Full Transcript for When Personal Experience Turns Into a Passion for Change

resources to build something that they liked with the spices that they liked in a device that if you have to move from home to home for whatever reason, you can use a toaster oven pretty much anywhere. 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:48.400 And learning how to be innovative with that. 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:57.520 Um and then taking those skills um that's not only met the requirement of being STEM, but also met the requirement of how do you sell how do you build self-sustaining practices and getting them to think about, okay, well, this is in my community. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:03:59.840 So how do I find other things in my community I can build? 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:10.960 And um anyway, throughout my career, I kept having instances where it just the idea of house re keep coming back to me, where I would work in an organization and I start to see the breakdown in their values of a communication, and I was like, this isn't the place that I want to work, it doesn't feel great when I come in. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:13.759 Everyone's telling me everything's great, yet people are crying at their desk. 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:15.360 Right? 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:22.720 Or leadership says, uh, these are our guiding principles, these are our guiding values, and then them going against their values when it's convenient because that person's a really great hire. 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:26.000 And we can bring them in, and it's fine if this person's harassing people, you know. 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:27.839 Um obviously never in those words. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:28.879 Right, exactly. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:38.160 And I remember there were several moments, um, like when I was working in the district attorney's office, I was having this candid conversation with a vendor, um, we were set up and we're recruiting, and she said to me, She's like, This seems like this isn't your calling. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:39.600 What you're talking about is your calling. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:41.680 And I said, Yeah, okay, thanks. 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:43.279 And it kept happening in my career. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:53.040 And was one day I was on a plane coming back from a leadership development conference, and the messaging that they were telling me was that where I was wasn't doing me any favors, and I needed to trust myself because I had so many skills and they can see it. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:55.839 And they were like, We would be so excited to work with you, you need to get out where you are. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.879 And that's when I thought about House 3 again, and I said, Well, I don't know how to move forward. 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:00.160 And I said, Why not make it a map? 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:01.759 Accessibility, right? 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:08.800 And um, and then 2024 happened where I was officially laid off from that role, and I think that was another sign. 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.439 It was right before I got married, it was about two and a half weeks before my wedding. 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.839 And that's when it really hit home when I was like, I'm leaning into myself. 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:19.439 Like I'm getting married, we're starting a new chapter of my life, I need to move into this. 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:25.199 Um, and then it was in February of 2025 that I officially filed um for an LLC and finally made house three. 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:25.759 Got it. 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:26.319 A business. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:30.240 And it was just like there's so many points in my career where I was pushed to do this. 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:35.120 And anytime I said no, something happened in my career, that was like, well, see, this is what happens when we don't listen to the universe. 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:35.839 Right, right. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:36.879 That's it right there. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:42.160 I love that you um shared that journey with us because a lot of us uh entrepreneurs, we go through those journeys, right? 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:45.600 It's not a one-minute decision, you know, instant decision, oh, I'm gonna go do do this. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.519 It's usually an experience, a journey. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:51.120 It's something that keeps popping up, you know, whispering to us as we go through life. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:56.240 And you um beautifully illustrated how you just kept getting a nubbed about, oh, this doesn't feel right. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:56.879 I don't like this. 00:05:57.040 --> 00:05:58.560 Let me put something in place to change this. 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.879 I don't like this, let me leave this situation, right? 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:03.199 I don't like this, and then even people telling you, right? 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:04.399 Because that's one of the things too. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:05.839 Other people can see it for us too. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:12.319 So I love how you took us on that journey of how you really got to actually launching your app for half story. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:16.800 I think it's really telling too because it's sometimes it's also a negative experience that pushed you towards it. 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:24.000 So I was in a situation um at a place I was working where I had it was so much bullying going on, bullying from the top throughout their entire organization. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:27.839 And the biggest piece of it was this rumor that I was gonna start my own consulting firm. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:30.879 And when the rumor got to me, I said, What? 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:33.439 I was like, I I'm in school. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:34.639 I'm planning a wedding. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:36.560 What do you mean I'm starting an HR consulting firm? 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:44.240 And it was funny because it was based on these stereotypes that um I feel like often if you're part of several marginalized identities, expressing myself, I'm a black uh woman with Caribbean roots, I'm queer. 00:06:44.399 -->

00:06:47.360 And oftentimes when they hear all these differentiators, they want to put you in a box. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:53.360 And so they just made all these assumptions about me, and then they would start these rumors, and I'd have executives come to me and be like, So, you want to start your own HR consulting business? 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:55.120 And they would say it to me as if they were scared. 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:57.759 Like, I was like, I don't understand why, like, why this is happening. 00:06:57.839 --> 00:06:58.720 And I kept getting it and getting it. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:12.000 And I was like, well, clearly, besides the bullying, which is like a toxic culture, but there was an element to what they were saying that I was like, if you're seeing this, someone that doesn't respect me, right, as an individual and they just see me as a walking stereotype, if they're telling me these things, there must be something because even even the the ops see it. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:13.120 Even they see it. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:19.360 And so I think that the, you know, I I'm not necessarily like a spiritual person, but there are moments where there's just like the universe is gonna tell you whether you want to hear it or not. 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:26.399 It's gonna tell you your friends are gonna tell you, your family's gonna tell you, the people that don't like you or respect you are gonna see it and they're gonna tell you, and everybody's gonna tell you until you wake up and realize. 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:26.959 Uh-huh. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:35.120 Yes, I like to say I hope I heard Oprah say one time, you get whispers and it gets louder and louder and louder until you can't help but pay attention to it, right? 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:36.639 Wonderful. 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:41.040 So we know that housing is one of the biggest stability markers for new entrepreneurs, especially. 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:44.079 How does half story shift the power back to renters? 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:44.639 Yeah. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:47.439 So I um I tell people I I have a lot of hot takes. 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.879 Um that's like the you know, Gen Z fun way of saying, you know, controversial topic. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:56.879 But when I tell people my hot takes are, they're like, LP, that's not really a hot take, that's just a normal observation for somebody that's not sipping a Kool-Aid, you know. 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.759 Um and one of my observations that I made is that um lack of information um leads to control. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:03.360 Lack of information leads to destruction. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:07.439 Um, lack of information is a tool of the larger, what do you whatever want to call it? 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:12.000 Patriarchy, white supremacy, some sort of overarching belief that somebody else needs to control an entire group of people. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:21.759 And when I'm looking at my history, my legacy, my ancestors, and finding out when they find out information how far they took it and how far they went, um, I notice that there's knowledge and power. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:28.879 So my platform uh is currently in a div the design um phase, and we plan on launching um our beta sometime late January. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:34.080 Once it's out, the goal is really to get people engaged with it and for them to understand that all the resources are there. 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:49.759 We're bringing all that information in a centralized way that makes it easy to understand, especially if you're emotionally dysregulated because you're going through not only working 40, 50, 60 hours a week, but dealing with any sort of housing issue or trying to find housing, the goal is to have house story be a tool to be really like an ally to folks to give them the information they need to make informed decisions. 00:08:49.919 --> 00:09:03.039 So whereas if you go down the rabbit hole and Google or Reddit, you're not gonna be able to make an informed decision, whereas House 3 is gonna bring all that context to the forefront so that way you can feel more confident about saying yes or no, or at least give you some tools to negotiate um, you know, with your situation. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:03.600 Got it. 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:05.120 So how would House Story be different? 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:12.639 Because I think that's very important for people to know, oh, I can just Google about this certain place and get the information I need, or like you said, read it, or you know, just search on the internet and find out about this place. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:14.799 How would House Story um be different? 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:30.159 Yeah, so I think the biggest thing with House Story is um, so if you imagine this, right, like so the renters I talked to are renting in the DMB area, which is uh DC, Maryland, Virginia, particularly Baltimore, and the NYC area, which is like New York City and like neighboring uh New Jersey and Connecticut, um, the biggest thing they say is that they asked me that and I asked them, okay, have you done that? 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:31.519 And they said, Yes, did you get the information you need? 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:32.000 They say no. 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:32.399 Why? 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:33.600 It's not succinct, right? 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:34.559 It's not succinct. 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:40.639 And the decision, especially in New York, when you have to like, there's like 50 other people apply for this place, you're in that space. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:47.600 Do you really have the tool to sit there and Google for five hours when you got a job to go to, when you have kids to be, when you have to like like even take time for yourself? 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:55.600 The goal is house three is just bringing all that information to you, including stuff that cops in Google and working alongside these different tools to filter out the

nonsense that you don't need to know. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:00.240 Um, the goal is to have verified reviews on the app and not just AI bots being like this place is great. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:02.879 Right so that you have to filter through on Google. 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:06.080 It's um it's being designed to really pull the information that people need to know. 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:06.960 What's the rent price? 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:07.919 What is it listed as? 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:11.679 I've rented a place before that I saw three or four different price ranges that it was listed as. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:13.679 Um and it's like, is it 1900 a month? 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:14.879 Is it 2200 a month? 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:16.080 Because I'm telling you that$300. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:17.200 Makes a big difference. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:18.399 Makes a big difference. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:22.559 Another thing that you don't find out is what's the uh what cable am I supposed to get? 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:26.559 Because there's certain areas you can only get certain cable, and what if you know, what if you have preferences? 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.120 Um, then it's like, uh does my phone work in this neighborhood? 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:30.240 Does my phone work in that neighborhood? 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:32.559 Or what I find most important, I'm gonna know about the history of the place. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:36.000 This apartment looks great, this neighborhood looks great, but is it safe for me to walk around? 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:38.960 Um, what is the cultural history or heritage here? 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:43.039 And then the most important thing when we think about the impacts of gentrification, how can I contribute to this community in a meaningful way? 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:45.120 What local mom and pop shops are here do I need to support? 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:46.159 What should I be made aware of? 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:54.000 Because I'd rather my dollars stay in this neighborhood in this community than for me to have another box chain movement and you know further displace the population, especially the small business owners in a particular area. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:54.879 Got it, got it. 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:55.679 That's remarkable. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:11:06.240 So what you offer with your app is more of not you offer a information about the community, plus you offer the detailed information that the individual really wants to know. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:10.559 Like I really want to know, like you said, um what what cable is there in this area? 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:22.000 I really want to know um if I'm moving into this area and I don't have a lot of time to make a decision because the the availability is limited, where can I go to get the most information that really matters to me and I don't have to spend hours getting it, right? 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:22.559 Mm-hmm. 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:23.200 Absolutely. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:24.159 That is the biggest thing. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:29.679 Yeah, you answer a lot of key questions that I think most people looking for housing feel like they can't find the answer to it, right? 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:36.639 They think, um, okay, I can I can find now the size of this place, the location, how maybe how close it is to where I work. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:39.120 But that's pretty much it, right? 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:42.159 Yeah, I mean it's really not succinct in that way. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:53.120 Um the the crazy thing is is um so you know, throughout my career I got so I'm you know, I also don't want to say that like I think that I it's good that I'm doing house three now, is that if I did it ten years ago, it probably wouldn't have had been built with as much intentionality. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.240 Um, because you learn things. 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:55.600 I mean just experience, I have experience. 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:57.840 You get life teaches you and you have to take those lessons and apply them. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:02.639 When I was working at the DA's office, and I was always that that person that asked a lot of questions, I'm always curious. 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:06.559 Um I found out later it's because I have ADHD, which is like driving force behind a lot of it. 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:13.440 But um, I would find out when I worked at the district attorney's office that um there's something called the complaint room where there's any sort of complaints come in um before they leave to the court system. 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:20.799 And I noticed that certain names kept popping up, and I was like, well, that's interesting that I see this company thing pop up here as a complaint, but where is that information otherwise, anywhere else? 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:24.000 And the information and the response that I would get from people is that, well, this is open, so people can find it. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:25.279 And I was like, But how do they know to look here? 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:26.720 How would they know to look here? 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:41.840 Because if I ask more neurotypical people, I'm like, oh, are you gonna search the um Bronx County like, you know, uh complaint room, uh, you know, cases that come in or any of the sort of open cases, like most people would say no, unless they're doing a background check on hiring somebody or you know, looking up information before they agree to date some guy, right? 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.440 So but they typically don't look at that stuff or like housing to see how names keep getting popped up. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:51.679 And that's something that people don't realize is that, and or even, you know, we've had a couple of um, you know, disasters hit New York City and Baltimore. 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:55.919 Um, people don't look at the FEMA data that comes in or any of the environmental data that comes in that could

affect it. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:03.279 If you find out that the area that you have is at risk of flooding and you move in, um then you find out that there's mold there, and it's like, why is it mold? 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:05.840 Because there's more moisture in the in the area, and you have kids that have asthma. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.200 Like, so there's so many different factors, but they're in a million and one different places. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:10.480 And like, how do you bring that? 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:12.080 Ah, I love that. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:20.159 So you, with your half story app, you're bringing all those elements together so you're a one-stop place that a renter, perspective renter, can go to and ask all these questions. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:21.120 That's beautiful. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:25.679 So I'm sure you've heard a lot of renter stories, and I'm sure you've had your own too. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:27.200 But which one sits with you? 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:29.919 Which one made you think um this is a big issue? 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:39.200 So the stories all have similar themes, and and um a lot of them and the the the thread between it it hits on privilege a lot of times. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:45.840 Um but I would say the story that hit the hardest, um, that opened my eyes, uh, was really an experience that I had. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:55.759 And I didn't fully understand my experience, I think, until recently, when I started looking back through my emails, through my photos and researching um my own story to tell people exactly what happened to me, that I realized how bad it was. 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:58.879 Yeah because when you're going through it sometimes, you don't fully grasp it. 00:13:59.039 --> 00:13:59.200 Right. 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:15.440 And so um my own story was um, you know, as I was looking for a place in Brooklyn, I um, you know, I kept hitting the wall with um these people that, you know, they'd love me on the phone, walk in, they didn't want to rent to me, that they had questions about um, you know, my ability to pay rent all of a sudden as soon as they saw my face. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:20.720 Um or I'd walk in, I said it's a private one bedroom, and it's just a couch with a curtain, and I can't use the front door for$900 a month. 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:23.679 And I'm like, okay, first of all, and you're in the middle of nowhere. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:25.759 Excuse me, no thank you. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:32.559 Um and um I got set up, and so I I walked into a realty um office and I said I looked at this is my budget, this is what I'm looking for. 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:37.120 So I told her, my budget's$1,200 a month, uh private one bedroom, um looking in Brooklyn. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.159 And the real estate person I was working with was like, Great, I have a place for you. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:42.960 She showed it to me and I said, It wasn't great, and I was like, fine, this is cool course. 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:45.519 She said, I need first security and broker fee. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:46.960 So I go empty my savings. 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:48.480 Uh remember, I'm 22 years old, I don't have money. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:50.159 So I empty my savings is what I got. 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:53.120 And I give her the money, I give her the cash, hand it over to her. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:57.039 Okay, and then the second I handed it to her, she says, that place is no longer available. 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:01.919 Oh, it gets better. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:03.279 Then she says, But I have another place. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:06.399 It was$50 more a month, different part of the neighborhood, different neighborhood. 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:12.559 I go there, feeling like, well, I lost my money, so if I don't do this, you can take my money, and then I'm, you know, I don't know where to go. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:19.840 Um I said yes, move in, and then almost immediately, um, my eccentric neighbor tells me, Oh, the last tenant here was a drug dealer. 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:23.279 Um, that's why your door doesn't like you can actually open your door even if you lock it from the inside. 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:24.159 You can open it from the outside. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:26.639 I was like, oh, because they the police kicked it in because there's a drug dealer. 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:31.440 Um I can't lock the security gate on my first floor apartment that's right next to an alley um from the inside. 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.159 Um the smoke detector, it's actually missing. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:38.879 Um the tunnels by the um stove were peeling stick tiles that were put on, and some of them caught fire, so they took it off. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:41.440 So it was like the original tunnel with the peeling stick tile on there. 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:43.120 Then they were the roaches. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:48.080 And I expected roaches because that comes with living in an apartment sometimes, but I didn't expect as many roaches. 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:49.600 I wasn't used to living like that. 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:51.759 And then was the bed bugs. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:55.519 And then when they came in to take care of the bed bugs, then there I found out there were also ticks in the apartment. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:56.000 Oh no. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.080 I didn't realize in Brooklyn, New York that they were ticks. 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:00.320 But I was told by the super himself that they were ticks. 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:07.279 Then um the super came in to make some maintenance um uh uh repairs, and he showed me his head, there was a giant lump on his head, and he's like, Yeah, I have cancer. 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:12.960 And then he passed away a couple of weeks after that, and then I find out from his widow that they were trying to evict his widow and his kids almost immediately. 00:16:13.200 -->

00:16:16.799 And so I didn't actually have to leave their apartment because I didn't feel safe coming back there. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:23.919 Um but it's just that story itself was just like a recipe for like problem after problem after problem as if I didn't have other life things. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:25.039 Right, right. 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.919 That by itself is enough to stress you out. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:29.919 And that's coming home, right? 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:30.720 That's coming home. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:31.759 Then you're home. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:32.879 You can't be at home. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:34.399 There's no there's no peace in coming home. 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:35.600 So my goodness. 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:40.000 And it was like I never lived um in a space where there were so many issues. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:40.240 Right. 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:47.600 I've also never been, I never even understood the term gaslighting, really, until like I would send them pictures of stuff and they would send an email, I don't see anything belong with here. 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:49.279 And I was just like, Are you serious? 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:50.559 Or they tell me you brought the bedbugs. 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:53.440 And I was like, I came from my family home where I, yeah, my mom did not play. 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:55.120 We're not allowed, we're only allowed to eat in the kitchen, that's it. 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:57.840 Like, and we clean up every night, no, nothing in the thing, nothing there at all. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:00.480 We never had any sort of, you know, anything. 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:01.840 Um, and then be blamed for these things. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:03.440 And I was like, how can I bring this stuff here? 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:03.679 Right. 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:07.039 When I have neighbors telling me that they've always had a roof problem or they had history of bed bugs in the building. 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:07.519 Right, right. 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:09.440 It was just absolutely awful. 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:15.759 So to your point, that is that is such a real story, and I love that you add the gaslighting element to it because that happens a lot too. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:20.960 Whenever you complain, you file a complain about something, it's very easily turned around to, oh no, the problem is you. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:24.160 No, this is not, you know, you kind of, am I crazy or what? 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:34.079 But to your point, for every issue you just described, a person using your app will be able to find someone who put those details in there about this place, right? 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:46.079 So if those details were in place, when you were offered this apartment and you could go there and see someone already put a oh, the doors been kicked in, you know, they got brochures, they're fair, you know, all these issues, you would be more aware of, okay, that's not where I want to live. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:48.160 So from your own experience, I really get it. 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:54.319 You want to empower other renters so that they don't have to go through that same experience before they realize I don't want to live here. 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:55.519 Absolutely. 00:17:55.680 --> 00:18:00.000 And then also finding out about how quickly this this like it's almost a business. 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:02.799 And so, like through my research, I find out that it there's a business in evictions. 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:05.440 There's a business in not taking care of different things, and people don't realize it. 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:10.400 Where um play like this particular apartment, like even still now, this unit is still listed almost every single year, it's available. 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:21.359 So that means like if you're signing a year lease with people, like there's something missing there, and you find out that it's in business, that some um companies will purposely do things like that to move forward in the eviction process because they can it's actually a business. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:22.000 They get a lot, right? 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:22.160 Right. 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:23.599 Depending on how fast they go through the process. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:26.880 And it's a lot of them are very sneaky this way, and it's just like finding that out. 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:29.200 And then another piece is like we don't really know the true costs. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:33.119 Because remember, I mentioned to you, my limit was$1,200 a month, but they rented to me for$12.50. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:35.279 And then you have the fees that you have to pay this place. 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:37.359 Then you have the gas, then you have the the electric. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:37.519 Right. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:40.079 Then you have they didn't think about transportation because this was further away. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:40.720 Transportation. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:43.039 So there was all these complex costs associated with this. 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:48.880 Um, then you have the cost of, you know, when people don't understand about bed bugs and they don't understand this, they can lay dormant for months. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:56.079 And so they can be in books, they can because we know about couches and beds, they can be in books, they can be in electronics, they can be in furniture, they can be in the floorboards. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:58.079 And that messes with you. 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:04.559 I think for years after I rented, I anytime I felt anything on my arm, I'm like, is that is that a bad bug? 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.880 And it is actually the worst in the summertime because I have I'm allergic to bug bites. 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:13.200 So if I get bit by a mosquito out of it at night and I wake up and I see a lump and I'm like, traumatic traumatized. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:15.279 The

traumatizing experience. 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:16.079 100%. 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:18.960 And I know that there are people that experience way worse than me. 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:19.920 Way worse than me. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:24.079 And when I'm thinking about everything that's happening politically now, I don't want to necessarily get into the nuances of that. 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:41.039 But one thing that I'm seeing is that especially for people that are out or below the poppy line or um that are undocumented, or um, maybe English is a second or third or fourth language, um, and culturally there is a sort of um uh people are up against them because they, you know, they come from a different cultural background than they do, and they're trying to navigate housing and realizing how easy it is to take advantage of people. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:43.039 Here I was a native New Yorker. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:50.000 Um I should have been in a better position to be able to navigate this, but I was 22, 23, young, not really knowing the laws or the legal landscape. 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:52.799 Um, but I can only imagine if I was a single mom. 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:57.920 I can only imagine if I was like, you know, undocumented trying to navigate all these things and then having all these housing issues. 00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:59.519 Um it is really difficult. 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:00.640 It is, it is. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:06.319 So I love that your app really addresses all the pain points of a renter, like everything they could possibly be dealing with. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:09.680 You give them a resource to help to address those pain points, right? 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:13.359 So we don't have to go through that experience and feel alone, so like, okay, now I'm stuck with this. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:16.799 Because housing, being able to come home to peace, it's really big. 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.480 It's really big for mental wellness. 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:22.960 It's really big for if you're trying to do anything outside of just go work a job and come back home, right? 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:24.559 You need that peace of mind. 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:28.000 And it's a, I think it's a fundamental thing that everyone deserves to have. 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:28.720 It is. 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.720 It should be a right that we have right to housing. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:31.599 But you know, it's interesting. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:38.880 I'm having conversations with folks that live in the UK, that live in Germany, and I made a comment about housing, and they're like, well, the state manages that, so I don't really worry too much about it. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.039 And I'm just like, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing? 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:43.839 Because when the state or the city manages it here, um, it's very different. 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:57.839 It's almost like they treat people like criminals in the housing where they you have, you know, someone coming every couple of months to check up on you and and invade your space and invade your privacy and treat you like a criminal when you're just trying to afford to live and raise a family, or just even if it's even if you don't have kids, just it's just such a difficult system to navigate. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.400 And I wonder if that is part of the design to control people. 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:01.680 That is the question that we need to answer. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:08.240 Is that part of the design to make people so emotionally dysregulated that you won't have time or you won't recognize when other things are being changed? 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:08.880 Right. 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:09.759 That's a great point. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:12.319 I love you talked about um emotional regulation. 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:15.519 That's really big, and that's something we I don't I don't think we talk about enough either. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.400 Because usually we see it as just our own emotional issue, right? 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:20.480 But emotional regulation is very real. 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:21.119 It is. 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:30.000 So LK, when preferences are rights, like the uncertainty of fundraising or product challenges, what practices do you use to help reconnect you to yourself and to your core? 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:46.720 I um well my wife keeps trying to get me to meditate, and that's not my but I I have been taking like so something simple like taking daily walks, which forces me to leave my office and forces me to walk and think, and um, you know, um, that's one thing that I do just to really center myself. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:50.240 And I don't know if it's meditation so much, but it's meditative related because it forces me to go on in nature. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:55.599 Um and then another thing that I do um that's really big was like trust my skills that have got me here. 00:21:55.839 --> 00:22:01.519 I I mentioned to you, like when I was at I was program director, um, partying with the local Community garden wasn't on like the blueprint for my job. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:02.400 It was like get the job done. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.400 And I needed to be innovative and creative. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:05.359 And so I leaned onto that. 00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:06.319 I was like, what are my skills? 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:09.119 I'm innovative, I'm creative, I'm not afraid to take risks. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:10.400 I'm not afraid to get no's. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:20.720 I used to do sales and I quickly became one of the top salespersons on the campaign consistently because I wasn't afraid to go up and say, cool, that guy before you said no, but you might say yes, and I'm gonna have that conversation. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:25.599 And being scrappy, and um, I think I I was um applied for a program for house degree and I got denied. 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:30.079 And then I

reached back out to them about five or six months after that to their email where they denied me. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:35.759 And I I I detailed their feedback, I detailed everything that I've done since the last conversation and told them I want them to reconsider. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:36.720 And they reached out to me. 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:43.680 We had a call and they're like, no one's ever done that before, where they've responded to a rejection email with the feedback applied, and of course we're gonna accept email. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:50.079 And it was just like me being persistent and just pushing back and then losing my skills and just saying, like, there's gonna there has to be a way. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:55.279 And I know that this is gonna be a good thing, and to just be creative about how I may move forward. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:06.160 And then and another piece that people don't think about, it's okay to have they call them crash outs, it's okay to have a moment or two where you panic and you cry and you know that happens. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:10.640 Let yourself feel your feelings and then get back to it. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:12.480 Got it. 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:13.599 Very good advice. 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:21.119 So if a woman listening um now feels called to solve a big systematic problem like you're doing, what in a shift does she need to begin making right now? 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:23.119 What would you suggest that she focus on? 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.000 I would say I would focus on the why. 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:30.720 Um so you see a problem and then focus on why do you, why do you, one, why do you want to fix it? 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:34.079 What about you makes you the right person to fix it? 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:38.720 And um also think about when you think about your why, is it to make money? 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:44.400 Because if that's the answer, you might struggle a lot uh with getting end results. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:48.000 So if your goal is to make money, that might not be the best framework because there's gonna be times where you lose money. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:51.519 And if you're just about making the money and thinking about it from that perspective, you might not follow through. 00:23:51.680 --> 00:24:05.440 So if your why is I see this problem and it, I deeply care about it, and I have a personal story that attaches to this and I care so much about it, you're gonna invest so much more time, energy, effort into it to make it happen that if you lose money, that's not gonna deter you off of the path. 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:10.480 Because you're gonna lose money, you're gonna lose friends, you're gonna lose, you know, you're gonna lose things that happen. 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:13.440 And and that is that is like the universe way of saying these things you didn't really need. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:13.920 Right? 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:20.720 You need to lose all this stuff because if you're really pouring yourself into it, asking the right questions, having a strong why, um, then everything else will fall into place eventually. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:24.240 And it takes nothing great that's just built right overnight. 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:24.960 Exactly. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:33.359 Any of what so you've you've probably seen this like throughout your career too, of businesses being built and getting really successful or people getting really successful really soon, and almost always it crumbles, right? 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:33.920 You see it. 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:34.640 Yes, absolutely. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:35.039 Yes. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:36.160 See it so many times. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:41.039 And so if you really care about something, it's gonna take sacrifice, it's gonna, you're gonna cry, and that's okay. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:45.599 Um don't do it for the money, do it for their social impact, um, and lean onto your strengths. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:53.839 And also, and this is the biggest thing, and this is also something that I feel like is a sign of high intelligence, is realize the limits of like what you're capable of doing. 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:57.039 If you're not capable of doing something, recognize that and address it, talk about it. 00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:58.240 Don't say I'm great at everything. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:24:59.920 No, you're not, and it's okay. 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:04.640 Um, recognize the limit, recognize where you need to upskill, um, look to your own community. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:07.839 Um, there are so many resources out there, and don't be afraid to ask. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:13.200 And I say this, and I say this to my students, and I say this all the time: do it messy, do it scared, but just do it. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:16.079 Very, very important, very important. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:19.759 What resources have you found most helpful to you when you want to spend your journey? 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:24.559 Um, I found um for me um in building this is my community. 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:28.079 Um, that has been the biggest, the biggest resource for me. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:36.880 Um leaning into my community, and and not for like fundraising or anything of that, but um people will tell you so much and will help you so much in ways that you can't even begin to explain. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:39.200 And the funny thing is, it didn't happen with house three. 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:41.680 I started leaning into my community with house three after I got married. 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:55.680 It was um so planning my wedding was such a stressful time because not only was I dealing with like work stuff, but I was also like planning a wedding that I never planned before as a child because I never could picture myself marrying a woman because I I grew up with that wasn't really something that was an option for me, right? 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:02.319 Um and so

when I was planning the wedding, it was so stressful, but there were so many people that showed up in meaningful ways, um, in ways I didn't expect. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:08.640 And that that I translated to house rare because it's like people are gonna help you in ways that you don't, you just need to accept it. 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:09.599 Accept the help. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:14.319 And then there are gonna be people that are gonna show up or not show up for you, people that expect you, and you have to learn how to drop them. 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:18.400 And I don't know if this is Capricorn energy or not, maybe, but I am so quick to drop. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:24.240 I notice when there's like bad juju or somebody that's like negative about what I'm doing, I'm so quick to drop that. 00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:27.599 We don't need that, but people are gonna show up for you in ways and you need to accept it. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:29.920 And it might not be the way that you expect, and that's okay. 00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:31.440 I love that. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:33.920 So accept how they show up and accept how they don't show up, right? 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:34.240 Exactly. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:38.640 Because either way, they're telling you who they are and what they're here to, either foreign to you or not foreign to you. 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:41.759 So a lot of times we end up trying to hold on to people who we should be letting go of. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:49.119 Like they're telling us you should let me go, but we're saying, no, but long if it's so long, and we think, you know, yeah, but at this point, it's time to let it go. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:51.519 So I love that you say you have a problem with that. 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:53.839 You're like, uh, fine, I get the message. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:54.640 See you later. 00:26:54.799 --> 00:27:00.160 And when a lot of us are like, we're trying to figure out a way to steal on until something bigger happens, and then we finally get the message. 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:02.880 So accept the accept the help as it shows up. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:04.880 Release people when they should be doing. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:05.599 Mm-hmm. 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:06.079 Absolutely. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:10.480 I think you know, they so there's um, you know, you know, we talk a little bit about the universe telling you certain things. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:15.279 Um and the universe is gonna tell you unless it's gonna get with the lo the whisper is gonna get louder and louder and louder to your screaming. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:15.920 Gotcha. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:29.920 So looking at your journey from the beginning to now to uh all the things you went through when you shared your journey at the very beginning of our conversation, what would you say has um been your biggest challenge and what has changed about you from that time to now? 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:32.480 I lost a piece of myself. 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:40.319 Um I had this conversation, I was in a coaching conversation um where I was talking to somebody and they had said something and I laughed and they're like, Oh, you laughed because it's funny I said that. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:42.240 And I was like, No, I laughed because that used to be me. 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:44.400 And I lost her. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:48.720 I lost her because I was focused on making myself small, on doing the safe route. 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:53.839 I can't tell you the amount of times I've had conversations with people saying, like, um, just let them say that they're older, they could do that, whatever. 00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:55.599 They're gonna be disrespectful, just keep the peace. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:28:00.880 Don't argue with this person for this reason, or um, just let this person have this thing, they're not doing well, like give them the win. 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:04.880 And I was like, so you want me to like relent and still exist in this space? 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:06.799 Um, and I lost that. 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:25.839 So for me, it was finding her again, finding the fiery version of LP, the one that would talk to, you know, and sell and and and and and and work when I was in uh sales, like just not being afraid to go talk to somebody, and the person that would just go up to someone and have a conversation, and the person that would just sit down and be like, you know what, I have an idea, let's move forward with it, even if it's nasty or sloppy. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:36.880 And I lost her from working in an environment where they were, you know, not willing to be like work with me or see me, or um, they were just so focused on control um and manipulation. 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:46.880 And so it was nice that I was able to work in an environment that I'm now creating an environment where um I'm going back to that fiery version of myself and redefining how I want to show up in the world and tapping into my younger self. 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:49.039 I know sometimes people say, you know, we grow up, you get more mature. 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:53.920 Sometimes some of the things that we see, and we see this in young kids all the time, there'll be an element in them that you're like, oh man, I hope they don't lose it. 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:54.079 Yeah. 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:57.599 And um, that's what I found. 00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:59.759 It was like, let me go back to the element and let me bring that back in. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:00.160 Got it. 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:02.240 Almost the audacity to show up as myself and not that. 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:04.160 Yes, got it, got it. 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:15.599 So it's both opposed to shrinking in certain environments for those environments, you uh were able to recapture that freedom of being just you, your authentic self, and being what you represent, and being true to yourself. 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:23.039 Um, I think

that's really big because a lot of times the things that we need to be successful are attracted to us because of who we really are, right? 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:24.400 Not who we shrink to be. 00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:29.599 So a lot of times when we're struggling with certain things and life just not working out because it needs you to show up as your real self. 00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:37.920 And your real self, you know, that real big light you got inside of you, that true energy that is yours, it's gonna attract all those right things that are out there just waiting for that light to come out. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:39.359 So kudos to you for that. 00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:39.920 I love that. 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:40.559 I love that. 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:53.200 So as we close up today, I would love to give you the opportunity to share anything that's on your mind in front that maybe I didn't ask you the question for, but it's something that you really want to make sure that our audience here today, um, this is your opportunity to the floor is open to you to share that. 00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:53.839 Awesome. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:54.960 Um, thank you so much. 00:29:55.119 --> 00:30:03.519 I um I was sitting in the um one of the classes I had for a master's program, and the TA had asked, um, design the place you want to work, design your your ideal boss. 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:05.200 And I went up to him and I said, How dare you? 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:06.079 And he got real scared. 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:08.000 He was like, you know, because you know, angry black woman. 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:11.920 Um by the way, anyone that knows me knows that I'm never angry. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.079 I'm just like always in deep thought and or whatever. 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:15.759 Um but and I said, How dare you? 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:17.119 Assume I want a boss. 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:19.519 And he was like, interesting. 00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:20.319 And I said, Yeah. 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:22.880 I said, Why do we have to have a place where there's like this weird structure? 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:26.160 Because it feels very much like parent to kid relationship. 00:30:26.319 --> 00:30:26.480 Yeah. 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:29.279 And I've worked in places where so I'm 35, about to be 36. 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:31.759 And um apparently I'm told all the time I look young. 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:35.519 And I think it's really interesting because this is what 35, 36 looks like where I'm from in New York. 00:30:35.680 --> 00:30:42.240 And I tell people, if they say I look really young, I'm like, it must be the water in New York because why are you looking so like this is what we look like. 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:52.160 What's wrong with the water down where we we re um and um and then the amount of disrespect that I would get um because people thought I was like a college student, like an undergrad college student. 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:54.240 And I was

like, I don't know, like and they're like, one day you're gonna love that. 00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:57.599 And I was like, really though, be treated like a child my whole career, I'm gonna love that. 00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:59.680 Um it's just like so interesting. 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:10.079 So um uh, you know, for me, it was just like I um yeah, I just I I just thought that was like describe your best bottles, your dream bottles, and you're like, why should I need a bottle? 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:14.000 Right, but I did like a parent child, you know, I need you have to ask permission to take time off. 00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:19.200 You have to ask you to make permission, you have to go before them to get merits on, you know, how am I acting? 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:20.480 Uh you know how am I gonna grow? 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:20.720 Yeah. 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:21.599 How am I gonna grow? 00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:26.000 Because you're telling me, oh, you have to do this one and then you move to this one, and I'm like, I'm going to go somewhere else. 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:27.039 And I do that. 00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:28.640 And yeah, I have a lot of audacity. 00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:30.480 Like, if I don't like what's going on, I will leave. 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:31.279 Like like why? 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:33.119 And people are just not, they're like, oh, she just left. 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:34.400 And I'm like, yeah, because you weren't it. 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:36.160 So hi, no explanation needed. 00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:42.880 Um, so and I wanted to design a workplace where um, you know, we're able to um to grow authentically into ourselves and not have that. 00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:45.920 And so I had my first all hands this past week with my team. 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:47.200 Um, we have a team of 10 now. 00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:48.720 It's so cool, it's so cool. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:53.200 And um, I told them that um the model that we're following, something called the teal model. 00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:54.880 Um we're trying to follow closely aligned to that. 00:31:54.960 --> 00:32:00.240 And I said, what means is is that like for everybody that I have on the team, they're consulting in a different area where they're the expert. 00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:02.880 And I said, that means you get to make the decision. 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:04.400 I'm asking you for help. 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:06.240 And you are an expert in this area. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:07.599 That means you get to make the call. 00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:08.319 Why would you ask me? 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:10.720 You would only ask me for alignment and mission and values. 00:32:10.799 --> 00:32:14.799 But if you're like, we need to move forward for this reason, maybe I'm gonna trust you. 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:15.359 Uh-huh. 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:20.240 And I want to design a workplace where that is the standard, where we hire people that know what they're doing and getting out

of there. 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:21.359 Let them do what they know. 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:22.880 Let them do what they know. 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:26.880 And the only type of um sort of guidance would come through mentorship. 00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:30.079 And I'm gonna build a place of mentorship so it's not structured like most of the companies we see. 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:30.799 And you know what? 00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:35.839 We've seen this teal model be successful in so many different organizations, and I really like it, and that's what I want to do. 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:42.000 And I think that people that people that know what they're doing, the experts, really gravitate towards that, and that's the type of workplace that I want to have. 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:43.519 So I don't even call myself a CEO. 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:46.960 I call myself managing director intentionally, and maybe that might change in the future. 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:53.920 But the reason I call that is that I am managing a different aspect and making sure the team has what they need, but I'm just directing people to where they need to go, but I'm moving out of their way. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:54.240 Right? 00:32:54.400 --> 00:32:58.319 The decision-making process is if you are the expert in the area, you're leading that decision-making process. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:00.079 So they are empowered. 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:00.720 Absolutely. 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:01.920 Wonderful, wonderful. 00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:03.839 Okay, thank you, LP. 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:09.279 We appreciate you sharing that great information with our audience today, being a part of the Empower Her Business Podcast. 00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:20.799 Thank you for coming here and sharing your journey and uh we're looking forward to the bright future of Half Story and that app to help renters with more stability and more answers before they step into spaces that they're gonna live in and call home. 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:22.559 So thank you for being a part of this. 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:24.079 Thank you for having me. 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:25.680 It's been a pleasure. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:30.880 So now we're gonna go to our after the podcast exclusive questions for LP. 00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:37.680 The first one is uh what's something you overcame in silence while building how story that you've never shared with us ago? 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:39.279 Something that I dealt with. 00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:46.319 Um so I mentioned to people that I was um laid off about two and a half weeks before my wedding. 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:51.440 That was an adjustment um how to manage my own time day to day. 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:55.680 Um and trying to figure out what works best for me. 00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:59.119 Um that took a long time for me to understand how to do that. 00:33:59.279 --> 00:33:59.519 Yeah. 00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:03.039 Um and like I can tell my team right now, like my hours

are 11 a.m. 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:05.359 to 4 30, and then 7 p.m. 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:06.319 to 2 a.m. 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:08.639 And I said, I mean, I'm flexible with that. 00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:11.360 Like if we have a party with me, I'm like willing to, but generally those are the times that I go on and off. 00:34:11.440 --> 00:34:12.719 Those are, you know, and the 11 a.m. 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:14.639 to 430, that's like on camera time, the 7 a.m. 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:15.119 and 2 a.m. 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:16.159 that's like response time. 00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:16.320 Right. 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:20.320 Um uh and I said that I didn't want to start work before 11. 00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:23.039 And I know people make fun of people, they're like, oh, you're waking up late, you know. 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:25.760 You might I still get it from my parents where they're like, You want a kid? 00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:26.400 You gonna have a kid? 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:27.360 Oh, you gotta get up early. 00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:28.320 And I'm like, guess what? 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:30.559 I don't have a kid, so I don't have to get up early, but I'm gonna get up at 8 a.m. 00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:30.960 on a Saturday. 00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:31.440 What am I? 00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:32.159 Right. 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:33.119 What are we doing? 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:34.639 No, I'm not gonna get up before 10. 00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:35.440 I like sleeping in. 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:36.719 I also like staying up late. 00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:41.840 And um being neurodivergent, being having ADHD, um, it actually works better for me to have that schedule. 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:43.519 I get energized at night. 00:34:43.679 --> 00:34:46.880 Um, I had a couple of sprints a couple of nights ago where I stayed up to six a.m. 00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:47.440 coding. 00:34:47.519 --> 00:34:49.039 And I'm not a coder by the way, I taught myself. 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:54.159 So teaching myself how to code, and I built something for my team that when they saw it, they were really amazed about the work that they did. 00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:55.280 And I said, I stayed at 6 a.m. 00:34:55.519 --> 00:34:57.840 figuring this thing out because I want to work for me. 00:34:57.920 --> 00:35:01.840 So I think just finding my schedule and trusting like what works best for me, that was something that I worked on. 00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:03.199 I wasn't that hardest. 00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:03.440 Yeah. 00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:04.320 Yeah. 00:35:04.480 --> 00:35:04.559 Right. 00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:06.639 And that's one of the nuances when I talk to entrepreneurs. 00:35:06.719 --> 00:35:13.679 I always say one of the nuances and the challenges that we're not aware of when we go into a full-time entrepreneurship is that we don't have to stick to that 8 a.m. 00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:14.400 or 9 a.m. 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:14.960 schedule. 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:17.119 We get to create exactly what you're saying. 00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:19.119 We get to figure out when do I work the best, right? 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:20.239 When do I have the most energy? 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:21.519 When am I the most creative? 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:25.440 And if it's not early in the morning, if it's late at night, then that's when we should be doing our work, right? 00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:26.800 So I'd love that you discovered that. 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:35.039 And it does take time to figure that out because one is that we have all those messages, right, that says you should be up at a certain time or you're just lazy, right? 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:37.840 So we have to work through that personally with ourselves. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:41.280 And two, because we've never had the opportunity to figure this out. 00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:45.119 So it's not something that we know because we never work in these particular schedules. 00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:47.599 So we have to actually do it to find out, oh, this feels good. 00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:48.559 Oh, I'm still wide awake. 00:35:48.639 --> 00:35:51.280 I can go for a couple more hours, you know, and it's after midnight. 00:35:51.440 --> 00:35:52.880 But I have all this energy. 00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:56.320 So it's giving ourselves permission to do things differently as entrepreneurs. 00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:58.239 And there's no paybook for that, right? 00:35:58.320 --> 00:35:59.599 We just have to be willing to embrace that. 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:01.039 So I love that you shared that. 00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:02.079 That's remarkable. 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:04.000 I would say there's another piece of that too. 00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:06.639 So I was doing this when I was, I was my master's was mostly online. 00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:11.840 Um, I realized that sitting down at a computer trying to type something, I would like blink screen. 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:17.280 But what really helped me, and still I do this today, I voice texted most of my essays and then went back to edit it. 00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:25.280 And then I um even now when I'm walking, I voice text myself documents, come back and edit it because it's so much easier to just flow. 00:36:26.239 --> 00:36:26.400 Yeah. 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.840 And then and learn, and by the way, that's an accessibility tool, the voice texting, so just use it. 00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:30.320 Yeah. 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:33.840 Um so that was a big piece, just thinking about who said that I have to sit down and type things. 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:34.079 Yeah. 00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:35.119 Yeah. 00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:36.079 I I do the same thing. 00:36:36.159 --> 00:36:36.719 I love that too. 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:41.679 Because sometimes when I sit down and type, I'm like, I can't, you know, this is like I can say it more fluid, then I can type it. 00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:44.480 So then I just turn on the microphone and I speak it, and

like you say, go back and edit it. 00:36:44.559 --> 00:36:46.239 So that's a great tool, audience. 00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:56.159 If you're getting stuck when you sit at the computer, or if you're just tired of sitting there typing things out and it feels slower to you, think about turning on your microphone and just speaking it, speaking it into your phone, then coming back and editing it later. 00:36:56.320 --> 00:36:57.119 Beautiful, beautiful. 00:36:57.199 --> 00:36:58.000 Thanks for sharing that. 00:36:58.159 --> 00:37:05.280 So if there is anyone from any time in history that you could take to dinner and just pick their brain, who would you choose and why? 00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:12.800 Um I'm a fan of not meeting your heroes because reality sits in, right? 00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:15.760 Um but let me think about this. 00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:18.880 Um, so I am naturally a very silly person. 00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:21.360 I think when I'm like my most healthy version, I'm very silly. 00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:25.840 I'm very like choky and I tell a lot of jokes, and I'm very like, that's just like who I am naturally. 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:27.280 And I I love that energy. 00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:34.159 Um, I think I would probably want to sit down with like Shell Silverstein, who is the poet of like where the Tibok ends and is very silly in his poetry. 00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:36.480 I think sitting down with him would be really interesting. 00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:39.920 Um to ask him about like, why do you choose to be silly? 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:41.599 I think Robin Williams would be another one. 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:43.440 Um lean into silliness. 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:43.840 Right. 00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:53.280 Um and I think like I can't think anybody else, um, and then I guess for a personal standpoint, I don't know how this would go because I also don't know how my ancestors would receive me. 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:58.320 But I'd want to sit down, we trace her lineage back to a woman um named Susie, and she was an enslaved woman. 00:37:58.559 --> 00:38:04.159 And I would want to meet with her and ask her, did you ever envision a future one? 00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:06.639 Did you ever envision a future of yourself where you weren't enslaved? 00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:09.760 And what were your dreams? 00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:22.559 And did your dreams ever include having descendants that were like caring and empathetic and then successful in different areas and tackling issues that are still reminiscent of the time that she's in. 00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:24.000 That you know, those themes don't end. 00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:27.360 Um I probably would want to sit down with her and ask her those questions. 00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:30.559 Um so that would be something I would want to do. 00:38:30.639 --> 00:38:36.239 And I would also tell her, like, hey, the journey that you're going through, I really know nothing of because they don't teach us exactly what it was like. 00:38:36.320 --> 00:38:39.280 They say, Oh, we picked cotton, but that actually wasn't the biggest farms. 00:38:39.360 --> 00:38:44.239 People don't realize about the farms where they used to breed people or everything else that went with slavery. 00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:48.880 That was far more horrendous that I'm now learning, even as somebody with a degree in Africana Studies. 00:38:49.119 --> 00:38:49.679 I didn't even know that. 00:38:49.760 --> 00:38:53.119 Even I didn't have a fancy degree that says African Latino Studies, I still don't know what happened. 00:38:53.440 --> 00:39:02.159 And I'd want to talk to her about what happened and what dreams did she have for herself, for her family, for her children, and what she thinks about where we are now, because I'd be really curious about it. 00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:03.519 I love that. 00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:04.400 Thank you for sharing that. 00:39:04.880 --> 00:39:06.639 All right, that wraps up our questions. 00:39:06.880 --> 00:39:07.679 Awesome. 00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:12.639 You've been listening to the Empower Her Business Podcast. 00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:15.280 And before you go, I want to thank you for being here. 00:39:15.440 --> 00:39:18.239 If this episode supported you, please pay it forward. 00:39:18.400 --> 00:39:24.320 You can do that by hitting the follow button, rating us five stars, leaving a comment, and sharing us with others. 00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:28.000 This is how we ensure the podcast reaches more closer than business. 00:39:28.159 --> 00:39:32.639 Until next time, I wish you the very best of joy, health, and wealth. 00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:33.519 Be well.