Morgan DeBaun went against Silicon Valley’s metric of success.

Her entrepreneurial journey began at age 13 when she started investing in the stock market. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and entrepreneurship from Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

By 2014, she had become a founder and CEO, launching Blavity Inc. — a global company dedicated to providing media and product solutions for Black Millennial and Gen Z consumers, as well as businesses and organizations aiming to connect with this audience.

By 25 years old, she became one of the few Black women founders to secure $1 million in funding. Blavity Inc. has since continued to raise capital, successfully completing three acquisitions and integrations — two of which she executed before turning 24 years old, within just 18 months. The most recent, RNB House Party (now Blavity House Party), was acquired in November 2023.

Today, Blavity Inc. encompasses brands like Blavity, AFROTECH™, 21Ninety, Travel Noire, Home & Texture, and Shadow & Act — collectively reaching over 100 million consumers each month.

Other impact areas that have been spawned through DeBaun’s leadership include SaaS product Talent Infusion, plus Blavity Fest and the AFROTECH™ Conference, the largest conference for Black technologists.

It’s no secret that DeBaun has built a solid business while raising funding. However, in the process, she’s also come the realization that she would need to go against the norms of Silicon Valley, which tends to glorify venture capital.

“When I decided, ‘Wait, I don’t need to keep raising money,’ just because society in Silicon Valley is saying, ‘You got to keep raising money’ …You raise money, and then you start raising your next round while you’re raising your current round and you’re hiring all these people and you’re burning through it, and then you keep going and you keep growing,” she said on the Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by Will Lucas. “Once I said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore. I’m done. I did what I needed to do. I protected the company. We have great investors. I’ve got the board governance. Let’s build a good company. Let’s build a profitable company, a profitable venture backed company five years ago,’ which was what was best for me and best for my employees best for our community, and best for our audience.”

She added, “Once I made that decision, the level of freedom that I had was just revolutionary and transformed my life because then you start to make decisions differently. When you’re actually going for metrics that you deem as the definition of success, then it completely alleviates all this stress that we all carry around with us to perform at a level that we don’t even care about.”

‘Rewrite Your Rules’

DeBaun wants others to find comfort in not always adhering to society’s rule books, which is why she’s released “Rewrite Your Rules,” a three-part framework that encourages readers to master themselves, their method, and their growth. 

If you are ready to take control of your life — from your day-to-day routines or scaling your side hustle or business — purchase “Rewrite Your Rules” today.

Furthermore, DeBaun is also embarking on a multi-city tour with stops in Los Angeles, CA (April 4); St. Louis, MO (April 4); Houston, TX (April 16); and New Orleans (April 17).

In the meantime, you can hear other gems from DeBaun by watching her full interview on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast here.