Presented by AT&T Dream In Black
‘AT&T Dream in Black Presents Black Future Makers’ is a part of AT&T’s continued commitment to powering the possibilities for black entrepreneurs. In this episode, celebrity hosts Lori Harvey, who is the CEO of skincare brand SKN and Terrell Grice, a singer-songwriter and YouTube sensation, celebrate an entrepreneur who is empowering Black brands to sell their products and build their business in innovative ways.
Malik Waseem is the creator and owner of Urbane Society, a marketplace app that allows independently-owned minority brands to sell their products from wherever they are. In addition to making it easy for customers to discover new brands and products, the app also makes it easy for sellers to create personalized and targeted marketing campaigns. The platform is already the home to roughly 70 brands.
After graduating college and moving to Los Angeles, Waseem worked in fashion and noticed a shortage of opportunities for Black brands. He recognized that Black brands could not grow with pop-ups alone and so Urbane Society was born. Waseem’s aim is to give minority-owned businesses a way to scale and develop a long-term customer base.
Waseem draws much of his motivation from his childhood. He grew up in the foster care system and hopes his success can be an inspiration to kids going through what he went through. He shares this wisdom with children currently in foster care: “For kids who are in the system…don’t ever turn down opportunities to be better.”
On behalf of AT&T ‘Dream In Black,’ Lori Harvey and Terrell Grice present Waseem with a check for $10,000 for his business, along with an AT&T tech pack with a computer, 5G-enabled device and funds to build his business.
Waseem is thrilled to receive these funds because he’s found that meeting the financial needs of maintaining an app has been one of his greatest challenges. AT&T is proud to be a part of supporting Waseem overcome that challenge to drive even greater possibilities for Urbane Society and the Black brands it supports.
You can learn more about how AT&T Dream in Black is powering the possibilities, including how to enter the Black Future Maker contest for a chance to win $10,000 and an AT&T 5G connected device by visiting att.com/dreaminblack.
