About our Guest:
Lauren Washington co-founded KeepUp in 2014 and as CEO is focused on the long-term vision and strategy of the company. She co-founded Black Women Talk Tech in 2017 to help black women create billion-dollar tech companies. Ms. Washington received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a major in Journalism and Mass Communication and her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management with majors in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Marketing, and Finance.
Episode Summary:
Lauren talks with us about her app, KeepUp, and being selected out of 7,000 other companies to win the 2014 43North competition and $250,000. She also shares how listening to her market, and pivoting, to scale up has led to her success.
Insight from this episode:
- Not thinking twice to move to Buffalo, NY after winning $250,000 and incubator space in the first class of the 43North Competition in the beginning stages of building the app
- Path from teaching with Teach for America to online marketing to Founder & CEO and the turning point that said it was time to create her billion dollar idea
- Lauren’s 3 personality traits of an entrepreneur: creative, organized, & flexible
- Challenging aspects she has faced: managing financials, bringing in investors, & keeping the company afloat
- Role model Jessica Matthews and Bozoma Saint John teaching Lauren that leadership can be different than what is the “norm” of what she consistently saw
- Plans for keepUp app and Black Women Talk Tech
You’ll learn:
- How to be open, and willing, to take a risk and finding opportunities to grow
- Pivoting a business model to become a more sustainable business
- Staying organized and communicating within a team while taking care of you
- Building an app through considering it a business
- Developing your peer groups and realizing who should not be a part of it
- Not apologizing for who you are or what you look like
Guest Quotes:
- “It’s not about taking a great title or figuring out where I’m going to make the most money. It’s where am I going to grow as a person and where am I going to grow my skill set?” Lauren Washington, Episode #85
- “Follow the people who are saying that they need something and create a solution for it” Lauren Washington, Episode #85
- “The people who are making the changes are the people that are going off the beaten path” - Lauren Washington Episode #85
- “Humans are resilient. Keep going and in the end it’s all going to work out” Lauren Washington, Episode #85
Resources Mentioned:
- http://www.43north.org/winners/keepup/
- https://www.keepupapp.com/
- https://www.blackwomentalktech.com/
Lauren’s Favorites
Book: But What If We’re Wrong? By Chuck Klosterman
Quote: “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end” John Lennon
Lauren’s 3 keys to Create Your Best Life:
- Take a risk- don’t be afraid to go after your dream
- Be true to yourself
- Keep your eyes on the prize
Stay Connected:
Create Your Life Series:
https://www.facebook.com/cylseries/
https://www.instagram.com/cylseries/
Kevin:
www.kevinybrown.com
www.instagram.com/kevinybrown
www.twitter.com/kevinybrown
www.facebook.com/kevbrown001
Lauren:
Instagram: @ldubs48
Twitter: @ldubs48
Facebook: laurenwashington48
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