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Kendra Braken-Ferguson is an innovative leader. Her career in media began at Ralph Lauren, where she served as the director of digital media for the fashion company. Through her commitment and desire to support women in professional spaces, she took a major step forward and became the co-founder and chief operations officer of Digital Brand Architects.
Bracken-Ferguson continued to advocate for women in the industry strongly and worked to promote diversity and inclusion. She is committed to sharing resources for Black entrepreneurs and using her career expertise to make the industry a more equitable space.
What is your superpower as a Black woman?
It’s a superpower, but it’s a motto, and that’s “carpe diem.” You should seize the day. So, every time I step into a meeting, I’m all about seizing the meeting, the opportunity, and the day. My other superpower is connecting; I have been able to build three companies. It’s the strength of just connecting with people and listening to people and feeling like, no matter what, there’s always some commonality that we can find if we’re open to connecting.
How did you realize the idea for BrainTrust Founders studio?
I feel like I was called to be of service, and that comes in the form of being in service to founders and entrepreneurs. My first company that I created in 2010, I raised money for it and became part of that first group of 100 Black women to raise more than one million dollars. I quickly learned that the investors that we brought in were not necessarily investors that I had a kindred soul, spirit, or integrity alignment with. I was sitting in my office, and I was like, what have I learned from this experience? It was that I love working with smart people, but I also want to work with people I trust. I had Halle Berry and Blushington as my first client. Upon the pandemic, we came to a halt and so were other businesses. We were all lacking this the same things, and we were Black. I knew this had a bigger impact and wanted to bring together a large community for Black founders of beauty and wellness companies.
How does one become a member of your community?
We leave no founder behind. Membership is open with a start tier, which is pre revenue. We have a grow tier, which is $10,000 to a $1 million in revenue and an accelerated tier which is over a $1 million in revenue. Our start tier is free, and we really want to make sure that as you’re starting and growing, we can provide community mentorship, education, and applicable capital.
BrainTrust is hosting a Founder House event this weekend in Austin, Texas. The brand welcomes founders, tastemakers, influential leaders and cultural amplifiers to join the organization for a night of networking and entertainment. Bracken-Ferguson shared that her members were “eager to be reunited again” after having to attend events during the pandemic virtually.
An RSVP link to Founders House SXSW 2023 is now available with more information about what to expect: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/founders-house-sxsw