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GBACC strikes partnership to expand opportunities for entrepreneurs of color
The Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce a partnership with Venture Noire. This partnership is designed with the intention of increasing diverse representation within the entrepreneurial ecosystem and regional brand of the Greater Bentonville / Northwest Arkansas area.Venture Noire is on a mission to rebrand and revitalize communities by catalyzing the success of minority-driven businesses in the digital economy. This collaboration will support in the launch, development, and scaling of innovative companies led by diverse founders in the NWA region. Venture Noire will serve as a community resource to attract, retain and accelerate multicultural talent, partnering with resources uniquely present in NWA to prepare business owners for corporate and capital opportunities.Execution will be led by Venture Noire founders Keenan Beasley and Bjorn Simmons. Their partnership will provide collaborative oversight, marketing, and guidance; including vetting and assisting diverse business opportunities as well as access to curated mentorship, curriculum, and funding. Venture Noire is currently building a community of business owners as well as corporate and capital partners seeking to advance accessibility to innovation enabled by entrepreneurs of color. To learn more information check out the video below and visit us at weareventurenoire.com
Team Building: Minders, Finders, Grinders
There is so much chatter out there about how to hire and retain workers.You could drown in ‘good’ advice. But one thing is certain: team building is harder than it looks, and harder than people want to admit.In 2014, my business partner Dionna McPhatter and I quit our corporate jobs and devised a strategy to start our own marketing company. We were two people with a big idea, and of course, like most first-time entrepreneurs, we thought starting would be the hard part.As BLKBOX has grown, Dionna and I have learned—sometimes the hard way—that building a team is one of the most difficult challenges of an entrepreneur’s life. Hire too many people too quickly, and you’re paying big bucks to have a team twiddling their thumbs. Too few people, and your team will suffer burnout and relentless turnover.Recruiting a harmonious, high-functioning, efficient team is essential to every small business. And we've learned one big lesson along the way.
When building a team, you have to strike the right balance between minders, finders and grinder.
The Problem With MarTech: Lots Of Disruption, Not Much Growth
It all begins with an idea.
I just left a fancy MarTech conference in Boston where I met some extremely smart people. We discussed how MarTech is the intersection of marketing technology and data. We all were like wow, this is so smart and cool. So much disruption. And then it hit me. “With all this disruption, where’s the growth?”Every day, shiny things divert business owners’ attention away from their goals. New marketing technology tools. Better analytics software. Strategic consultants. At times, the business world feels like a puzzle where all the pieces just keep getting smaller.We live in an era of constant disruption. In the realm of marketing, thousands of companies have emerged, promising great results to their clients, with very little to show for their claims. As a business or brand owner, this is beyond frustrating. I’m constantly getting pitched on new tools that my clients and I must have to compete in the marketplace. But here’s the rub: with all of this disruption, you would expect there to be growth. Instead, the major brands investing millions in this technology are losing market share, year by year like a slow leak.
Read more:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/keenanbeasley/2017/10/22/so-much-disruption-but-where-is-the-growth/#778528a223ba