Megan Graham is the Founder and CEO of Ries, a new brand addressing single-use plastic waste in the beauty industry with refillable, reusable travel-size bottles designed for beauty.

Megan spent her formative years in Atlanta, where her father was an anchor for CNN. She attended Florida State University, choosing to major in Textile Science and Fashion Merchandising. Megan translated this into a career in media and fashion, ultimately helping to run beauty marketing at Vogue. Her roles over those years involved extensive travel. And it was this context that led to her insight around wasteful plastics in personal care items, particularly those used on-the-go. She would discover that 150 billion pieces of plastic are created by the beauty industry annually, and 30% of single use plastic ending up in the landfill comes from personal care and grooming products. So, as the saying goes, she thought there had to be a better way. And so Ries was born.

Megan was part of the inaugural cohort of the Sephora Accelerate. Ries has gone to be carried by Sephora and Goop, and be recognized by Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines as one of the hottest innovations in the industry.

Megan has a great story. You’ll want to listen in.

In this episode Megan and Dan discussed:

• The realization that she appreciated looking at fashion more than creating
• The growth the comes from hard environments
• How Ries ended up featured at Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop
• Why success for her is defined by pushing the industry forward in sustainability
• What a trend forecaster actually does

OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS EPISODE:

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MORE on MEGAN and RIES

Megan:

linkedin.com/in/meganshaygraham

instagram.com/megansgraham

Ries:

ries-ries.com

linkedin.com/company/riesries

instagram.com/riesbeauty

twitter.com/RiesBeauty

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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

#blackfounders #founderstories #foundersafricandescent #travel #beauty

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Naza Shelley is Founder and CEO of CarpeDM, an exclusive member-only dating community, created for singles seeking meaningful relationships with professional Black women.

Naza is the daughter of military parents, so she lived in many places growing up. She eventually settled down in Virginia for high school, and then the University of Virginia for college. From a young age, she had aspirations to become an attorney. She pursued this journey, with a law degree from Howard University. Naza says it was a year post law school teaching in China that reinforced her desire to practice. And so she did when she returned to the US. As a successful black professional woman in DC, she still found something missing.

As she explored the various online dating experiences, she became more and more frustrated: why wasn’t there anything for her specifically? And so, the idea for CarpeDM was born. Fast forward through milestones, like landing a co-founder, going through Techstars, and launching a truly unique hybrid service that is part online dating and part matchmaker service. Naza has closed an oversubscribed pre-seed round, gaining her membership into the group of black women founders who’ve raised over $1M in venture capital.

Naza has a great story. You’ll want to listen in.

In this episode Naza and Dan discussed:

• Growing up in a military family
• The impact of spending a year in China after law school
• How dozens of dates in a year left her exhausted, with no real connections
• The power of 'friends and family' signals
• Why $86,000 was the right amount for her first fundraise

OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS EPISODE:

A focused community built for and by black investors.

If you ever thought about getting into Venture, you definitely want to connect up at blackvc.com or

follow @BLCKVC for more about their exceptional programs and events.

MORE on NAZA and CARPEDM

Naza:

linkedin.com/in/naza-shelley

twitter.com/Naza_Shelley

CarpeDM:

carpedmdating.com

linkedin.com/company/carpedmdating

instagram.com/carpedmdating

twitter.com/CarpeDMdating

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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

#blackfounders #founderstories #foundersafricandescent #onlinedating

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JUNETEENTH 2023 - Part II

In honor of Juneteenth and the 3rd anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, we thought we’d do something a little different this month. Back in June 2020, we did two episodes with black men and black women founders, capturing their raw thoughts, emotions, and insights at the time. These were two of our most popular episodes of all time. And the sentiments shared, and vulnerability shared are as powerful today as they were then.

This is part two, where we were honored to have Dr. Ivor Horn step in as guest host, moderating a panel of black women founders:

Helen Adeosun, Stella Ashaolu, Cherae Robinson, and Ashlee Wisdom

In some ways, that time in 2020 was a catalyst for progress. Unfortunately, though - with an extended pandemic, a tough economy, and frankly the passage of time – we have not seen enough continued focus, and a loss of priority. One thing that history teaches us…its that where society’s gaze lands, progress and achievement follow. The founders from these episodes certainly show a representative slice of the founder journey. Some have startups that are prospering with investment capital. Some have pivoted. And some have sunset. But all of these founders are still wise and fierce leaders today.

Take time to ponder on what you hear...

In this throwback episode from June 2020, we discussed:

• How it feels to be a black woman in America
• Moving between exhausted and determined
• Honoring the moment: with voice, intention, and self-care
• The desire to reach back and lift up
• How office hours are a poor substitute for a check

Audience References:

• Stella's panel discussion
• Ashlee's TEDx Talk
• Cherae's Podcast
• More about Ivor

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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

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