Shows
Digital Business Your WayFrom China to Mexico: How Quayjo Rebuilt His Business from the Ground UpWhat if the business you’ve built isn’t the one you actually want?That’s exactly what happened to my guest, Kwadwo Sampany-Kessie, Strategic Facebook Ads Partner and host of The Art of Online Business podcast. His journey is anything but traditional—from teaching Mandarin in China to an unexpected "forever vacation" in Mexico that reshaped his entire career.In this episode, Kwadwo [QUĀY.jo] and I drop in on a raw and real conversation about what happens when business pivots aren’t just necessary, but non-negotiable. We’re talking about rebuilding from scratch, the...2025-03-1846 min
Venturing DeepVenturing Deep (with Antoine Woods -Tech Entrepreneur, Advisor, and Investor at BRONZE)Welcome to the “Venturing Deep” Podcast! I want you to meet Antoine Woods Jr.! Antoine is a tech entrepreneur, advisor, and investor at BRONZE. In short, he started as a programmer, became an entrepreneur, grew into venture capital, and now leverages social capital for others.Find out more about BRONZEConnect with AntoineConnect with the Venturing Deep PodcastConnect with Ama2023-08-0944 min
Venturing DeepVenturing Deep (with Imani Ross - Cofounder of Peerhood Development and Senior Consultant)I want you to meet Imani Ross! Imani Ross is a born and raised Philly native and currently works as a Senior Consultant at a Big 4 Firm. She is an author, a public speaker with a background in Tech Sales, Business advisory, and a graduate of The George Washington University with a B.A in Political Science. While it all may feel seemingly unrelated, her background and experience in corporate and start-up spaces, student activism, and consulting led her to the creation of Peerhood Development, a mentorship community elevating Black Professionals' careers across the nation. We got i...2023-05-2550 min
Venturing DeepVenturing Deep (with Mitchella Gilbert - Founder/CEO of OYA Femtech Apparel)Mitchella “Mitch” Gilbert is an inclusive product designer. She was a former elite athlete and Nike employee, so she is obsessed with women’s health and sportswear apparel. She attended the UCLA Anderson School of Management after earning a full scholarship to build her startup Oya Femtech Apparel. She is one of the first 200 black women to raise over $1M in venture capital and she graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy. Also, Oya is not Mitch’s first dance with entrepreneurship, but Oya Femtech Apparel is Mitch’s fourth company!Link to...2023-05-1036 min
Venturing DeepVenturing Deep (with Ezra Salami - Ezra Law, P.C. ) Ezra is the founder and managing attorney at Ezra Law. Ezra Law is a mission-driven law firm created and geared toward supporting Black & Brown-owned startups/businesses throughout their entire life cycle, we are talking corporate formation and governance, investment and contractual agreements, to even litigation.We talked about everything, from his upbringing, to where he went to college, why he chose law, and his love for puff puff (an African pastry). This was such a great episode!Connect with the Ezra Law FirmConnect with Ezra on LinkedInConnect with Ama on LinkedIn2023-05-0334 min
Venturing DeepVenturing Deep (with Rachel Wilson - Collab Capital)Our next guest is Rachel Wilson! Rachel has over a decade of global experience working across various industries including Food & Beverage, Automotive, Tech, Healthcare, Music, Fashion, and Media. As Principal and Head of Operations for Collab Capital (a VC Firm headquartered in Atlanta, GA) , Rachel runs the VC ops and fund governance processes of the fund. This includes investor relations, fund reporting oversight, impact metrics strategy, and all governance including legal and HR. She has been a long-time advocate for mental wellness and has been the Chair of the Board for her family's behavioral health treatment center, Omnis Health...2023-03-301h 09
Venturing DeepVenturing Deep (with Haley Bryant - Hustle Fund VC)Haley is a Principal at Hustle Fund VC. Prior to joining Hustle Fund, Haley worked for Apple, worked with bootstrapped and venture-backed tech startups and scaled the b2b SaaS content marketing agency Animalz as COO. Additionally, Haley started angel investing in 2020 to support founders from or supporting underrepresented communities and has invested in over 50 companies to date! Tune into this page to hear about Haley's amazing journey to Venture Capital and supporting phenomenal entrepreneurs!Venturing Deep On TwitterVenturing Deep On InstagramFollow Haley Bryant2022-12-0148 min
Venturing DeepVenturing Deep (with Isis Benjamin - Cofounder of House of Isis) A Bermudian native, Isis is also a business owner & serial entrepreneur. She is a graduate of the #1 HBCU, Spelman College (some notable alumni are Stacey Abrams and Rosalind Brewer). Currently, she is the co-owner of House of Isis, a brand that she runs with her mother Gina. A Plant-based product line that provides health-conscious black women with access to non-toxic hair & skin care. Isis and her mother have grown House of Isis into a 6-figure company. House of Isis has been recognized as Forward Founders by retail giant Target [Pause] and has been featured in many news outlets i...2022-11-1054 min
Venturing DeepFlip the Script ( w/ Garry Johnson III)Garry is an award-winning startup founder and nationally recognized ecosystem builder working to build a more inclusive and equitable innovation economy. Garry is the Founder & Executive Director of First Founders Inc., a nonprofit organization on a mission to lower barriers to entry and increase the likelihood of success in the innovation ecosystem. Additionally, he serves as the Founder & CEO of Bison Venture Partners, a company on a mission to empower a new generation of angel investors. He is also the author of “The Ghetto VC: How to Invest Like a Venture Capitalist”. Venturing Deep On Twitter2022-10-0953 min
Venturing DeepVenturing Deep ( with Mitch Brooks of High Street Equity Partners)Thank you for joining me for this episode of Venturing Deep! In this episode, we will be talking to Mitch Brooks. Mitch is the Co-General Partner of High Street Equity Partners where he invests in pre-seed and seed stage startups alongside his fellow General Partner, Tristan Wilkerson. High Street Equity Partners defines itself as a next-generation investment company that operates at the intersection of purpose and profit in the 21st-century economy. Mitch and his partner Tristan bring a fresh, new outlook on investing that is warranted in the startup world and beyond! Venturing Deep...2022-09-0852 min
Why Relationships Matter In The Innovation EconomyWomen Founders Leaving The WorkforceThis episode stories from founders Kristina Newton (HYPE) and Melissa Brogdon (FourthParty) as well as Goodie Nation's Tracey Palmer about women leaving jobs at large companies to launch their own organizations. Co-hosted by Joey Womack and Ama Kessie2022-08-1454 min
Venturing DeepLearning From It All (with Anthony Obi Jr.)Thank you for joining me for this episode of Venturing Deep! In this episode, we will be talking to Anthony Obi. Anthony was once a founder who knew very early in his entrepreneurial journey that he wanted to be on the other side of the table. Now, he is an Investment Associate at Virginia Venture Partners investing in pre seed/ seed stage startups! It means so much that you stopped by to listen and now let’s get deep!Venturing Deep On TwitterVenturing Deep On Instagram2022-05-1132 min
Venturing DeepTaking Action (with Niani Tolbert)In this episode, we talk with Niani Tolbert of the #HIREBLACK Initiative. Niani is a marketer-turned-tech recruiter-turned founder of the #HIREBLACK Initiative. #HIREBLACK started as a viral LinkedIn post requesting help in offering 19 Black womxn to receive resume feedback on Juneteenth, and grew into an initiative whose goal is to help 10,000 Black womxn get trained and hired promoted in corporate positions. #HIREBLACK is now a network of 15,000 people and counting featured on Forbes and ESSENCE.Since its inception, #HIREBLACK has worked with companies like Amazon, Disney, Conde Nast, Niantic, Spotify, Uber, and more. Their resources...2022-04-1852 min
Venturing DeepAnnotations with Ama (Friendship - Part 1)Today we are talking about one of what I think is the greatest loves, and that is your friends…What you all do not know is that this is a topic that I have wanted to discuss for a long time. I started writing about this back in 2019, and of course I did not have the podcast then…but this has been a long time coming. I wanted to make sure that I addressed this in Q1, the first quarter…since it is the beginning of the year. It is important that you and I have this i...2022-03-1406 minWhy Relationships Matter In The Innovation EconomyGood Stories: Why Relationships Matter For Women in TechHear origin stories and inflection points from awesome women founders and experts from our Intentionally Good program. Shout out to Naya F. Powell, Kacie Lett Gordon, Cherida D. Smith, and Ama Kessie for leading the conversation!2022-03-141h 00
Venturing DeepAnnotations with Ama (Betting On Yourself)Today we are talking about betting on yourself…In the previous “Annotations with Ama” we talked about “making plans” and if you have not checked out that episode already…make sure you do. In that episode, I left you with 3 suggestions for making plans. And the last one was “Believe that you can achieve your goals.” I can not stress enough how important that is to your overall success. Along with doing the work necessary and if you are a believer… putting your trust in God… Belief is the sauce that goes on top.2022-01-2605 min
Venturing DeepAnnotations with Ama (Making Plans)Check out the first installment of my new segment called “Annotations with Ama". This is where you get to hear what I am thinking about currently. In my original series, “Venturing Deep” but in this segment we will go a little bit deeper with some of my ideas and thoughts. In this segment It could be anything from politics, the social climate, pop culture, an old podcast episode, my faith, personal events,...it may be even something that happened in the past but I now feel inclined to speak on it. I want you to be able t...2022-01-0105 min
Venturing DeepA Heart to Heart (with Josh Ogundu) In this episode, we will be talking to Josh Ogundu. Josh is the CEO and Co-Founder of Heart to Heart. An audio first dating app that lets people tell the story behind the pictures in their profiles. Before that he was working as a Product Operations Lead at TikTok and has worked across media and communication tools as a product manager before that! We discussed his upbringing, diversity and inclusion, the app, and more! It means so much that you stopped by to listen and now let’s get deep!Follow JoshFollow Heart to H...2021-12-0644 min
Venturing DeepWinning In Our 20's (with Landon Campbell)In this episode, we will be talking to Landon Campbell. Landon is the host of the popular groundbreaking podcast series “In Their 20’s”! He has spoken to some of the most talented people of our day and asks them how they made it through their 20's, He is also the events manager at “Inside.com” and is what some would call a master at networking! It means so much that you stopped by to listen and now let’s get deep!Follow LandonFollow "In Their 20's"Follow Ama on InstagramFollow Ama o...2021-11-1231 minVenturing DeepSee Y'all For Season 2!!!Welcome to the “Venturing Deep” Podcast. My name is Ama Kessie and I consider myself a lifelong learner. With that being said, I feel that if you search deep enough you can learn from anyone or anything. This podcast will take a look at remarkable founders, interesting people and topics. Thank you for rocking with me this season and please tune in for Season 2!!!Follow the hostInstagramTwitterStay Up To Date With the PodcastInstagramTwitterMusic by@ikson2021-09-0702 minVenturing DeepThe Christian Entrepreneur (with Darrel Frater)Welcome to the “Venturing Deep” Podcast. My name is Ama Kessie and I consider myself a lifelong learner. With that being said, I feel that if you search deep enough you can learn from anyone or anything. This podcast will take a look at remarkable founders, interesting people and topics. Thank you for joining me for the seventh episode of Venturing Deep! In this episode, we will be talking to Darrel Frater. Darrel is the CEO and founder of an app called TheClub, an app that allows you to find and support top Live DJs to stream directly to yo...2021-08-0831 minVenturing DeepI'll Help You Cheat (with Joshua Wright)Welcome to the “Venturing Deep” Podcast. My name is Ama Kessie and I consider myself a lifelong learner. With that being said, I feel that if you search deep enough you can learn from anyone or anything. This podcast will take a look at remarkable founders, interesting people and topics. Thank you for joining me for the sixth episode of Venturing Deep! In this episode, we will be talking to Joshua Wright. Joshua is a published author of a book entitled, “I’ll Help You Cheat: A Teens Study Guide To Life”, which was the # 1 New Release in Teen and Y...2021-06-2727 min