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A fearless career leap, a devastating family loss, and a mission to change how brands listen—Dawn V. Carr brings all of it to the table with clarity and heart. We welcome the founder and CEO of Mahogany Insights to explore why so many products miss the mark for Black consumers and how better research—not louder marketing—solves the real problem. Dawn breaks down the difference between counting people and understanding people, showing how qualitative research, cultural immersion, and culturally fluent moderation turn stories into strategy.
We dig into the structural reasons behind dissatisfaction: Black Americans make up a far smaller slice of most research panels than we are of the population, and that gap cascades into misread insights, misguided campaigns, and products that feel like they weren’t built for us. Dawn’s solution is Mahogany Minds, a national panel designed to bring more Black voices into studies at scale with fair compensation and thoughtful recruitment. She explains how intersectionality matters in practice—Black and immigrant, Black and parent, Black and high income each carry distinct needs—and why the generic “multicultural” label erases meaningful differences across ethnicity, region, and culture.
Along the way, Dawn shares the human story behind her method: caregiving for her mother, rebuilding as a single mom, and choosing entrepreneurship as a form of activism. We talk about trust and betrayal in brand relationships, why context makes data honest, and how 10x thinking can change not just a company’s goals but the infrastructure built to reach them. If you care about DEI, consumer insight, brand strategy, or simply want products that truly reflect your life, this conversation offers a playbook for doing the work with rigor and respect.
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Check out Dawn's top 5 books to read for your New Year's Book List!
Tune in to find out why she considers them great reads!
A Happy Pocket full of Money
Mastering Fear
We Shoul
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Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io
Produced By White Hot
Music Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io
Produced By: White Hot.
