We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Wise and Mansi Tanna and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jessica, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We wanted to provide a safe space for millennials to grow and learn as they build their careers. Most media is saturated with boomers, GenXers, and even our own peers bashing our generation. Whether these completely hyperbolic accusations are true or not, how can you expect anyone to do better if you just bad mouth them? That’s what makes Audacity unique. We definitely get honest with our peers, but we also shine a light on the good things we’re doing too. Millennials make up more than a third of the workforce. We’re constantly changing the way to make money and still be happy, and we’re resilient! You’re talking to kids who had to go through two recessions, 9/11, dangerous climate change, and a global pandemic. In the midst of all that, we’re taking up the torch from our parents and grandparents to lead the charge in the biggest civil rights movement since the 60s. Those are the stories that deserve to be told.
What should our readers know about your business?
Audacity is an e-magazine and events platform for millennials professionals. What sets us apart is that we’re owned and operated by and for the millennial generation. We also don’t define “professional” as a cookie-cutter corporate America job. We interview and write on every type of job. That’s what I would would say we are most proud of. We don’t use our platform to exclude people, or subscribe to the elitist culture that a lot of these magazines end up becoming. Starting this business was not easy. It took us quitting jobs, sacrificing personal time, and starting completely from scratch to get where we are now. And we’re still learning. A huge part of overcoming these obstacles were just trial and error. We had to be willing to make mistakes, sometimes expensive ones. We also had to learn how to balance our relationship as business partners and as friends. Mansi and I had been coworkers and friends for nearly three years when we started this business. It was important for us to make sure to nurture our friendship and still hold each other accountable as partners. If the world knows nothing else about our brand, we want them to know that we’re authentic. And we don’t mean we subscriber to this new authenticity lip service act that corporations give to trap young workers. We tell the truth, and we try to help others get their truths told to the world.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Jessica: I like to do a combination of spots that are a little touristy and local gems. For fun, I love Edgewood barhopping and ending the night at Joystick Gamebar. Frequency Fridays at the High Museum are also a favorite of mine, especially when there is an exhibit from artists I enjoy. And I’m always down for a drag show or a play at the community theatres. For food, ,y faves are Cafe Intermezzo, The Flying Biscuit (the original one in Candler Park), Sufi’s, No Mas, Mama’s Cosina (for late night tacos), Ms. Icey’s Kitchen, Papi’s Cuban, and Eclipse di Luna.
Mansi: Jack’s Pizza & Wings on Edgewood is my fave! It’s open late, and you can play cards over cheap drinks.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We want to dedicate our shout out to the late Breonna Taylor. She was a millennial and an essential worker who was senselessly murdered in her home, incorrectly raided by Louisville police. Breonna’s story is the most attention black women victims of police brutality have gotten since the murder of Sandra Bland. As a business owned by black and brown women, it is our responsibility to be a voice for the disenfranchised and the unfairly censored. Breonna Taylor and black women everywhere, we see you, and we speak your names.
Website: audacitymagazine.org
Instagram: @audacitymagonline
Facebook: @AudacityLLC
Image Credits
Jordan Pleasant