263: How Morgan DeBaun is Defying Expectations As A CEO
Side Hustle Pro
Nicaila Matthews Okome | Side Hustle Pro Media
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 August 2021
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today in the guest chair we have Morgan DeBaun, who is a serial entrepreneur and corporate advisor. As the Founder & CEO of Blavity Inc., the leading digital media company for Black culture and millennials, Morgan has grown the company into a market leader for Black media, reaching over 100 million readers per month through a growing brand portfolio which includes: Blavity News, 21Ninety, AfroTech, Travel Noire, Shadow & Act, and Lunchtable.
In this episode Morgan shares:
- An update on what she is working on these days, how she juggles and prioritizes each one of her businesses, & how she works her personal brand into her entire vision for her life and her different companies.
- How she navigated the pressures of being a young CEO
- How she pivoted during early COVID days to protect Blavity’s legacy and the team’s salaries
- How she reframed her mindset to appreciate the tiny moments of joy everyday in order to avoid burnout and be the best CEO she can be
- How she is shifting the business for her team to work fully remotely & how they still find a way to stay connected.
- Some of the mistakes she made while starting her companies
- The differences in running a digital business vs a physical products business
- How her “Why not me?” attitude has led to her success and how others can use the same mindset to achieve their goals.
Listen to learn more about how to get mentorship from Morgan Debaun with the WorkSmart Program!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Here I'm listening to Side House of Pro, and I'm your host, Nikaela Matthews of Komey. |
| 0:06.9 | So let's get started. |
| 0:11.2 | Hey guys, welcome back to the show. |
| 0:16.5 | It's Nikaela here with another episode of Side House of Pro. |
| 0:20.3 | And today we are back with a special episode we have Morgan DeBond in the guest chair. |
| 0:24.9 | This is not Morgan's first time here at Side House of Pro. |
| 0:27.9 | So today we have an update episode, and I'll link to her original episode in the show |
| 0:32.4 | notes. |
| 0:33.4 | So Morgan, if you don't know, is a serial entrepreneur and corporate advisor. |
| 0:38.3 | She is the founder and CEO of Blavety Inc, which is a leading digital media company for |
| 0:44.0 | Black culture and millennials. |
| 0:46.1 | Morgan has grown the company into a market leader for Black media, reaching over 100 million |
| 0:52.7 | meters per month through a growing brand portfolio, which includes Blavety News, 2190, Afro |
| 0:59.5 | Tech, Travel Noir, Shadow and Act, and Lunch Table. |
| 1:03.4 | Under Morgan's leadership, Blavety has launched several consumer summits, including Summit |
| 1:08.8 | 21 for Black women creators, and Afro Tech, the largest tech conference for Black innovators |
| 1:15.2 | and founders, which I'm sure some of you have been to. |
| 1:18.7 | Morgan also acts as an advisor to influential global brands and companies, including Disney, |
| 1:24.4 | American Airlines, CES, Pentora Bridal, and Rosen's skincare. |
| 1:28.9 | She's also an angel investor in gold, a consumer brand, present in over 200 stores, and public, |
| 1:36.6 | which has a $1 billion valuation. |
| 1:39.0 | Now, this is clearly incredible, and you'll see why I wanted to have Morgan in the guest |
... |
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