Black Rise

How To Build A Global Brand In The Event Industry: Lessons from Raphael Sofoluke - CEO of Black Business Show

• Black Rise • Season 1 • Episode 11

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I'm your host Flavilla Fongang, and I've been on an incredible journey as a serial entrepreneur, a journey that's been both challenging and filled with triumphs. This episode, I'm thrilled to have Raphael, a beacon of creativity and resilience, join us to discuss his own remarkable path. Through the lens of our personal experiences, we unravel the layers of entrepreneurship within the Black experience and illustrate how embracing our unique stories can lead to phenomenal success in business.

Raphael's transition from an artistic child to a master of sales and entrepreneurship is not just inspiring, it's instructional. His tale serves as a powerful reminder of the untapped potential within the Black community, and the indispensable role of creativity and tenacity in business. We tackle the art of consultative selling, dissecting the strategic importance of understanding and solving your customers' challenges. This is key to unlocking opportunities like the UK Black Business Show and can be an unexpected bridge to monumental achievements, such as the Black Tech Achievement Awards.

The tapestry of today's discourse is woven with threads of encouragement for personal development, allyship, and the critical need for investing in Black talent. We shine a light on the transformative power of diversity in teams, not just for inclusivity's sake but also for the tangible benefits it brings to innovation and profitability. Moreover, the anticipation of taking the success of the Black Tech Achievement Awards to the US promises to be a game-changer, signaling a brighter future where diversity is not the exception but the norm in business. Join us for a session that's not just about success; it's about the enrichment and empowerment of an entire community.

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Black Rise is not just a podcast but an extension of our Business platform. We are on a mission to bridge the gap between businesses and the immense potential of Black talent. We provide a dynamic platform where businesses and individuals can connect, collaborate, and prosper with Black professionals, entrepreneurs, and black-owned companies. We strive to showcase the value, creativity, and innovation that Black talent brings to the table, fostering partnerships that drive economic growth, diversity, and mutual success.

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Speaker 1:

You know I definitely benefited from allies. Black people can't solve a problem that we didn't create. We can't be left by ourselves to sort it out.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Black rice podcast. You'll get a way to inspiring conversation with Black Rem, de la Crème of Black talent, world leaders of seven figure and above businesses across a spectrum of industries. I'm your host, flavilla Fongang, an award-winning serial entrepreneur, who will guide you on his journey. Black rice isn't just a podcast. It's an extension of our business platform, allowing the business world to connect with skilled, talented and experienced Black talent. Our mission is to serve as a bridge, connecting businesses with vast opportunities that lie in working with Black professionals, entrepreneurs and enterprise. We strive to showcase the value, creativity and innovation that Black talent brings to the table, fostering partnerships that drive economic growth, diversity and mutual success. Visit theblackricecom to find out more.

Speaker 2:

And I'm very excited, on this episode of Black rice, to have the one and only and a man that is very humble but probably was the first in the UK to make Black his business and did it so successfully a serial entrepreneur of visionary and the founder and CEO behind impactful initiatives such as the UK Black Business Show, uk Black Business Week, birmingham Black Business Show and the Black Tech Achievement Awards and I should specify that I was very lucky to be the winner last year of this award and it made me very happy.

Speaker 2:

There's a couple of things to have in common with you. I feel that we love to start things. When one people have one business we're like, okay, well, I have an idea, or you listen to what the environment needs and you go for it, and I think that's something that I want. I'm so happy to have done this podcast and I know there's so much more to say about your bio and your achievement, but I'm super excited to have you because we are making Black our business. We make Black our business and we do, and you are doing it very, very well. So thank you, raphael, for being on this podcast.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2:

Well, Raphael, I feel like we should start from the beginning. Tell us about your journey. What kind of child were you? How did you grow up? What was your family environment? Who was your first inspiration to lead you to who you are right now?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, sure Again, thank you so much. Thank you for having me on this podcast. Really excited to be having this conversation. But yeah, it falls to go back. Came from a family of eight. Yes, so I come from a family of eight. So I've got six siblings. I've got three older brothers, one younger sister, one little brother. So, yeah, come from a very, very big family. I grew up in Surrey Keys, close to Bermondsey, which many people would know to be actually predominantly white area, but actually also historically quite a racist area as well. So I grew up in Surrey Keys when I was young. But I've always had a passion, for since I was young, I've always been quite creative. I always wanted to be a writer. That was the first thing that I wanted to be, and the second thing I wanted to be was a rapper, but that didn't work out.

Speaker 2:

Wait a minute, rafa. You tell me that if I go dick I can find some archives of you rapping, or I can find some of your books.

Speaker 1:

Potentially, potentially. I'm going to look for that now. I'm curious, potentially. But yeah, that was the second thing. So I've always been quite creative anyway, and then kind of speeding up my journey, and in school, the things that I was good at was things like history and English, enjoy studying law in GCSEs when I was in secondary school and then went on to actually study law and business in university and, if I'm honest, I love law and it was something that I wanted to go into. However, when I came out of like most people, when they come out of university and they realize, oh my gosh, it's seven years to actually become a lawyer or a barrister, I was like, no, I need to make money now. So I fell into, I fell into sales, and it was something that I just became really, really good at, which I didn't know I would be good at. Let's get a question.

Speaker 2:

I want to break it down a little bit because you said something that was actually quite relevant and you know you talk about that. You grew up in Surrey and I want to ask you did you face racism, or maybe you were not aware at that point? It was something at that point where your parents protected you. In what position among your family of eight children Are you middle child and how as well that relationship with your brothers and sisters but also influence you know? Was it your parents, how your parents were, who influenced as well your creativity?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, 100% I think. So, yeah, surrey Keys, I did. I did experience racism, so that could be from being chased by, you know, older white men with dogs to. You know also our neighbourhood at that time it was one of like two black people in the whole of the, so we would get things thrown out our windows and you know, there was a lot. There was a lot going on. Our parents did protect us as well to an extent, making sure that we're not always out too late as well.

Speaker 1:

So that in terms of family dynamics, yeah, I am a middle child, so I've got three older brothers, one little brother and a younger sister, and all three of my older brothers all kind of very creative as well. So one of them currently is one's architecture, one's a graphic designer and then one's an app developer, and then my younger siblings one's doing kind of finance and accounting and another one's working in tech. So we're all kind of very creative in our own different spheres. So I feel like that's something which I kind of adopted, but I had my kind of my own element. And what advice would you give to someone?

Speaker 2:

maybe listen to this podcast and maybe think that you know really facing racism or all that kind of very aggressive because you are people who don't know you. But you are very humble and calm and you know aggressive that could have changed you into someone bitter. Then use that negative energy to become a worse person, but you use. You know you are. I don't know if that influenced you, but I'm just looking at your character. You're very calm. So what advice would you give to someone who is maybe facing racism right now?

Speaker 1:

No, 100%. I think one of the best ways to challenge things is to. I'll give you an example when kind of two people are having an argument, no one's really listening. If two people are shouting, and I see kind of racism, kind of similar to that, you know, racism is just, you know someone shouting, they do not know the facts, they're being racist of the you know of the color of someone's skin, and if you're shouting back, there's no way they're going to understand you right.

Speaker 1:

So it's always good to kind of adopt a calm approach when dealing with certain things. I think Sometimes it may require another approach as well. But also, at the same time, when you look at even the shows you've attended our shows we have allies there as well. So for me it's all about actually how do I change perspectives, how do I, you know, influence people to change how they've been thinking traditionally? And when we go back and think of it, we've all got, you know, biases that we need to address as well, individually. Even within the black community there's biases that we need to. So I think it's definitely, you know, understanding in terms of approach, just kind of being calm, understanding the facts and making sure that you can convey your message intelligently and correctly.

Speaker 2:

Yes, do you know what? I love what you're saying. I think we have biases on both sides, things that we can we all need to improve and can do better to ensure that equity is helps us grow, whether you are not a black person, whether you are any other ethnicity, and so on, and it's super important that we realize this and so on. So you got into sales. It's funny because I probably one of these persons that back in the days, I hated the word sales and it was perceived as these manipulative people that just don't want to let you hang up a phone and so on. You got into sales. We have some similarities because I also study economics at law.

Speaker 2:

I was in the advantageous tree. I have somebody told me that you also need a venue. Just right, because I was in a venue, just was looking for a company called CWC back in the days and some of the that I know, and I'm working for GMG and all sorts of companies. So we have some some cross networks. You went into sales. What type of sales you get into first?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, sure, so I first I went into. So I've actually probably sold every sort of advertisement you can imagine, from print to digital, to radio to out of home. So I've sold everything and that 100% gives me an advantage when it comes to sales. But my first role was actually selling advertisements for a local newspaper, so things like the Hackney Gazette and the Hamster Dunhygate newspaper that is LinkedIn Gazette. So I was just selling kind of adverts and I was phoning up people, local businesses in the area to see if they wanted to advertise. So one of the hardest sorts of sales and it could be from a small ad for like 30 pounds to the biggest ad that that point that I was selling could have been maybe 250 for a double page spreads in my in my first row. Very, really quickly.

Speaker 1:

I just got really good at it and people were noticing me in the office and I started looking for the next opportunity, looking for the next you know big sales job.

Speaker 1:

And one thing that was really great when I handed in my notice and I left this company, so on said to me we know you're going to smash it wherever you go, I can just see there's something special about you. And that's something that someone said to me and actually it was quite remarkable how I got that job as well out of uni. So I interviewed for I went to interview for the job and the lady goes to me If I'm honest, I was going to cancel this interview because I looked at your CV and I just thought you wouldn't be good enough and but actually interviewing you, you're really great. She said she actually had already given someone the job before this interview, but she said I'm so good that she's going to ask for more budget to see if she can hire both of us. Wow, that was how I got my first sales job. It was a job which actually they had already hired the person for it, but after viewing me and seeing me, they believed I was the right person.

Speaker 2:

Can I ask you a question, yaffa, because this is such a good I love this that you are able to change understanding the understanding how to sell is also such an important skill when you are running a business. For me, my strength is marketing, but I don't know your strength in sales. What do you think made you so good? How did you craft your sales skill and what made you, what did you realize, to have the ability to be a good salesperson?

Speaker 1:

I think it's because I don't actually seem like I'm selling to you and I think that's the new approach. That's not really like a tele-sales type of person. I think you mentioned it earlier in the call about the term sales kind of. It made you cringe a bit because you thought of you know people phoning and but actually you know you can do it on a kind of consultative way. You know, actually talking and being speaking to them, you know what are the problems, what are the issues that you're going through, and that's how traditionally I think that that's how people want to be sold to. You know they don't want you to just be like, yeah, it costs this much, this is what you need to get. They want you to speak to them and understand their challenges, their problems, their issues, understand their business. They want you to be a thought leader. So they want you to be able to advise them, because sometimes actually some people think they might want to buy this, but actually you're like, no, I think you need to do sponsor this and that and that's what's going to get you the brand awareness to help you recruit more black people into blah, blah, blah. So it's about knowing your industry.

Speaker 1:

But when I moved on to that. I moved on to a company called ADVFN. So they're the biggest financial market website in the UK and I think they still get a lot of traffic, so I'll sell in digital advertisement to them. And then the value went up so I'll sell in deals for like 30K to 50K. But they also hada an event on the side which you could earn extra money. So they had an event called the UK Investor Show. Hence, of course, you can kind of see the inspiration and the story. So they had a show called the UK Investor Show and for some reason, I was the only one in the team who managed to sell the stands, but they had another company who they outsourced to sell it. Our main job was digital advertising, where you could earn extra money by selling the stands. But I kept on selling the stands for it and earning extra money. So I realized I was good at, first of all, selling stands for exhibitions and conferences, and then it came to a point where I actually, at the end of the year, I actually went to the event, and when I went to this show, the UK Investor Show it's still running now. It was also it was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Center, well, which is where my first show was.

Speaker 1:

I went to the show and I couldn't see a single black person. I couldn't see. There was thousands of people there. It was ridiculous. There was maybe 3000 people there, 3000 to 4000. A lot of big financial companies were there. I couldn't see a single black person in the audience. I couldn't see a single black speaker.

Speaker 1:

Remember, this was in 2017 as well, so things have kind of improved a tiny bit 2017, you could imagine what I experienced. There was literally no one. How was your feeling? How did you feel what? What's that feeling? It made me feel two things. I just thought imagine, if I could.

Speaker 1:

I think that that's what they talk about kind of entrepreneurs, about turning frustration into inspiration. Right, I was frustrated and I was like, oh my gosh. And I was just like imagine if black entrepreneurs and professionals could gather on this large scale. Imagine the networks that we would form as well. Imagine the opportunities that could come through this. Imagine if you know, I could see a black role model on a speaker panel and learn from them. Who's gone through the same experiences me and you. You know the microaggressions, the racism. They've overcome those challenges and they're still successful. Those are the type of stories which I was just like I would love to hear. So it made me feel frustrated, but also it made me feel like, okay, there's actually an opportunity to create something. So essentially, I wanted to create something for myself, not necessarily something that was going to make loads of money. I wanted to solve a problem.

Speaker 2:

You should never start a business with a mindset of making money, because that will give you the wrong, create the wrong dynamic. If you see a problem and you can help as many people as possible, money will follow anyway, but you may do something. That's super important that you didn't go because of the money. You do because a solution and opportunity was there.

Speaker 1:

Oh, 100%, 100%.

Speaker 1:

And it took probably it's going to be eight years that I've been running UK black business show next, sorry, this year in March probably took maybe two or three years to get my first big sponsor actually.

Speaker 1:

And then now, if you come to UK black business week, we have some of the biggest sponsors in the world, ranging from the JPs to the Berberies to the McDonald's to the list goes on. But the reason why and times where it wasn't profitable as well, but the reason I kept on doing it and for a long time I was doing it part time alongside another job as well but the reason I kept on doing it is because every year, people are looking forward to the UK black business show. It was something which they had put in their diary and they're like I need to come to this. This is the only chance in the year where I feel like I'm in an environment with more black professionals or entrepreneurs. So I also had that burden that I wasn't allowed to quit as well. I wasn't allowed to quit because I had to continue doing it, because people needed it and it became more important to myself. So, yeah, that was the.

Speaker 2:

I know I've gone into a bit of a tangent, but Well, it's so good what you say, seth, when you realize it's not just a business, it's a community, that is an emotional attachment to your brand. You can quit, and you know that people, even though the money is not necessarily there, the impact that you're making is already there.

Speaker 2:

I think that sometimes people get the wrong sense of what success looks like. Okay, I'm not successful because I don't have this, I don't have that, all the things which is attached to money, but what you have? You created the meaning of something big. I know that starting a business is hard and we all know that, because especially when you're creating something where the vision is not what people see so, for example, thing that is enough people will come to the black business show. People will say there's not enough black talent. Why are you trying to do this? There's no money in this right. So I want to ask you a question.

Speaker 2:

People may listen to this thing like I want to make black my business, like we both do. And again, you know, having your first sponsor after three years, it's a fantastic milestone. It doesn't happen all the time like quickly. But first question I want to ask you is that what did you do to really start and convince that sponsor after three years? What did you have to prove to convince that first brand? Was it? Hsbc was the first brand.

Speaker 1:

No, my first sponsor was JP Morgan.

Speaker 2:

Oh, okay, jp Morgan, yes, I've been with you for a long time now.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, my first sponsor was JP Morgan and the first thing they sponsored was the Black Tech Achievement Awards. Actually, that was in 2020, because I started in 2017, so they sponsored the Black Tech Achievement Awards in 2020. And, luckily, one of the only events that took place that took place at the beginning of in February 2020 and then everything kind of got shut down after. But then I was getting lots of sponsors throughout that year but I transferred them over. So after that I had people like Accenture etc kind of lined up.

Speaker 2:

I want to ask a question, but how did the Black Tech Achievement happen? What was the birth of that?

Speaker 1:

Okay, yeah, you know I'm going to answer two questions because I've realized I didn't answer the other question before. Yeah, yeah, about how I got them. So what happens and this is very important If you're constantly? I was I got my first sponsor in 2020, but I was still speaking with a lot of sponsors from 2017 to 2020. I had companies like MoneyGram, who's smaller. I had people like NHS, but I didn't have the big corporates. Now I was having conversations with really big companies and then the sponsorship just wasn't materializing. But what I did learn was why they weren't sponsoring, and I use that to kind of tailor the packages my company to improve effectively.

Speaker 1:

If you see that you're not getting a certain result, you can't continue doing the same thing. I changed what I was doing in terms of my approach. You know how I showed whether that was the media pack, just understanding more. They say, for example, with a media pack, when you're sending it to a company, it goes through maybe three to four people before it gets signed off, so it could go to the marketing, then it might go to the employer branding, then it might go to the CFO, so maybe you might have to put a bit of a budget discount in there. Maybe the marketing wants to see a lot of brand awareness. So first of all, making sure that your packages tailor to each person in the decision making process. But I learned so much how to kind of create and tailor my packages to the corporate companies to give them support. So that's how I kind of got my first sponsor, because I was speaking to big sponsors but it wasn't going through.

Speaker 2:

Why did they? How did you turn them, convert them? What was the what they were waiting for?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think first of all, they were looking for something the Black Tech Achievement Awards was. I mean, again, it's so funny that things we say it's got better but it's not that much better. But again, it's one of the most underrepresented sectors, tech, and one of the most one sectors in which you know there's huge opportunities even now with things like AI and just everything. So I wanted to create after the kind of success of the UK Black Business Show, because we were still getting a lot in, we still had thousands of people attending our shows. We just didn't have big sponsors, big sponsors and we still had lots of black owned businesses exhibiting. So I wanted to start tackling sectors in which the black community were severely underrepresented in, and tech was definitely one of the sectors in which I wanted to address. So I knew this was a big thing for companies like JP Morgan, as you'll know as well that you know looking for kind of black tech talent is key for a number of companies, whether they're financial, whether they're consultancy companies. So I came with them with the idea really, and they really bought into it. They really wanted to be a part of the launch of it and be seen as a thought leader for something like this.

Speaker 1:

So that, yeah, that was how it kind of went. Yeah, that's how it kind of a few calls, had a few calls etc. And over a pack and literally got the sign off. But I had learned a lot right from 2017 to 2020 to make sure that I got this. And then, you know, the rest is history. The UK Black Business Show Again, I thought of the idea to now create the whole week, uk Black Business Week. So now we have loads of different companies involved throughout the week and at the Saturday show and, of course, birmingham as well. But what happens is once you get one in and you understand, you know, you see the snowball effect.

Speaker 2:

It's true, it's true, it's so true. You just did one big brand. People are a bit outside, so they are like sheep, right, so they don't want to be the first to try, they want to make sure that somebody is trying first, and then they see you have big brands under your, under your, under your arm, whatsoever. Then everybody wants to be part of it. But, as you say yourself and I will say that to every single black business listening to this podcast right now really understand your matrix, speak their language and I think quite a fair and I see this, I would say often, but sometimes I see this where they're selling the, you know the, I can't explain it the CSR whatsoever. Companies are interested in commercial, especially if you're trying to get a business. What is a commercial value for them? If JPMorgan is looking to hire talent? Because we know JPMorgan is a massive tech, tech, tech pool and they get available for the best, so anybody who comes and win this, it's an opening iPhone. Okay, there's somebody in there on the table that like, we can potentially, so you have to speak that language. That is what do they want.

Speaker 2:

And I think part of being a great salesperson is listening to what you say you know what you want, instead of me presenting everything in my catalog what are you after? And then sometimes I don't know if you've done it before, but in the past I have to tell it or create products, because it's like, oh, wait a minute, I keep hearing the same thing. Maybe I should readjust my product. And that sounds like. Bt was a great way of listening to what your clients or project wanted and created the right product and it's easy to sell. You know, that's a great example of that.

Speaker 2:

So Black Business Show, you know I know at the beginning was hard because I'm you know, when I created DGA Black Home, people said to me there's not enough black women in tech. Now we're going across the earth, which is amazing. I'm really proud of that and I know that you have done the same thing as well before me. So I've always looked at people who have been for me as a great example to showcase that there is enough black talent. So what message would you say to people who listen to Spark, or whether they're black or not, when it comes to the opportunities that sit within working with black talent?

Speaker 1:

Well, first of all, I think you said something which is very similar to myself. When I started off, Someone said to me is there even enough black businesses for you to do a Black Business Show? And now that sounds quite ridiculous. You know we're in a whole country with different cities Manchester, liverpool, newcastle. There's thousands of black-owned businesses everywhere. You know ones being created every day.

Speaker 1:

But someone said, you know, question the kind of the longevity of it. But the opportunity in terms of working with black talent whether that's entrepreneurial black talent or professional black talent is first of all we know. We know not only is it the right thing to do, but also we know that the diverse teams are more creative. We know that they make more money. For myself, you know, when I see black professionals, I see especially ones in corporate jobs I see someone who's already overcome many challenges just being there. You know they've overcome an interview process where potentially there was biases, but they've overcome many challenges and they've shown you that you know they're excellent.

Speaker 1:

So there's, first of all, so much black talent and what I want to challenge companies is not to keep on going To all the other big companies and pinching the best black talent. How do you find new black talent. There's so much more out there. It's not about you know, I'm ex taken from JP and then met our taking from you know, snapchat and etc. Actually there's more out there. You don't need to keep on recycling the best black talent you know. Find the new emerging black talent who are in the industry and that's investment for black entrepreneurs.

Speaker 1:

You know, we know they're getting less funding than we know we're getting less funding than our white counterparts, and that's why a lot of funds are created solely With the aim of giving to black founders. Because I'm created by black founders, because black founders normally understand black founders and they understand their problems. But I want to challenge those from other races actually to start listening we spoke about this actually listening, start listening to some of their challenges and the problems and if you do listen, you'll see that actually there's some black entrepreneurs who could be, you know, potentially the next Big tech tycoon, etc. And I really think we'll see that.

Speaker 1:

It's great to see you know top at our toner, who's a unicorn who created calendly In in the US, and I don't think many people might actually know that's a black company. Yes, outside of like, you're really kind of, you're deep into tech, you know tech. Also, asked certain people did you know that that that was a there's? There's a black founder who created a Calendar. They might not know and so many people use calendar now Mm-hmm. So you know there's huge opportunities and I, just for me, I can't wait to see like a UK black billionaire tech entrepreneur or Because I think that's gonna be amazing.

Speaker 2:

It might be you. I mean, you're looking at someone else. It might be you. Oh my god, me, one of us. Yeah, we're here for this. You know I. You know it's so important when and I still have a time, I think for me People's you know I'm this crazy person. I start things. People say, oh my gosh, what are we doing now? Do you have time? I start a delegate, a change and something else. I start delegate process moved to something else.

Speaker 2:

Right, I think what seems super important as one, I would say, this is us talking to us is we need to be more visible, and I think it's not enough just to be good at what you do, and I think I still am a big advocate of pushing your personal brand. I'm, you've been in sales, You've been, you know there people say why you're amazing, and if you see you as one of the kind, I think that's the problem and this is why those companies think of is enough black business Is because they don't see it right. And this is why I keep saying to our black community you need to build your personal brand. There's no time to be shy or be modest about your achievement. Bragg like crazy black, like like a French black woman, which is me, because I know that Another thing that I do online is not for me.

Speaker 2:

I know I'm good, you know you're good. I'm not doing it for me because I want the next person to see that if she can do it, I can do it too. You know, and that's so important and I want to discuss this with you because it's important. What do you think? That everything that us should start doing more or do more? I say this personal brand. I also say invest. Invest in so many ways education, learning, but also invest properties or investment Whatever it makes sense to you in terms of how you can make your money grow, but whatever advice as well you would give to Black community to do more so we can achieve more as a self as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly, I think personal branding is is so important and I think I probably realized that a bit later and it was, I think it was either 2019, 2018 or 2019 yeah, going into 2020 where I sat down with Bianca, bianca Miller and Byron being co and Byron Cole, you might know them. Yeah, dude, bianca was on the apprentice one of the first kind of black people on the apprentice who got a lot of brand visibility and she's got a Kind of personal branding business as well. Outside of it is really kind of got a lot of expertise in that, and I sat down with them for their podcast and I told them that. So, with the uk black business show, even on the instagram, for the first three years, no one actually knew I ran the business. Wow, outside of people who came because I was just like I don't want to post my face on it. Um, I was. I said listen, I want it to be all about the business, which is a good mentality to have as well. Um, I wanted to be all about the business. Um, so no one's focusing on me.

Speaker 1:

Two things happened first of all, when 2020 hit and there was a lot of things going on. People are like is this black owned we need. You know, everyone was, like you know, angry with everything. So there was like, are you sure the uk black business show is black owned? So people were messaging me. Clearly my visibility wasn't out there a lot. Um, secondly, bianca, during the interview she said no, you, you need to because personal branding it opens more opportunities for your business. Actually, um, and Since I talked that advice I've had opportunities For not only for myself but for the company, from me going to an event and speaking. I've had, you know, I spoke at an event and then the sponsors been like okay, we want to sponsor your event and put down an extra, quite a large amount of money. So it's important not only for yourself. Can you generate revenue for your personal personal income, but for your business. You can open new doors and being a thought leader, being seen as someone who understands their industry, is always very attractive to people. You know, I love that.

Speaker 2:

I love that and it's so important. Yeah, love it. I'm so glad that you're realizing that and you're realizing the impact that you have, that we can start big things, we can do big things and we have the capabilities and the know-how we can do this. We don't. You know. Allyship has always been an important part of what I advocate for as well, because in that journey of solving the black issue, the black challenges and black poverty, we need allies that also support and open doors for ourselves. But also it's important to be more present, more visible for whoever say oh, rafael, it looks like me, if you can do it, I can do it too. As we continue this engaging conversation, remember that Black Rise is more than just a podcast where dynamic platform where businesses can connect, collaborate and prosper with black professionals, entrepreneurs and black-owned companies. Our commitment to diversity, inclusion and empowerment reshapes industries and builds a future where black excellence thrives globally. So don't forget to subscribe and give us a five-star review on iTunes.

Speaker 1:

What other advice would you give to black people To in terms of like role models or?

Speaker 2:

In terms of more, in terms of things that they should do more.

Speaker 1:

Things that they should do more.

Speaker 2:

Invest. I say invest. I don't know how you feel about invest. Invest in so many ways. Invest in yourself and like people, for example, who don't even invest in buying a book or just learning a course or paying for having a coach or something like that. I just think some of the things should be or just investing in your own self-care, anything that will help you grow, whatever you are. But I think investments have so many forms and it's important for your success. I don't know how you feel about that.

Speaker 1:

Oh, 100% agree. And, funny enough, this morning I've just actually I spent a couple thousands on actually a CEO course that I want to do with like a kind of it's like an eight week course with like a big university. And it's important because I realized, actually, because I've got a team, full-time team, of around eight or nine people eight to nine people and I realized that I'm sending them on development courses. But how am I developing? Yeah, so, you know, I know I've developed through kind of, you know, just working in the industry, speaking that peer-to-peer learning and mentorship. For example, if me and you was to sit down and have sit down for an hour and have coffee, I'm sure we would both learn stuff off each other because we've been doing this entrepreneurship stuff.

Speaker 1:

But also, you know, investing in kind of educational. Investing in educational things and understanding that you need to grow as well is very important. But, yeah, so, investing in yourself, betting on yourself, taking the risk, you know so many people, they, yeah, they're just afraid to bet on themselves, but they're, you know, they're happy to spend a lot of money on a designer clothes. But if you say, oh, it costs this much to do this course, they'll be like, hmm, yeah, it doesn't make sense to me.

Speaker 1:

You know. But then again you can go investing in the finance side with the Dats properties and so many different things and kind of making sure you've got like wills legacy and yeah, just making sure you've got everything on point.

Speaker 2:

Definitely on point. I would say to you I'm gonna say that to someone, but I'll probably spend about five to 10 K just on learning and self-development, just for myself, because I think it's important, because the more I learn something, the also more I feel comfortable in getting to any conversation. Listen, rafa, I've a number of times I sit in the room thinking like how did I get here? But you know, I somehow beg my way for things and I'm knowledgeable and curious enough to know that. Okay, well, I can see how I can play that angle, even if by trade, I'm a branding and marketing person.

Speaker 2:

But I understand that, again, to be able to have this conversation with CEOs and people who invite you to events, you have to have that confidence. And that comes back to how much are you? What are you consuming? Are you just on social media, looking at memes and whatsoever? Are you consumable that help you grow and think? You know, I have a story teller, I've learned about this, I travel to places and so forth. But I feel like I want to come back to you because it's something that we all make mistakes when we start the business, and I think mistakes are not separate from success. But there's anything that you wish you knew sooner.

Speaker 1:

What did I wish? Get a good accountant.

Speaker 2:

It's very important money, that's for sure.

Speaker 1:

Get an ex-get an accountant, make sure you've got everything on point. I just, yeah, I think more of the kind of the finance side I've got like a finance manager now anyway, and an accountant that deal with everything, but just things like understanding cash flow and understanding, you know, profit and loss and overheads and just all of the kind of the basic things that we think is basic now because we've been doing it. But I just wish I understood it earlier, understanding how to make more money as well. I wish I knew that earlier. But I guess you know, entrepreneurship is like a journey, right, and you have to make some of these mistakes not to make it again. Well, I hope you don't make it again when you make it.

Speaker 2:

If you will. You know, fail once, fail twice at some point, nobody can save you. You know it's funny because I always say that not everybody is cut for entrepreneurship. It's tough, you know, and sometimes just have a great corporate job that pays good money. Some people are best at doing, at being in corporate position, and some people are best at being entrepreneur. I know for me, like you, you know creative, you just have an idea, you want to experience it, you just want to try it and you're comfortable with taking risk Calculated risk, of course, not just risk of a sake of taking risk but it's not for everyone and I think people need to recognize this as well in their journey.

Speaker 2:

I want to come back to the. You mentioned the book Twice as Hard, and I remember I gave for for DGA Black Women Tech. I gave a copy of the book because you also blessed us with your presence and were among the leaders who were listening to people pitching, the Black women pitching their business idea, and that's something that I am very grateful for. But tell us what did you write this book and you did it with your wife and why people should read it really.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, sure, so Twice as Hard was kind of like the book that I needed when I was growing up. So it's a Black for Black entrepreneurs and professionals in the working world. I really just wanted to kind of create something which, you know, understood some of the challenges that Black professionals, entrepreneurs go through, but also, speaking to leading Black entrepreneurs and professionals, how they overcome those challenges. So there's interviews with people like Matthew Knowles, beyonce's dad, to Trevor Nelson, to Mounia to you know, black women who are like four fortune 500 companies, the boards to you know, and this is people from the UK and US. And so we wanted to speak to people from different industries, whether it's media finance, and create that kind of book that you could use as a tool. So that talks about navigating white spaces. It talks about allyship, mentors, sponsors, coaches. It talks about, you know, growth. You know when is it time to leave a company or when is it time to make that next move as an entrepreneur. It speaks about everything. There's even a chapter on health. You know how important health is, as well as a Black entrepreneur and a professional, so that's a book that can really.

Speaker 1:

I think it's a really, really good book because there's so much insight from 40 leading Black professionals, entrepreneurs and also a few allies in there as well. And I wrote that book with my wife because actually, as you know, because of the work you do, the challenges first of all a Black man goes through is completely different to a Black woman and I wanted to have a book which gave two different perspectives. So I wanted to also speak, because I can only speak as a Black man, because the challenges of Black women are different. So she was able to speak that, but also she's always worked for really, really big corporate companies and I'm an entrepreneur, so she was able to give the kind of the professional view I was being able to give, the entrepreneur view. I really complimented each other, which is why we wrote the book together.

Speaker 2:

I love it and listen to. It's on Amazon, right, you can get it on Amazon. Yes, A very good book, a good book to get. I want to talk about allyship, because I know we made Black a business, but allyship is a very important part of anything that we want to achieve as not just a community but just a world and successful business. Tell us about how allyship has played a part in the success of your ventures.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think allyship is huge.

Speaker 1:

I mean, some of the people who have mentored me in the event and exhibition industry have been white and they've kind of understood, they've understood the industry and they've given me their time and their knowledge, which has helped me elevate my business as well.

Speaker 1:

But also there's a great quote that we wrote about in the book that you know sometimes nothing can change without allies and you need allies to start making changes at the top for it to trickle down. Black people can't solve a problem that we didn't create, so we can't be left by ourselves to sort it out, which is why allyship is extremely important. So I've definitely benefited from allies, but you can talk about allies in terms of race, gender as well, for women to have kind of men allies to vouch for them. But allyship is integral. It's very important, especially as, like a black entrepreneur, professional, it's key. Funny enough, you go to places like Atlanta. I spoke in Atlanta last year at a big conference US is so big there was people who were just selling to black people and doing seven figures, so they kind of didn't need any allies. But especially in the UK, allyship is very important.

Speaker 2:

Very important Talking about America, because I know that you're also expanding in America. Tell us why and what are the opportunities and how far are you going with it?

Speaker 1:

Sure, so we're doing BTA US next month in Feb, amazing In Times Square at the Marriott Hotel and that one's headline sponsored by JPMorgan as well, and I think the US again huge black community, and it's the opportunity for us to replicate what we're doing in the UK over there in the US and spotlight some amazing black professionals and entrepreneurs in the tech industry. So yeah, just starting off with the Black Tech Achievement Awards, never knowing in the future what we might kind of continue to build over in the States, but I certainly definitely really, really excited about next month.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love it. Well, we heard it February. If you are in the which state? New York, new York, on top of that New York, the great state of New York. So we're about to wrap up, but I have a few questions I want to ask you, and one of them is what is next for you? We're talking about the US, but what are you planning for the UK? Are you planning a new venture? Is anything else that's on the pipeline for you?

Speaker 1:

It's so interesting. You say and you know this as an entrepreneur sometimes you just get ideas anywhere and sometimes it's great, sometimes it's annoying, like, oh, leave me alone these ideas. But I think whatever can help to champion black entrepreneurs and professionals, that's what I would be doing. Whatever my next venture is, it will be around that. I do have, kind of top secret, a new book coming out this year. Oh, okay, so that will be coming out in September. I'm not allowed to actually speak about the name of it yet. It's they've got a new book coming out this year with a publisher, so that's really really exciting. Can you tell us what it's about? Oh, I can tell you briefly what it's about. It's about community, so you'll love it.

Speaker 2:

Oh, yes, you know I'm big on community, so it's definitely my favorite topic.

Speaker 1:

You'll hear definitely more about it, Veris.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure, I'm sure it's a very odd question, but I'd like to ask this question what do you wish people ask you more, or what are the things that you wish people knew about you?

Speaker 1:

What do I wish people asked me more? I don't know. I wish people, you know, I wish people asked me came to me with more of a business idea before they asked advice on business. Yeah, that's one of the things I think. Just come into me more with a bit more meat.

Speaker 2:

Veris do you invest in other entrepreneurs?

Speaker 1:

I do. It just has to be the right one, the right entrepreneur, and I need to see, I need to see the vision, I need to see the potential growth, but 100%. That's something that I love to do.

Speaker 2:

I'm going to bounce back on what you said because it's very important and I get. This is why people come to me. Can you mentor me? I'm thinking I'm not the right mentor for you, so don't use the mentorship sentence as a way to save me, and I think sometimes we have to work on ourselves. This is me being direct to our black community. We really think how I can go to this person, knowing that they will feel that they're also getting value having me around, and I think it's important that we measure what we ask for.

Speaker 2:

Don't go to anybody to ask you to mentor you. You have to find person who is where you want to be and that might not be Raphael, it might not be me again something knowing that Raphael is involved in a lot of entrepreneurship coming to him and asking him to solve a problem for you. He can't do that because he doesn't know who you are, and it's for you to figure this out. And this is why investing in yourself, learning self-space and building relationship relationship doesn't happen overnight. People say to me how do you get to work with so on.

Speaker 2:

I've been doing, I've been building a relationship for six months a year before I was able to work with that person and I think people don't see the behind the scene of the number of conversations that you have, which is not necessarily to get something straight away, but to build something, and when you need that help, they're there for you and it's so important. I don't know if you echo on this, raphael, but this is something that I really want to be able to change. Black community not black community or beyond black community to understand that the power of building a relationship is not overnight.

Speaker 1:

I mean, yeah, like first of all, business is all about relationships, whether that's as an entrepreneur or in a company. You know, people get those promotions because of the networks they form in a company and people get those investments maybe because someone's vouched for them in rooms that they're not there. So 100% agree with you extremely important.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think that happens to me so many times when people say, hey, I was recommended to you to work with you for the villa, so you have to go to procurement or I don't have to do anything. Oh, I remember talking to Penny she's a director at Deutsche Bank and she said that one of the recruiting internally the names on the table they don't recognize who they are, they're not even looked at. It's like who is Sophia? Oh, yeah, sophia, we know Sophia, she's brilliant. Who's at the Boya? Who's at the Boya? Never heard that person. And then they don't realize that you have to build as well, because you have those relationships internally, not just externally, so, so important. My last question for you, because you've been a fantastic guest for a while now. I know there was a lot of fantastic takeaways. What is your vision of your future?

Speaker 1:

My vision of my future. I'm going to say something a bit controversial. Okay, if there's a period where actually I don't need to do a black business show, that would be a success, because that means we've solved all the issues and problems. I don't think that's happening anytime soon because historically, this racism and things like this have been going on for decades and decades before we was born. So, in terms of my future and vision is to continue to kind of be an agent of change, not only across the UK but maybe various countries, and just providing a platform for black entrepreneurs and professionals to shine and to elevate as well.

Speaker 2:

I love that. This is a great vision. Do you know, when you think about imagine having a white business show, you're like huh, exactly, it would be crazy, but this is why equity is so important. We have to do things differently If we want to reverse a system that is not there to support us. Farley, if you want to know more about you and connect with you, what's the best way? Is it LinkedIn, is it Instagram? Is it Twitter or Xtral? I say what's the best platform?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, sure. So yeah, you can follow me on all of those platforms. Raphael Sopaloo I think it's Raphael Sopaloo, pretty much all of the platforms. So yeah, linkedin, instagram, x, feel free.

Speaker 2:

And to get a stand at a black business show. When did you start to get a look at Black Business Week Black Business Show? How does it work?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so that's taken place this year. This year we're in the 24th, From the 14th to the 19th of October we're going to be at the Excel Center this year. So, bigger, bigger and better. Birmingham Black Business Show 15th of June. Black Tech Achievement Awards UK, 15th of March. In US, 26th of February. So, yeah, hopefully you can make it if any of those interest you.

Speaker 2:

And everybody should make it. Whether you're black or you're not black, you should all come to this event to really experience business differently. As I say often on Black Rise and this is very important I've been lucky to also speak at the Black Business Show and, trust me, it's an experience that is exhilarating. You make some new connections, you come back with new ideas or maybe people to work with. This is an event that you should attend Again, whether you're black or you're not black, you should just be there and enjoy.

Speaker 2:

So, rafael, it's the end of the podcast episode. It was a pleasure to have you and for all our listeners, please listen to this episode twice, share it and comment, and let us know who do you want to have on the podcast next. See you soon, thank you. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Black Rise. We hope that you found this conversation as inspiring as we did. Share your takeaways on social media and tag us as we wrap up. Remember that you can always stay connected with us. Join us on this journey of elevation, motivation and empowerment. Let's rise together, break barriers and create lasting change. Subscribe now to stay updated with our latest episodes and visit the Black Risecom to find out more. This is Black Rise, where excellence and impact converge to redefine the future. Until next time, keep rising.