 2: So if I'm going to my first afro Tech this year,

777
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,279
Speaker 2: or let's say I'm preparing for afro Tech this fall,

778
00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:10,239
Speaker 2: how can I get involved over the summer to be

779
00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:14,600
Speaker 2: more intimate with the brand and people who I may

780
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:15,080
Speaker 2: meet there.

781
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say first things first, to sign up

782
00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:21,439
Speaker 3: for the newsletter because you're going to get a daily

783
00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:23,759
Speaker 3: be a part of the daily conversation of what's going

784
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,200
Speaker 3: on and what's trending. We also write a lot about

785
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:29,279
Speaker 3: the different people who are coming to Afrotech, everyone from

786
00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:33,640
Speaker 3: board executives to CEOs of major corporations, to the founders

787
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:35,520
Speaker 3: who raise the most amount of money this year, to

788
00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:38,320
Speaker 3: the vcs who are funding them right, So regardless of

789
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:42,319
Speaker 3: where you sit in the ecosystem, the newsletter is going

790
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:44,200
Speaker 3: to give you a peek into what you can expect

791
00:40:44,239 --> 00:40:47,239
Speaker 3: at Afrotech, and we oftentimes will kind of introduce you

792
00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:51,000
Speaker 3: to people that you'll see there. The second thing is,

793
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:53,080
Speaker 3: try to go to one of our events before you

794
00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:57,360
Speaker 3: get to Afrotech. It is incredibly beautiful and overwhelming to

795
00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:02,239
Speaker 3: be around twenty thousand plus very nerdy black folks having

796
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,640
Speaker 3: a good time, but also like we're intense, you know,

797
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:08,399
Speaker 3: Like imagine if you are a nerd and you think

798
00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:11,240
Speaker 3: that this is a place for you multiply your intensity

799
00:41:11,239 --> 00:41:14,200
Speaker 3: about whatever you nerd out about. But all of us,

800
00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:16,480
Speaker 3: we're not quiet people, you know, We're not like laid

801
00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:19,120
Speaker 3: back people. You know. We are going in that space

802
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:21,719
Speaker 3: in the convention center at the music festivals and we

803
00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:28,400
Speaker 3: are feeling so excited. So just a really rich experience

804
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,520
Speaker 3: that can also be draining. So go to the happy

805
00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:34,400
Speaker 3: hour before. Try to meet up with people locally who

806
00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,840
Speaker 3: are going to Afrotech. Go to an Afrotech executive in

807
00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:40,520
Speaker 3: New York so that you can see some familiar faces

808
00:41:40,760 --> 00:41:43,240
Speaker 3: and you're able to take full advantage of the experience

809
00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:46,719
Speaker 3: because well, child, we did not stop during Afrotech. It's

810
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:49,320
Speaker 3: like four or five days if NonStop.

811
00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:51,960
Speaker 2: Are we talking anything yet about how this might be

812
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:52,959
Speaker 2: different in years past?

813
00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:57,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, we can talk about how it's different. We've got

814
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,320
Speaker 3: a beautiful, beautiful lineup music and the last year we

815
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:02,560
Speaker 3: did music for the first time and I had a

816
00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:05,279
Speaker 3: music festival. So this year we're taking it to another level.

817
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:07,560
Speaker 3: So by the time this comes out, you should see

818
00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:10,319
Speaker 3: the announcement of who's the artists. So I'm like super

819
00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:15,000
Speaker 3: promped about that. And we have an outdoor park this year,

820
00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:17,920
Speaker 3: bringing that back because we just know there's so many

821
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,160
Speaker 3: people in the city and some people who aren't necessarily

822
00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:22,960
Speaker 3: going to the convention center but want to participate, So

823
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:26,520
Speaker 3: we're making more spaces for people. We've three exercises the

824
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:30,239
Speaker 3: executive stage as more black folks have moved up into

825
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:35,000
Speaker 3: director of VP level positions, we're having conversations that are

826
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:37,319
Speaker 3: more specific to little managers and how they can move

827
00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:41,480
Speaker 3: forward from a professional development perspective. Then, last, but not least,

828
00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:44,960
Speaker 3: I will not be there as I am having a baby.

829
00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:48,680
Speaker 3: This is so I will be giving birth during AFRO

830
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:51,400
Speaker 3: God willing, so I.

831
00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:54,640
Speaker 1: Sweet, I know.

832
00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:56,920
Speaker 3: I like, as soon as I found out I do did,

833
00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:01,719
Speaker 3: I was like, and there's no way, there's no way

834
00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:05,880
Speaker 3: to for that's it. Like Mighty Day is the first

835
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:09,759
Speaker 3: day of Afrotech, so hopefully everyone will be sending me

836
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:13,759
Speaker 3: all their black joy and uh you know, we'll call

837
00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:15,360
Speaker 3: be birthing the experience.

838
00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:29,000
Speaker 2: Black Tech Green Money is a production of Blavity Afro

839
00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:32,480
Speaker 2: Tech on the Black Effect podcast network in iHeartMedia, and

840
00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:35,719
Speaker 2: it's produced by Morgan Debonne and me Well Lucas, with

841
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:40,400
Speaker 2: additional production support by Sarah Er and Rose McLucas. Specially

842
00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,920
Speaker 2: thank you to Michael Davis, Vanessa Surroundo, and Mayamuldrew. Learn

843
00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:46,280
Speaker 2: more about my Guess and other tech dist's an innovators

844
00:43:46,280 --> 00:43:49,560
Speaker 2: at afrotech dot com. I'm joining Black Tech Green Money.

845
00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:54,879
Speaker 2: Shire is with somebody We get your money, Piece of Luck.