Meet Tope Mitchell, PhD | CEO, Storyteller-Researcher, Mother, and Wife

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tope Mitchell, PhD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tope, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I moved around between two parents as a child and also between two cultures. My mother is African American from the south and my father is from Nigeria. They were both entrepreneurs when I was young and they worked a lot but they enjoyed building and creating. I was also at either my Dad’s office or my Mother’s office working with them. That is why I type at a crazy speed and always want to think about a way to fix the world around me and make an impact. I have never thought of work as something that “ended” as a child and into my youth I always worked multiple “on the books and off the books” jobs. I have to say that I am working through that now, the burnout, the lack of boundaries, it is not sustainable in the long run. But, I have enjoyed the process lately of figuring out how to create ways to enjoy my work, enjoy my family, and find ways to find time for myself as Tope and outside of the roles that I love as CEO, researcher, mother, or wife.

What should our readers know about your business?
I am the CEO of Reflekt Me, Reflekt Me is a B2B SaaS solution that elevates the online shopping experience by allowing ecommerce stores to authentically reach targeted communities through our ecommerce platform, powered by UGC. We have harnessed the behaviors of social media consumption and placed them directly on your PDP, yet we have infused the experience within a customer centric, inclusive, and empowering emotional experience. We do this faster and easier with our platform, it is a one-click experience which includes not only technology, but a network of diverse content creators and expertise with strategy and consumer insights.
Our end to end solution allows you to connect with and collect content from customers, content creators, and employees then curate and show that diverse and inclusive content on your website instantly!

I became a sociologist because I wanted to be like Martin Luther King, Jr – I wanted to study what he studied. I grew up as a bicultural child and then moved from Los Angeles to a small town in Washington state – so my identity was always evaluated and I had to constantly find my internal compass and understanding of who I am. I understand how strong media is as an agent of socialization and when I created Reflekt Me, it was a love letter to society to create something that gave everyone a reflection. A call to action that would create a movement. A movement towards representation, authenticity, and community. But of course, in order for brands to adopt it it has to be profitable, which it is! There is a 75% increase in sales conversation, a 70% in add to cart, and 300% increase in engagement because you are giving your online shopper what they need – information, community, engaging content, and a level of care that you want them to be seen and value their characteristics.
This has not been easy but I have learned to enjoy the journey and not keep pushing towards the “end of the movie” as I joke about with my team. We are in the montage, we are at the hard part but we are still pushing forward through this epic saga, excited to see how much stronger we are at the end. I love Marvel so I think about those origin stories lol, none of them are easy!
I have gotten to where I am by being a little crazy as they say. I couldn’t sleep for months trying to understand my idea and I constantly think about how the world will be different with Reflekt Me at all hours lol! It is a dream, a societal shift towards inclusion and self love. I have seen it, the audible gasps, the tears, the hugs from women and men who never felt seen. I want my children to grow up in that world. The digital experience affects how we interact in the world and helps us to have more confidence.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love this question. Okay I love everything about Atlanta but especially how empowering it is to Black people and underrepresented/underestimated founders across demographics. So, I would start off as a foodie and have breakfast at places like Le Petit Marche, Dulce Vegan bakery, Portrait Coffee, all of those great places, lunch at Tassili’s Raw Vegan Reality, Flower Child, Food Terminal, Rumi’s Kitchen, Antico Pizza and desserts at Valda (their ice cream sandwiches and baklava are the stuff of dreams). I actually have family memberships everywhere so we would go to the Aquarium, Botanical Gardens, Zoo, and my second home the High Museum! We would have a fantastic time going to all of the art galleries and enjoy the fun dancing at night at Rock Steady or the new Damsel. Ah you are making me want to stop working and call my best friend lol I would want to show her the amazing entrepreneurs and inspirational people at Ecomspaces and the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow, there isn’t enough room here lol! Yes, first my co-founder, CTO and the entire Reflekt Me team, and Board of Directors. I have taken each step with the support from many investors, organizations, and mentors. Specifically: Backstage Capital, XRC Ventures, Techstars, STH Ventures, SoGal Foundation, Plug and Play ventures, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Project W, Springboard Enterprises, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Creative Destruction Lab, Black Women Talk Tech, the SBTDC, Pitch Atlanta, Visible Figures, NY Fashion Tech Lab, Goodie Nation, Black Ambition, Rarely Heard Women, and the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs.

Website: https://www.reflektme.com

Instagram: @reflekt_me

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reflekt-me

Twitter: @reflektme

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reflektme/events/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0&_rdr

Image Credits
Tope Mitchell, Gerald Mitchell, and Jorge Cuel