February 12, 2024 • 40 mins
Unlock the secrets of securing investment and mastering entrepreneurship with our esteemed guest, Jennifer Dyer. As a five-time CEO and seasoned mentor, Jennifer brings a treasure trove of insights from her experience in raising over $13 million, particularly for women and minority entrepreneurs. This episode is a candid exploration into the world of alternative funding, where we unravel the nuances of securing capital from high net worth individuals—quite a different ballgame from the traditional venture capitalist approach.
The journey to entrepreneurial success is fraught with challenges, yet it's rich with opportunities for growth and learning. Jennifer shares her professional evolution, from leading businesses to fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs through her innovative online education platform, E100 Clubs. Discover the pivotal criteria for entrepreneurs looking to scale their ventures and how the E100 Clubs provide the crucial knowledge and community support to propel businesses forward. If you're seeking to enhance your entrepreneurial acumen, this episode is your gateway to actionable education tailored to the dynamic world of business.
We also delve into Jennifer's personal odyssey, a testament to resilience and the power of mentorship. Her transition from an aspirant TV presenter facing a non-diverse UK media landscape to a flourishing entrepreneur is not just inspiring—it's a masterclass in pivoting and perseverance. Hear how encounters with influential mentors like Matthew Knowles helped shape her resolve to carve out a place at the table for herself and others. This episode is more than just a conversation; it's a rallying cry for all who dare to persevere in the face of adversity on their entrepreneurial path.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kutloano Skosana (00:05):
Hello and welcome to Shades and Layers.
I'm your host, kutvan NuskosaNarechi.
This week on Shades and Layers,we look at alternative funding
and further education forentrepreneurs.
Jennifer Dyer is my guest todayand she's going to help us
unpack how to do thingsdifferently when raising capital
or keeping your business skillsset up to date.
(00:27):
Jennifer is a five time CEO andcurrently on a journey of
supporting entrepreneurs bytapping into her global business
network and teaching all thatshe has learned during her two
decade long internationalbusiness career.
Some of the companies she hasfounded in the US and the UK
include Celebrity Fast Card, jh2Media Group, 2v Livestreaming
(00:47):
Way Before Title and Spotify, aswell as YAPPA and Audio and
Video Only Commenting Widgetthat you can add to your website
or social pages.
Jennifer Dyer is an innovator.
Therefore, it's not surprisingthat she's focusing her efforts
on teaching you how to findalternative sources of capital
(01:07):
and the knowledge you need to bea success as an entrepreneur.
This month, jennifer isintroducing her online education
platform called E100 Clubs.
Let's find out all about that,as well as its predecessor, the
unsophisticated bag, here'sJennifer.
Jennifer Dyer (01:25):
I describe my work as being a black female
entrepreneur in the industrythat's striving for change and
in the process of wantingbecause we do wanting to attain
a level of success or a level ofaccomplishment.
At the same time, I describe mywork as also wanting to be able
(01:48):
to connect with other femaleentrepreneurs or business owners
or visionaries, become a partof a community of women that are
striving to attain whatevertheir dreams and passions are.
I describe my work as full onevery day, but I think the
(02:12):
deeper part for me is to make amark.
I think, kitilano, I reallywant to leave more than just
what the processes are ofrunning a business.
I don't want just to be okay,so I've attained a level of
success, I've done this, I'vedone that, this is gone, I've
(02:34):
social media, etc.
Etc.
All the things that suggestthat you're doing really well
are, for me, the aesthetics.
The deeper value for me andneed is to be able to make a
difference, even in one person'slife even to be able to
(02:57):
encourage another, even to beable to inspire another.
Bring somebody else into thefold, who may not have the same
level of experience as me, tomake a mark, to touch someone
and be touched myself in thatprocess.
I think that's my answer tothat.
Kutloano Skosana (03:17):
So what does that look like in reality?
What is your business and howdo you work with these women
whose lives you want to touch?
Jennifer Dyer (03:27):
I've been a five-time CEO.
I'm really honoured andprivileged to say that I've led
companies that are acrossentertainment and technology.
The last of these companies wasa company called YAKA, where I
created an audio and videocommenting tool.
So in the comment sections thatyou guys see online, we
(03:48):
developed a tool that was audioand video only and it was a way
in the trolling just the factthat you can have these nimble
fingers when you're hidingbehind a screen because it's
just text and we wanted toaddress this idea of allowing
(04:10):
organisations and companies who,some of them had actually
deleted their comment sectionsto have a comment section where
you could build a community.
So you're now building your ownsort of social network on your
own website, and so that was thelast business that I headed up
(04:30):
actually going through a processof being acquired at the moment
.
I took a step back and insideof that whole process, I had the
opportunity to be a part of anumber of different panels and
speaking engagements, be a partof different communities,
speaking with women and beingavailable to women, and I think,
(04:52):
in reality, for me, what thatlooks like now is that I've
taken a step back from my roleas a CEO and I've dived into
more mentorship and coaching,and I'm really really happy
after all these years, ratherthan where I've had to do it a
bit here, a little bit there, alittle bit here, a little bit
there but could never fullycommit Right.
I made a decision at thebeginning of 2023 to totally
(05:13):
commit.
I have enough experience andtools.
The good times, the bad times,the tough times, the tough times
, the separation times right Tobe able to really offer
something that's authentic,that's true, that's real, that
could make a difference.
So right now, it is that's whatI do full time.
(05:34):
I'm fully into coaching and I'mfully into mentoring, and I
think we'll talk about it lateron.
I've set up a couple of otherprojects that embrace that and
allows that flow to happen, soI'm excited about it, yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (05:49):
So what kind of mentoring are you offering?
Are you one-on-one group?
How does it work?
Jennifer Dyer (05:57):
So, keelani, one of the key I think one of the
key challenges of a businessowner and an entrepreneur as a
starter is raising capital as awoman, no matter how hard as a
black woman, even harder and sowhen I landed, I wanted to find
an area of that really needed tobe addressed, and raising
(06:21):
capital has always been achallenge, and so, for me and my
journey, I wasn't able to raisecapital with ordinary
commercial VCs, just because ofthe way it's set up, their
cookie cutter type of structure.
You know the sand fran kind ofway in which they look at women,
particularly black women.
(06:42):
Listen, 2%, less than 2% ofwomen get VC money.
And so I had to find anotherroute across the last 15 years
of my journey and I kind of gotinto and found high net worth
individuals.
And these are people that couldbe, you know, whether they're
celebrities or they could beyour doctor, they could be a
(07:02):
friend that was in real estateand exited really well.
They could be a business personthat's exited really well, but
they're just ordinary peoplereally looking back and support
ordinary people that have cometo the table with a cookie
cutter.
And I raised over $13 million,captain Lalo, in the last 15
years.
Kutloano Skosana (07:18):
Wow, that's substantial.
Jennifer Dyer (07:21):
So when I took that step back and I went into
mentoring, the first thing thatI wanted to do then that there
is another route to raisecapital that doesn't have to
have you going into these rooms,which are predominantly led by
white men, guys from Princetonor Harvard.
It's a close knit who you know.
You know it's a very stringentstructure.
(07:42):
But there is another route toraise capital.
So I created this course calledthe unsophisticated bag, where
I teach not just women whoeverwants to join, but particularly
women.
I invite how to raise capitalwith everything.
But more importantly and I'mreally excited about this,
because there are so manyaccelerator programs out there
(08:03):
and workshops and after racecapital and you go into these
moments you spend thousands ofdollars.
They give you a lot of thepresentation documentation.
Then you come out of it and youprobably met maybe two BCs Like
what do you do after you'veended those courses?
So I was really, reallydetermined to be able to give my
(08:27):
clients a list of an email listof high net worth individuals
that after the course, they canlevel deeper and we literally
match your business with theright high net worth individuals
.
So if you're in.
AI, if you're in thesubscription business, if you're
in entertainment, if you're inlike, whatever you're doing, if
(08:51):
you're in healthcare.
I give you a list of over 100high net worth individuals that
are pointed and committed tothat particular vertical,
whether with philanthropy,whether charitable, whether
they're still working in theindustry and so it's a real
match made in heaven and it'sjust been such a great resource
(09:14):
for so many people because theyget to have great lists and they
go on and when they have thesefirst forward conversations,
everybody's already connected.
Everyone already has somethingin common.
Kutloano Skosana (09:27):
Yeah.
Jennifer Dyer (09:28):
So that's what I've kind of done so far.
Kutloano Skosana (09:31):
Yeah, that's fantastic because I was.
You know that was one of mynext questions, like how is it
different from charitabledonations?
Jennifer Dyer (09:38):
When I said philanthropy or charitable, what
I was trying to get acrossthere is that they have an
affinity to your vertical.
It doesn't matter what area itis, whether it's a commercial
investment or whether it's acharitable investment, but the
high net worth individual has aninterest in your radical.
Just for clarity.
And so the wonderful thingabout high net worth individuals
(10:03):
it comes with the same kind ofcollateral in terms of
expectation.
If they're going to invest$25,000 or $100,000, yes,
there's equity that they want tobe able to be given.
There's an exchange.
It's just that you get to thoseconversations and that goes
negotiations a lot easier and alot more, I believe, in a
(10:24):
humanistic form, as opposed tothis real kind of robotic
pattern.
That happens, so it's the usualstandard.
You know they like your project, they want to invest $100,000,
they want to know what they'regoing to get as a part of that.
Oftentimes they like to beoffered an invitation to become
(10:46):
an advisor or a consultant ormaybe on the board, as well as
being able to get some level ofexchange of shares, and that's
kind of normal.
It's just that it's just trulyfair play.
But the actual exchange or theactual transaction is similar.
They're not doing it fornothing, but they're just more
(11:07):
sensitive.
There's, you know,acknowledgement of what it's
taken for that particularindividual to get to where they
go.
So, yeah, it's a realopportunity and it's certainly
another option.
Kutloano Skosana (11:20):
Yeah, and you know, who would you take into
this program?
At what stage of growth shouldthey?
Be, when they come to you.
Good question.
Jennifer Dyer (11:30):
Good question.
I've said to most of thepotential clients that come to
me that they should at leasthave what I call show and tell,
which means please have awebsite already, please have the
idea, a website.
Maybe you may not have an MVP,but you have a website.
(11:52):
You have some assembly of ateam, maybe you have a CTO, even
if it's just you and your CTR,that's very valuable as a team,
so that's a two-man band.
There is also a requirement foryou to have at least done some
level of research and testingthis product with the users,
(12:19):
just to be given some type offeedback on what the
possibilities of it and doingwhat you're suggesting you're
going to do.
Better still, if you want to goup a level, that you have some
sort of presentation deck thatyou can send out, something that
sort of describes theopportunity, something that also
(12:41):
describes the financialopportunity.
Yes, and whilst it doesn't haveto be this five-year thing, even
if it's like, okay, this is ourfirst year, but it just shows
commitment, it showsorganization, it shows your
written value, that you havesomething that you can share.
(13:03):
It's alive, you're just showingthat it has breath.
And this is how I look at itKutulane, it's like a baby.
The baby's alive, rightBreathing, crying, searching,
doing all these beautiful things, but it's a baby and it's not
less than a human, fully grownwoman like me.
(13:26):
Like that little tiny babythat's just been born, it's
still valued.
Kutloano Skosana (13:30):
Yeah.
Jennifer Dyer (13:31):
Everybody loves the baby and just like
gravitates and just like, oh myGod, this baby now needs
nurturing.
So I look at it like that justhave the baby.
Kutloano Skosana (13:40):
Right.
Jennifer Dyer (13:41):
That's all you need with high net worth
individuals Just at least havethe baby and you go forward,
whereas with a lot of VCs theywant more than a baby.
They want to see real numbers.
They want to see real financialmonth-on-month returns.
They want to see customers.
(14:02):
They want to see all of thosenumbers and retention which is
so hard because everybody startsat that baby, point it doesn't
matter what you're doing, you'regoing to have to start out as a
baby.
Nobody starts out as an adult,and that's one of the reasons
that it's really beenfrustrating.
Like you know, you have to saveconcept.
Guys Like you ask all thesequestions, you have all these
(14:22):
expectations, but they've gotone business that's ever started
as a grown adult.
Kutloano Skosana (14:30):
The layers, and today our focus is on
raising capital and real-timeeducation for entrepreneurs.
Five-time CEO Jennifer Dyer isthe guest unpacking the ticks
and trips through the story ofher global entrepreneurial
journey.
Up next, she'll be talkingabout her latest venture
community and expert-drivenonline learning platform, E100
(14:53):
Clubs.
Jennifer Dyer (14:54):
This was birth out of the fact that I love that
I was reaching and touching,because in the unsophisticated
bad course I would only takemaybe maximum I would take with
six people, because I reallywanted to be hands on.
And another part of myexperience of learning as a CEO
(15:17):
of a startup was when we're inthat space, one in our
businesses.
Oftentimes, more often times,we have to reach out to
third-party vendors, whetherit's a branding company, to help
us with our branding or a mediacompany or a marketing company.
And one of the things to tellher that I really felt I fell
(15:38):
down was I did not have enoughknowledge, because I'm one in
the process of my business andthe key essentials.
What I didn't have was enoughknowledge to really be able to
understand what thesethird-party vendors were doing,
so I ended up spending so muchmore money as they come into me
saying, oh you need this, youneed to do this, you need to do
(15:59):
that.
And lack of knowledge, lack ofknowledge had me playing to that
tune and, out of the fact thatI wanted to touch more people, I
created the E100 Club, which islike a business or school for
entrepreneurship, where we have10 different clubs, whether you
want to join the business tobusiness club, the e-commerce
(16:21):
club, the social media club, itis a marketplace where you can
just find everything you need tosharpen your skills, to be
educated, to be trained intowhatever it is that you need for
yourself and for your business.
It's not just for businessowners.
It could be that you just wantto sharpen yourself on your
(16:43):
career.
Kutloano Skosana (16:44):
Right.
The other thing is that we gooff, and we do these courses for
maybe 12 months, six monthsspend quite a bit of money on
them and by the time you'refinished.
Jennifer Dyer (16:55):
The industry's changed Exactly Because
everything's moving so farExactly and changing so quickly.
With the E100 Club, we are juston trend.
We are relevant and right onpoint.
We update every single month,so I'm really excited that I get
to speak into number one,touching more people.
Whether you are just careerdriven, if you want to sharpen
(17:18):
up your skills, whether you'rean employer who wants to invest
in your employees, whether youare a business owner that wants
to be able to have a little bitmore control and knowledge of
your business, the E100 Clubgives you all of that.
So we have three membershiptiers where you can join one
club, you can join three clubsor you can have all access.
(17:39):
And the main thing I'm superexcited about is that for every
club you join, you have acommunity.
Kutloano Skosana (17:45):
You have the.
Jennifer Dyer (17:46):
E-Club community so you get to connect with
like-minded people.
That's doing the business tobusiness club.
There are courses, there areaudio courses, there are
templates.
It's just loaded and beautifuland the price point is amazing.
Kutloano Skosana (18:05):
I wanted to gain to do something like that.
What you charge.
Jennifer Dyer (18:08):
Yeah, I wanted to do something with this Again.
Like the unsophisticated bag,it's quite expensive.
I say that myself but, that'sbecause it's that personal,
one-to-one mentionment andcoaching and you get this whole
list right.
Fine, if you could invest.
But when I say expensive, weare still so much more
reasonable than your usualaccelerator program.
(18:32):
The E100 Club.
For one club that gives you theclub, that gives you a course,
that gives you unlimited accessto so many different things,
whether it's the e-books and thecommunity it's $39.99.
If you want to join three clubs, maybe you want to sort of like
do you know what?
I want to change it all I wantto kind of do marketing,
(18:53):
branding and business $69.99.
And for $99.99, you have a lotof success.
I want not just business ownersbut individuals to be able to
invest in themselves at a placeand at a price that they can
afford.
And one of the great things I'mreally excited about is I'm
gearing up to launch it incountries and territories that
(19:16):
don't have it, don't have accessto this type of material.
Kutloano Skosana (19:19):
Oh, tell me more, yeah.
Jennifer Dyer (19:21):
Yes, so we're going into the Africans Right,
I'm just gearing up.
We're looking at that inTanzania, nigeria, in Rwanda,
bidding the Caribbean in Jamaica, like we're online.
So this information, which isso valuable, is just not
(19:42):
available in certain territories.
And one of the things I'mreally excited about the U100
Club is that not only do I getto encourage and touch my
community in the US and mycommunity in the UK, I get to
touch communities thatordinarily just wouldn't have
access to this type ofinformation and support.
Kutloano Skosana (20:04):
You could argue that LinkedIn also has
courses and all of that, but itfeels like you've got.
You know the personal touch.
Do you have people who areleading clubs and you know how
does it become personable anddifferent from just going to?
You know, on demand.
Jennifer Dyer (20:19):
You've got the vision.
You're asking some really greatcool questions.
I'm very grateful for that.
So, yes, the vision is thatonce a month, I will have an
industry expert leader to dowhether it's a live Q&A or some
type of presentation in thee-commerce club, the brand new
club, the marketing club.
Again, I'm thankful for myjourney because I can call on
(20:44):
some great, awesome peopleQtulano, that has great
experience and great informationto share.
So every month, all of theclubs will have those industry
experts and those the ability tojust just get that information
and some of the testimonials andexperiences.
(21:06):
I think we're different fromanybody, like LinkedIn, because
we're really being inclusive andwe're really kind of creating
this community that allows youto connect, not with the entire
community, but you just connectwith.
If you're doing e-commerce andbranding and you really need
(21:28):
just to connect with that, withthose are the people that you
can absolutely connect with.
One of the key things that theE100 Club has is that we have it
all in one marketplace, oneplace.
Because that was another thingthat was really hard and a part
of my experience.
If I wanted to do, get someinformation on social media or
e-commerce, or branding ormarketing, or.
(21:50):
I wanted to find all of thisinformation in just one place.
Kutloano Skosana (21:56):
Right, yeah, because it's wild out there.
Jennifer Dyer (22:00):
One place where I can just ask what we offer.
Kutloano Skosana (22:03):
We offer whatever you need.
Jennifer Dyer (22:05):
We're aware of the economical changes that
happens around businesslandscape on a daily basis.
The E100 Club was there to armyou with the tools, the
information and the skills andknowledge that you need to be
able to stay abreast and stayforward with the ever so
evolving moving times of what'sgoing on in the business
(22:28):
landscape right now.
Kutloano Skosana (22:41):
Shades and Layers is a global storytelling
platform for black and otherwomen of color in business.
This episode features the storyof five-time CEO Jennifer Dyer,
who has so far outlinedalternative sources of capital
and how she plans on helpingentrepreneurs to keep their
skills up to date with herplatform, e100 Clubs.
Now it's time to find out howshe ended up where she is today,
(23:04):
and we will also get into theShades and Layers rapid fire.
So you are so passionate aboutall the things that you do, and
it explains why you're anentrepreneur.
But I'd like to get more intoyour personal journey, and I
know you have.
You had your beginnings inradio and television, so can you
(23:30):
just do a summary of whereyou've come from and what led
you to being an entrepreneur inthe first place?
Was it a stumble upon orsomething that that was more
deliberate?
Jennifer Dyer (23:42):
So when I started , I wanted to be nothing else
but a television presenter and aproducer.
That was my entire passion andI went into that journey at a
very early age and I got so manydoors shut.
No, no, no, no, no.
Kutloano Skosana (23:56):
I was in the United.
Jennifer Dyer (23:57):
Kingdom.
At the time there was only oneblack man on TV on the news.
We weren't like America thathad people that looked like me.
Uh-uh, they had nobody thatlooked like me, like no one.
I was going through this wholeprocess that probably took me
about, I would say, three and ahalf years to crack.
(24:21):
And I never stopped every daysending show rules, making show
rules, calling people going tothe interview.
It was a whole thing.
I wanted it so badly and itreminded me as I look back on it
now.
It's the same as the VC.
It was a very close knit, whoyou know?
Type of cookie cutter industry.
(24:41):
But I thought to myself, well,if I just give up, that's what I
want to do.
So if I just give up, then whatis the meaning to my life?
So then I thought to myself,okay, I'm going to have to find
my own path.
I'm going to have to findanother option.
Clearly I'm not going to beengaged.
So I thought and I foundanother option in Christian
(25:03):
music and just like theChristian world and I was going
to the United States to becomethings around mega churches and
pastors and all of the greatmusic that was coming out, like
you have Christian rapping andR&B, and it was just like not
here in the UK.
So I started to bring thisfootage back and started to
(25:25):
expose it and license it and Ibecame the expert.
Kutloano Skosana (25:29):
Oh, wow, and license it.
Jennifer Dyer (25:30):
All right, yeah, because you can tell me.
I then started to go to cansand license.
I'll do these beautifulpackages that could be for news
inserts or could be for you know, just different areas of the
industry.
And before you know it, doingall of that, I was an offer, a
show on channel five on the mainterrestrial networks in the UK.
(25:55):
And it was always supposed to bea pilot, and I ended up staying
there with them for seven yearsFantastic, and that was
absolutely awesome.
But what that did Kutulanu wasshow me.
So when I came into now, as I'mout of that, I set up my own
production company.
That was the but.
That was my entry into myentrepreneurship.
(26:18):
I wanted to be able to ownthings and be in control of
things, and they had to hire methrough my production company.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And as I continued down thatroad and started to expand into
technology and needed investment, I realized, okay, when I got
my first note going down thattraditional route, I just said
(26:40):
I'm not going to do this again.
I spent five years trying toget to this industry with no,
and I had to go make my own seatat the table and find another
option.
So I'm going to do the samething.
At that point I had a beautiful, very grateful I am to this day
.
The network that I had aroundme at that time allowed me to
explore another option andthat's how I first got my
(27:02):
investment from a high net worthindividual.
Kutloano Skosana (27:04):
Oh, and I've just never stopped.
Yeah, that's amazing.
That's my story.
Oh, that's really amazing.
Jennifer Dyer (27:10):
Girls and boys as we're out there listening to
their jokes.
Don't give up.
There's always another optionIf that's your dream and your
passion.
You can't lay it down foranyone.
You can't lay it down for thesystem.
You can't lay it down forinequality.
You can't lay it down for theunfair way that certain
communities are tricked.
(27:31):
No, you cannot.
We've got to continue to pushand fight forward, because
that's the only way that we'regoing to make a mark and stay
together.
Kutloano Skosana (27:42):
So how did you become this resilient?
Jennifer Dyer (27:45):
I think, just because of all the hardship and
all of the nose and all of thepushback and all of the you
can't do it and all of thenegative and all of the lack of
support to me, the only way I'mgoing to be able to overcome it
is to be able to be strongenough to do it.
That's the first thing.
You can survive those watersyou will find a way out and
you're going to survive, becausea lot of us don't survive those
(28:06):
waters and I get it.
I kind of really fell down juststill, until I had to refocus,
gain a new perspective and comeback into the fight and continue
forward.
But yeah, I just think it's allthe negatives and just what the
journey, my journey, has beenthat should give me the
resilience that I've had.
It's just like no, no easy yesto me.
Kutloano Skosana (28:29):
I'm not doing that anymore.
Do you mean not yet?
Jennifer Dyer (28:33):
Yes, Not now, but okay.
Kutloano Skosana (28:38):
So who are some of the people who have been
supportive in your journey?
I know you said you raisedfinance from a high net worth
individual but you know thosecoaches, mentors and people
giving you courage along yourjourney because, as we know,
nobody does this alone, right?
So yes.
Yeah.
Jennifer Dyer (28:58):
Okay, so first of all, I guess there's two
categories.
This category is like theinfluential, the, those are a
little bit more affluent andinfluential, so I had the
opportunity.
Matthew Knowles, beyonce'sfather right.
Great, mental, great, awesome,mental, absolutely awesome,
awesome, awesome.
And I even I mean I don't wantto sing this song, but I'm going
(29:22):
to say it for Beyonce she'sjust the most beautiful,
gorgeous person in the stagesthat she is.
When I met her many years, many, many years ago and she could
actually film in something, andshe had to do this shot about 58
times literally, and she did itwith such a smile, with such
(29:43):
grace, with such beautifulpatience or a whole crew that it
just gave me a completedifference with perspective on
her, just as a human in hercraft, beautiful.
So Matthew Knowles was a very,very influential family and then
I come across just sort of likeother, better name names that
some of your audience would knowDamon John again, just great
(30:07):
and just awesome and just such astrong entrepreneur and so
giving with his time and whathe's done and it's been another
great mentor to me.
And then there are just just anumber of beautiful people that
may not be as commercially knownright.
(30:30):
What are just photos that havefound a level of success and
have just proven to be soimpactful in their industries
and their communities that I'vebeen able to lean on and tap
into.
That has championed me and, youknow, cautioned me where I
needed to be cautioned and justpushed me when I need to be
(30:53):
pushed and pick me up when I'vefallen.
There are so many people thathave achieved a certain level of
success because alone, andthey're just like, still so
unhappy, still so unfulfilled,like where is here, do I feel
like I'm?
No, here is just continuing tounfold and be a part of the
world, be a part of the journeyof people wanting to find
(31:17):
purpose, and I don't think thatever stops.
And that's not measured bymoney, I don't think it's
measured by houses and cars andall of those other privileges.
I really don't.
I think it's just measured bypeace, joy, heart and what
you're prepared to still giveand how available are you still
(31:38):
going to be for the ordinary Joe.
That, to me, defines success.
Kutloano Skosana (31:44):
That's lovely, yeah, so it sounds like you've
lived a few lifetimes and stilllive, and still.
There's still more to come.
But if you had to summarize itin a memoir so far.
What would you call it and why?
Jennifer Dyer (32:07):
Oh my, God, that's such a question.
I love you.
Future Lime would do it.
Dear girl, you're not going toget me.
I'm going to stay connected toyou.
I just love your flow and howyou think.
Kutloano Skosana (32:19):
Oh, thank you.
Jennifer Dyer (32:20):
So awesome.
Okay, so I've got to say thisright, because I don't want it
to sound crazy, but I don't wantto make anything up.
I want to be really authenticand really real, but at the same
time, I want there to beclarity on what I mean by this,
my memoir, if I had to write it.
I've always had something thatis called from the pit to the
(32:42):
palace and it's the story and Igot it from Joseph from the
Bible.
Joseph, yeah, who was a banditby the family, who just went
through so many differentsegments and aspects of accused,
sold into slavery, then accusedof wanting to sort of rape
(33:04):
someone, ended up in prison.
I mean, he just had a dream.
He just had a dream and he toldhis brothers that he just had a
dream and that dream was notreciprocated, it was not
appreciated, it was not receivedand it caused his life for the
first 30 or years of his life tobe just horrible and unfair and
(33:28):
he went through so much.
But part of that dream was thathe was one day going to be in a
position where he was justgoing to be able to help his
community and help that nationand provide it with anything
about being in a palace because,like I'm a king or a queen it
(33:49):
was about just being in an orderand a position where you could
really help and, of course, whenwe all know what happened with
Joseph.
He was that man of many dreams.
He had dreamed of his firstvision and when he was in prison
he had other visions and dreams.
And Pharaoh was going throughwhat he wanted to go through and
(34:11):
asked who could interpret thedream.
And it was Joseph.
And he ended up in that palace,second command to Pharaoh, in a
position where he was able toprovide the solution to nations
dying yeah because he was ableto say like, fall on your bonds
(34:32):
with this.
This is what we need to do here,this is what we need to do
there to be able to keepourselves healthy and safe and
to continue to grow thisgeneration.
My memoir would be the pictureto the palace, because I feel
like my journey was I'll neveralign myself with the great
Joseph.
That's not what I'm saying.
So guys, yeah, but it's just ajourney of real struggle, real
(34:57):
battle, real fight, real gritand what it takes to keep seeing
your vision as you're goingthrough that.
You've seen it when he wasbeing accused and abandoned and
just set aside.
Still see the vision.
(35:17):
How do you do that?
And then, when you come intothat place, because you stood
that test of time, you'veapplied that resilience and that
faith and now you're in thatplace.
Joseph could have done so manythings.
He could have just become sobold, he could have just become
so negative, he could justbecome so full of ego, but no,
(35:38):
he took the position and wasreally able to contribute save
that nation.
I'm not saving a nation if I do.
My struggle or journey can justimpact and save one person,
which is my palace moment, thankyou yeah it was just one person
I talked, so that's what thememoir would be on the pitch?
Kutloano Skosana (36:01):
and if you took that memoir and turned it
into a film, who?
Jennifer Dyer (36:05):
would you pick?
Kutloano Skosana (36:06):
who would you pick for the lead?
I'll produce it for you youhave to.
Jennifer Dyer (36:24):
Can I just say for a second I'm just so in awe,
the damage by you.
You're, you're just so quiet,but you're so powerful thank you
.
Kutloano Skosana (36:35):
And if tonight you know while you're cooking
all your many different dishesat the same time in your kitchen
and yet you invite a famousblack woman over for dinner, who
would it be and why?
Jennifer Dyer (36:49):
I love you.
Kutloano Skosana (36:50):
Oh, my gosh living or dead here do you know
who?
Jennifer Dyer (36:55):
I think okay, oh my gosh.
Do I have to say.
But this is just, can I just behonest and true?
Yes, absolutely, I only my gosh.
I think okay, okay, everyone'sgonna say, oh my gosh, it'll be
Michelle Obama.
Kutloano Skosana (37:08):
I'll let me tell you why, girl?
Jennifer Dyer (37:12):
how did you become the first black lady, the
first black wife of thepresident of the biggest free
world country in?
How did you do that?
with such place elegance,patience, love.
How did you do that?
(37:33):
You've never.
You, there's not a handbook, no, that was ever gonna tell you
how to be the president's wife.
As a black woman, you shinedfor us.
You shined for the UnitedStates of America, and that's
resilience.
That's a pit to the palacemoment.
That's a moment in time back.
(37:54):
How did you do it?
What did it take for you to doit?
So that's why we invited in on,because when that happened like
that, I mean you can alwaysplan it, but being in it, man,
and having to switch it on, whatyour life was then is no longer
now.
It's not something that you canput on your little sticky
(38:14):
papers on your fridge saying,well, this is what there's no
sequence of events there's nosequence of events.
It was just I mean in it and youjust you want it and I will
forever be treated intrigued.
I, I've always been intriguedand I've always been just
honored and just so inspired bythat.
(38:36):
That was just amazing as ablack woman, insane yeah she is
amazing so that is.
Kutloano Skosana (38:43):
That is all from me in terms of the
interview.
Is there anything else thatyou'd like to touch on that
maybe we haven't spoken about?
Jennifer Dyer (38:51):
awesome?
Oh, my god, not at all.
All I'd like to say to youraudience is that if you are out
there and you are interested insharpening your skills, learning
a new skill, wanting to juststay afraid and all planned with
your business or your career,check out the e100 clubs and
that's with an s on the endclubs and joc on.
(39:13):
Have a look around and just seewhere you land there and all I
want to say she's been on aprivilege to tell on it.
I want to stay in touch withyou.
You're really inspiring.
I love what you're doing,making a difference, because,
yes, you are, and I'm just verygrateful and thankful and I'm
grateful to you too, jennifer.
Kutloano Skosana (39:35):
Thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks to you for listening andsupporting shades and layers.
If you want to learn more aboutJennifer's work, then please go
to the show notes and if youlike this episode, please spread
the love and share it with afriend.
I'm good one is close on arichie and until next time.
Please do take good care.
Hello and welcome to Shades and Layers.
I'm your host, kutvan NuskosaNarechi.
This week on Shades and Layers,we look at alternative funding
and further education forentrepreneurs.
Jennifer Dyer is my guest todayand she's going to help us
unpack how to do thingsdifferently when raising capital
or keeping your business skillsset up to date.
(00:27):
Jennifer is a five time CEO andcurrently on a journey of
supporting entrepreneurs bytapping into her global business
network and teaching all thatshe has learned during her two
decade long internationalbusiness career.
Some of the companies she hasfounded in the US and the UK
include Celebrity Fast Card, jh2Media Group, 2v Livestreaming
(00:47):
Way Before Title and Spotify, aswell as YAPPA and Audio and
Video Only Commenting Widgetthat you can add to your website
or social pages.
Jennifer Dyer is an innovator.
Therefore, it's not surprisingthat she's focusing her efforts
on teaching you how to findalternative sources of capital
(01:07):
and the knowledge you need to bea success as an entrepreneur.
This month, jennifer isintroducing her online education
platform called E100 Clubs.
Let's find out all about that,as well as its predecessor, the
unsophisticated bag, here'sJennifer.
Jennifer Dyer (01:25):
I describe my work as being a black female
entrepreneur in the industrythat's striving for change and
in the process of wantingbecause we do wanting to attain
a level of success or a level ofaccomplishment.
At the same time, I describe mywork as also wanting to be able
(01:48):
to connect with other femaleentrepreneurs or business owners
or visionaries, become a partof a community of women that are
striving to attain whatevertheir dreams and passions are.
I describe my work as full onevery day, but I think the
(02:12):
deeper part for me is to make amark.
I think, kitilano, I reallywant to leave more than just
what the processes are ofrunning a business.
I don't want just to be okay,so I've attained a level of
success, I've done this, I'vedone that, this is gone, I've
(02:34):
social media, etc.
Etc.
All the things that suggestthat you're doing really well
are, for me, the aesthetics.
The deeper value for me andneed is to be able to make a
difference, even in one person'slife even to be able to
(02:57):
encourage another, even to beable to inspire another.
Bring somebody else into thefold, who may not have the same
level of experience as me, tomake a mark, to touch someone
and be touched myself in thatprocess.
I think that's my answer tothat.
Kutloano Skosana (03:17):
So what does that look like in reality?
What is your business and howdo you work with these women
whose lives you want to touch?
Jennifer Dyer (03:27):
I've been a five-time CEO.
I'm really honoured andprivileged to say that I've led
companies that are acrossentertainment and technology.
The last of these companies wasa company called YAKA, where I
created an audio and videocommenting tool.
So in the comment sections thatyou guys see online, we
(03:48):
developed a tool that was audioand video only and it was a way
in the trolling just the factthat you can have these nimble
fingers when you're hidingbehind a screen because it's
just text and we wanted toaddress this idea of allowing
(04:10):
organisations and companies who,some of them had actually
deleted their comment sectionsto have a comment section where
you could build a community.
So you're now building your ownsort of social network on your
own website, and so that was thelast business that I headed up
(04:30):
actually going through a processof being acquired at the moment
.
I took a step back and insideof that whole process, I had the
opportunity to be a part of anumber of different panels and
speaking engagements, be a partof different communities,
speaking with women and beingavailable to women, and I think,
(04:52):
in reality, for me, what thatlooks like now is that I've
taken a step back from my roleas a CEO and I've dived into
more mentorship and coaching,and I'm really really happy
after all these years, ratherthan where I've had to do it a
bit here, a little bit there, alittle bit here, a little bit
there but could never fullycommit Right.
I made a decision at thebeginning of 2023 to totally
(05:13):
commit.
I have enough experience andtools.
The good times, the bad times,the tough times, the tough times
, the separation times right Tobe able to really offer
something that's authentic,that's true, that's real, that
could make a difference.
So right now, it is that's whatI do full time.
(05:34):
I'm fully into coaching and I'mfully into mentoring, and I
think we'll talk about it lateron.
I've set up a couple of otherprojects that embrace that and
allows that flow to happen, soI'm excited about it, yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (05:49):
So what kind of mentoring are you offering?
Are you one-on-one group?
How does it work?
Jennifer Dyer (05:57):
So, keelani, one of the key I think one of the
key challenges of a businessowner and an entrepreneur as a
starter is raising capital as awoman, no matter how hard as a
black woman, even harder and sowhen I landed, I wanted to find
an area of that really needed tobe addressed, and raising
(06:21):
capital has always been achallenge, and so, for me and my
journey, I wasn't able to raisecapital with ordinary
commercial VCs, just because ofthe way it's set up, their
cookie cutter type of structure.
You know the sand fran kind ofway in which they look at women,
particularly black women.
(06:42):
Listen, 2%, less than 2% ofwomen get VC money.
And so I had to find anotherroute across the last 15 years
of my journey and I kind of gotinto and found high net worth
individuals.
And these are people that couldbe, you know, whether they're
celebrities or they could beyour doctor, they could be a
(07:02):
friend that was in real estateand exited really well.
They could be a business personthat's exited really well, but
they're just ordinary peoplereally looking back and support
ordinary people that have cometo the table with a cookie
cutter.
And I raised over $13 million,captain Lalo, in the last 15
years.
Kutloano Skosana (07:18):
Wow, that's substantial.
Jennifer Dyer (07:21):
So when I took that step back and I went into
mentoring, the first thing thatI wanted to do then that there
is another route to raisecapital that doesn't have to
have you going into these rooms,which are predominantly led by
white men, guys from Princetonor Harvard.
It's a close knit who you know.
You know it's a very stringentstructure.
(07:42):
But there is another route toraise capital.
So I created this course calledthe unsophisticated bag, where
I teach not just women whoeverwants to join, but particularly
women.
I invite how to raise capitalwith everything.
But more importantly and I'mreally excited about this,
because there are so manyaccelerator programs out there
(08:03):
and workshops and after racecapital and you go into these
moments you spend thousands ofdollars.
They give you a lot of thepresentation documentation.
Then you come out of it and youprobably met maybe two BCs Like
what do you do after you'veended those courses?
So I was really, reallydetermined to be able to give my
(08:27):
clients a list of an email listof high net worth individuals
that after the course, they canlevel deeper and we literally
match your business with theright high net worth individuals
.
So if you're in.
AI, if you're in thesubscription business, if you're
in entertainment, if you're inlike, whatever you're doing, if
(08:51):
you're in healthcare.
I give you a list of over 100high net worth individuals that
are pointed and committed tothat particular vertical,
whether with philanthropy,whether charitable, whether
they're still working in theindustry and so it's a real
match made in heaven and it'sjust been such a great resource
(09:14):
for so many people because theyget to have great lists and they
go on and when they have thesefirst forward conversations,
everybody's already connected.
Everyone already has somethingin common.
Kutloano Skosana (09:27):
Yeah.
Jennifer Dyer (09:28):
So that's what I've kind of done so far.
Kutloano Skosana (09:31):
Yeah, that's fantastic because I was.
You know that was one of mynext questions, like how is it
different from charitabledonations?
Jennifer Dyer (09:38):
When I said philanthropy or charitable, what
I was trying to get acrossthere is that they have an
affinity to your vertical.
It doesn't matter what area itis, whether it's a commercial
investment or whether it's acharitable investment, but the
high net worth individual has aninterest in your radical.
Just for clarity.
And so the wonderful thingabout high net worth individuals
(10:03):
it comes with the same kind ofcollateral in terms of
expectation.
If they're going to invest$25,000 or $100,000, yes,
there's equity that they want tobe able to be given.
There's an exchange.
It's just that you get to thoseconversations and that goes
negotiations a lot easier and alot more, I believe, in a
(10:24):
humanistic form, as opposed tothis real kind of robotic
pattern.
That happens, so it's the usualstandard.
You know they like your project, they want to invest $100,000,
they want to know what they'regoing to get as a part of that.
Oftentimes they like to beoffered an invitation to become
(10:46):
an advisor or a consultant ormaybe on the board, as well as
being able to get some level ofexchange of shares, and that's
kind of normal.
It's just that it's just trulyfair play.
But the actual exchange or theactual transaction is similar.
They're not doing it fornothing, but they're just more
(11:07):
sensitive.
There's, you know,acknowledgement of what it's
taken for that particularindividual to get to where they
go.
So, yeah, it's a realopportunity and it's certainly
another option.
Kutloano Skosana (11:20):
Yeah, and you know, who would you take into
this program?
At what stage of growth shouldthey?
Be, when they come to you.
Good question.
Jennifer Dyer (11:30):
Good question.
I've said to most of thepotential clients that come to
me that they should at leasthave what I call show and tell,
which means please have awebsite already, please have the
idea, a website.
Maybe you may not have an MVP,but you have a website.
(11:52):
You have some assembly of ateam, maybe you have a CTO, even
if it's just you and your CTR,that's very valuable as a team,
so that's a two-man band.
There is also a requirement foryou to have at least done some
level of research and testingthis product with the users,
(12:19):
just to be given some type offeedback on what the
possibilities of it and doingwhat you're suggesting you're
going to do.
Better still, if you want to goup a level, that you have some
sort of presentation deck thatyou can send out, something that
sort of describes theopportunity, something that also
(12:41):
describes the financialopportunity.
Yes, and whilst it doesn't haveto be this five-year thing, even
if it's like, okay, this is ourfirst year, but it just shows
commitment, it showsorganization, it shows your
written value, that you havesomething that you can share.
(13:03):
It's alive, you're just showingthat it has breath.
And this is how I look at itKutulane, it's like a baby.
The baby's alive, rightBreathing, crying, searching,
doing all these beautiful things, but it's a baby and it's not
less than a human, fully grownwoman like me.
(13:26):
Like that little tiny babythat's just been born, it's
still valued.
Kutloano Skosana (13:30):
Yeah.
Jennifer Dyer (13:31):
Everybody loves the baby and just like
gravitates and just like, oh myGod, this baby now needs
nurturing.
So I look at it like that justhave the baby.
Kutloano Skosana (13:40):
Right.
Jennifer Dyer (13:41):
That's all you need with high net worth
individuals Just at least havethe baby and you go forward,
whereas with a lot of VCs theywant more than a baby.
They want to see real numbers.
They want to see real financialmonth-on-month returns.
They want to see customers.
(14:02):
They want to see all of thosenumbers and retention which is
so hard because everybody startsat that baby, point it doesn't
matter what you're doing, you'regoing to have to start out as a
baby.
Nobody starts out as an adult,and that's one of the reasons
that it's really beenfrustrating.
Like you know, you have to saveconcept.
Guys Like you ask all thesequestions, you have all these
(14:22):
expectations, but they've gotone business that's ever started
as a grown adult.
Kutloano Skosana (14:30):
The layers, and today our focus is on
raising capital and real-timeeducation for entrepreneurs.
Five-time CEO Jennifer Dyer isthe guest unpacking the ticks
and trips through the story ofher global entrepreneurial
journey.
Up next, she'll be talkingabout her latest venture
community and expert-drivenonline learning platform, E100
(14:53):
Clubs.
Jennifer Dyer (14:54):
This was birth out of the fact that I love that
I was reaching and touching,because in the unsophisticated
bad course I would only takemaybe maximum I would take with
six people, because I reallywanted to be hands on.
And another part of myexperience of learning as a CEO
(15:17):
of a startup was when we're inthat space, one in our
businesses.
Oftentimes, more often times,we have to reach out to
third-party vendors, whetherit's a branding company, to help
us with our branding or a mediacompany or a marketing company.
And one of the things to tellher that I really felt I fell
(15:38):
down was I did not have enoughknowledge, because I'm one in
the process of my business andthe key essentials.
What I didn't have was enoughknowledge to really be able to
understand what thesethird-party vendors were doing,
so I ended up spending so muchmore money as they come into me
saying, oh you need this, youneed to do this, you need to do
(15:59):
that.
And lack of knowledge, lack ofknowledge had me playing to that
tune and, out of the fact thatI wanted to touch more people, I
created the E100 Club, which islike a business or school for
entrepreneurship, where we have10 different clubs, whether you
want to join the business tobusiness club, the e-commerce
(16:21):
club, the social media club, itis a marketplace where you can
just find everything you need tosharpen your skills, to be
educated, to be trained intowhatever it is that you need for
yourself and for your business.
It's not just for businessowners.
It could be that you just wantto sharpen yourself on your
(16:43):
career.
Kutloano Skosana (16:44):
Right.
The other thing is that we gooff, and we do these courses for
maybe 12 months, six monthsspend quite a bit of money on
them and by the time you'refinished.
Jennifer Dyer (16:55):
The industry's changed Exactly Because
everything's moving so farExactly and changing so quickly.
With the E100 Club, we are juston trend.
We are relevant and right onpoint.
We update every single month,so I'm really excited that I get
to speak into number one,touching more people.
Whether you are just careerdriven, if you want to sharpen
(17:18):
up your skills, whether you'rean employer who wants to invest
in your employees, whether youare a business owner that wants
to be able to have a little bitmore control and knowledge of
your business, the E100 Clubgives you all of that.
So we have three membershiptiers where you can join one
club, you can join three clubsor you can have all access.
(17:39):
And the main thing I'm superexcited about is that for every
club you join, you have acommunity.
Kutloano Skosana (17:45):
You have the.
Jennifer Dyer (17:46):
E-Club community so you get to connect with
like-minded people.
That's doing the business tobusiness club.
There are courses, there areaudio courses, there are
templates.
It's just loaded and beautifuland the price point is amazing.
Kutloano Skosana (18:05):
I wanted to gain to do something like that.
What you charge.
Jennifer Dyer (18:08):
Yeah, I wanted to do something with this Again.
Like the unsophisticated bag,it's quite expensive.
I say that myself but, that'sbecause it's that personal,
one-to-one mentionment andcoaching and you get this whole
list right.
Fine, if you could invest.
But when I say expensive, weare still so much more
reasonable than your usualaccelerator program.
(18:32):
The E100 Club.
For one club that gives you theclub, that gives you a course,
that gives you unlimited accessto so many different things,
whether it's the e-books and thecommunity it's $39.99.
If you want to join three clubs, maybe you want to sort of like
do you know what?
I want to change it all I wantto kind of do marketing,
(18:53):
branding and business $69.99.
And for $99.99, you have a lotof success.
I want not just business ownersbut individuals to be able to
invest in themselves at a placeand at a price that they can
afford.
And one of the great things I'mreally excited about is I'm
gearing up to launch it incountries and territories that
(19:16):
don't have it, don't have accessto this type of material.
Kutloano Skosana (19:19):
Oh, tell me more, yeah.
Jennifer Dyer (19:21):
Yes, so we're going into the Africans Right,
I'm just gearing up.
We're looking at that inTanzania, nigeria, in Rwanda,
bidding the Caribbean in Jamaica, like we're online.
So this information, which isso valuable, is just not
(19:42):
available in certain territories.
And one of the things I'mreally excited about the U100
Club is that not only do I getto encourage and touch my
community in the US and mycommunity in the UK, I get to
touch communities thatordinarily just wouldn't have
access to this type ofinformation and support.
Kutloano Skosana (20:04):
You could argue that LinkedIn also has
courses and all of that, but itfeels like you've got.
You know the personal touch.
Do you have people who areleading clubs and you know how
does it become personable anddifferent from just going to?
You know, on demand.
Jennifer Dyer (20:19):
You've got the vision.
You're asking some really greatcool questions.
I'm very grateful for that.
So, yes, the vision is thatonce a month, I will have an
industry expert leader to dowhether it's a live Q&A or some
type of presentation in thee-commerce club, the brand new
club, the marketing club.
Again, I'm thankful for myjourney because I can call on
(20:44):
some great, awesome peopleQtulano, that has great
experience and great informationto share.
So every month, all of theclubs will have those industry
experts and those the ability tojust just get that information
and some of the testimonials andexperiences.
(21:06):
I think we're different fromanybody, like LinkedIn, because
we're really being inclusive andwe're really kind of creating
this community that allows youto connect, not with the entire
community, but you just connectwith.
If you're doing e-commerce andbranding and you really need
(21:28):
just to connect with that, withthose are the people that you
can absolutely connect with.
One of the key things that theE100 Club has is that we have it
all in one marketplace, oneplace.
Because that was another thingthat was really hard and a part
of my experience.
If I wanted to do, get someinformation on social media or
e-commerce, or branding ormarketing, or.
(21:50):
I wanted to find all of thisinformation in just one place.
Kutloano Skosana (21:56):
Right, yeah, because it's wild out there.
Jennifer Dyer (22:00):
One place where I can just ask what we offer.
Kutloano Skosana (22:03):
We offer whatever you need.
Jennifer Dyer (22:05):
We're aware of the economical changes that
happens around businesslandscape on a daily basis.
The E100 Club was there to armyou with the tools, the
information and the skills andknowledge that you need to be
able to stay abreast and stayforward with the ever so
evolving moving times of what'sgoing on in the business
(22:28):
landscape right now.
Kutloano Skosana (22:41):
Shades and Layers is a global storytelling
platform for black and otherwomen of color in business.
This episode features the storyof five-time CEO Jennifer Dyer,
who has so far outlinedalternative sources of capital
and how she plans on helpingentrepreneurs to keep their
skills up to date with herplatform, e100 Clubs.
Now it's time to find out howshe ended up where she is today,
(23:04):
and we will also get into theShades and Layers rapid fire.
So you are so passionate aboutall the things that you do, and
it explains why you're anentrepreneur.
But I'd like to get more intoyour personal journey, and I
know you have.
You had your beginnings inradio and television, so can you
(23:30):
just do a summary of whereyou've come from and what led
you to being an entrepreneur inthe first place?
Was it a stumble upon orsomething that that was more
deliberate?
Jennifer Dyer (23:42):
So when I started , I wanted to be nothing else
but a television presenter and aproducer.
That was my entire passion andI went into that journey at a
very early age and I got so manydoors shut.
No, no, no, no, no.
Kutloano Skosana (23:56):
I was in the United.
Jennifer Dyer (23:57):
Kingdom.
At the time there was only oneblack man on TV on the news.
We weren't like America thathad people that looked like me.
Uh-uh, they had nobody thatlooked like me, like no one.
I was going through this wholeprocess that probably took me
about, I would say, three and ahalf years to crack.
(24:21):
And I never stopped every daysending show rules, making show
rules, calling people going tothe interview.
It was a whole thing.
I wanted it so badly and itreminded me as I look back on it
now.
It's the same as the VC.
It was a very close knit, whoyou know?
Type of cookie cutter industry.
(24:41):
But I thought to myself, well,if I just give up, that's what I
want to do.
So if I just give up, then whatis the meaning to my life?
So then I thought to myself,okay, I'm going to have to find
my own path.
I'm going to have to findanother option.
Clearly I'm not going to beengaged.
So I thought and I foundanother option in Christian
(25:03):
music and just like theChristian world and I was going
to the United States to becomethings around mega churches and
pastors and all of the greatmusic that was coming out, like
you have Christian rapping andR&B, and it was just like not
here in the UK.
So I started to bring thisfootage back and started to
(25:25):
expose it and license it and Ibecame the expert.
Kutloano Skosana (25:29):
Oh, wow, and license it.
Jennifer Dyer (25:30):
All right, yeah, because you can tell me.
I then started to go to cansand license.
I'll do these beautifulpackages that could be for news
inserts or could be for you know, just different areas of the
industry.
And before you know it, doingall of that, I was an offer, a
show on channel five on the mainterrestrial networks in the UK.
(25:55):
And it was always supposed to bea pilot, and I ended up staying
there with them for seven yearsFantastic, and that was
absolutely awesome.
But what that did Kutulanu wasshow me.
So when I came into now, as I'mout of that, I set up my own
production company.
That was the but.
That was my entry into myentrepreneurship.
(26:18):
I wanted to be able to ownthings and be in control of
things, and they had to hire methrough my production company.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And as I continued down thatroad and started to expand into
technology and needed investment, I realized, okay, when I got
my first note going down thattraditional route, I just said
(26:40):
I'm not going to do this again.
I spent five years trying toget to this industry with no,
and I had to go make my own seatat the table and find another
option.
So I'm going to do the samething.
At that point I had a beautiful, very grateful I am to this day
.
The network that I had aroundme at that time allowed me to
explore another option andthat's how I first got my
(27:02):
investment from a high net worthindividual.
Kutloano Skosana (27:04):
Oh, and I've just never stopped.
Yeah, that's amazing.
That's my story.
Oh, that's really amazing.
Jennifer Dyer (27:10):
Girls and boys as we're out there listening to
their jokes.
Don't give up.
There's always another optionIf that's your dream and your
passion.
You can't lay it down foranyone.
You can't lay it down for thesystem.
You can't lay it down forinequality.
You can't lay it down for theunfair way that certain
communities are tricked.
(27:31):
No, you cannot.
We've got to continue to pushand fight forward, because
that's the only way that we'regoing to make a mark and stay
together.
Kutloano Skosana (27:42):
So how did you become this resilient?
Jennifer Dyer (27:45):
I think, just because of all the hardship and
all of the nose and all of thepushback and all of the you
can't do it and all of thenegative and all of the lack of
support to me, the only way I'mgoing to be able to overcome it
is to be able to be strongenough to do it.
That's the first thing.
You can survive those watersyou will find a way out and
you're going to survive, becausea lot of us don't survive those
(28:06):
waters and I get it.
I kind of really fell down juststill, until I had to refocus,
gain a new perspective and comeback into the fight and continue
forward.
But yeah, I just think it's allthe negatives and just what the
journey, my journey, has beenthat should give me the
resilience that I've had.
It's just like no, no easy yesto me.
Kutloano Skosana (28:29):
I'm not doing that anymore.
Do you mean not yet?
Jennifer Dyer (28:33):
Yes, Not now, but okay.
Kutloano Skosana (28:38):
So who are some of the people who have been
supportive in your journey?
I know you said you raisedfinance from a high net worth
individual but you know thosecoaches, mentors and people
giving you courage along yourjourney because, as we know,
nobody does this alone, right?
So yes.
Yeah.
Jennifer Dyer (28:58):
Okay, so first of all, I guess there's two
categories.
This category is like theinfluential, the, those are a
little bit more affluent andinfluential, so I had the
opportunity.
Matthew Knowles, beyonce'sfather right.
Great, mental, great, awesome,mental, absolutely awesome,
awesome, awesome.
And I even I mean I don't wantto sing this song, but I'm going
(29:22):
to say it for Beyonce she'sjust the most beautiful,
gorgeous person in the stagesthat she is.
When I met her many years, many, many years ago and she could
actually film in something, andshe had to do this shot about 58
times literally, and she did itwith such a smile, with such
(29:43):
grace, with such beautifulpatience or a whole crew that it
just gave me a completedifference with perspective on
her, just as a human in hercraft, beautiful.
So Matthew Knowles was a very,very influential family and then
I come across just sort of likeother, better name names that
some of your audience would knowDamon John again, just great
(30:07):
and just awesome and just such astrong entrepreneur and so
giving with his time and whathe's done and it's been another
great mentor to me.
And then there are just just anumber of beautiful people that
may not be as commercially knownright.
(30:30):
What are just photos that havefound a level of success and
have just proven to be soimpactful in their industries
and their communities that I'vebeen able to lean on and tap
into.
That has championed me and, youknow, cautioned me where I
needed to be cautioned and justpushed me when I need to be
(30:53):
pushed and pick me up when I'vefallen.
There are so many people thathave achieved a certain level of
success because alone, andthey're just like, still so
unhappy, still so unfulfilled,like where is here, do I feel
like I'm?
No, here is just continuing tounfold and be a part of the
world, be a part of the journeyof people wanting to find
(31:17):
purpose, and I don't think thatever stops.
And that's not measured bymoney, I don't think it's
measured by houses and cars andall of those other privileges.
I really don't.
I think it's just measured bypeace, joy, heart and what
you're prepared to still giveand how available are you still
(31:38):
going to be for the ordinary Joe.
That, to me, defines success.
Kutloano Skosana (31:44):
That's lovely, yeah, so it sounds like you've
lived a few lifetimes and stilllive, and still.
There's still more to come.
But if you had to summarize itin a memoir so far.
What would you call it and why?
Jennifer Dyer (32:07):
Oh my, God, that's such a question.
I love you.
Future Lime would do it.
Dear girl, you're not going toget me.
I'm going to stay connected toyou.
I just love your flow and howyou think.
Kutloano Skosana (32:19):
Oh, thank you.
Jennifer Dyer (32:20):
So awesome.
Okay, so I've got to say thisright, because I don't want it
to sound crazy, but I don't wantto make anything up.
I want to be really authenticand really real, but at the same
time, I want there to beclarity on what I mean by this,
my memoir, if I had to write it.
I've always had something thatis called from the pit to the
(32:42):
palace and it's the story and Igot it from Joseph from the
Bible.
Joseph, yeah, who was a banditby the family, who just went
through so many differentsegments and aspects of accused,
sold into slavery, then accusedof wanting to sort of rape
(33:04):
someone, ended up in prison.
I mean, he just had a dream.
He just had a dream and he toldhis brothers that he just had a
dream and that dream was notreciprocated, it was not
appreciated, it was not receivedand it caused his life for the
first 30 or years of his life tobe just horrible and unfair and
(33:28):
he went through so much.
But part of that dream was thathe was one day going to be in a
position where he was justgoing to be able to help his
community and help that nationand provide it with anything
about being in a palace because,like I'm a king or a queen it
(33:49):
was about just being in an orderand a position where you could
really help and, of course, whenwe all know what happened with
Joseph.
He was that man of many dreams.
He had dreamed of his firstvision and when he was in prison
he had other visions and dreams.
And Pharaoh was going throughwhat he wanted to go through and
(34:11):
asked who could interpret thedream.
And it was Joseph.
And he ended up in that palace,second command to Pharaoh, in a
position where he was able toprovide the solution to nations
dying yeah because he was ableto say like, fall on your bonds
(34:32):
with this.
This is what we need to do here,this is what we need to do
there to be able to keepourselves healthy and safe and
to continue to grow thisgeneration.
My memoir would be the pictureto the palace, because I feel
like my journey was I'll neveralign myself with the great
Joseph.
That's not what I'm saying.
So guys, yeah, but it's just ajourney of real struggle, real
(34:57):
battle, real fight, real gritand what it takes to keep seeing
your vision as you're goingthrough that.
You've seen it when he wasbeing accused and abandoned and
just set aside.
Still see the vision.
(35:17):
How do you do that?
And then, when you come intothat place, because you stood
that test of time, you'veapplied that resilience and that
faith and now you're in thatplace.
Joseph could have done so manythings.
He could have just become sobold, he could have just become
so negative, he could justbecome so full of ego, but no,
(35:38):
he took the position and wasreally able to contribute save
that nation.
I'm not saving a nation if I do.
My struggle or journey can justimpact and save one person,
which is my palace moment, thankyou yeah it was just one person
I talked, so that's what thememoir would be on the pitch?
Kutloano Skosana (36:01):
and if you took that memoir and turned it
into a film, who?
Jennifer Dyer (36:05):
would you pick?
Kutloano Skosana (36:06):
who would you pick for the lead?
I'll produce it for you youhave to.
Jennifer Dyer (36:24):
Can I just say for a second I'm just so in awe,
the damage by you.
You're, you're just so quiet,but you're so powerful thank you
.
Kutloano Skosana (36:35):
And if tonight you know while you're cooking
all your many different dishesat the same time in your kitchen
and yet you invite a famousblack woman over for dinner, who
would it be and why?
Jennifer Dyer (36:49):
I love you.
Kutloano Skosana (36:50):
Oh, my gosh living or dead here do you know
who?
Jennifer Dyer (36:55):
I think okay, oh my gosh.
Do I have to say.
But this is just, can I just behonest and true?
Yes, absolutely, I only my gosh.
I think okay, okay, everyone'sgonna say, oh my gosh, it'll be
Michelle Obama.
Kutloano Skosana (37:08):
I'll let me tell you why, girl?
Jennifer Dyer (37:12):
how did you become the first black lady, the
first black wife of thepresident of the biggest free
world country in?
How did you do that?
with such place elegance,patience, love.
How did you do that?
(37:33):
You've never.
You, there's not a handbook, no, that was ever gonna tell you
how to be the president's wife.
As a black woman, you shinedfor us.
You shined for the UnitedStates of America, and that's
resilience.
That's a pit to the palacemoment.
That's a moment in time back.
(37:54):
How did you do it?
What did it take for you to doit?
So that's why we invited in on,because when that happened like
that, I mean you can alwaysplan it, but being in it, man,
and having to switch it on, whatyour life was then is no longer
now.
It's not something that you canput on your little sticky
(38:14):
papers on your fridge saying,well, this is what there's no
sequence of events there's nosequence of events.
It was just I mean in it and youjust you want it and I will
forever be treated intrigued.
I, I've always been intriguedand I've always been just
honored and just so inspired bythat.
(38:36):
That was just amazing as ablack woman, insane yeah she is
amazing so that is.
Kutloano Skosana (38:43):
That is all from me in terms of the
interview.
Is there anything else thatyou'd like to touch on that
maybe we haven't spoken about?
Jennifer Dyer (38:51):
awesome?
Oh, my god, not at all.
All I'd like to say to youraudience is that if you are out
there and you are interested insharpening your skills, learning
a new skill, wanting to juststay afraid and all planned with
your business or your career,check out the e100 clubs and
that's with an s on the endclubs and joc on.
(39:13):
Have a look around and just seewhere you land there and all I
want to say she's been on aprivilege to tell on it.
I want to stay in touch withyou.
You're really inspiring.
I love what you're doing,making a difference, because,
yes, you are, and I'm just verygrateful and thankful and I'm
grateful to you too, jennifer.
Kutloano Skosana (39:35):
Thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks to you for listening andsupporting shades and layers.
If you want to learn more aboutJennifer's work, then please go
to the show notes and if youlike this episode, please spread
the love and share it with afriend.
I'm good one is close on arichie and until next time.
Please do take good care.
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