Tori, an investor at Vera Equity, specializes in early-stage enterprise software and AI startups. She earned her MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. During her time at Wharton, Tori was awarded the inaugural Hettie Simmons Love fellowship and the Edward B. Shils/Leonard L. Zeidman Fellowship in Entrepreneurship. She also held key positions as Managing Partner of the Dorm Room Fund and VC Fellow at Harlem Capital. She previously worked at Tesla, Intel, BCG Digital Ventures, and Goldman Sachs in roles that span Engineering, Product Management, Venture Building, and Investment Management. She’s a proud HBCU graduate of Spelman College and the University of Michigan where she earned dual degrees in Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering. Above all, she is deeply passionate about creating opportunities for minorities in entrepreneurship and tech.

While this show focuses on the stories of small business and start-up entrepreneurs, today we’re switching it up to discuss a common challenge among many business owners: FUNDING.

In this episode, Tori will dive into what Venture capitals are, if venture funding is necessary all businesses, and the steps and approaches you can take to raise venture funding for your business.

On this week’s episode - we are joined by Doug Adams the owner of ⁠New Brooklyn Farms⁠. New Brooklyn Farms is an independently owned and operated urban farm and green event space, located on a formerly vacant residential lot in the heart of the Washington DC suburb Mount Rainier, MD.During his off time from his advertising career, Doug Adams made smoothies and juices made of natural ingredients. He sold his smoothies and juices at local farmers markets and to coworkers, but he always wondered where his produce was coming from. Even though he was using organic ingredients, Doug was unsettled with the fact that his fruit was coming from miles away. He thought “what if I grow my own fruits and vegetables?”

When was the last time you read newspaper?
According to a 2022 survey conducted by the media insights projects, 44% of Gen Z report never received news and information from traditional sources compared with 45% of younger millennials and 31% of older millennials.
Kelsey Russell is looking to change that.
Kelsey Russell is a content creator and full time graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Through her platform, Russell breaks down articles from national and local newspapers and magazines to help her viewers discern information in a more palatable way.
Kelsey believes education should be entertaining and entertainment should be educational. This mantra comes to life on her TikTok page of almost 100K followers where she dynamically reads different forms of print media to her audience. By promoting an approach to new information from a state of curiosity and nostalgia, she hopes to make generations fall back in love with learning.
In this interview, we discuss:
- Growing up in an entrepreneurial family
-Her rise on Tiktok
-How she is teaching media literacy to multi-generations
-How she's helping to financial contribute to print media outlets
-How her career in content creation is paving a new path for how she sees herself as an entrepreneur.
Episode Resources:
Kelsey Russell Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kelscruss
Kelsey Russell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelscruss/
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Edited: @chrisj.kraemer