Bryanda Law on being a young, quirky, black woman CEO & Tech Startup Founder

I am so excited to share the first interview of our new video series: Conversations with Uncommon Leaders.

When Chris and I started uncommonly, we talked about creating a company that totally challenged what leadership looked like. We dreamt of creating a space where people could show up and lead as they are. A place where people could realize that all of the things that made them ‘weird’ or ‘strange’ or ‘quirky’ are actually the things that will make them wildly successful. It’s only right that the first interview we’re releasing is with a person that fully embodies our vision of uncommon leadership: Bryanda Law.

Bryanda Law is a total boss and ‘Nerdy Black Girl'. Her essence is light, fun, inclusion, and drive. We met in 2017 when we both participated in the same tech incubator at digitalundivided. At 24 years old, she created her first tech startup, Quirktastic: a community for quirky people of color who are into anime, comic books, or e-sports. Since starting her company in 2017, she’s grown her community to over 180,000 people, released a friendship app, and is now hosting a conference in Durham, North Carolina called the ‘Quirkcon’.

We sat down to talk all about uncommon leadership. Check out our video! If you prefer to read about the interview, we’ve outlined it below.

“It was also to show that people can be multifaceted. You can like anime. You can also like trap music and you can find people that have similar interests.”

Valeska: “What was it like for you growing up, what were the challenges, and why were you inspired to create this community?”

Bryanda: “I grew up in the 2000s - back then anime wasn’t really the cool thing to like, especially growing up black in the south. Most people were into hip hop and things like that. But at that age, I was the one that was watching anime. When I was in high school, I remember thinking ‘Man, I wish there was someone I could talk to about these new episodes with or a friend to go to Comicon’ and then, as I grew up and became an adult and still had these cool interests, and I was like ‘Wow, ten years have gone by and I still don’t have a friend to go to Comicon with or talk anime with.’

I started off just building the community. It started out as a media company - I just to see who was out there and who would gravitate to the content. Once I found the community, a lot of people were people of color and LGBT and so I was like ‘Ok, we’re out here.’ Let’s harness this energy and see what we can do with it. We were able to grow the community to about 180,000 people. My younger self would have been shocked to know that there were that many people who were into it.

Moving forward, we decided to do the friendship app just to help other people not feel alone whenever they go to these events or have other nerdy interests. It was also to show that people can be multifaceted. You can like anime. You can also like trap music and you can find people that have similar interests.”

“We channeled our pain into something that is now paying our bills.”

Valeska: “I remember Bree telling me about how she was bullied when she was younger. And it translates so clearly into the work you’re doing. Here you are, building an app for friendship, telling people ‘You’re not alone’ and it stems from that feeling of being alone. It’s incredible how you were able to take something that impacted you and how you were able to then create this incredible community to bring people together. I think it speaks a lot to your character in that you care so much about people. You care, you’re passionate, you’re loving. You know?”

Bryanda: “Yea, I joke all the time with my team because we were all the nerdy people of color or the nerdy gay kids, and we’re always like ‘We channeled our pain into something that is now paying our bills.’ It’s so cool when you can do something like that. It’s like ‘You used to pick on us, that’s cool. We’re not bitter about it anymore. We’re just gonna turn that into a check.”

Valeska: “Amen, ya’ll. Yas! And guess who’s getting paid? Bryanda Law, ok? [insert praise hands emoji]”

“No one can really argue with the facts. I’ve grown this business to the size that it is. I deliver and I deliver on time. I go above and beyond, so from that no one can really say anything.”

Valeska: “What is it like for you going out there, talking to investors, and maybe feeling like … because we do look young or we don’t look like the typical Silicon Valley entrepreneur… how do you deal with that and how do you overcome it?”

Bryanda: “I always wanted to move to California. I was super excited. I found out that I got into the Wefunder XX Fund, so they funded six women to get free housing and gave us some funding. At first I was like ‘Oh my goodness, the dream is coming true! I’m moving to San Francisco. Like, I’m finally doing it!’ and I get there and my first week there I was so depressed. I was so sad. I was in one of the richest neighborhoods in San Francisco and nobody looked like me, which I didn’t think would bother me because I went to a majority white school and I’m here for all types of diversity. So, I didn’t think it would bother me, but it did. I think what I had to do was kind of remember that I belonged there. I talked about it with the other women that were in the program and told them ‘this is an experience for me.’ I allowed myself to feel those feelings, but then I had to remember why I was doing it and keep pushing forward.

Even with that, people do underestimate me. As you said, I do look younger. So, whenever I walk into a room people are like ‘Oh, where is the founder of Quirktastic?’ I get underestimated but I kind of use that to my advantage. I’m walking in and the expectation is low so anything I do from here is going to be impressive and I make sure to blow it out the park. No one can really argue with the facts. I’ve grown this business to the size that it is. I deliver and I deliver on time. I go above and beyond, so from that no one can really say anything.”

“It’s something that I never would have thought that I needed. I grew up in a household where mental health wasn’t really a priority and if you tried to prioritize it, you were kind of seen as being weak so it wasn’t something that I really put on the top.”

Valeska: “How do you practice self-care? How do you try to create a balanced life for yourself in the midst of all the craziness?”

Bryanda: “Yea, well you know that I struggle with this. Thankfully, I’ve been able to call you and talk to you. I will say having an executive coach does work wonders. And, it’s something that I never would have thought that I needed. I grew up in a household where mental health wasn’t really a priority and if you tried to prioritize it, you were kind of seen as being weak so it wasn’t something that I really put on the top. I was like ‘I can just keep pushing through this, I can just keep working and once I reach this certain level of success, once my bank account looks like this, then all of my problems will go away.’ Then I started making more money and once you start making more money, more bills come. And then family members come and think that you’re making more money than you’re actually making, and then their bills try to come at you, and then you’re just dodging them like ‘Wait a minute! I can’t afford this! I can barely afford my lifestyle!”

So, it’s really good to first allow yourself to acknowledge the struggle that you’re having. I think that’s the first step. There was a day that Valeska called me and I was like ‘I can’t get out of bed today.’ and she was basically like, ‘Are you prioritizing yourself? When was the last time that you took a break?’ and I think you gave me the example of Mark Zuckerberg - like ‘he has a whole team that is just making sure that he’s staying alive. He prioritizes himself because he’s one of the most important assets to Facebook. You are your company’s most valuable asset and I need you to remember that and give yourself the time.’ So, ever since you said that, I’ve been working on it and it’s definitely something I need to work on more. But, I do have that in the back of my mind whenever there is a day where I’m like ‘I just can’t do this’.”

“Embrace your quirky self. Don’t feel like you have to be ‘Devil wears Prada’. You can just walk into a room and chat it up about anime and as long as you’re getting the work done, that’s all that matters.”

?Valeska: “What does leadership mean to you and how do you embody leadership?”

Bryanda: “Wow, that’s a question! I would say my idea of leadership has changed. In the beginning, it was like ‘you have to do it all, you have to be everything for the company and make sure everything is done right.’ Now that I have employees, I realize: Hire really good people and get out of the their way. Trust the choices that you made, trust that they have the vision and keep moving forward.

With that, I think also leading by example and being a whole person. That is very important. I think another thing is just embracing yourself. I know before I was just like ‘Oh, leaders look like this.’ Especially black women leaders. They have to be very strong. You’re supposed to be the strong black woman and talk very directly. Be assertive. You should be able to walk into a room and have people fear you. But now, I’m ok walking into a room with my hair looking the way that I want and speaking with the soft voice that I have and knowing that people will listen to me because I know what I’m saying. So, just embracing your quirky self, not feeling like you have to be ‘Devil wears Prada’. Like you can just walk into a room and chat it up about anime and as long as you’re getting the work done, that’s all that matters.”

How to support Bryanda:

Bryanda: “If you’re interested in coming to Quirkcon, you can definitely buy those tickets at quirkcon.com. Other than that, we are fundraising right now, so if you’re interested in investing as an angel investor or if you know anyone that would be interested in investing in Quirktastic, definitely send them my way. My name is Bryanda Law, Quirktastic. You can find us on the internet everywhere.”

Website: Quirkcon.com

Instagram: @Quirktastic

Twitter: @Bryanda_co