A lifelong lover of museums, Kimberly Drew&apos;s entry into the working world of art started with creating a Tumblr page dedicated to Black art and culture called Black Contemporary Art. The page immediately took off and helped her land a social media manager gig at the MOMA. Entering the space through her digital experience helped Kimberly fulfill her goal of bringing art to a wider audience, reinvigorating and diversifying the MOMA&apos;s digital presence. After leaving her post at the MOMA, she decided to focus on the intersection of art and commerce eventually releasing her own book, This is What I Know About Art and co-authoring Black Futures. Today, Kimberly continues her work as an author while also being the curator at world reknown Pace Gallery.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

Claima Stories with Bimma

EP 92: Kimberly Drew, Curator at Pace Gallery and Author

Growing up in a traditional Ethiopian household while living in California, Meymuna Hussein-Cattan often found herself balancing many identities. From coaching friends on what to expect when they came over to her home to compartmentalizing her worlds and finding solace through writing poetry. She eventually took all those identities and found her purpose running the Tiyya Foundation, a non-profit she founded with her mom now providing economic and educational opportunities for families of refugees, immigrants, and indigenous communities. As her work with Tiyya grew, she was inspired to create connection to that work through a culinary lens. Today, Meymuna owns Flavors from Afar, a restaurant concept that pairs a different refugee/asylum seeker each month with their head chef to create an authentic, restaurant quality menu focused on bringing traditional cultural dishes to the public. Flavors from Afar received a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2022 and has been named LA Times&apos; 101 Best Restaurants in LA for the last two years. Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 91: Meymuna Hussein-Cattan, Owner of Flavors from Afar and Director of the Tiyya Foundation

Our guest today picked up her first camera at the age of 14 and has worked in the world of photography ever since. Intisar Abioto, grew up in Memphis surrounded by Black art and found her path towards storytelling through taking images with Black women as the lead. Eventually making her way to Portland, she launched the Black Portlander project in 2013 and saw the impact it had on the local community. This project ultimately taught her the business of making art and using her art to celebrate the history and presence of Black life in the city of Portland. Today, Intisar identifies as an explorer-artist working across photography, dance, and writing. With the five women artists in her family, she is the Co-Founder of Studio Abioto, a multivalent creative arts studio. Her work has been featured in the Rolling Stone and New York Times.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 90: Intisar Abioto, Artist and Photographer

An immigrant from Seoul, Korea who moved to California at the age of 12. Duk-Ki Yu, owner of MAJOR was and will forever be a lover, advocate, and participant in the advancement of hip-hop culture. Duk-Ki Yu is the epitome of an 80s baby and as he navigated his way through his adolescent years living between the cultural traditions of his origins and the cultural currency and influence of hip-hop, it makes total sense that Duk-ki would find his footing through sneaker culture. He would go on to own his own record store at the age of 16, work with the likes of Diddy formerly known as Puffy Combs, Arrested Development, and foster business partnerships with brands such as Reebok, Adidas, Nike, New Era and EA Sports. It&apos;s safe to say, Duk-Ki Yu is one of the most known unknowns but if there was a major moment Duk-Ki was there, had a hand in the implementation of that moment or was in close proximity to bear witness and tell the story. Grounded in Washington, D.C. Duk-Ki has made a home for sneaker lovers in the District and abroad in a Major way.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping

EP 89: Duk-Ki Yu, Founder of MAJOR DC

A lifelong student of hip-hop, Jabari always knew he wanted to work in the music industry specifically on the media side. While at Howard he started interviewing artists for a website including Fabolous, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Bieber, early in their careers. After working in social media at Capitol Records, the itch to create something of his own still remained. He decided to dive deep into the world of live music experiences, taking a page from the EDM world to create something for his culture at the forefront. Enter R&B ONLY LIVE, a one-of-kind music event that combines a DJ and Host to give you the ultimate R&B genre experience. Today, Jabari is the Founder and CEO of COLORS Worldwide with R&B ONLY as one of its flagship brands bringing together thousands of people in 50+ cities across the country. Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 88: Jabari, Founder of COLORS Worldwide

Growing up on a farm in Mexico is where Jessica Monzalvo&apos;s story started. That deep connection to being on native land and watching family care for each other inspired her future. As Jessica shifted into her entrepreneurship journey, helping others with their self-care would be at the center of her work. This deep passion drove her to New York become a professional make-up artist landing the Victoria&apos;s Secret fashion show as her first gig. Fast forward to the pandemic, Jessica&apos;s thriving career took an unexpected turn and she decided to make her mark in a different way. As the Founder of SBJ Esntls, a beauty brand rooted in her Mexican heritage, Jessica makes sure self-care is at the forefront in every product they release. The brand has been featured in publications like Vogue, Marie Claire, and Byrdie.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 87: Jessica Monzalvo, Founder of SBJ Esntls

If you ask today’s guests Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, golf has always been a great game. The two met as teammates on the Morehouse College golf team where they won a National Championship and then remained friends as their lives ran parallel in different career fields. But the game always remained in Olajuwon’s heart and as a lover of design he wanted combine the two. So, he created the infamous swingman logo and put it on a shirt initially for himself which turned into shipping 3,000 orders from his home. As they say, the rest is history. Earl saw the vision and knew he had to join the mission. Today, Olajuwon and Earl are the Founders of Eastside Golf a golf apparel brand for the culture that is rooted in authenticity. They’ve gone to work with some of your favorite brands, including golf enthusiast and GOAT Michael Jordan.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 86: Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, Founders of Eastside Golf

Imagine making your childhood dreams come true - working in television, living in NYC, becoming a VP at NBC Universal…all by your 30s and then what? After all those accomplishments, Imani Ellis was still in search of something bigger and more connected. As a self-proclaimed introvert, she held a dinner party for young creatives of color that planted the seed for her next business idea. Imani’s dinner party went from 20 guests to an astonishing 300-person event in a month…creating a movement. Today, Imani is the Founder CEO and Founder of CultureCon and The Creative Collective where she focuses on curating safe spaces for people of color, their marquee conference serves as “the ultimate creative homecoming.”Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 85: Imani Ellis, Founder of CultureCon and The Creative Collective

Writing is something that always came naturally to Lynae, but becoming gifted storyteller is how she found her true purpose. After a full-ride at Spelman College, Lynae wasn&apos;t clear on her career path so she went on to teach high schoolers and create a Black studies curriculum. Inspiration set in during the protests of June 2020 where she wanted to make difference in her own way, with words and education, launching a viral series called Parking Lot Pimpin&apos;. Today, Lynae owns From The Lot, a business focused on her various creative pursuits collaborating with various brands such as Meta, Target, Revolt, Tommy Hilfiger, and Netflix, to name a few.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 83: Lynae Vanee, Creator of Parking Lot Pimpin'

A diagnosis of Crohn&apos;s disease didn&apos;t derail the path to becoming a chef for Douglass. His approach to food was only heightened by having to chew each morsel 30 times, focusing on the feel, texture and taste of each bite. After working in world renowned kitchens, Douglass made building a community and creating a lasting legacy the focus of how he approaches being one of the few Black chef-owned restaurants in Boston. Today, Douglass is a two-time James Beard Award nominee as the Head Chef and Owner of MIDA with sights on expanding his empire to other metropolitan cities.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 82: Douglass Williams, Owner and Chef of MIDA and APIZZA

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jerald has always immersed himself in the community with a focus on telling stories. From changing the subject of his college thesis to Molefi Asante and afrocentricity to opening a sneaker store. After a stint away from home, in 2019, Jerald moved back to Ohio to understand how architecture played a role in our communities, and unknowingly created a cultural preservation movement. Today, Jerald is the Founder of Hood Century Modern, a movement focused on making architecture more accessible through education and filtered through a cultural lens to break down barriers typically set by folks that don&apos;t look like him.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Lynae Vanee and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

EP 84: Jerald Cooper, Founder of Hood Century Modern

Growing up in foster care, early childhood was anything but ordinary for Essie. Transitioning from different homes until she was the age of 6, Essie was luckily adopted by a family that poured into her and was the first successful Black family she ever saw. Essie started to step into her confidence after attending a HBCU, but that high she was riding on was short lived after she flunked out of school. Trying to find her purpose, Essie decided to move to NY where she immediately felt like she had found her place seeing plus sized models inspiring her to pursue a career in fashion. Instagram became the perfect place for Essie to garner attention and become a source of inspiration for plus sized women. She launched her blog Golden Confidence, a cornerstone of the Body Positivity movement and later created of the sneaker community, Thick Laces. Today, Essie continues to make it her business to not only take up space in fashion but make space for other women who look like her working on campaigns for brands like New Balance, Torrid, Amazon and more.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams.And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

EP 81: Essie Golden, Golden Confidence Blog + Founder of Thick Laces

Since he was a youngin, Daniel has always been about community and having the back of his homies and loved ones. When he was only 18, his sister unexpectedly passed away and it sent Daniel into a very dark place of rage. He started getting in trouble a lot and was even arrested for silly things like trespassing. After making a promise to himself to never go back to jail, Daniel would shift into social work and help kids who grew up like him in Brooklyn. From there, Daniel ended up moving around a bit, ultimately landing in LA where he was given a job as a tour stylist for Kehlani after his initial gig fell through. Inspired by the grind and seeing the world, Daniel later decided to set out on his own entrepreneurial path. He and his business partner Wehleh didn’t know exactly what they wanted to do, but they had the name Kids of Immigrants. Soon, they would be inspired to translate their vision to clothing. Kids of Immigrants officially launched in 2016. Daniel and his brand live through their purpose of supporting your friends, spreading positivity, and making your wildest dreams come true every single day.Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams.And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

EP 80: Daniel Buezo, Co-Founder of Kids of Immigrants

Being surrounded by Black Excellence in and outside of her home, Karleen grew up with the confidence that she could do whatever she put her mind to. Making her way to Howard and working in a myriad of jobs post-college, one thing always rang true...Karleen approached every opportunity with excitement and resourcefulness. This work ethic got her noticed and she finally received a break getting into the entertainment space working at Def Jam. From there, she went on to Bad Boy Records to personally serve as Diddy&apos;s Senior Executive Assistant. Having a front row seat into the inner workings of everything Mr. Combs was involved in was all the fuel she needed to ultimately step out on her own and claim that entrepreneur title. In 2013, Karleen took her side hustle of planning events to the next level and officially launched The Vanity Group. Fast forward to today, the agency has been a go-to shop for Hollywood&apos;s biggest names and Karleen has carved a space for herself as an on-camera personality, lifestyle and event expert. Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

EP 79: Karleen Roy, Founder of The Vanity Group

Hailing from Chi-town Terrence and Brandon dove immediately into the DC night scene when meeting at Howard University. Brandon found a knack with throwing parties and actually went on to hire his now business partner, Terrence to help him out. When both were finished with school, Brandon worked in hospitality and Terrence was going door to door as point of sales salesman but the discomfort of code switching got to be too much. What started off as a curiosity in wine ultimately led to an intense focus on Terrence wanting to create his own premium wine brand. It was a no-brainer to bring his friend Brandon into his mix given his hospitality and operations background. The need to be 100% themselves and their love of liquor and spirits would set them on a path that many people who look like them don&apos;t always find. Launched in 2020, Michael Lavelle Wines is a black-owned premium wine label (one of the few in this space). Today, the guys alongside their two other business partners, Aaron and Devin, are proud to own a brand fused with art, education, and most importantly, unmatched wine experiences. Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliamsAnd watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

EP 78: Terrence Low & Brandon Crump, Founders of Michael Lavelle Wines

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more. Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams (@bimmawilliams) on Instagram, and watch us on YouTube powered by Vista (@vistaprint)

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Claima Stories with Bimma

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