by ZAKIYYAH WALKER July 22, 2024
Who are you, and why are you here?
So... my mom and dad got together! Just kidding. When I was a kid, I always told people I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I remember in fourth grade, I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said "entrepreneur" and was then asked to spell the word. I did it perfectly. I've always known I didn't want to work for anyone but myself.
I was a straight-A student—kind of a flex, but true. I've always been an artist and a performer. I went to performing arts schools and majored in musical theatre. When I went to undergrad, I wanted to major in musical production, but I moved to Florida and, unfortunately, they didn't offer that as a major. I ended up majoring in Eighteenth Century British Literature, which I later changed to Marketing when I moved back because I hated Florida! Finally, I graduated with a bachelor's in journalism. I wanted to write for magazines, but we were deep into the recession at the time.
I was still performing as an artist, but what started gaining traction was social media. I became an early blogger and influencer for plus-size fashion and makeup for Black women. When I started on Facebook, it was only for college stud ents. I learned how to monetize myself on platforms like Twitter.
Eventually, people started asking me how I made traction on social media, so I decided to start my own digital marketing agency, Leo Season Marketing, before digital marketing was really a thing. I ran Leo Season for four years, focusing on social media marketing, digital marketing, and content for artists in New York and Twitter-famous people. Even during this time, I was still performing, making my own handbags when Etsy became a thing, doing makeup art, modeling, and performing.
I got my first corporate job in digital marketing as a project manager for a media company. It was a small startup with only three or four brands in their portfolio. They had a risk-free subscription model that upset customers, so I proposed to the founders that the product was valuable but the business model wasn't accepted. They told me to start a digital marketing department with all the important KPIs. I built SEO, paid ads, SEM, and more. I grew the brand portfolio to eight brands, making it the largest grossing channel for eight years.
I left to start a coaching business called LEOseason, focusing on helping Black women become the women they want to be through legacy work that focused on resolving deep traumas. Unfortunately, around this time, my mom passed away. I traveled for two years and that healed me. Later, a brand called Yellow-Brick recruited me to design digital marketing industry degrees for higher education institutions like NYU, Stanford, and MIT. I did pop-up incubators worldwide, bringing together students, industry leaders, and influencers like Tinker Hatfield from Nike and Priscilla Ono, Rihanna's makeup artist.
I was also running Joyce’s Kid at this time. I got recruited to work for Procter & Gamble to rebrand legacy brands like OLAY and Gillette. I worked on the infamous Gillette infomercial with a father teaching his trans son how to shave. I was part of the first women's brand ad with OLAY in the Super Bowl, which won an ADH award. I worked on other significant campaigns, including the Super Bowl commercial addressing the NFL's domestic abuse problem, bringing critical conversations to the forefront.
After that, I was recruited by a start-up beauty brand in LA. There I was able to see how multi-billionaires invested in their businesses while working on digital marketing. Shortly after, COVID-19 hit, which significantly impacted their business. I moved to Cincinnati and opened my consulting business for marginalized entrepreneurs, helping them launch beauty brands.
Fast forward, my brother had a baby, and I flew home to Cincinnati to see my nephew. I got COVID-19 and almost died. I was really sick, so bad I couldn't remember my name, and ended up in the hospital alone, 1200 miles from my family. Despite this, I was named top 40 under 40 entrepreneurs in Cincinnati and was invited to join a venture to help entrepreneurs pitch business models. Even while sick, I pitched three businesses over two months and after calls I vividly remember needing to go puke. I was committed, but they chose to go with someone in Medtech. This however, did not stop my journey.
I then became VP for a company designing bras for women who had mastectomies. Being around a founder securing funding allowed me to meet amazing people and design meaningful products. It was there where I really cultivated my understanding of a business model that gives back to the community and those who fund it.
Eventually, I got a call from that VC firm, to become a co-founder for a company based in Beloit, WI, we were selling upcycled food that was rejected and turning it into a high-end sustainable snack. I branded it and personally invested yet, the final product just kept tasting off. Soon, I discovered issues in the supply chain—workers were not being paid fairly, and the product quality was misrepresented. This caused conflict, and for me to leave that business.
The VC firm still offered to invest in me, and that's how I came up with Chalice, digging deep into my experiences to create something meaningful. I was on facetime with my best friend one day, and I was looking at what I could use around me to bring into fruition a successful business model. This prompted me to reach out to the company that was prototyping the chips and they quoted me 450K which was just too much. I had thought, I have always brought my businesses up from bootstrapping them, I can do this again. – And that's exactly what I did with Chalice. For the last two years, it has just been me. I am the one who packs all of the kits individually, I source and make the syrups and juices, I write the letters, I put the dried flavor sachets together, everything is done in house by me.
by ZAKIYYAH WALKER July 22, 2024
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