BlkBld Live Is Back: Season Two Is Here

BlkBld Live is officially back! After five years of building, learning, and growing, I’m so excited to relaunch this space for entrepreneurs to share their real journey to business, the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between.

If you’ve been around for a while, you know what BlkBld Live is all about. If you’re new here, welcome. Pull up a seat. Grab your coffee or lemonade. We’re about to build together.

Beyond the Highlight Reel

One thing I’ve noticed on socials is that we only see the highlight reel. Someone has “made it,” and suddenly they’re everywhere sharing their success. But nobody’s talking about what happened in between—the journey from the beginning to that success moment.

“A lot of times on socials, we talk about the highlight reels… but no one talks about what’s happening in between.”

That’s exactly why BlkBld Live exists.

The full journey matters. There’s so much we can learn from other entrepreneurs—whether they’re in similar industries, on a similar career path, or building something completely different. When we hear about their missteps, we can avoid making the same ones. When we see how they pushed through, we find our own blueprint.

The goal is simple: lift as we climb.

What to Expect This Season

This season, I had the amazing opportunity to talk with phenomenal entrepreneurs at every stage of the journey:

  • Those who are just starting out
  • Those who have recently exited
  • Those who are in the messy middle—rebuilding after a collapse

Nothing is left at the table. These conversations are raw, vulnerable, and packed with lessons you can apply to your own business and brand right now.

And around Valentine’s Day, we’re dropping something special: The Heart of It All—a collaboration with Black businesses to talk about ecosystem building. Because we don’t just lift ourselves; we lift each other.

A Quick Look Back at Season One

If you missed Season One, here’s who we featured:

  • Terrence Sims — A filmmaker building a creative life as a husband and father
  • Sasha Simmons — Speaking life into her dreams and building a successful speaking business
  • Suma Hodge — A licensed social worker who built her team and found financial freedom
  • Jerry McPherson — What every founder needs: a CPA
  • Jerry Jorden — Reclaiming Black history while building an arts business
  • Keiona Eady — PR versus advertisement: what people actually get wrong
  • Glenna Maureen — From personal fitness to fitness coach because somebody believed in her
  • Christian Phyfier — The music studio pivot—recalibrating after COVID
  • Joseline Nyinawabera — BlkBld & Co. Founders’ Journey to Business

Every single conversation was powerful, vulnerable, and motivating. I hope you take at least one gem from each episode and implement it into your own life, your business, your brand.

Why I Built BlkBld

You might be wondering—why did I even start this?

Here’s my origin story: I lost almost $100,000 on my first business.

I was so excited to jump into entrepreneurship. I had just left corporate America. I worked at Mondelez—the Fortune 500 company behind Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Ritz. I had a business education. I thought I had all the tools and resources to co-found a business and watch it thrive.

It was such a great idea. But we skipped the foundational pieces. We didn’t validate. We didn’t test. By the time we reached out for mentorship, it was almost too late. I had already poured so much money into it. We were chasing a whole bunch of rabbits and ended up with none.

I found myself leaving Arizona and moving back to my parents’ house. I was crying almost daily, wondering: How did I get here?

Eventually, I got tired of crying. I asked myself: What am I going to do about this?

I had bought the BlkBld.co domain back in 2016. Originally, I was showcasing Black love, Black travel, Black joy—things we don’t see enough of. But Black business ownership kept pulling at my heart. I thought, If I had known then what I know now, I would have done things differently.

That’s how BlkBld was born. I wanted to teach entrepreneurs how to avoid the missteps I made so they didn’t have to learn the hard way.

“It’s good to fall down and learn to get back up. But there are some things you don’t have to go through.”

Why BlkBld Live?

As part of BlkBld, I created BlkBld Live so other entrepreneurs could share their journeys—and so we could all lift as we climb together.

Your North Star: Foundation First

One thing I teach my clients—and something you’ll hear throughout this season—is the importance of building your brand strategy first. That includes:

  • Your mission and vision
  • Who you’re targeting
  • The problem you’re solving
  • How you uniquely solve it versus others in the market

That foundational work is your North Star. Once you understand your North Star, everything else builds from it. Your marketing strategy. Your social media platforms. Whether you focus on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, podcasts, webinars, or events—all of it flows from knowing who you serve and where they are.

Too many business owners skip this because they’re busy running and building. But without that foundation, you end up throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks.

BlkBld Live is part of my North Star. Having guests on the podcast is a win-win: they get to tell their brand story, expand their reach to both of our audiences, and strengthen their marketing and messaging. For me, it’s about reaching my community in an authentic way, through real conversations, while staying true to my foundation-first approach. It’s not just content. It’s ecosystem building.

Come Build With Us

If you’re watching this and you’re building something—or even thinking about starting—I want to hear from you.

You don’t have to figure it out alone.

Seasons One and Two have shown us that whatever we want is possible. Entrepreneurs are out here doing the damn thing—despite self-sabotage, despite what family or friends may say, despite what society told us we can and cannot do.

There is a community. There is a blueprint. The pathway is there.

Come along for the ride.

Get Involved in Season Three

I’m already building Season Three, and I want to include you.

  • Want to be a guest? DM me or email web@blkbld.co
  • Want to sponsor or be a product placement? Let me know
  • Want to be part of this community? Subscribe and share

Let’s build this platform together so we can all grow together.

Let’s build. Let’s go. Cheers!

Thank You to Our Season Two Sponsors

A huge thank you to the Black-owned businesses that powered the couch conversations
this season:

Thank you for pouring into this vision, and helping us create a space that feels like community, not content.

Watch the full Season Two premiere episode below:

Ready to Build?

If you’re ready to stop throwing spaghetti at the wall and start building with intention, here’s how I can help:

  • Book a Free Marketing Consultation — Let’s talk about your brand and where you’re headed
  • DIY + AI Workbooks — MBA + Industry strategy and frameworks to build your foundation, Your Complete Strategic Foundation – From Market Validation to Systematic Scaling. If you’d like a DYI approach, like having me, as your marketing strategist in your pocket, anytime, anywhere

Blending MBA-level strategy, Fortune 500 experience, and cultural intelligence, BlkBld & Co. helps Black and women founders build brands and businesses that make both money and sense, so marketing works, scaling is doable, and generational impact becomes the norm.