Grit and Grind

We all age. It's a fact of life and unavoidable truth.  What happens when the risk of injury from falls and illness increases when there is no one around in the home.  It's a huge problem as there is a growing number of the aged population that are alone by themselves a lot of the time.  That's where Tiara Grant's technology steps in and acts as a care companion.  Imagine detecting the risk of an elderly person falling days before it actually happens.  I really enjoyed this interview. You will too.  Enjoy! 

We've all seen the door camera videos. Someone runs to your front door, grabs your amazon package and then, flees the scene as fast as possible. This is a reality for thousands of people who loose packages every day due to theft. Garbiel identified this problem and is doing something about it. His solution; the sharing economy. Using neighbors as package handlers and safe keepers. He's building a platform to ensure that no packages are stolen again. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-cepeda-200469181/ Company website https://www.usepickups.com/ Company Ig https://www.instagram.com/usepickups/ IG https://www.instagram.com/stateofgabriel/ Twitter https://twitter.com/stateofgabriel

Have you ever travelled alone? Millions of people do this every year and discover new places, people and cultural experiences. I've heard that some people find themselves on these solo trips and discover new things about themselves. However, women are at a higher risk of danger on these solo trips. Navigating the trip and enjoying yourself becomes more complicated when alone. That's where Unwind comes in. Founded by Arabia Umrani, the app helps connect women to other female local hosts that curate unique and safe experiences through the lens of a local. It's like AirBnB and Trip Advisor curated for women. On LinkedIn? Let's connect. 

There are millions of entrepreneurs that still manufacture and sell their good in hundreds of thousands of local stores and supermarkets across America. However,  trade has gone global and for these smaller manufacturers, expanding their operations across borders presents itself with a whole set of challenges that they are not usually equipped for.  That's where Brooke Sinclair's startup Velourit steps in. Using Blockchain technology, she helps these manufacturers expand their operations seamlessly to Latin America and sell more products without the hassle of dealing with the logistics.  On LinkedIn? Let's connect. 

What does leveling up even look like? For some, it might mean getting a salary raise, a new job, change careers or even start a business. The underlying fuel in all of these potential moves is the knowledge required and the motivation to go after it. But what happens when most if not all of the digital learning platforms don't take your lived experience into consideration. For those of us that have been through it, raising money or negotiating a salary raise isn't the same experience for Black Professionals or Founders of Color. Juan Young had enough of this. So he's doing something about it through Melanence Melanence is on a mission to bring valuable knowledge to a previously underserved community. Fresh off a successful 100k crowdfunding campaign, we had a sit-down to break down his vision and journey to building a platform to serve millions of Black and Underrepresented professionals out there.

Imagine waking up and all of your income being wiped out by COVID-19. That's what the majority of DJ's are facing today. At the same time, there is also an explosion of DJ's livestreaming on social platforms and entertaining millions of people as the shelter in place continued. For us consumers, this was amazing but not so much for DJ's as they still could not earn a living on the internet and capture some of the value they are creating.  All this might soon change with my Darrel Fraters new app, In The Club, which let's DJ's not only live stream to millions of people but also earn money directly from their entertained listeners. 

In this episode, I had the pleasure of having a sit down with the amazing Carmen Mays.  Carmen is the founder of elevators where she is fostering equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems by developing innovative corporate supply chain strategies. She is building community and capacity for melanated creatives and institutions integral to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She started Elevators with the simple premise of ensuring creatives of color had the tools and opportunities they needed to make a living doing what they love. Elevators has successfully engaged creatives in culturally relevant business development. Elevators also create corporate engagement and supply chain strategies that foster equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems. Enjoyed this episode. Drop me a review on iTunes. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grit-and-grind/id1494842926 I read all the reviews my listeners leave.   Thank you.  Connect with Carmen.  Her LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmenmays/ Company website https://www.elevatorson4th.com/ Company Ig https://www.instagram.com/elevators_on_4th/ IG https://www.instagram.com/carmenmaysmpa/ Twitter https://twitter.com/CarmenMaysMPA

If you've ever been to a networking event and found yourself exchanging enough cards to fill your wallet or purse then you understand the struggle. An even bigger problem is getting referrals from people. If you have ever referred someone you might have sent them a website link or even attempted to make introductions via email or text. So messy!  Ryan White had experienced this enough and decided to go all-in on building mobile apps that allow seamless referrals. No cards, no long email introductions, no SMS messages, just Werda Mouth app.  Join me as I sit with Ryan to walk this journey from leaving corporate America to becoming a full-time founder building a tech company.  We discussed his vision, the journey so far, mindset, his love for learning, and what it takes to build a company from scratch as a non-technical founder.  Ryan is laser-focused on creating a solution for this problem and has successfully achieved that.  I hope you enjoy it!  If you enjoyed this podcast, you can find more amazing podcasts just like mine on my Gritly, the easiest way to discover new podcasts based on your interests (https://gritly.co). I launched Gritly to help people like you discover podcasts that you will enjoy and help improve your life in every way possible. Check it out today. Follow Grit and Grind  on Instagram for more updates → https://www.instagram.com/gritandgrindpodcast Follow Gritly on Instagram to learn more about my vision and what I’m building → https://www.instagram.com/gritlycommunity More information on where you can learn about Ryan or more about Werda Mouth. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwhite1980/ Company website https://werdamouth.com/#/ Company Ig https://www.instagram.com/werdamouth/ IG https://www.instagram.com/hotjamm/ Twitter https://twitter.com/werdamouth1

In this episode, I spoke with Brittani Hunter, the founder of a digital media platform that helps Black entrepreneurs and professionals advance their careers through smart, actionable resources. She is a  culture-driven, media-tech entrepreneur that’s passionate about driving innovation and culture through technology. She is obsessed with building products that impact, influence, and elevate underserved markets. Since launching Mogul Millennial, her startup has quickly grown to be a leading voice and source of content for professional Black millennials looking to elevate their careers and/or businesses. We talked about where the idea of Mogul Millennial came from, what the journey was like to go full time as an entrepreneur, her vision for the company and some of the struggles with starting and growing a media startup as a solo founder. We also share our love for freshly squeezed juices, entrepreneurship and startups. Brittani is remarkably focused and driven, which is something you notice the moment you hear her speak. At the time of this interview, she was single-handedly managing over 40 writers and an operations team. Since our conversation, Brittani has gone on to be accepted into Snap Inc’s Yellow Accelerator Program where Mogul Millennial will be polished into one of the new great media companies. You can contact Brittani  by email at brittani@themogulmillennial.com or on Twitter at @BrittaniLHunter If you enjoyed this podcast, you can find more amazing podcasts just like mine on my Gritly, the easiest way to discover new podcasts based on your interests (https://gritly.co). I launched Gritly to help people like you discover podcasts that you will enjoy and help improve your life in every way possible. Check it out today. Follow Grit and Grind  on Instagram for more updates → https://www.instagram.com/gritandgrindpodcast Follow Gritly on Instagram to learn more about my vision and what I’m building → https://www.instagram.com/gritlycommunity More information on where you can learn about Brittani or more about Mogul Millennial. Brittani on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanihunter Mogul Millennial  website → https://www.mogulmillennial.com Mogul Millennial on Instagram →  https://www.instagram.com/mogulmillennial/ Brittani on Instagram →  https://www.instagram.com/brittanilhunter/ Mogul Millennial on Twitter → https://twitter.com/mogulmillennial Mogul Millennial on Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/mogulmillennial

After 10+ years working in the hospitality industry, Samella had seen her fair share of inefficiencies. One in particular that she couldn't get over was the guest experience. There was a gap between the guest and the host that desperately needed to be bridged. Think of My-Cierge as your very own digital concierge that enables the curation of your travel and stay experience by your host. Simply put, Your host now has the power to offer you more than just a place to sleep. My-Cierge specializes in creating experiences, providing real-time communication and helping streamline hosts day-to-day operations.  What's interesting is that she had no experience in tech and no industry connections when she embarked on this journey. From educating herself on startup mechanics to securing a CTO and finally launching, we covered it all in this episode.  Some highlights- How she came up with the idea  First steps taken to build the app  Securing a developer and then a CTO Finding customers  The startup mindset  Raising funding and bootstrapping  The startup scene in Miami  Staying relentless and continually educating herself  Connect with Samella on Instagram, Linkedin or Facebook. 

Kimberly Jolsasun is the founder of the genderrevealgame.com, where she uses technology to help expecting moms raise money to offset the rising cost of raising babies.