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Meet Lantre Barr of Blacc Spot Media in Old Fourth Ward

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Lantre Barr.

Lantre, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a native ATLien born with both an entrepreneurial spirit and a hunger to press the envelope to see what is possible. I am also blessed to have an army of family and friends who continuously encouraged me to push the boundaries and reach higher levels. As a result, I would say that I have accomplished more than I ever imagined I would as a child and at 36 years old, I feel like I am just getting started.

I grew up on the South Side of Atlanta and had attended ten different schools before I graduated high school. Looking back, I realize that this played a major factor in developing my ability to quickly connect with others and build strong, long-lasting relationships with so many people.

Funny story, in high school during a “career planning” session with my guidance counselor, she asked me, “Lantre what do you like to do?” I replied, “I like to draw”. Her response was I should be an Architect. That five-minute conversation started me on the journey that has become the life I live now because I totally jumped on board with that idea. When it came time for me to determine which college to attend, I selected Tuskegee University and majored in Architecture.

At the age of 20, I believed I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. During my second year of college, I was 100% committed to real estate development and wanted to break into the industry so I started the real-estate development company, Elemental Homes and Communities. Additionally, I decided to get my Master’s in Construction from Auburn University to provide me more education and experience in the industry and embarked on what I thought would grow Elemental Homes and Communities into a leader in the industry.

Fast forward to April 2011, I found myself starting Blacc Spot Media, a software development company. LOL. What happened? Well, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and the housing market crash, more like the world crash of 2008-2009, happened. I found myself unemployed for over 30 months between September 2008 to April 2011. Therefore, Blacc Spot Media was born out of necessity. In the first year, I was able to make about $20,000 in revenue which was more than I made in the previous three years of unemployment. I thought I was on to something in an industry where I believed I had more control over my destiny. As a result, I never looked back and almost ten years later with making close to $8 million in revenue, I think I made the right choice.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth road? Is that even a real thing? Long story short, life is an adventure and I have yet to dive into any endeavor that I consider to have been a smooth process. The one thing that I have learned over the years is that no matter what I do, I need to love it. I feel that when you love the process, you know you are pursuing the right dream. I can honestly say, I do love every aspect of what I do. Does that mean I do not get frustrated, stressed, overwhelmed, or tired? Nope, all of that is part of the process. I have grown to realize the challenges are just as if not more important than the victories. This helps me to grind harder, develop the resilience to embrace and use those obstacles to continue to push forward. There is no way that I would be able to “stay in the game” if I did not love what I do every day.

I have conversations with my friends all of the time about how I deal with the fear of failure. Hmmm. Overcome? I haven’t yet mastered the overcoming that part because the fear still creeps in. However, my faith in God gives me the strength to push through the fear and persevere knowing that whatever happens there is a lesson to be learned. The best piece of advice that I have been given in my life was given to me by my amazing COO, Tahira Brown, who has grown to be one of my best friends. Almost five years ago, she told me to look at things from a different perspective and to view stumbling blocks as “stepping stones” to rise to a new level. Simple but powerful words I live by.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Blacc Spot Media – what should we know?
Blacc Spot Media is an IT consulting agency focused on building business applications using the latest Cloud Communications technologies. We help companies integrate voice, video, SMS, chat, and omnichannel strategies into their businesses by creating applications that enhance workflow processes and cut operating costs.

In short, we help companies save money, increase sales, and enhance customer engagement using communication. Our services support a diverse clientele. For instance, we work with companies to migrate their on-premise contact centers to the cloud, build SMS marketing strategies into their sales and marketing process and provide effective engagement for customers using chatbots or conversational Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems. We are here to help and have been doing so for nearly a decade. Most of our clients are small to medium-sized businesses as well as Mid-Market companies such as Smile Direct Club, BART, and Ultra Mobile. We also cater to Fortune 500 companies like Procter & Gamble and Stanley Black and Decker. The key is we make it a point to not just build an application or provide a service but to understand the client’s business, vision, and roadmap so that we can deliver a product that exceeds expectations and aligns with their business goals.

I am extremely proud that we have been able to support the clientele we have over the last nine years with our clients frequently praising us as being the best vendor they have ever worked with. I think all companies say they are dedicated and committed to their clients but in our case, it is our focus to truly understand our clients’ business needs in order to execute the right strategy.

What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
Rather than a memory, I am going to share a story that has been passed down about one of my earlier life experiences. This story is a true testament to how I have lived my life. At the very young age of 7 months old, I had an encounter with someone who will forever be known as “Baby Earl”. While at daycare, I was sitting down, minding my own business, and playing with my favorite toy, which was probably anything laying on the floor at that time, when Baby Earl decided he wanted the toy I was playing with. I was unwilling to give up the toy so Baby Earl determined the best course of action was to show me who was boss. Therefore, I received a first-hand account of the bite force from his newly grown teeth which was his tactic to get me to relinquish possession of the toy. Well at the moment of impact onto the lower part of my back, he won. I got up and “RAN” away crying. Up until this point, I was barely able to crawl around but with that one bite, I got up and not “WALKED”, but “RAN” away. Let my mom tell it, she has never forgiven Baby Earl because I never sat down again. To this day, I dive deep into anything I do, RUNNING full speed, learning along the way.

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