Meet Lauren Strayhorn | Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Notedd

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Strayhorn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

In 2018, I found myself balancing a full-time job and attending in-person graduate classes in Washington, DC. Each day it became more challenging to get a full summary of the day’s news from my perspective as a Black woman. I was frustrated because I had to read more than 20+ newsletters a day; four hours of my day were spent reading and finding newsletters. I felt invisible because nothing was readily available in the media for me. There wasn’t an accurate representation of myself and my community in the news. So, I asked myself: was I alone in my thinking?

I couldn’t believe spending half of the workday reading and finding newsletters to be the only solution for myself or other Black women to be informed. I learned the current news consumption challenges of 100+ Black women graduate students, business executives and specialists, and entrepreneurs through various research techniques. I found that they, too, were experiencing similar challenges with the news they were consuming. I had an opportunity to make real change by bringing my experience, research, and the perspectives of fellow Black women to design Notedd.

Notedd is a digital media brand that informs Black women on today’s news while celebrating and highlighting our culture throughout the world. We fill the void by bringing Black women to the forefront of mainstream media through thoughtfully curated content and community experiences.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Notedd is a first-of-its-kind, Black-women-owned and operated digital media brand and platform for Black women. We aggregate a variety of weekly news and lifestyle topics into a high-quality, easy-to-read weekly newsletter, and host conversations that provide space for our community to discuss topics that are important and impact their day-to-day lives, but also the Black community-at-large. We provide resources such as curated events and targeted social media content and offer opportunities for content submissions from women of color writers on our website, Notedd.com. We’ll soon launch a community platform that will enhance our community’s ability to stay informed and connected to the issues that matter to them through a dedicated safe space.

From a graduate research project in 2018 to the launch of our first newsletter in 2019, I’m so proud and honored that Black women continue to be a part of our evolution. In 2020, we worked with a cohort of Black women contributors who shared content throughout the year on topics such as the intersectionality of politics and the Black community, Black women’s representation in golf, and tips for Black women to start investing. In 2021, we became an incorporated business, hiring an all-Black women team to support our operations, social media marketing, graphic design, and PR.

Our mission is to help Black women stay informed, connected, and authentically themselves. As a mission-oriented brand, I’ve learned that you must continue to take inventory of yourself to make sure you’re staying on track with your mission. Also, creating a system will help you stay committed to your goals, and surrounding yourself with a community of people who can hold you accountable can help make achieving those goals much easier. Consider creating a personal advisory board of people who are your peers but also in positions that you seek to be in your business. These are all beneficial in my day-to-day routine and decision-making.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I may be a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur who joined the Great Resignation movement, but making this pivot was one of the most challenging decisions for me. I owe so much to making this decision and my success since this pivot to a mindset coach I worked with almost a year ago, who helped me shift my mindset as a new business owner. Additionally, a CEO of an internal communications firm helped me make the decision to shift from Corporate America to freelancing as a way to continue to stay employed while I build and scale Notedd. Overall, thank you to all of my friends, family, colleagues, and community members who are our biggest fans. Lastly, the ultimate factor in my success was leaning completely into my faith.

Website: https://www.notedd.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notedd/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/notedd

Twitter: https://twitter.com/notedd_

Other: https://notedd.substack.com

Image Credits
Notedd