The Exchanges

Q I know, Cheryl, before you launched Do Big Things, you actually created another business, Attentive.ly, which is a social marketing software business, and one of the first tech startups was a black female founder, and then was acquired by a NASDAQ company. Can you just kind of walk us through the journey of that business and how it was acquired, and then how you decided to start Do Big Things?

A Well, that's a long story of, uh, how I started attentively, but basically we saw a gap in the market. And I think, especially in this time for those people, maybe you have lost your job or your job is changing, you know, look at the gaps around you and see if you're able to provide a solution to that problem. That's what we did. We saw in the corporate marketing segment that there were a lot of people using social listening, influencer engagement, And marketing automation in very sophisticated ways online that nonprofits didn't have access to for a lot of different reasons. Price. The tools weren't really tailored to the way that they talk about their audiences. So that's why we created Attentively to meet that need and fill that gap. And, you know, we had competition, of course, and, and we were very visible also, you know, as an all female team with a black female co-founder, it wasn't easy. To get funding. We, we had to work really hard, and I experienced, you know, some real discrimination despite, you know, running at the same time, you know, another digital agency that had pulled in millions of dollars in revenue. You know, we were still seen as risky, which to me seemed very, very strange. Long story short, We grew over time. We became the dominant player in our market, and, you know, we were an impact startup that then became acquired by an impact corporation, Blackbau…

AI assessment note: “we were an impact startup that then became acquired by an impact corporation, Blackbaud”

Q Cheryl, um, we're getting some questions in from viewers, and this one comes from Twitter, from ScribeLite, and the question is, how do you authentically avoid contributing to the systems of white supremacy in an industry as complicit as marketing in the U.S.?

A That is a great question, because white supremacy isn't just a white people problem, it's an everybody problem, right? We see it all the time in various ways, um, where people even diminish themselves, Or they say, oh, you know, I don't want that kind of person helping me, even if they're the same color. So it's certainly something that we focus on at Do Big Things. All of my businesses have been diverse, and that's not, again, just a nice to have. It's a strategy. In our case, we have people who have a disability, you know, we have LGBTQ staff, you know, we have people who live in every region of the United States, West Coast, East Coast, Midwest, South. We have people of every different ethnicity. We have people who are immigrants. You know, and people whose family like mine have been here for centuries. When the content comes from those voices and they're targeting the same market, it's so much more authentic. And we try to pull in the voices of the people we're serving as much as possible. So it's not always us talking or creating the content. You know, we're finding that, you know, we're working with the people to then put those voices back into the ether.

AI assessment note: “When the content comes from those voices and they're targeting the same market”

Q Question from Tom via LinkedIn. Tom says, we want more diversity at our company. How do we strategically market to minorities to get them interested in working for us?

A Ah, that is a really great question. Good for you. You know, I get it that, you know, you're trying to reach outside your network, and you're not really sure how to start. And I think acknowledging that is important. You know, it happens to me all the time where colleagues reach out to me and say, who do you know, Cheryl? Can you connect me? You know, so figure out who in your network, you've got to know, hopefully, at least some black and brown people. And if you don't know them personally, look them up on LinkedIn, you know, start to look in your field, start to read articles in your field and figure out, okay, who are the leaders who also happen to be black? Or Latinx. Or Asian American. Reach out to them, even if you don't know them, and just say, hey, I love your work. I think you're great. I'd love to get to know you, and hey, we're also hiring. You know, actually, you know, you're gonna have to do a little more work. You're gonna have to get out of your bubble. And really reach out. Now, there's also lots of venues where you can reach out, you know, there's Black Enterprise Magazine, you know, there are, of course, shows, you know, that you can advertise on, blogs, you know, there are online influencers you can look up, but it does require taking that step of doing some research to figure out who are the leaders, who are the players, and how can we start to reach out to …

AI assessment note: “there's Black Enterprise Magazine, you know, there are, of course, shows... that you can advertise on”

Q We have a question from Sadie from YouTube. Sadie asks, what advice do you have for women of color who want to start their own businesses, but they may not have the resources to get started?

A Yeah, there's a chance that you don't have the resources to get started and that it's going to be more difficult for you. I mean, there's no question. Yes, it might take you a little bit longer to raise. It might take you a little bit longer to sell. However, things have definitely changed since I first started my startup. There's a lot more angel networks that are focused on people of color and on female entrepreneurs, you know, in the wake of the racial justice movement that has surged forward. Almost every fund that I know is really looking at, you know, how can we lean in on funding people of color? And look, you know, you don't have to have your own idea. You know, the good news is that there are a lot of companies that have franchises, and they're eager to bring in People of color to run those franchises. They will give you money, uh, loans. They'll give you training. You're in a network. So there are lots of different ways to find those resources, but look online. I mean, the good news is this is the power of building a network. You know, when you go to places like AngelList or FS six, there are all of these great networks, even LinkedIn, you know, where there are investors who are looking for entrepreneurs and team members who may not have their own idea But they want to get involved in a startup, and so build your team.

AI assessment note: “There's a lot more angel networks that are focused on people of color”

Q I know that you've got a blog, and you write for different publications, a lot about Increasing diversity in entrepreneurship. Can you talk a little bit about some of the ways that you are trying to push this idea out into the world?

A Absolutely. Well, when you look at the field right now, there's still this socialization in our country, in our world, that a, an entrepreneur looks like Mark Zuckerberg. And no disrespect to Mark, but, you know, he's not the only person who's got great ideas. Entrepreneurs can come in every shade, every size, every color. And that's the thing that I think we need to work hard, especially now as our economy is rebooting, you know, to work on. So I wrote a book. Mechanical Bull, how you can achieve startup success. It's the story of my journey, but there's also a lot of friends of mine who are investors, who are founders themselves, and it's their stories as well of, you know, what did it take to get through every part of the startup cycle, which is tough. I named it Mechanical Bull in part because it's a wild ride. I mean, it's a tech startup, no question, especially if you're a woman. When a woman rides a Mechanical Bull, people have a different Response to that than a man. You know, when a man rides a mechanical bull, they're looking at his strength, his strategy, his stamina. When a woman is riding a mechanical bull, you know, they're, you know, watching the jiggly parts, right? And they're not really focused on the same amount of effort, maybe more effort, that it takes for a woman, that same strength, strategy, and stamina. So, you know, I did it the tough way, ok? Like, b…

AI assessment note: “So I wrote a book. Mechanical Bull, how you can achieve startup success.”

Q I think one of the ways that you also suggested people kind of try to tackle this or overcome imposter syndrome is to build a network. I mean, right now we're, you know, all living in a virtual world because we're all inside for obvious reasons. How can people build virtual networks now? What are some ways they can start to do that?

A Well, especially for younger people. Wow. What an advantage you have that I didn't have in terms of, you know, coming into your career with a network That you can keep in touch with, because as you get older, a lot of your peers are going to have really interesting careers and jobs, and you know, you can help each other. But yeah, I have found that the power of a network to be the thing that has made all the difference for me. I could not have launched my businesses without my network. Definitely couldn't have kept them. And growing it over time is really important because that's where you're going to find your team members, your clients, Your partners, opportunities to co-market together, and people who will have your back and vouch for you in spaces where, you know, you might be different than, you know, the norm. And that certainly has happened for me where I've had white peers say, hey, Cheryl's great. You should talk to her, you know, which has, has sometimes made a big difference.

AI assessment note: “the power of a network to be the thing that has made all the difference”