Claima Stories with Bimma

Sick of the stale fluorescent lights of the corporate world, Brittany started to Uber and used that money to travel to Nicaragua and Guatemala where she gained a whole new perspective and love for her culture. When she returned to LA, targeted immigration policies were running rampant, her pride turned to anger and Brittany put her boots to the ground protesting. Wanting to do more, she started promoting Latinx businesses online and that was the beginning of her journey to create Shop Latinx. Today, Brittany has grown Shop Latinx exponentially and raised 1 million dollars in venture capital in just three months...she continues to forge a path for women who look like her all while growing her shop.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

Originally drawn to baking, Alex's journey to becoming a Home Chef and Food Blogger started in her mom's kitchen where she felt most comfortable expressing both sides of her Black and Puerto Rican heritage. While she loved baking, her dslexia proved to make the precise measurements very difficult. Alex made the pivot to focus on savory cuisine and never looked back. With a career in PR and marketing, Alex took the leap to go full-time into the food content creator world during the pandemic finding a lot of success online with her blog Just Add Hot Sauce. Today, Alex runs her succesful blog, a YouTube channel filled with cooking videos, Instagram, and her newsletter where she connects with her audience showcasing her personal story through food.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

From making t-shirts in his granny's kitchen to opening up the first black-owned streetwear shop on Fairfax in LA, Gavin knew early on that his connection to being creative ran deep. While that first shop, YOUth, eventually closed...Gavin started making hats and giving them out to people not worried about making money. The more hats Gavin gave out, the more they would end up in the most unlikely places, including on Chad Hugo of the Neptunes and Aleali May. This ultimately led to the creation of Supervsn, a brand dedicated to putting out good energy. Today, Gavin’s curiosity continues to lead to new opportunities and new education. Including his latest collaboration with PacSun, a portion of sales will go to the STUDIOinitiative, whose mission is creative wellness, mentorship, and inspiring the future of young creatives.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

A job delivering groceries at the first Whole Foods location in NYC ignited Peter's curiosity in food. He eventually started to look into enrolling at culinary school which came with a hefty price tag. Heeding a friend's advice to skip school and learn on the job, Peter walked into The Spotted Pig and asked for just that. He started at the bottom and for 10 years, Peter worked on the craft of cooking. As Peter ascended in his professional life, he met his wife, Sun, who opened his eyes to more of the richness of Korean culture and food. After 13 years in New York, he moved back across the country to Portland, Oregon to be closer to family. Today, Peter is the Owner and Chef of two very popular Asian eateries in Portland, Han Oak and Toki.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

On this week's episode, we sat down with Cristina Martinez (@sew_trill), a contemporary visual artist based in Seattle. Being an artist was something Cristina gravitated towards from early childhood - from watching Bob Ross on PBS to getting resourceful with art supplies (like using lasagna noodles as a canvas). It was during her young adult life that art went beyond her passion and became her focus; she is now living her truth creating in new ways every day. Inspired by her Black and Mexican heritage, her inheritance of feminine power, resilience, sisterhood, growth, and blooming is exhibited in all of her works of art. In 2022, Cristina unveiled her latest Nordstrom pop-up collection fusing together her unique art and fashion background.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

A serial entrepreneur, Sevetri Wilson started her first business while attending Louisiana State University, a newsletter, using her community as a resource to help her get things going. After college, at the age of 22, she founded Solid Ground Innovations, a full service strategic communications and management firm. As a self-proclaimed bootstrapper, she decided to take the next step in her journey to turn SGI into a scaleable platform by setting her sights on transforming the nonprofit sector through technology. As the Founder and CEO of Resilia, Sevetri has successfully raised millions of dollars in funding while being a changemaker in her community and beyond.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

After moving around the world as a kid, IB quickly fell in love with hip hop and basketball when his family ultimately settled in Queens, NY. It was that love of basketball that would lead him to meet his best friend and business partner J.Cole. Hooping with Cole at St.John’s University, led to them building a bond that would lead to IB encouraging the young rapper to pursue music, so they put together a mixtape. That mixtape was The Come Up. As the music started to catch fire amongst the blog scene, they named themselves Dreamville. In 2007, IB and J.Cole founded their own record label, Dreamville Records with the vision of making sure everyone felt like family.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

With dreams of being a rockstar, Cheetie realized at a young age she didn’t quite fit in. Moving from India to the Bronx as a kid, Cheetie struggled to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. As she got older, two things really came into focus: Music and Food. While on the road touring as a guitarist Cheetie fell in love with Raleigh, and saw that the city was an opportunity to bring her love of those two things together. Today, Cheetie is the Head Chef/Owner of Garland and nominated for multiple James Beard Awards. She is also the co-owner of KINGs, an indie music venue and adjoining cocktail bar, Neptune’s Parlour while playing guitarist in her band, Birds of Avalon.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

In searching for the thing he could truly call his own, Julian aka JuWorkingOnProjects, found that art was his calling. While working as a brand ambassador for Jordan Brand’s store in Chicago, Ju noticed an opportunity to create custom pieces of apparel that ultimately led to impressing artists like Teyana Taylor with his work. In a lot of Ju’s paintings, he offers his perspective on the experience of Black folks in America. Some experiences are great and others not so good. Inspired by his own racist encounter while sipping a cup of coffee and admiring his own vehicle, Ju went on to create a series of paintings called the Karen’s that would end up on the cover of New York Mag. In our conversation, Ju shares how being an East Sider in Chicago shaped him into the highly sought after artist he is today.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

Inspired by the need to fight the racial disparity in the healthcare system after losing her father to a heart disease he wasn't aware of, Cydnie started educating herself on ways to boost immune systems and how to use food as part of preventative healthcare. With no true business motivations in mind, she started making juices for herself at home and then sharing the process on instagram. To her surprise, people wanted to purchase what she was making and Cydnie realized she had something special. In 2020, Cydnie Smith McCarthy founded Drink Mamey, a cold press juice, health, and wellness company.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams

And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista