Will Lucas

I’ve been using the Amazon Echo Show in my home for roughly the last six months. My kids love it as they can two-step and cowboy boogie to Blanco Brown anytime they like, so long as it’s not quiet time. It’s great for calling up music and video clips, news and the weather, but with the prevalence and growth of technologies like Apple’s Facetime, it does leave a lot on the table with its video calling features. I can ‘drop in’ (place a video call) to my home and see a live video feed using the Alexa app, but I couldn’t tell you how to place a video call from the Echo show. Does it even have that capability? I could Google it, but the fact that I have to should say it all. This is where Portal by Facebook shines. Whether intentional or not, Facebook appears to be only highlighting the media features Portal supports like Spotify and Amazon Prime on the edges and going hard on the features that allow you to stay connected. Andrew Bosworth, hardware boss at Facebook, said during a recent...

In this interview for OF10podcast , a podcast focusing on prominent minorities in the tech industry, host Will Lucas and entrepreneur Dave Salvant discuss never giving up on your dream. Dave Salvant is co-founder of Squire , an app that enhances the barbershop experience for both customers and barbers – allowing people to book and pay for cuts at the push of a button. I originally met Dave when we were shooting an episode for Puff Daddy’s REVOLT TV channel in New York. I found him to be incredibly inspiring. He’s a Y Combinator alum , and dropped out of his MBA program at Wisconsin-Madison to found Squire. I caught up with him to talk about Squire, his path to creating the company, and why its so important to stay the course. Note: This portion of the interview is derived from the audio interview heard on the OF10podcast with Will Lucas . To hear the podcast, subscribe in iTunes , Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. This interview has been edited for length. Will Lucas:...

Everette Taylor is an entrepreneur and marketing strategist who previously served as Chief Marketing Officer at Sticker Mule, the hugely popular custom stickers startup, and was CMO of Skurt, an on-demand rental car app that was recently acquired by Fair.com. In this interview produced by OF10podcast , Will Lucas (OF10podcast host) and Everette discuss how students coming out of college break into marketing opportunities for startup companies, and tips for startup teams to get to product-market fit. Note: This portion of the interview is derived from the audio interview heard on the OF10podcast with Will Lucas . To hear the podcast, subscribe in iTunes , Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. This interview has been edited for length. Everette: I started my first marketing job when I was 18 and worked full-time marketing jobs throughout college. I actually started my first marketing company in college, so I have had a really different trajectory than most. I gained a lot of...

Danielle Leslie is an online course creator and growth strategist for startups and personal brands. As founder of the Founder Course Alchemy, she helps brands and startup founders create & launch online courses. She previously worked as a course launch strategist at Udemy where she helped influencers including Guy Kawasaki earn collectively millions of dollars by monetizing their content & expertise through online courses. She has created 4 courses that have over 50k people enrolled around the world. In this interview produced by OF10podcast , Will Lucas (OF10podcast host) and Danielle Leslie discuss personal branding and why nobody signs up for your online course. Note: This portion of the interview is derived from the audio interview heard on the OF10podcast with Will Lucas . To hear the podcast, subscribe in iTunes , Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. This interview has been edited for length. Will: So, you’re an expert in likely the biggest challenges for startups,...

Mandela SH Dixon is co-founder at Founder Gym , an online training center that teaches underrepresented founders how to build successful tech startups. She began her career in Silicon Valley in 2011 as a startup founder backed by Kapor Capital, 500 Startups, and Imagine K12. She led a global entrepreneurial program called Startup Weekend Education that spanned six continents and empowered thousands of entrepreneurs to launch edtech startups. Most recently, Mandela worked at venture capital firm Kapor Capital, where she supported the success of over 120 tech startups. She’s spoken for TEDx, Google, and Facebook. She’sForbes 30 Under 30, LinkedIn’s Top 10 Voices in Venture Capital and Startups, and Medium’s Top 10% of Writers. In this interview produced by OF10podcast , Will Lucas (OF10podcast host) and Mandela SH Dixon discuss helping people from diverse backgrounds make it in tech and startups, how to know if you have what it takes to build a big company, and how to feed and keep...

Ryan Smith is Director at Magic Johnson Enterprises, where he helps the 5-time NBA Champion and business phenomenon analyze and select investment opportunities. He’s a Howard and Stanford Graduate School of Business graduate, previously spending time on Wall Street working for Morgan Stanley. Ryan is the prototype of Black Excellence. In this interview produced by OF10podcast , Will Lucas (OF10podcast host) and Ryan Smith discuss building personal credibility, mentorship, and how working hard and trusting the process opens doors of opportunity. Note: This portion of the interview is derived from the audio interview heard on the OF10podcast with Will Lucas . To hear the podcast, subscribe in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Will: Being a African American man and having accomplished as much as you have academically and professionally, BBA in Finance from Howard, then onto Stanford Graduate School of Business, do you still...

An Interview with Marlon Nichols of Cross Culture Ventures Marlon Nichols is a co-founder and managing partner at Cross Culture Ventures , an early stage venture capital firm with a focus on cultural investing. Before founding Cross Culture Ventures, Marlon was an investment director at Intel Capital. Prior to his time in venture capital, Marlon led successful careers in software and strategy consulting in the technology, private equity, media and entertainment sectors. Some of Marlon’s investments include Blavity , Fair , Gimlet Media , LISNR , Mayvenn , and more. In this interview produced by OF10podcast, Will Lucas (OF10podcast host) and Marlon Nichols discuss his path into venture capital and investing in the future of black & brown popular culture. Note: This portion of the interview is derived from the audio interview heard on the OF10podcast with Will Lucas . To hear the podcast, subscribe in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. This interview has been edited for length....

An interview with Jason Mayden of Super Heroic Jason Mayden is the co-founder and CEO at Super Heroic , an activewear brand designed to enrich the lives of kids through play. He was previously the global design director for Nike’s Jordan brand where he designed shoes for Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Eminem among others, and he was Director of Innovation on the Digital Sport side at Nike. Today, he’s leading a fast paced brand of his own, and recently announced a $7 million venture raise to jetfuel Super Heroic. In this interview produced by OF10podcast , Will Lucas (OF10podcast host) and Jason Mayden discuss the magic of black people, why Jason can only compete with himself, and what he learned from Michael Jordan. Note: This portion of the interview is derived from the audio interview heard on the OF10podcast with Will Lucas . To hear the podcast, subscribe in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. This interview has been edited for length. Will: What about life growing up –...