Today we’d like to introduce you to Imani Grant.
Imani, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a double entrepreneur/business owner of Infinite Ag and The Weekend Soiree. Infinite Ag is B2B online marketplace for produce buyers and sellers. The Weekend Soiree is a lifestyle company which hosts annual destination retreats for queer womxn. We purposely use an “x” in the place of the “e” to respect gender diversity within the community. I got here because I’m over ambitious and bit crazy! As anyone is who endeavors to create something from scratch, let alone create TWO things from scratch.
Let’s start with the fact that I love food! Everything about it, eating it, cooking it, buying it, traveling to find it, and the business of it. That’s how I ended up creating Infinite Ag. The summer after business school, I interned with a produce company. While I was there, I took great interest in reducing food waste at companies and was constantly thinking of ways to extend the life of food. I let the seed grow for in my mind for five years, while I was a management consultant to Fortune 50 food and beverage companies. As I began growing exhausted of traveling 90% of the time, I had the feeling that I could have a greater impact in the world than I was having as a consultant. Although, I loved advising food companies on strategy, profitability improvement, food assortments, and procurement I had these food waste reduction ideas brewing in my mind. I first took an entrepreneurship workshop to bring my initial idea to fruition. Then, I took a leap of faith and quit my job to pursue my idea. After a few months of slow going, I got accepted to Digital Undivided’s BIG incubator for Black and Latinx women in Tech. At first, I worked my initial idea and after a few months, I pivoted to what is now Infinite Ag. Now I’m on the path to building the technology.
When I’m not working on Infinite Ag, I spend my time running The Weekend Soiree (TWS) with my co-founder, Mary Fuller and amazing team (Nicole “Coke” Junior and Renee “Collins” Ervin). Mary and I started The Weekend Soiree in 2017 and filed the business documents in 2018. We started TWS because there was a literal gap in the women’s event offerings. There were a ton of party focused events, professional conferences, and activist workshops. There weren’t many organizations that brought all the dimensions of queer multicultural women together in one place. And there weren’t many that took on the task of changing the destination annually. This is important to us because travel had been a big component of our respective lives, both professionally and personally. We didn’t want to lose that element.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth road and building a company are antonyms! It costs a lot of money, energy, time, and headspace. The struggles have been different for both companies. I will share a couple from each:
With Infinite Ag, the biggest struggle is gaining traction on a new idea with businesses. B2B companies are tough largely because companies don’t have spare time and convincing them to do something other than what they currently do is difficult. Second, the learning curve with understanding tech was steep for me because I don’t have a tech background. But, I have been able to learn a lot and onboard a tech advisor to help.
For the Weekend Soiree, the main struggle has been building a team. That includes, creating roles and job descriptions, finding people who will perform, and also providing the right direction and guidance to ensure we’re getting the output that we need. To host an event with 50+ different activities, like the one we host, takes a lot of time, leg work, and money for deposits. Without a team in place, we were running on empty, which is demotivating and frustrating.
My advice to women who are starting their journey is to find out what they love to do and what they’re good at. Be vigilant in working on what you love to do and improving what you’re good at. To do this, this means finding people who are better at something than you and learning from them. It means taking risks and defining what success looks like for yourself. I would also say almost always ask for what you want! “No” is not the enemy. The reason I say one should “almost always” vs. “always” ask, is that sometimes you have to just take what you want without permission. And in those situations, ask for forgiveness, if you must ask for something. And finally, give a strong handshake to make your presence known!
What should we know about The Weekend Soiree and Infinite Ag? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am known for different things depending on who you ask. Generally, I specialize in food and in Queer Experiences! I am known for produce (yes, that’s fruits and veggies) and my red pants when I pitch Infinite Ag! My specialization is in food businesses and food-related solutions. Even in my extracurricular activities, I act as an advisor to a food company. I would like to be known as an innovator and solution-focused businesswoman. When I give talks and workshops the topics center around resilience, entrepreneurship, and effective communication.
As it relates to The Weekend Soiree (TWS), I am most proud when I receive phone calls and emails from individuals or organizations who want to work with us. That signals to me that brand awareness is growing and the work that the team is doing is effective. What sets me apart from many other people is that I think everything is possible. The real question is, are the resources in place to make the impossible possible. I am also proud that we have been able to grow the team. It hasn’t been easy but with some diligence, focus, and agility, we have added members!
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I think the biggest barrier to female leadership is our culture. What I mean by that is, there is a culture of male supremacy in many private sector industries and throughout America. This results in things like: (1) unequal candid feedback in reviews; (2) lack of respectful acknowledgment and reward for amazing work; (3) hostile and uncomfortable working environments; (4) women not being placed in positions that allow for mobility and leadership skill acquisition; and so much more which handicaps female leadership.
Progress for female leaders will be slow as long as many of the powers that be are operating under male-centric biases, both conscious and unconscious. The subconscious biases are hardest to erase or navigate. One way we can make strides is female leadership is for allies to advocate for women. Another way is for parents to begin empowering their daughters early on in life, in the way that men are often groomed. Lastly, women need to look out for each other.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theweekendsoiree.com ; www.infiniteag.com
- Email: connect@theweekendsoiree.com and grant@infiniteag.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/theweekendsoiree
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWeekendSoireeWomxn/
- Twitter: 4urconsumption on Twitter is my personal twitter
Image Credit:
Chelsea Raffkind
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Nina Singleton
February 27, 2019 at 4:19 pm
Great article on a phenomenal woman.