Conversation Nation: June Roundup

To say a lot has changed since my last newsletter in April would be an understatement. Then, I focused on the impact of Covid-19, on society, business, and virtually everything. And now, the effects of Covid have been compounded with racial unrest throughout the country.

Most, if not all, of my LinkedIn commentary has been focused on my perspective on the current events. And I’m definitely not the only one who has been talking about it. At Holler, we’re all about the conversation, and as a Black business leader, I see it as my responsibility to not only talk about what is going on when it comes to race, but provide insights into how corporate America, and the rest of the world, should think about igniting change. 

Actions over Words, We’ve Got to Start Somewhere  

At the beginning of June, right after the unfortunate incident involving the death of George Floyd, I shared an article based on the memo I sent internally to my staff about the current societal climate. It was an open and honest perspective that I wanted to share with all of you. You can see the full open letter here.

Some other companies have also been even more vocal about their view on racial injustice. Ben & Jerry’s in particular sparked a lot of buzz when they used their Instagram as a platform for change in a very forward way. 

This isn’t to say that you or your company must be radical or loud in your stance. I know that many people are simply lost right now about what to do or say, mostly because they’re too afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. But, being afraid often leads to being silent, which is a disservice to everyone. It’s okay to make mistakes, as long as it's done with good intentions.

I spoke with Opal Tometi, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter, last week about just that. “Progress over perfection” was something that she said that really resonated with me. She noted, “We're trying to build something that really works for all of us and respects the breadth of who we are, our aspirations, and our experiences. We need you to continue to show up - not always perfectly, but to be there and be committed to the long haul.”

Visuals Help Bring the Black Lives Matter Movement to Life

As someone invested in visual communication, I noticed just how many people used creativity as an outlet to inspire change in recent weeks. My Instagram page was flooded with beautiful imagery and typography, bringing the sentiment of the BLM movement to life. Some of our artists at Holler even took on pro bono projects, pledging to create unique art for people who donated to a relevant cause.

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors spoke about the impact of art with Rolling Stone; “Art creates vision and hope and it grounds us. We cannot forget that the work that we do as artists has to be deeply aligned with the movements that are calling for artists to be some of the visionaries in this process.” 

Even before the recent events, our studio was already busy creating Juneteenth content for our platform. But, in the wake of recent news, we quickly added even more relevant content to help people express themselves, both in messaging and in payments on Venmo. 

Our “Black Lives Matter” sticker has proven to be useful in conversation, garnering an amazing 8.45% share rate within days of its release. This goes to show that people are hungry for content relevant not only to their personal conversations, but the wider societal dialogue.

For Tech Companies, Agility is Needed in Diversity Too

Many companies are rethinking how they approach Diversity & Inclusion - and my company is no different. As I thought more about how to make Holler a more inclusive place to work, I found so many parallels between how we, in corporate America, should treat diversity and how we're already treating tech - with agility. To solve complex problems, agile practices within tech encourage adaptability and promote continuous improvement, flexibility, collaboration and high quality. We must do the same for diversity. Read more about my thoughts on rewiring corporate culture in TechCrunch.

Entrepreneurship as a Minority Founder

I recently had the chance to chat with other founders of diverse backgrounds during the Knotch Pros & Content Connect Conference. We discussed how being from minority groups has helped shape our own companies, talked about the impact of Covid-19 on our businesses, and much more. Check it out below.

That’s it for now! Stay tuned for the next Conversation Nation Newsletter. In the meantime, stay safe, stay well, and stay in touch. If you need me, just holler!

-Travis