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Morgan DeBaun on Reaching 20M Millennials - With Kat Manalac at the Female Founders Conference
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Morgan DeBaun is the founder and CEO of Blavity - https://blavity.com/ Kat Manalac is a Partner at YC. Read the transcript at http://blog.ycombinator.com/morgan-debaun-on-reaching-20m-millennials-with-kat-manalac-at-the-female-founders-conference
Segments Timeline
Introducing Morgan DeBaun
Morgan DeBaun, founder of Blavity, is introduced at the Female Founders Conference. She shares her journey of building Blavity into the largest media company for black Millennials, highlighting its growth to over 7 million readers and significant funding achievements.
"now I'm really really excited to introduce you to our next speaker Morgan Deon she's the founder of blavity so blavity um has you know grown into the largest Media company and Lifestyle brand for blac..."
From Teaching to Tech
Morgan DeBaun discusses her background, starting from her desire to become a teacher in St. Louis, Missouri, to realizing the limitations of the education system. She explains her shift to political science and her understanding of the influence of money in making impactful changes.
"[Music] hi hello I I I moved on to this couch so we could get real cozy love it hi hi um okay so I want to um so for folks who might not know uh you very well um I'd like to just kick it off tell us a..."
The Entrepreneurial Shift
Morgan reflects on her journey into entrepreneurship, emphasizing how technology and business can empower communities. She shares her experience moving to Silicon Valley and working as a product manager, which shaped her entrepreneurial vision.
"three other co-founders and actually started off wanting to be a teacher um that's how I was going to change the world and particularly like black youth and gave me more access and then I got in the c..."
Failures and Lessons Learned
Morgan shares her early entrepreneurial failures, including a personal finance calculator that lacked differentiation. She also discusses a successful college project, Quad Connect, which aimed to help students find free food on campus, highlighting the importance of solving real problems.
"and then after I graduated from college moved to Silicone Valley and to Mountain View specifically and um worked up into it as a product manager so I went you know big culture shock I think moving fro..."
The Vision Behind Blavity
Morgan outlines the original vision for Blavity, which focuses on celebrating black culture and addressing the unique challenges faced by black individuals and communities. She discusses the impact of events like the Mike Brown incident on her decision to create a platform that provides timely information and representation.
"back to blavity what was the original vision for blavity that you had and and how has it evolved yeah so the original Vision which is is still actually the same today is to create products and experie..."
Building the Blavity Community
Morgan explains how Blavity started as an email newsletter, curating content for black audiences who consume media differently. She highlights the importance of creating a centralized platform for black voices and experiences, leading to the growth of Blavity's community.
"that's the beginning yeah so um since then you know so basically maybe going back to that first moment how did you get your very first users yeah so we started as an email newsletter um and one one of..."
Killing Your Darlings
Morgan DeBaun talks about the difficult decision to abandon a project she had invested significant time in, emphasizing the necessity of adapting to user preferences. She shares her philosophy on 'failing fast' and the importance of being flexible in the tech and media landscape, particularly in the context of community engagement.
"really ugly in the beginning cuz like why make it pretty if you don't know if that's what they want um so then I made it prettier right I was like okay fine we'll go lighter We'll add some call to act..."
Building a Passionate Community
DeBaun reveals how Blavity focuses on empowering creators and fostering a community-driven platform. She discusses the significance of listening to the audience's needs and how this approach has led to the growth of a passionate community that actively engages with the content, highlighting the importance of supporting underrepresented voices.
"Darlings like something you spent two months birthing basically and then suddenly you realize you know it's not going to work out I kill my darlings all the time last right all the time I mean I think..."
Empowering Creators for Growth
In this segment, Morgan elaborates on Blavity's commitment to promoting creators and their work. She shares examples of how the platform has supported emerging talents and the mutual growth that occurs when creators are given the tools and resources to succeed, emphasizing the shift from a top-down editorial approach to community empowerment.
"so the first thing um which is part of our values is that we don't make it about us so blavity we always try to ask ourselves how does this help someone else is it information that they can use is it ..."
Navigating Funding Challenges
Morgan discusses the unique challenges faced by women and people of color in securing funding for their ventures. She reflects on her early fundraising experiences, the mistakes she made, and the importance of understanding the competitive landscape. This segment highlights the barriers that exist in the startup ecosystem and strategies for overcoming them.
"like go run around and they just show us your life and then we'll make a video out of it right and now she's one of my best friends and and so she's got literally millions and millions of followers um..."
Proving the Numbers
DeBaun recounts how she built Blavity to a point where her numbers were undeniable, forcing investors to confront the reality of her business's potential. She emphasizes the importance of confidence and clarity in presenting one's business to potential backers.
"going to compare your numbers to their numbers and so for me uh like thinking about Mike or hello giggles or um Refinery way back in the day like they had already raised money some of them even before..."
Bootstrapping Challenges
Morgan shares her experience of bootstrapping Blavity for a year while living in San Francisco. She discusses the difficulties of funding and the community-driven approach that characterized her early team, highlighting the sacrifices made to keep the vision alive.
"wasn't ready I didn't have the right story my story was way off people couldn't understand the the ecosystem that I was trying to build with blavity they just saw so you're a Blog on WordPress mhm and..."
Evolving Leadership Roles
DeBaun reflects on how her role has changed from bootstrapping to leading a growing company. She emphasizes the shift towards focusing on people management, storytelling, and removing barriers for her team to enhance productivity and creativity.
"you hadn't uh you were like here's where we're at today but you didn't have that like and here's the bigger I had some ideas but then they said oh you're doing too many things you're not focused right..."
Blavity's Vision and Growth
Morgan outlines Blavity's vision as a media company and lifestyle brand, detailing their conferences and new initiatives. She discusses the strategic acquisitions and the focus on creating spaces for underrepresented voices in tech and media.
"$400 million or not and there was there was no ambiguity there and some people the answer was no right and they're like no I don't believe it okay bye right um because I believed it and and I think yo..."
Testing New Ideas
DeBaun explains how Blavity decides which new initiatives to pursue, emphasizing data-driven decision-making and the importance of speed in traction. She shares insights on launching separate brands to cater to specific demographics and the success of these ventures.
"strapped for a year um living in San Francisco which is really hard um I was on that and how big was your team then um paid zero unpaid we had probably around six or seven people um or paid by via wha..."
Creating Space for Women
Morgan discusses the launch of Blavity's women's brand and the importance of creating a distinct voice for women in their content. She highlights the rapid growth of this initiative and the need for tailored approaches to engage different audiences effectively.
"so how has uh your job changed from the time you were bootstrapping to now yeah I mean I would have never done this when I was bootstrapping like I'm working I can't be on stage um yeah I think that n..."
The Vision for Blavity
Morgan outlines her long-term vision for Blavity as a recognizable brand that resonates positively with Black audiences. She describes how events and media content will reflect the brand's identity, aiming to create experiences that are distinctly tailored for the Black community, including music festivals and shows.
"like if I want to release um like a make a notebook that's like a day planner that's talking about living your best life for women and like put afro in the in the cover and like all this stuff like th..."
Opportunities in Music Media
DeBaun identifies gaps in music media that focus on Black culture, noting the irony of the lack of representation despite Black musicians' significant influence in the industry. She discusses the potential for Blavity to carve out a voice in the indie Black creator space, emphasizing the need for more media brands that celebrate Black culture.
"um on the website side and on the media company side I certainly think there's plenty of communities that have not been touched so for example music there's not many music media brands that focus on B..."
Empowering Female Founders
Morgan shares advice for female founders, particularly Black women, encouraging them to embrace their big visions without seeking validation from others. She reflects on her own journey and the challenges of being a Black female entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of self-belief and community support.
"focusing on that what do you have specific advice for them yeah I think um be Unapologetic about having a big Vision um I think in the beginning I felt like the world couldn't take all of me they were..."
Don't Ask for Permission
DeBaun passionately advises aspiring Black female founders to stop waiting for permission to pursue their dreams. She recounts her experiences of feeling unsupported and the societal barriers that suggest they shouldn't succeed, urging women to forge their own paths and not let external doubts hinder their ambitions.
"wait for other people to validate us because we've spent a lot of time not being validated and not seeing ourselves in places like for example um when I was said I was going to quit my job and run a s..."