Kin Creates ‘Bloom Season’ an Online Resource for Black Entrepreneurs In Partnership with Mailchimp
By The Chicago Egotist / /
To meet the needs of entrepreneurs of color at all levels of their business journey’s, Mailchimp is launching “Bloom Season” an editorial business resource created by purpose-driven creative agency Kin.
‘Bloom Season,’ serves as a community centered digital resource that provides guidance on starting, running and growing a business. It also provides perspective on striking the balance between professional and personal life, with leading Black voices writing about important topics including wellness, mental health and emotional aspects of business ownership.
The goal is to cover topics that uniquely affect the POC experience, tell emerging stories that spark new conversations and craft thoughtful narratives to counter common stereotypes about entrepreneurs from historically excluded groups.
“The name ‘Bloom Season,’ was something we thought really captured the idea that the path for small business owners of color should be paved with possibilities and not roadblocks,” explained Kwame Taylor-Hayford, co-founder of Kin and himself a Black entrepreneur. “They are the roses that grew from concrete. We’re here to help them realize their ambitions and build the businesses of their dreams.”
The inaugural edition of Bloom Season is centered on the unique challenges of Black entrepreneurs with content that addresses the specific issues they face on isolation, alienation and mistrust. To create this edition Kin brought together a diverse community of Black writers, designers, illustrators, photographers and filmmakers who are shaping culture and driving change.
One article looks at the art world for example. As Kwame Taylor-Hayford explains, “The art world is notorious for being exclusive and homogenous so connecting with Art Noir, a female led collective that’s providing access for diverse audiences to create, view and own art was refreshing. Strength in Numbers explores how they got started, their impact so far and the legacy they hope to leave behind.”
The content on Bloom Season features first-hand business and life experiences with insights, and actionable possibilities for Black entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. Contributors include Jewel Burks Solomon (Collab Capital and Google for Startups), Dr. Joy Harden Bradford (Therapy for Black Girls), Ryan Wilson (CEO & co-founder of The Gathering Spot), Jon Gray (Ghetto Gastro), Baratunde Thurston (How to Citizen) and many others. The topics they dive into include everything from raising capital, to therapy for Black entrepreneurs, to inventing a business in a pandemic.
“Bloom Season expands on Mailchimp’s established programs supporting small business with a dedicated focus on entrepreneurs of color,” said Michael Mitchell, Senior Director of Brand Marketing and Content at Mailchimp. “It is a new-age manual for how to succeed in business that strikes a balance between personal and professional life, all designed for and by folks whose experiences defy the status quo in small business.”
Bloom Season will be supported by a dedicated marketing and advertising campaign that includes a .30 and .15 second launch film along with paid social assets. It will tap into influencers and strategic partnerships to activate its community of business owners and platform contributors with the goal of sparking impactful conversations about equity and entrepreneurship.
“Building this platform from the ground up allowed us to identify the challenges that entrepreneurs of color face in building successful businesses and to create a resource they can come back to for guidance and support.” said Sophie Ozoux, also a co-founder of Kin. Ozoux continued “Our hope is to develop a second edition of Bloom Season filled with all-new content that addresses the needs of another community of color very soon.”
Kin has a history of creating innovation programs for Mailchimp that supports the company’s investment in supporting small businesses. In 2020 Kin developed SupportTheShorts to provide short film makers a platform for their work in the wake of SXSW cancelling its festival due to COVID. That initiative was followed by By The Books, an online literary festival championing diverse content and creators.
Credits:
Kin
- Kwame Taylor-Hayford – Co-Founder
- Sophie Ozoux – Co-Founder
- Brian Policard – Project Manager
- Daniella Ramirez – Project Manager, Campaign
- Chris Buford – Strategy Director / Brand
- Warren Seuradge – Strategy Director / Editorial
- Chris Cyran – Creative Director / Design Director
- Sebastian Celine – Creative Lead, Campaign
- Felipe Delerme – Copywriter
- Alejandra Cavazos – Designer / Campaign
- Luis Aboyte – Designer / Campaign
- Setareh Sarmadi – Photography Director / Sr. Producer
- Sienna Brown – Producer
- Alliah Mourad – Sr. Producer / Campaign
Editorial
- Travers Johnson – Editor-in-Chief & Writer
- Wadzanai Mhute – Writer
- Pier Moses Duncan – Writer
- Marjua Estevez – Writer
- H. Drew Blackburn – Writer
- Adenike Olanrewaju – Writer
- Donovan X. Ramsey – Writer
- Felipe Delerme – Writer
- Kailyn Brown – Writer
Illustration
- Richard A. Chance – Illustrator
- Justine Allenette Ross – Illustrator
- Anthony Blue Jr. – Illustrator
Photography
- Samuel Trotter – Photographer
- Naima Green – Photographer
- Makeda Sanford – Photographer
- Braylen Dion – Photographer
- Faisal Mohammed – Photographer
Schoooool
- Andrew Herzog – Partner, Design
- Nicky Tesla – Partner, Creative Technology
- Yuting Xie – Designer
- Ryan Sheehan – Creative Technologist
REVIVETHECOOL
- Faisal Mohammed – Founder, Director & Photographer (Film & Photo)
- Kristie Lee – Content Director & Producer (Film & Photo)
Mailchimp
- Lain Shakespeare – Sr. Director of Corporate Citizenship
- Michael Mitchell – Sr. Director of Brand Marketing
- Alyson West – Sr. Manager, Editorial & Content
- Christian Widlic – Lead Creative Director, Brand
- Chris McGee – Corporate Communications Manager
- Sonal Mehta – Sr. Engineering Manager
- Doug Engel – Project Management
Featured Businesses
- ARTNOIR
- Bright Ventures
- Collab Capital
- Collab Crib
- Copper House
- Curds and Whey Gourmet
- Different Wrld
- Friend of a Barber
- Gastronomical
- General Assembly
- Good Books
- Grey
- Hanahana Beauty
- Ivy Planning Group
- Kookie Haven
- LVRG
- Lean Off Taxes
- Morgan Stanley
- Official Black Wall Street
- Portrait Coffee
- Puck
- R.J. Pierce Law Firm
- Skinfatuated NYC
- The Black upStart
- The Diversity Gap
- The Gathering Spot
- The Village Market
- Therapy for Black Girls
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