The Podcast
Build the Damn Thing
Black Muse: Sticking to Your Values and Investing in Black Excellence
The story of Genius Guild, the power of investing in Black entrepreneurs, and the importance of sticking to your core values. In Black Muse, the season finale of Build The Damn Thing, serial entrepreneur Kathryn Finney is joined by guests to discuss black excellence, entrepreneurship, and investing.
The story of Genius Guild, the power of investing in Black entrepreneurs, and the importance of sticking to your core values.
In "Black Muse," the season finale of Build The Damn Thing, serial entrepreneur Kathryn Finney is joined by guests to discuss black excellence, entrepreneurship, and investing.
Featured Ep.8 guests: Renee Wittemyer | Brian Aoaeh | Michael Dyer | Cheryl Contee | Geri Stengel | Sharmayne Lueiza Munoz | Barbara Clarke | Teresa Chahine | Jeffrey Robinson
Quotes from the show:
“We're looking for black founders who are thinking big, who are innovators, who have ideas that others are like, "Eh, I don't know." I don't know if that works, but we know - because we're operators and investors - that they can work. " -- Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode #8
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Produced by Genius Guild Content Studios
Executive Producers: Kathryn Finney and Darlene Gillard Jones
Post-Production Company: Prosper Digital TV
Post-Production Manager: Joanes Prosper
Post-Production Supervisor: Jason Pierre
Post-Production Sound Editor: Evan Joseph
Co-Music Supervisors: Jason Pierre and Darlene Gillard Jones
Show Music: provided by Prosper Digital TV
Main Show Theme Music: "Self Motivated" Written & Performed by Tamara Bubble
Add'l Music: "Lil' Sumn" by Dreamadai
Special Thanks to The New Bedford Whaling Museum - New Bedford, MA
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Season 1 Episode 8
Nov 23, 2021
Money Don't Grow On Trees: How the Concept of Frictionless Investments Can Disrupt the World of Business
They may be called “micro-investments”, but they’re anything but small. Kathryn Finney started The Doonie Fund, a social enterprise that provides micro-investments to Black women entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode of Build The Damn Thing, learn about the importance of investing in Black women and how frictionless micro-investments can change the game and disrupt the world of entrepreneurship.
They may be called “micro-investments”, but they’re anything but small. Kathryn Finney started The Doonie Fund, a social enterprise that provides micro-investments to Black women entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this episode of Build The Damn Thing, learn about the importance of investing in Black women and how frictionless micro-investments can change the game and disrupt the world of entrepreneurship.
Quotes from the show:
“It was probably the most frictionless, the least painful process that I've ever been in... You invest so much time into the applications or getting references. You pretty much have to like give them a vial of blood and a DNA sample before you get access to funding. But with The Doonie Fund, it was like, 'Hey, I believe in you.' " — Jamela Peterson, Build the Damn Thing, Episode #7
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Produced by Genius Guild Content Studios
Executive Producers: Kathryn Finney and Darlene Gillard Jones
Post-Production Company: Prosper Digital TV
Post-Production Manager: Joanes Prosper
Post-Production Supervisor: Jason Pierre
Post-Production Sound Editor: Evan Joseph
Co-Music Supervisors: Jason Pierre and Darlene Gillard Jones
Show Music: provided by Prosper Digital TV
Main Show Theme Music: "Self Motivated" Written & Performed by Tamara Bubble
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Season 1 Episode 7
Nov 10, 2021
When Doves Cry: Knowing When It's Time to Exit Your Business
Innovation and the goal of disrupting the industry isn’t just about the work, it also requires a significant emotional lift that many don’t anticipate. In this episode of Build the Damn Thing, Kathryn Finney shares for the first time why, after eight years of leading digitalundivided -- an organization that she founded to help Black and Latinx women tech entrepreneurs get the mentorship and support they desperately needed -- she made the courageous move to walk away for the sake of her sanity.
Choosing yourself isn’t always easy. But after eight years leading digitalundivided -- an organization that she founded to help Black and Latinx women tech entrepreneurs get the mentorship and support they desperately needed -- Kathryn had to do just that. She chose herself, and her sanity, and decided to walk away from the business.
Innovation and the goal of disrupting the industry isn’t just about the work, it also requires a significant emotional lift that many don’t anticipate.
In this episode of Build the Damn Thing, Kathryn openly shares the financial challenges of building DID, why the first cohort was -- in her words, a “hot mess” -- how they “blew things up” to make things better and how initial support from a city or community doesn’t always guarantee ongoing support. She also reveals the impact of building her business while starting her new journey as a mom -- a reality many women entrepreneurs have to face.
The lessons in the episode will help you understand how to take a step back, honestly evaluate where things are in your business (and your life), and when it might be time to courageously let go and make a fresh start.
Insights from the Podcast
You have to take an honest look at your business and what’s working and what’s not working.
Accepting responsibility
How to learn from your missteps
Surround yourself with people who will tell you about yourself.
Go where you’re wanted
Your sanity is priceless
You’re the prize
Quotes from the show:
“What struck me about the no’s is that they felt weak… You had to wonder if the space was really ready for the work that [DigitalUndivided] was doing and for the work that Kathryn was doing." -- Danielle Robinson Bell, Build the Damn Thing, Episode #6
“It was really about supporting other Black women who were building things, but there was no money.” — Darlene Gillard Jones, Guest Speaker, Build the Damn Thing, Episode #6
“People often want to believe the worst of Black women.” --Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode #6
“Something my mom always taught me was go where you wanted.”--Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode #6
“I could leave feeling empowered because I knew I could build something else.” --Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode #6
“Sometimes we’re so afraid to leave things, like: “What if I don’t have the next thing...?” But realize that you’re the prize. It’s not the thing; you’re the thing. You’re the one who created it, you’re the one who built it, you’re the one who grew it. So you are, in fact, that prize.” --Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode #6
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Produced by Genius Guild Content Studios
Executive Producers: Kathryn Finney and Darlene Gillard Jones
Post-Production Company: Prosper Digital TV
Post-Production Manager: Joanes Prosper
Post-Production Supervisor: Jason Pierre
Post-Production Sound Editor: Evan Joseph
Co-Music Supervisors: Jason Pierre and Darlene Gillard Jones
Show Music: provided by Prosper Digital TV
Main Show Theme Music: "Self Motivated" Written & Performed by Tamara Bubble
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Season 1 Episode 6
Oct 13, 2021
Black Sweat: How Data and Determination Can Disrupt an Industry for the Better
With a team of “co-conspirators” Kathryn Finney builds a powerful company based on her mission of empowering Black and Latina women in technology and helping them raise money through Digital Undivided. She also pioneered the groundbreaking research study, Project Diane, which exposed the disparities in venture capital investing in Black women businesses and went viral. But while disrupting the industry, Kathryn had to overcome some serious challenges and make major decisions that would have a major impact on her business and her life.
Calling All Disruptors!
In this episode of Build The Damn Thing, you get to hear how friends, associates and the early attendees of Kathryn Finney’s FOCUS event were positively influenced by the Genius Guild CEO’s visionary thinking as a disrupter in the tech space. Kathryn shares how her “co-conspirators” — such as the founders of BlogHer and her business partner Darlene Gillard Jones — helped her build a powerful company based on her mission of empowering Black and Latina women in technology and helping them raise money through Digital Undivided. She also pioneered the groundbreaking research study, Project Diane, which exposed the disparities in venture capital investing in Black women businesses and went viral.
But while all of this was going on, Kathryn not only had to combat some people misunderstanding her as a Black woman visionary who was often one step ahead, she had to overcome an unexpected health challenge and make some major decisions about her business and her personal life.
Kathryn Finney is known as a pioneer in the fashion blogging community thanks to her blog “The Budget Fashionista” which has helped thousands of women dress chic and cheap. Kathryn not only has built a huge blogging community but also has been featured among "America's Top 50 Women In Tech" by Forbes and is greatly recognized by books like How to Be a Budget Fashionista and The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less. In fact, Kathryn is the living definition of a businesswoman who is always trying to generate new ways to share her knowledge about fashion and entrepreneurship just like she does through her platform the Genius Guild which, apart from having the podcast “Build that Damn Thing”, invests in companies led by Black founders.
Insights from the Podcast
How to build your team
How to leverage relationships
How to cultivate a work environment that creates a winning organization
Women of color often have to face tough decisions in their journey
How to know when to walk away
How sharing the data about the disparities in venture capital investing in Black women’s businesses helped change an industry
Quotes from the show:
“One of the hardest things as an entrepreneur is to sell others on your big idea. That’s exactly what I did when I started Digital Undivided.”— Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode 5
“They not only gave us the check, [BlogHer] literally gave us the manual for how they run events.” — Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode 5
“She asked me if I'd be willing to partner with her on an organization called Digital Undivided, that will…support Black women in technology. and I haven't looked back since." — Darlene Gillard Jones, Guest Speaker, Build the Damn Thing, Episode 5
“Because of that relationship because of the trust and the friendship that we were able to grow and establish, we were able to, create something special and my life personally has changed because of it.”— Darlene Gillard Jones, Guest Speaker, Build the Damn Thing, Episode 5
“But when we realized it was too early, like most things in my life and being a visionary — being a Black woman visionary — that's not necessarily celebrated. I see things many steps ahead.” — Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode 5
“Oftentimes, the people who are the strongest and who have it together are the very people that you need to check after.”— Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode 5
“Before ProjectDiane was released, the experiences of women in color in entrepreneurship were purely anecdotal—so whether you were a person of color or not, you had some idea that things just weren't the same for people of color in particular women and women of color in the startup space; but it wasn't until Kathryn and Digital Undivided came along to quantify that experience that really blew the lid off of that entire dynamic and conversation.”— Danielle Robinson Bell, Build the Damn Thing, Episode 5
“The hope was that Project Diane would be a catalyst. What I did not know was that Project Diane was going to fundamentally change the venture capital space in ways that still vibrate to this day.” —Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing, Episode 5
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Produced by Genius Guild Content Studios
Executive Producers: Kathryn Finney and Darlene Gillard Jones
Post-Production Company: Prosper Digital TV
Post-Production Manager: Joanes Prosper
Post-Production Supervisor: Jason Pierre
Post-Production Sound Editor: Evan Joseph
Co-Music Supervisors: Jason Pierre and Darlene Gillard Jones
Show Music: provided by Prosper Digital TV
Main Show Theme Music: "Self Motivated" Written & Performed by Tamara Bubble
Special thanks to Baratunde Thurston, Champions of Change: Tech Inclusion, and The Obama Administration
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Season 1 Episode 5
Sep 23, 2021
Free: How to Successfully Exit a Company and Begin Again
Entrepreneurs of color often feel like they have to stick to the business they started and grown for years — even if it's not working. But what happens if you want to do something different? How do you pivot? In this episode, Genius Guild CEO Kathryn Finney shares how to exit a company and start something new.
In this episode of Build The Damn Thing, Genius Guild CEO Kathryn Finney shares how to successfully exit a company -- something many entrepreneurs can’t imagine -- and how to start something new. For the first time she gives a behind-the-scenes account of her own experience selling her first start-up and what that was like for her.
Learn Kathryn's process of selling her blog, The Budget Fashionista, and how the proceeds from the sale gave her enough capital to start her next big venture. Plus get inspiration and insight on how you can do the same.
Kathryn Finney is known as a pioneer in the fashion blogging community thanks to her blog “The Budget Fashionista” which has helped thousands of women dress chic and cheap. Kathryn not only has built a huge blogging community but also has been featured among "America's Top 50 Women In Tech" by Forbes and is greatly recognized by books like How to Be a Budget Fashionista and The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less. In fact, Kathryn is the living definition of a businesswoman who is always trying to generate new ways to share her knowledge about fashion and entrepreneurship just like she does through her platform the Genius Guild which apart from having the podcast “Build that Damn Thing”, invests in companies led by Black founders.
Insights from the Podcast
Understanding that it is okay to outgrow something and want to do something else
How to pivot and venture into something new
Understanding that it is okay to leave your job, not because you were treated a certain way but because you want to do -the next thing
Understand the full arc of acquisition and how start-up work
How to sell and move on to the next and start another venture
The 4T’s on buying a tech company:
Technology: it has technology that would be hard for the corporation to create quickly
Talent: they have a core group of founders
Traffic: it has a large community behind it
Taxable income: the company has a ton of money
Quotes from the show:
“It is okay to outgrow it, as an entrepreneur we are like ‘I created it, it’s my baby, I have to stay. But you don’t always have to stay” -Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, Guest Speaker, Build The Damn Thing Episode #4
“One of the challenges that we have in the black community is that we overstay, and I know why: because there is security” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #4
“In our community, there isn’t a language about exiting positively: usually when you leave your job, it’s because they were treating you in a certain way or you got a better job” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #4
“A start-up is a temporary organization that is designed to discover a solution to a problem and in the process to also discover a profitable, scalable and reputable business model and while doing that, to grow as quickly as possible” -Brian Laung Aoaeh, Guest Speaker, Build The Damn Thing Episode #4
“Venture capitalists look for and invest in start-ups. They look for companies that are doing something uniques, that they are solving a problem that hasn’t been solved yet” -Brian Laung Aoaeh, Guest Speaker, Build The Damn Thing Episode #4
“One of the things about not selling when people come to you is that the price changes” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #4
“I think it comes back to who are the people around you? Who do you trust when it’s hard and you have to make a decision? Some of it is guy, and you have to listen to your gut, and some of it is having the right group that will tell you when you are not thinking correctly” -Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, Guest Speaker, Build The Damn Thing Episode #4
“We constantly have to move and pivot and we have to find our own validation from within as entrepreneurs because you are constantly told it’s not gonna work or you should do this or that” -Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, Guest Speaker, Build The Damn Thing Episode #4
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Produced by Genius Guild Content Studios
Executive Producers: Kathryn Finney and Darlene Gillard Jones
Post-Production Company: Prosper Digital TV
Post-Production Manager: Joanes Prosper
Post-Production Supervisor: Jason Pierre
Post-Production Sound Editor: Evan Joseph
Co-Music Supervisors: Jason Pierre and Darlene Gillard Jones
Show Music: provided by Prosper Digital TV
Main Show Theme Music: "Self Motivated" Written & Performed by Tamara Bubble
Special thanks to Forbes Advisor
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Season 1 Episode 4
Aug 25, 2021
22 mins, 35 secs (21.7MB, Audio)
#BlackExcellence #Entrepreneurship #FashionBlog #BloggersUnite #Startups #BlackWomen #KathrynFinney #BlackOwned #TheBudgetFashionista #BlacksInTech #AfroTech #BlackAuthors #Discrimination #Incubators #Lissen #Exiting #VentureCapital
Baby I'm A Star: How to Build a Blog into a Successful Business
Before Google was Google and blogging was a thing, Kathryn Finney founded the Budget Fashionista and became the go-to expert on all things cheap and chic. From a best-selling book to regular appearances on NBC’s Today Show, she was one of the first women to find success in the blogosphere. In this episode of Build The Damn Thing, Kathryn shares the early days of the influencer economy and what it took to build a blog into a successful business.
In this episode of Build The Damn Thing, Kathryn Finney opens up about the different struggles she went through on her way to success as a Black woman in business and as an innovator in technology. Learn about her business trajectory since the early 2000s, where she was managing to create the Budget Fashionista blog, which later on became a sensation in the blogging community. However, this was not enough to succeed: with the evolution of technology Kathryn had to constantly reinvent herself and come up with new ideas and new projects that weren’t received with open arms by the white male community who had the monopoly over entrepreneurship and technology at that time.
This episode is a testimony of how Kathryn turned every rejection or project that did not work out the way she wanted into motivation to inspire other women and spark new and innovative ideas to change the game.
Kathryn Finney is known as a pioneer in the fashion blogging community thanks to her blog “The Budget Fashionista” which has helped thousands of women dress chic and cheap. Kathryn not only has built a huge blogging community but also has been featured among "America's Top 50 Women In Tech" by Forbes and is greatly recognized by books like How to be a Budget Fashionista and The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less. In fact, Kathryn is the living definition of a businesswoman who is always trying to generate new ways to share her knowledge about fashion and entrepreneurship just like she does through her platform the Genius Guild which apart from having the podcast “Build that Damn Thing”, invests in companies led by Black founders.
Insights from the Podcast
How Kathryn became a successful black businesswoman.
Details on how Kathryn had to constantly reinvent her projects according to the technology and blogging evolutions.
Difficulties Kathryn experienced being a black woman in a work scenario mainly dominated by white men.
How throughout the years Kathryn, with the help of other black businesswomen, found her spot in the fashion and entrepreneur industry.
How Kathryn has always sought to support women, who like her in the early 2000s, are looking to be successful.
Quotes from the show:
“I wasn't the first black woman, I was one of the first women period” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #3
“Blogging was the future and I knew how influential the influencers were for their community” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #3
“I needed to build a team because I couldn't do it all myself, I couldn't serve the amount of content that my community wanted all the time” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #3
“I kind of knew that it was changing, I started to see that technology became easier, there were more people and more competition and the difference between me and others was not that great, people started to try to take the name of Budget Fashionista which I had trademarked” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #3
“My agent and attorney at the time said to me: don't you ever do that again and I was like what do you mean? They were like you can't be smart like that, you let us do that” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #3
“I don't know of any black woman that ever received the venture funding and I don't think you'll be the first” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #3
“We were invisible Black Founders, Black women were invisible, the irony of it is to see how many of them are trying to get woken up” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #3
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Produced by Genius Guild Content Studios
Executive Producers: Kathryn Finney and Darlene Gillard Jones
Post-Production Company: Prosper Digital TV
Post-Production Manager: Joanes Prosper
Post-Production Supervisor: Jason Pierre
Post-Production Sound Editor: Evan Joseph
Co-Music Supervisors: Jason Pierre and Darlene Gillard Jones
Show Music: provided by Prosper Digital TV
Main Show Theme Music: "Self Motivated" Written & Performed by Tamara Bubble
Add’l Music: "Lil' Sumn" by Dreamadai
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Season 1 Episode 3
July 30, 2021
37 mins, 50 secs (34.7MB, Audio)
#BlackExcellence #Entrepreneurship #FashionBlog #BloggersUnite #Startups #BlackWomen #KathrynFinney #BlackOwned #TheBudgetFashionista #BlacksInTech #AfroTech #BlackAuthors #Discrimination #Incubators #Lissen
The Question of U: What it Takes to be a Successful Entrepreneur
Vision, ambition, and intuition about how to generate revenue are characteristics of the most successful entrepreneurs. According to her mom, teachers, and best friends from high school, Genius Guild CEO Kathryn Finney had all of these qualities early on growing up in Minnesota. In this episode, listen to those who were there at the beginning of Kathryn’s journey as a young builder and what led her to become one of the most influential women in tech.
In this episode of Build The Damn Thing, Kathryn Finney talks to those people who were present at the beginning of her journey as a young builder and what led her to become one of the most influential women in tech. All the people in Kathryn’s life speak of how they always knew she was “different” from a young age -- and that’s a good thing. They also share that she had the unique ability to bring people around to her way of thinking to impact change. But it wasn’t easy: Kathryn shares a painful and transformative childhood experience when she ran for school president against a white kid and the hate that she endured during her campaign.
Kathryn Finney is known as a pioneer in the fashion blogging community thanks to her blog “The Budget Fashionista” which has helped thousands of women dress cheap and chic. Kathryn not only has built a huge blogging community but also has been featured among "America's Top 50 Women In Tech" by Forbes and is greatly recognized by books like How to Be a Budget Fashionista and The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less. In fact, Kathryn is the living definition of a businesswoman who is always trying to generate new ways to share her knowledge about fashion and entrepreneurship just like she does through her platform the Genius Guild which apart from having the podcast “Build that Damn Thing”, invests in companies led by Black founders.
Insights from the Podcast
How her entrepreneurial family background impacted her to build against all odds
Strategies on monetizing your skills and ideas
How to build, grow and make things bigger and how to do good in this world
Understanding how to fight against the entitled
Strategies to getting people to come to your way of thinking
Understanding how to create your own identity
Quotes from the show:
“I challenge each and every one of you to be your full self and to give others a space to do the same and to know that you, in all your imperfect imperfections, are more than enough for this world” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #2
“Maybe my work ethic is genetic, I may not be as smart as you, I may not as good as you, but you will not outwork me” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #2
“People misunderstand that I have this incredible work ethic that you might not even see” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #2
“Money allowed me to have the life that I wanted to live, and I saw that very early: the options that it gave me” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #2
“When I joined high school, I was different, I tried to figure out how to fit in and not realizing as that 14/15-year-olds that you will never fit in when you are the type of person that I am” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #2
“Sometimes there is a price to pay when you go against the entitles” -Kathryn Finney, Build The Damn Thing Episode #2
“I really think I wouldn’t have dreamed as far as I did, or gone as far as I did or had the initiative to prepare for college if it weren’t for Kathryn” -Ann McCarthy, Guest Speaker, Build The Damn Thing Episode #2
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Produced by Genius Guild Content Studios
Executive Producers: Kathryn Finney and Darlene Gillard Jones
Post-Production Company: Prosper Digital TV
Post-Production Manager: Joanes Prosper
Post-Production Supervisor: Jason Pierre
Post-Production Sound Editor: Evan Joseph
Co-Music Supervisors: Jason Pierre and Darlene Gillard Jones
Show Music: provided by Prosper Digital TV
Main Show Theme Music: "Self Motivated" Written & Performed by Tamara Bubble
Add’l Music: "Lil' Sumn" by Dreamadai
"Walk" by Saucy Santana
Audio Sample Courtesy of: the Minnesota Historical Society's Black History, Black Voices Initiative; Washburn High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Season 1 Episode 2
July 30, 2021
36 mins, 34 secs (34.1MB, Audio)
#BlackExcellence #Entrepreneurship #DreamBig #Startups #BlackWomen #KathrynFinney #BlackOwned #Minnesota #Minneapolis #BlacksInTech #AfroTech #Yale #Rutgers #Ghana
Sign O' The Times: Building a Company that Ends Racism
In this episode of Build the Damn Thing, Kathryn Finney shares how a series of unfortunate events led her to create Genius Guild, which is supported by one of the most powerful women in the world -- Melinda Gates. Kathryn also highlights how her failed trip to Alaska in 2020 led her to donate more than $160,000 to 15,000 black women-led entrepreneurs within six weeks. And this action showed her that it was possible to help such startups in a new way.
In this episode of Build the Damn Thing, Kathryn Finney shares how a series of unfortunate events led her to create Genius Guild, which is supported by one of the most powerful women in the world -- Melinda Gates. Kathryn also highlights how her failed trip to Alaska in 2020 led her to donate more than $160,000 to 15,000 black women-led entrepreneurs within six weeks. And this action showed her that it was possible to help such startups in a new way.
Kathryn Finney is a venture capitalist, tech visionary, and startup champion who is the Founder and CEO of Genius Guild and General Partner of The Greenhouse Fund. She is former CEO of digitalundivided, a groundbreaking social enterprise focused on creating a world where Black women own their work. She is also the founder of The Budget Fashionista (TBF) and became one of the first Black women to have a successful seven-figure startup exit when she sold TBF.
A Yale-trained Epidemiologist, she has been recognized for her groundbreaking work by the Aspen Institute, Entrepreneur Magazine, Marie Claire, Ebony, Inc. Magazine, Black Enterprise, and more.
Insights from the Podcast
Understanding that sometimes things will not work and that’s okay
Strategies on building a community around black-women entrepreneurs
How her life in building led her to create Genius Guild
Understanding that black-owned businesses are undercapitalized and under resourced, and the structures needed to enable them to succeed does not exist
How to create a space where everyone can win, especially Black folks
How to move capital to Black communities without asking for permission
Quotes from the show:
“It took me twenty years to build relationships to be able to do Genius Guild.” -Kathryn Finney, Genius Guild Ep #1
“I knew that I could build Genius Guild because I had spent a lifetime building staff.” -Kathryn Finney, Genius Guild Ep #1
“Genius Guild is a culmination of all the experience that she (Kathryn Finney) has gained over more than a decade of working on related problems.” -Brian Laung Aoaeh, Genius Guild Ep #1
“I cannot tell you how scary it is to be a Black woman and to ask for what it is you need because we rarely get it” -Kathryn Finney, Genius Guild Ep #1
“If this doesn’t work, we are okay because we believe in you and we know you will figure it out” -Kathryn Finney, Genius Guild Ep #1
“When Black people win, everyone wins. We want to help humanity win” -Saidah Nash Carter, Genius Guild Ep #1
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Produced by Genius Guild Content Studios
Executive Producers: Kathryn Finney and Darlene Gillard Jones
Post-Production Company: Prosper Digital TV
Post-Production Manager: Joanes Prosper
Post-Production Supervisor: Jason Pierre
Post-Production Sound Editor: Evan Joseph
Co-Music Supervisor: Jason Pierre and Darlene Gillard Jones
Show Music: Provided by Prosper Digital TV
Main Show Theme Music: "Self Motivated" Written & Performed by Tamara Bubble
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Season 1 Episode 1
July 16, 2021
18 mins, 14 secs (18.1MB, Audio)
#BlackExcellence #Entrepreneurship #Startups #BlackWomen #KathrynFinney #BlackOwned