From her dream job at Bravo to building one of the most powerful creative communities in the country, Imani Ellis is the visionary founder behind CultureCon and The Creative Collective NYC. In this episode, she sits down with Jeannette and Mona to share the real story behind her bold pivot from corporate life to creative entrepreneurship - including the fear, obsession, burnout, and self-trust it took to make the leap.

Whether you’re in your corporate bag, building something on the side, or just wondering if it’s time to pivot - this episode is packed with gems on executive presence, mentorship, faith, and the messy middle of building something from scratch.

💬 Topics We Cover:

✅How Imani knew it was time to leave her dream job
✅Building CultureCon from her living room to 10,000+ attendees
✅What it actually takes to scale (hint: obsession & systems)
✅How to tell if someone is giving you feedback or dimming your light
✅Her creative residency framework for rest + reflection
✅The power of mentors, community, and being underestimated

🌍 CultureCon is more than a conference, it’s a movement. And this conversation is a masterclass in trusting the whisper.

🔔 Subscribe for more unfiltered convos that live between the news and the group chat. New episodes weekly.

KEY POINTS

- From NBC Page to Bravo VP: Imani’s unconventional rise in media

- How feedback and mentorship shaped her executive presence

- How a living room idea became CultureCon

- Trusting the “whisper” that said it was time to leap

- The sacrifices no one sees: from missed birthdays to sleepless nights

- Turning sponsor rejections into resilience (until HBO said yes!)

- Trading comfort for courage: corporate vs. entrepreneurship

- Why confidence spreads, and community changes everything

QUOTES 

“I am someone who's very curious, and I would say I'm ever expanding. So, whenever I find I'm leaning too much to one identity, I try to question that a little bit.” – Imani Ellis

“You want to know when the right time is. And sometimes you try to do as much as you can until you realize you can't do that—the rubber band breaks.”  – Imani Ellis

“Mentors usually find you already doing the thing, and they're impressed by you. They see something in you.” – Imani Ellis

“You could be a super big fish and a small pond with my internships, but every leader is going to require a different version of you.” –  Imani Ellis

GUEST RESOURCES

Imani Ellis 

IG | @imaniimani

RESOURCES: 

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