The Founder's Mind

Raising venture capital funding can be a grueling and frustrating process. When Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene wasn’t getting the results she wanted, she turned to what was the new frontier of crowdfunding. On this episode of The Founder’s Mind, Adam talks to Dawn about her experience as a successful, Black, female, serial-founder as well as the importance of representation, perseverance, and legacy. Tune in.

To strike entrepreneurial gold more than once, you need to cultivate an explorer’s attitude. That’s the advice of Rodney Williams, founder of both LISNR and SoLo Funds. Rodney is our guest this week on The Founder’s Mind and shares thoughts on networking, his definition of winning, and what it’s like being a Black founder. Tune in for his thoughts and advice.

When we think of founders, we usually think of the Elon Musks of the world – white, male, and tech oriented. But founders run the gamut from artists to the owner of your local corner store. Today on The Founder’s Mind, Adam talks to Reggie Black, an artist, designer, and mental health advocate. They discuss what artists, particularly Black artists, are up against in this time of societal upheaval. Listen to further educate yourself on the challenges of the Black experience in America.

Like any entrepreneur worth her salt, Vanja Bannan, Founder of BannComm, is ambitious. In the early days of her company she had a lot going on in her personal life that made her reevaluate her approach to making everything easy for her clients. Today on The Founder’s Mind, Vanja shares how her business has evolved over the last six years and discusses the words she wishes women would stop saying.

You probably never thought that beauty products can change the world, but when it comes to equity for Black women, a tool to make hair care easier can save hours every week. Dawn Myers is the founder of The Most and an active member of The Vinetta Project. She joins us this week on The Founder’s Mind to discuss advocacy and racial justice.

No founder has the same story, but almost any founder you talk to has something crucial they learned through their previous experience that helped them face the staggering challenges of starting something new. This week on The Founder’s Mind, we’re changing up our format to give you a lightning round of three founders from the 1871 community in Chicago. Listen for conversations with Aaron Filous, David Pawlan, and Dana Todd.

Like many businesses, Charles Ashley III, President and Founder of Cultivating Coders, had to figure out how to take an in-person experience and migrate it to the digital realm. This week he’s speaking to Adam about his mission to bridge the digital divide affecting people of color and the importance of shopping local businesses to ensure we don’t leave anyone behind as we move toward economic recovery. Tune in!

All around the world, people are in crisis. The decisions you make now will affect how your company weathers the COVID-19 storm. Scott Case is a veteran founder and also has deep experience in public health with the fight against malaria. Scott joined Adam on The Founder’s Mind to offer guidance to entrepreneurs, founders, and business owners to do business safely and creatively amidst chaos. You’ll want to take notes for this episode.

There’s a misconception that startups immediately raise millions of dollars, go viral, and then have a huge IPO. Don’t believe the hype! In reality, entrepreneurs spend years planning their ventures while still working a day job. Yemi Adewunmi, one of the co-founders of Civic Eagle, takes us through the years-long process of creating a successful app and securing funding.

Arnav Dalmia thought that he had created an exercise machine for busy professionals. His actual customers had other ideas. Today on The Founder’s Mind, Arnav discusses how he keeps customer feedback at the center of his marketing strategy. Listen in for his tips.