A Dope Platform for Everyday Women feat. Raisha Smith '22

[00:00] Intro: Welcome to Owl Have You Know, a podcast from Rice Business. This episode is part of our Flight Path Series, where guests share their career journeys and stories of the Rice connections that got them where they are.

[00:15] Raisha: I think what makes you dope inside, just know that, you are dope in your own way, and your journey is a testimony to anyone, because there's someone that's always going to look at you, like your goals.

[00:22] David: Raisha Smith is a dynamic, multi-faceted woman of color who uplifts and inspires and bridges gaps within her community. She comes from a background in energy and transportation before pursuing her MBA at Rice Business, graduating this May of 2022.

In this episode, Raisha shares how her passion for helping women of color has evolved from highlighting achievements of everyday women to becoming an incubator for women-owned businesses.

Welcome to another episode of Owl Have You Know. I'm your host, David Droogleever. And on the line with me today, I have Raisha Smith. Raisha is an entrepreneur. She does a lot of help in the community and with empowering women and all this. But I don't want to take away your thunder. So, Raisha, welcome, first and foremost, to the podcast.

[01:10] Raisha: Thanks for having me, David. Super excited to be here.

[01:13] David: Absolutely. So, I can already tell we have a lot to cover here in a short amount of time. So, let's make it super punchy. Your passion is helping women of color. You do a lot of things around that. But in your own words, what is your why? And what is it that you're most passionate about?

[01:31] Raisha: I am super passionate about ensuring that women—interracial and intergenerational women—in business are successful. And so, we'll talk about it a little bit later, but EveryDopeGirl has really been that passion, that burning fuel for me actually pursuing my MBA at Rice. It's been something that's really catapulted a lot of opportunities for me and other women within the Houston area and beyond. So, my passion, ultimately, is supporting women, empowering women, affirming women, and ensuring that women have the confidence to go out and build successful businesses.

[02:06] David: And I have to ask, in terms of how that idea got started, was there a certain event or a personal experience that you'd like to share that got you to that point where you wanted to help women to have opportunities and confidence?

[02:19] Raisha: Most definitely. So, prior to business school, I spent about seven and a half years in oil and gas. And so, working in corporate America, which I'll be back in corporate America post-graduation. I'm a part of the gig society. But working in corporate America, there are times where you are pouring a lot into your job. You're pouring a lot of time, a lot of energy, and a lot of effort, sometimes with minimal recognition. And so, there was a point in my career where I felt that I was pouring so much into my role into my job and I was being overlooked by other opportunities, overlooked for promotions. And I knew that there were other women that were doing amazing things outside of their 9:00 to 5:00 and felt probably just as I felt in my 9:00 to 5:00.

So, I just got on social media, created a burner account, which is now EveryDopeGirl, and I started reaching out to women that had really cool side hustles. And then I would highlight them and feature them on our social media platform, which really attributed to the virality of the brand so early on when we were founded.

[03:20] David: So, when you listen to some of these side hustles and these stories, what was some of the initial feedback from folks that you were highlighting? Did they resound with your value proposition in that they also felt overlooked in terms of their work and their side hustle? What was that initial feedback looking like for you?

[03:41] Raisha: So, it's super funny. So, 2018, it was honestly I just reach out to women that had cool things going on in their life, whether they were stay-at-home moms that had jewelry businesses on the side, and I highlight them. And I'd share their stories from their 9:00 to 5:00 into their entrepreneurial journey. And a lot of times, they would share with their friends, and their friends would it share with their friends, or family members would share it with their family members. And there was a lot of gratitude shown towards EveryDopeGirl. And I'm like, hey, I'm just here to spread light and spread joy.

And then around 2019, a year in, women started self-nominating themselves or they would nominate friends to be featured on our platform. And then there would be some really dope women. And I'm like, hey, can we feature you on our social media site? And they're like, "I don't think I'm dope enough." And so, then, I had to really take a step back to start affirming and building confidence within the community because every single woman or person that identifies with being a woman, you are dope in your own way. And we just want to highlight that to the world.

[04:43] David: That being said, are there certain attributes in folks that you highlight that would make a really good fit for EveryDopeGirl?

[04:52] Raisha: We are here for everyone. I think what makes you dope inside, EveryDopeGirl can't dictate what your dopeness is, but just know that, regardless of how you feel as a mother, a sister, a wife, a businesswoman, a budding business owner, you are dope in your own way, and your journey is a testimony to anyone, because there's someone that's always going to look at you, like your goals. So, that's what I'm trying to tell and really preach to the community, everyone is dope. I'm still striving for dopeness.

[05:21] David: Increasing dopeness is a never-ending process, it seems like.

[05:37] Raisha: Yeah.

[05:26] David: Well, are there certain highlight moments that you'd like to feature in these last couple of years before we talk about where things are going, what are some of the moments that you're most proud of?

[05:37] Raisha: Yeah. So, 2020 is when we really pivoted, which we'll talk about. Of course, becoming a full-time business student at Jones, I used to self-fund EveryDopeGirl prior to business school. And so, when I stopped working and pursued my MBA, I had to get really creative. And so, through that creativity, that bred a lot of innovation, a lot of really cool partnerships with some really big brands. And then we were recognized by James Harden last August for our contributions to the female business community in the city of Houston. And then, literally, two weeks ago, we received a proclamation from Mayor Sylvester Turner, proclaiming March 27th as EveryDopeGirl Day for our contributions to economic impact and successfully bringing women together and educating women on business acumen and entrepreneurship.

[06:24] David: Wow, huge congratulations.

[06:25] Raisha: Thank you.

[06:27] David: You have the city behind you, James Harden behind you. Congratulations.

[06:28] Raisha: Thank you.

[06:31] David: No big deal. And you say you're still striving for dopeness? I think you've exceeded that watermark.

[06:39] Raisha: Look, there's more to be done. There's more dopeness to do for other dope women.

[06:43] David: Absolutely, absolutely. It's all about just spreading the love and helping others. And rising tide floats all ships, I like to say. I'm a Navy person.

[06:44] Raisha: Absolutely.

[06:52] David: So, let's talk about that pivot in 2020. So, you had your corporate job going there. You had a background in energy. And you've pivoted to tech as well. And you're still doing EveryDopeGirl, also. So, what were some of the changes that you're looking to make in about that 2020 time when you stopped your corporate career, was doing business school, and still running EDG?

[07:14] Raisha: So, very interesting, because I just finished my last few classes, which were really focused and tailored on EveryDopeGirl and in my pivot. And so, what I noticed in 2020 is that there were a large percentage of women that were leaving the workforce. And so, as women continue to leave their workforce, you have more of what we call women that are entering in the gig economy. And so, if you look at the number of women that have entered the gig economy since 2017, that number is nearly doubled. And then the challenge with women that are entering into this gig society or turning into entrepreneurs is they need resources, they need help, they need support. And so, of course, during the pandemic, we used to do events all over the country. We've been in New York. We've been in Houston. We've been in Nebraska. And we were doing events in person with partners. So, we've worked with Facebook, LinkedIn, and BuzzFeed, teaching ways you can implement digital resources for your business.

Well, that went to a halt because of COVID. And so, we really pivoted into just free-for-all conversations with EveryDopeGirl. We'd bring on subject matter experts. We had the founder of Honeypot that sat in on conversations with EveryDopeGirl. And she was able to talk about her entrepreneurial journey and encourage women. So, during the pandemic, we really became that crux in the community to just be there to support. During the winter freeze, we solicited information on all of the businesses that were open for restaurants in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. That went viral. That was not something that we did to go viral. It just happened, because we wanted it to be there to help. We also help with the water drive. It was a tropical storm in New York. And so, we worked with Relief Gang and Rice. And we provided pallets of water all the way to the East Coast in support of Beyoncé's water drive.

We really pivoted into, how can we really help our community? How can we really help female entrepreneurs in our local community? And that's what really forced us to change. And while we were changing and evolving, the community continued to grow. And then we started receiving some really cool recognitions that we were not really looking for at all.

[09:25] David: And help me understand, and apologies if I missed it, but is there a monetization model for this? Or is it strictly community-oriented?

[09:34] Raisha: Prior to the pandemic, we were pretty much non-profit. We have since pivoted into a for-profit model. And so, essentially, we want to ensure that we are providing low-cost subsidized educational opportunities for female entrepreneurs in our community. And that will be subsidized by our partnerships with big businesses and big brands, and hopefully, the angel network and VC network.

[09:59] David: Interesting. And in terms of those partnerships, what's the strategy there? How do you go about identifying the partnerships, doing the reach outs? What does those conversations look and feel like? And what makes for a good partnership?

[10:12] Raisha: So, I would say EveryDopeGirl is a little unique in this situation. There are partners that we have to reach out to. But you have to remember, we also work with women that are a part of the side gig economy. And so, one of our really notable partnerships that we have with Verizon and Huffington Post, we had an event in Dallas. And one of the vendors was the VP of Verizon, and said, "Hey, we have this really cool opportunity. We want to work with you all. And we want to put together a Juneteenth celebration. And we want it to be curated by EveryDopeGirl community." And that's how it happened. So, a lot of it is just organic really putting yourself out there and just knowing that everyone is dope in their own way. And just because this person is a VP at Verizon doesn't mean that they don't own a boutique or a yoga instructor on the side. So, it's really getting out into the community, learning about the community, and then allowing your community to market your brand through word-of-mouth. That's been our strategy since day one.

[11:10] David: Is there a win-win there? I'm trying to make it explicit. When you're talking to businesses, of course, they're looking how to grow their book of business as well. And so, how do you structure those conversations to be a win-win for both sides?

[11:27] Raisha: Absolutely. So, from EveryDopeGirl perspective, I would say, in order for it to be a win-win, of course, we are catering to a community of women, right? And so, with diversity, equity, and inclusion being at the forefront, which it should have always been at the forefront, there is a need and a desire for whether that's women in the workplace or supporting female-powered brands. And so, if EveryDopeGirl can ensure the success of female entrepreneurs and then be that catalyst and that incubator to get them in front of those corporations and those brands and those businesses, it creates a win-win for everyone. EveryDopeGirl is just literally here to be the cheerleader on the side, like, "Yay, you did it," like linking point A to point B. And so, I tell people all the time EveryDopeGirl is a passion of mine. So, we'll achieve revenue goals when we achieve revenue goals, but that's not what I'm in it for right now. I'm in it to honestly just help women be successful in business.

[12:29] David: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I see a lot of folks, especially in the social media space, that create a following, they have a community, and then later on that turns into some kind of business or monetization opportunity. Do you also see it like that?

[12:44] Raisha: I do. I did it because I didn't want to be a big—because it's like you have followers, you have to put out content, and then you have a whole content team that is responsible for putting out content and seeking out dope women to feature, and then you have me on the other end, and my director of pricing strategy. And we're trying to go out and figure out ways to monetize the brand. I've talked to a couple of business owners. And they're like, "Wow, you have the perfect situation. You have the market. You just need to create the product, a lucrative product." And so, I think now that I've gone through a rigorous course load in entrepreneurship, gone through some Lilie lab courses at Rice. That has really helped me to get to that what is our monetization strategy, but I'm approaching it as a social entrepreneur. I'm here to help female entrepreneurs. And I'll find revenue elsewhere to support my staff and my team and the product that we give to our community.

[13:39] David: Love it. Well, there's a will, there's a way. That's why I always love starting with the passion and the why. The what and the how will then figure itself out.

[13:47] Raisha: Yeah, it'll figure itself out. This is why I'm working for Microsoft after. It keeps the lights on.

[13:53] David: There's a lot we can talk about offline, but let's stay on track, David. You mentioned the market. Just real quick, by the numbers, can you help us understand what are the numbers, what are the folks in the community, where do you see that going, how many folks are you helping, how many partners do you have, whatever you can share to give us a handle on what the numbers are.

[14:14] Raisha: Yeah. So, EveryDopeGirl is a community of 92% women. We do have EveryDopeMan, which is a part of the community.

[14:15] David: That sounds cool.

[14:18] Raisha: EveryDopeMan, and that takes up about 8% of our community. When you look at the demographics of our community, as a Black founder, we have a huge African-American female population in the community, followed by our Latinx community, then our White Caucasian community. And then, it goes down into Native American. And the Asian community is one of our smallest, which I've been really trying to grow over the last few years. But if you look at our locations, in the state of Texas, we're big in Houston. And then Dallas is our second, where we have a lot of, I would say, followers. We have events in Dallas. We have a big community in Dallas. They're engaged on our website from Dallas. And then it's followed by LA, New York, Chicago, and Nebraska. So, we're really all over the place, really cool areas, especially, when you talk to your professor about your five-year plan and national expansion and scaling. And it's like we have pockets of our community there, but we also have an ambassadors program as well. And they're spread out pretty much everywhere. I would say that makes up the demographics of EveryDopeGirl.

And then, as for my team, I have a team of five. I have a director of content. My director of content leads a team that is responsible for putting out all of our information on social, our websites, all of the above. And then I have two directors of live experiences. So, we do have events pre-pandemic, like I mentioned, that used to be all over the country. Houston has been our focus now. And they're responsible for executing, planning, building the curriculum for the event, and executing the vision for the event. And then I have a director of strategy. And then my director of press, she's on maternity leave right now. But they are absolutely amazing. And so, our director of press, more specifically, and strategy help us to really link to our corporate partners. So, we've worked with companies such as Verizon, Huffington Post. We worked with Apple. And then we've also worked with Google Digital Coaches. And then we've also worked with a host of other brands, like Topo Chico. Whenever we have our events, they are the ones that are providing the libations for them. So, Topo Chico, your Biagio's, your Crown's, your Don Julio's. So, a lot of different brand partners, and a lot of people.

[16:38] David: That's amazing. Congrats on putting together such a robust team. And this has motivated me to get my own community started. So, thanks for the energy.

[16:37] Raisha: Yeah.

[16:50] David: Well, on the education side. So, I think you're one of the few that are currently in school that we've interviewed. And so, can you speak to what you imagine that, going into business school, you're looking for some insights and for support in building out EveryDopeGirl, and then business school hits, you get inundated with assignments, looking for internships, and all that? So, can you talk to us about how that story had started and then shifted in terms of what you're expecting from business school and how that would help EveryDopeGirl and what things have changed and how have you pivoted as a result of your Rice Business education?

[17:29] Raisha: Most definitely. So, I'm not going to lie. My first year, I was like, "I need to get a full-time job." So, my focus was securing a full-time job, getting an offer. And then my entire second year was focused on my concentration in entrepreneurship and strategic management. And everything that I was doing was shaping what I wanted EveryDopeGirl to be.

Rice is no joke, I'm not going to lie. The entrepreneurship classes, when you are applying something from class to your baby and you're getting graded on it, man, goodness gracious. You go in thinking, I just got this proclamation from the mayor. And your professor is like, "Hey, you need a little bit more work on that pitch." "Yeah, you're not pitch-ready." So, having those difficult conversations, getting legitimate feedback from the amazing professors, it has really blown and made EveryDopeGirl pivot in a way that I would've probably still just been posting on social media.

And also, the support of the Rice community. It was like drinking water out of a fire hose first year. But I still had a team that was really the engine behind everything. And I'm like, "Here's what we're doing. Here are the connections. Can you all make it happen?" And the support from the Rice community, like the water drive that we did with Beyoncé, the pallet of water that we sent, those are all Rice students supporting and helping and uplifting EveryDopeGirl. So, that's what really kept me motivated, in addition to just support from administration in general. But professors at Rice, if you want to start a business, if you have a business, I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to explore and expand my business in the business school. And I'll still continue to have those networks and relationships after.

[19:16] David: Speaking of the network and support opportunities, I've heard that you're really big into mentorship and helping other folks to get mentors. So, who do you consider your mentors, either past, current, or perhaps, future? And how have they shaped your success?

[19:33] Raisha: So, my mentor is actually my manager from my old job. Her name is Angela. She is amazing. And she'll probably be listening to this once you all post it. But when I was in that space of, "Gosh, I'm pouring so much into my job. I want to be great. I want to do great things," I was also afraid to tell people at work that I had EveryDopeGirl because I didn't want them to think that I would be distracted. And she was the first one that I told as my direct manager. And she was so supportive, came to all my events. And then, when I hit a roadblock, she was like, "Your brain, your mind, your vision is so much bigger." Managers don't usually say that to you. But we had such a great connection. She's like, "You're going to be so much bigger than how you feel in this space right now. I'm your biggest advocate." And so, just her words—this was probably three or four or five years ago. We still keep in touch. We still talk all the time. But those words helped to shape me as a leader within EveryDopeGirl. It helped me to lead in organizations, in a post-MBA program, or post-graduate program. And then it's helped me to grow into my role in tech and everything else, all the businesses that I'm starting post-MBA. And so, she has really, really been very helpful and encouraging throughout my journey at Rice and pre-Rice and, now, post-Rice.

And then I would say another mentor, so I used to be a marketing TA for Nell. It's Eleanor Putnam. She is the marketing professor in the business school. And I just really loved having conversations with her and her willingness to learn. And so, I guess I don't know if you call her a mentor. I guess she's my unofficial mentor. But just the way that she would pivot in class and take in feedback from students and really integrate some of today's problems and issues and challenges into our lesson plans, I really respected her for that, especially as her TA. So, those are my two.

[21:32] David: Thanks for sharing that. And I was thinking, when I was taking an entrepreneurship, I think it was with Al Napier. This was many moons ago for me. So, this is over 10 years ago. I remember my good friend. He recruited and deputized his classmates, including me, to work on his business plan. And that business is still flourishing today. So, is that something that you did also in the entrepreneurship class?

[21:33] Raisha: Yes.

[21:58] David: Awesome. Fantastic.

[22:01] Raisha: Just finished my pitch yesterday. And my two teammates, it's just a breath of fresh air as a solo founder to have outside advisers, a.k.a. your classmates, who want to see you win and want to see your business win, pour into your business. And so, that was the best experience ever. It was hard, because I wanted it to be perfect. But I also had to remember, you can still pivot from this plan and continue to pivot. But that was the start that I needed to really open my eyes as a founder to what EveryDopeGirl really could be in the future.

[22:34] David: Perfect segue. That is probably our last topic. Any good business leader? And I'm sure you have great visions. And it sounds like EveryDopeGirl, EveryDopeMan also, is shaping and pivoting. And it's like making the airplane as you fly. It feels a little bit like that, especially, with the changes you've detailed here. So, what is that magic wand? Pull out the magic wand. What does the future of EveryDopeGirl look like in the years to come? And what does success look like for you?

[23:06] Raisha: For EveryDopeGirl, the perfect vision is, if anything happens to me, God forbid, I want to know that I have successfully connected female entrepreneurs in the pre-seed and ideation phase. I want to connect them to funding. I want to be able to educate them on how to pitch. I learned how to pitch at Rice. And not a lot of people have access to a Rice MBA. There are so many budding businesses out in the world that could be successful. They just lack the proper guidance. And so, I want to be that brand that is literally linking women entrepreneurs in the pre-seed and ideation phase to VCs and angel investors. I want to get them pitch-ready. I want them to have funding. So, that's my ideal vision. I think I wrote—one of my professors had us write an obituary for social enterprise, like, what do you want to say in your—and everyone was like, "What? That's so weird." "Over her life, she has helped to fund over millions of businesses, 1.8 billion in funding." That would be ideal. I don't know where those numbers came from, but that's where I see EveryDopeGirl going. I don't know how we're going to get there, but we'll figure it out.

[24:17] David: I love that. I feel like I need to go out and grab the bull by the horns and really make something dope happen. And on the funding piece, and offline we talked about some of your efforts in the Houston, either VC or otherwise, getting funding, so what does your relationship look like to whether it's the VC community, you mentioned the angel community, what does that look like now? And how will that evolve, going forward? Because it seems like that's a crucial part for the success of EveryDopeGirl.

[24:49] Raisha: Absolutely. So, I'm still in a VC fellowship with Diversity Fund Houston, which is amazing. Diversity Fund Houston is a micro fund that helps support Black and Latinx tech founders during the friends and family round. And so, just educating myself. I spent the whole semester really trying to understand what VC was. I didn't know what that was until I got to Rice. Meeting with different individuals from different funds in the city of Houston, that's something that I've been very intentional about over the last six months or so, not necessarily for EveryDopeGirl, but for the community. There are women entrepreneurs—especially Black and Latinx entrepreneurs—in the city of Houston that don't even know that these types of partnerships exist. And so, I have been intentional these last few months connecting with my classmates, of course, that are going into VC, that are going in IB, connecting with individuals in the city of Houston who are in that space. And I'm going to continue to be intentional about that throughout the remainder of EDG, because what I've found is VCs have funding to give, but sometimes they don't know where to go to give it to people. And I have a community that needs it.

[25:57] David: And you will help them with that, yes, understood.

[25:58] Raisha: Yes, exactly.

[26:00] David: I will tell you where your money is going to go.

[26:02] Raisha: Look, I know these people. They are amazing.

[25:07] David: I love the fire and the passion. So, as you wind down your time in Rice Business, you're graduating here just around the corner, I think you mentioned that you're going full-time with Microsoft, correct?

[26:07] Raisha: Yeah.

[26:19] David: So, elephant in the room, so what point do you transition off of corporate and go, say, full-time with EDG?

[26:26] Raisha: You know, when my passion pays the bills.

[26:30] David: I love it. Microsoft, you're on notice.

[26:35] Raisha: No, Microsoft is awesome. When I was interviewing with them, they were like, "We want to know more about EveryDopeGirl. That's what we want you to pour into your job. We want those skill sets. We want those entrepreneurial skill sets." They're super supportive.

[26:49] David: And it's such an obvious thing, I think, that when you have a greater meaning that can fuel your current efforts, that sounds like a win all the way around. I'm stating the obvious to you. There's nothing wrong with a side hustle. You're adding value to the world. And that's the whole point of business. So, I think it's a new era and new world, going forward, that these things are much more normalized. So, kudos to you for leading the charge.

[27:05] Raisha: Hey, I'm trying to be at the forefront. It's not easy.

[27:20] David: The avant-garde. I know. Well, I have a lot to say about that, but I'll wind down here. So, I'll give the final mic to you and ask for folks that hear this and are interested in either you personally or want to learn more about EveryDopeGirl or to support or, otherwise, to help, how should they connect with you? And how would you guide them to learn more?

[27:44] Raisha: So, if you want to connect with EveryDopeGirl, we are on every single social media platform. You can connect with us on LinkedIn EveryDopeGirl, Facebook EveryDopeGirl, Instagram EveryDopeGirl, or on our website, www.everydopegirl.com. If you need to reach out to me, you can email me directly, raisha@everydopegirl.com, and can answer any questions that you have.

In terms of what we need for the EveryDopeGirl community, we're really in a space of pivoting. And so, we really are looking for strategic partners. If you are looking to invest in small businesses, female small businesses, if you are a small business, a female-powered small business, we are here to support you. We are here to help you. And we'll be launching some really cool projects at the end of the year with our full curriculum on pitching. So, really excited. Thank you so much, David, for this opportunity. I've had so much fun.

[28:38] David: Absolutely. Same back to you, Raisha. Hope folks tune in to this. Again, it's everydopegirl.com. And please, reach out to Raisha. It's been a pleasure. Thank you so much.

[28:49] Raisha: Thanks.

[28:40] Outro: This has been Owl Have You Know. Thanks for listening. You can find links and more information about our guests, hosts, and announcements on our website, business.rice.edu. Please, subscribe to this podcast wherever you find your favorite podcast. And leave us a comment while you're at it, and let us know what you think. Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is sponsored by the Rice Business Alumni Board. The hosts of Owl Have You Know are myself, David Droogleever, and Christine Dobbyn.