The idea for the startup stemmed from her time in high school. Davis had the unique experience of contracting freelance work as a videographer through local customers such as Coco-Cola and Sky Zone.

While attending Syracuse University, where she was studying television, radio, and film, Davis was no longer able to monetize her content using the school’s equipment. A stumbling block for Davis, she decided it was time to scale her experience as a freelancer into a startup to support creative ventures for herself and more to follow. In order to do so, she reflected on difficulties and lessons she acquired in the freelance sector to structure resources for her startup.

“By my sophomore year, I was traveling the world and producing content for really cool brands and artists and I started seeing a lot of issues in the creator space when it came to how creators and brands connect,” Davis told AfroTech. “It was hard for brands to source talent within the creator economy and it was hard to even when they found those leads, streamlined all those conversations, reviewed people’s resumes and portfolios. There were always these bottlenecks when it would come time for freelancers and brands to work together, even when they did want to work together. That was really where I honed down on understanding the market landscape when it came to the future of work.”

Now, freelancers and brands do not have to look any further as CLLCTVE is now a home to open windows of opportunity.

Kelsey Davis

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