Tiffany Johnson, CEO of Built for Launch, joins ChedHER to discuss the  Black Founders Ecom Pledge that provides tools and resources for Black founders to build, launch, and scale a successful e-commerce business.

chedHER

Helping Black Founders Build a Successful E-Commerce Business

joining us now is Tiffany johnson ceo of built for launch, Tiffany, can you just tell us a little bit more about the black founders Aecom pledge and why it is so important. Yeah, absolutely. First and foremost, thank you guys for having me. So as you know, black business owners continue to face a disproportionate number of challenges um namely access to capital, mentorship, social capital as well as marketing. Uh so Jenna to generate long term impact. It's critical to foster wide scale intentional support for these businesses. So I've decided to launch a call to action for the the ecosystem of e commerce solution providers to join us in creating equitable and sustainable solutions for black owned businesses and future founders and e commerce. So what are some of the benefits that companies who signed this pledge can get? Yeah, so since the recent launch of the pledge, companies like Suna Clark, Oh clark To have signed up to support black owned businesses through companies like these. We've been able to aggregate millions of dollars in resources like equity free capital through Claire Co free professional photos of e commerce products, discounted rates and so so much more. You have a pretty significant amount of followers on social media platforms across the social media platforms. What are some of the ways that you use your brand to create opportunities for underrepresented communities? Yeah, so a lot of what I'm doing and the milestones have been able to accomplish through a build for launch is based off of my personal brand. Um and the work that I do in my day job and my authenticity on my social media platforms has really allowed me to build trust with companies and organizations who have resources to help underserved businesses reach new heights in their businesses. So I've been able to leverage my personal brand to aggregate hundreds and thousands of resources to underserved businesses. And speaking of kind of aggregating that you're gonna be hosting the world's largest e commerce event for black founders, can you tell us more about this upcoming event? You know, what can people expect out of it? Yeah, so black and aecom, it's the first of its kind. Um I call it my baby. Um and I'm very excited about what this event will do for black-owned businesses. So due to unforeseen circumstances, um we've since moved the events to August 2023. But essentially black and aecom is a multiday event held in the city of Atlanta. Um and the event will gather the world's most innovative founders, the brightest minds in trailblazing D two C brands for two days of conversation and connection on how to build launch and scale a successful e commerce brand. We anticipate thousands of attendees in person and online for four tracks, 20 speeches, panels, workshops, and networking. I'm sure you provide a ton of advice throughout your platforms and the work that you do. But for us here, when you think about advice for black founders looking to grow their ecommerce presence. What advice do you have? Um I think keep doing the next right thing. That's that's my advice to um, founders and non founders. Um, if you reach uh, at the end of the road in there to path, keep doing the next right thing. Um, and hold on, hold on. You know, in times like this, you know, where the economy seems so uncertain. Black founder seems to be the one that hit the hardest. For instance, covid more than 40% of black owned businesses completely failed. So I would say hold on, hold on and keep doing your research because there are resources out there. I love that the next right step because I don't, no matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey or in the e commerce space, it can feel overwhelming and sometimes you just have to focus on one step after another, making the right decision really sound device there. I want to take a step back with you for a second though. Built for launch, talk about that a little bit more. And what was, what's the story behind that, that part of your company? Yeah, so a lot of the work that I do um in my day job is supporting founders. Um, when I launched one of the largest e commerce um solution for for black owned businesses, 100 and $50 million there were thousands of businesses who were reaching out saying they were interested in the program, but didn't know where to start. Um, so I decided to launch um, built for launch, which is a mission to level the playing field for underrepresented founders who were in various journeys of their ventures, whether um there in the ideation stage or they're in the stage to scale. And for me, I'm a natural born connector. Um, I have a brand, I'm very authentic through my social media and I'm not afraid to ask, I'm not afraid to enter those rooms and ask for opportunities. So I've been able to leverage their skill to go to different um, companies and organization, the same way of advocated in my company that I work on a database basis to help generate more resources. So we're here leveling the playing field for under underrepresented founders, startups and students, and we create things like experiences to connect them through social networking opportunities, summits and conferences. So what's next? What are your plans to grow? Built for launch even further? So, we plan to grow, build for launch by continuously adding value to our customers. There's a shift happening in the economy as we speak and things may seem a bit uncertain for many founders essentially are underserved founders since they tend to get hit the hardest compared to the majority. Thus we we intend on working with our partners and organizations coworking spaces, investors accelerators, um to see where we can aggregate resources to share it with our members Tiffany such great work that you're doing such great advice, really appreciate your time and that advice and insight. Tiffany johnson Ceo of built for Launch.