Today we’d like to introduce you to Kwame Rogers.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The vision really came to me by chance in the Fall of 2014. A very close childhood friend of mine, who at the time recently got in the business of music production came across an aspiring singer/rapper that he introduced me to. This rapper shared the pros and cons of performing in an open mic forum. One of the biggest issues he shared with me, was his difficulty finding open mic venues for his style of music. He often came across open mics that centered upon spoken word, rock and roll, and comedy. In April 2015, it just so happened that I was invited to attend an open mic event hosted by Pigeons and Planes in Manhattan. When I arrived, I observed a long line of people waiting to enter the venue and perform. This was my first time attending an open mic and at that point a vision hit me. I remember what the singer/rapper said and thought that “if only [he] and [others] had some kind of reference, like a listing and/or review,” – it would be easier to find the appropriate venue for their designated style. Following this experience, I shared my thoughts about it with a friend and was told “it won’t work out.” I left the idea in my notebook, but never once stopped thinking about it . In 2016, I shared the idea again with my then girlfriend and with her support, I was able to begin outlining my ideas into a real business plan. One night, while laying on my bed, we played around with some names, and came up with the name “Poppin Places.”
In February 2017, I moved to the Atlanta area, leaving everything familiar to me behind to pursue my dream. I know that I was taking a big chance, by embarking on this new adventure. Nervous and anxious as hell, I pressed forward and continue to do so, I sacrificed so much to do this. My business is evolving and I am loving the journey.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Great question. For entrepreneurs, the road is never smooth. It’s very long hours, and a lot of planning that’s involved to ensure that you set your company up for success. There are no days off and everything is all on your shoulders and you have to be prepared to wear many different hats in this, there is no one to share the workload with day in a day out. It’s one of the greatest challenges I’ve had to endure in my life but I love it! Being able to create and come up with ideas and ways to execute them to that person on the other end of that phone or computer is priceless. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I’ve wanted to be a entrepreneur since I was 15 . I’d say my biggest struggle is, when I started out was having patience, myself like many others, I am sure have the same struggle because we want things to happen so fast for us, you have to be patient and trust your process with any life path you choose to walk on, you work hard, stay dedicated and disciplined your dreams will come to fruition it has to.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Well the name of my company is called Poppin’Places. Basically, what I do and specialize in is that, I list some of the hottest open mic places for artists, music lovers, poets and comedians as well as comedy clubs around the area. Think of me as a critic of sorts but with a twist, I feel what sets me apart from others is that, I actually go to a lot of these open mic venues and because of that I am able to give my own perspective of what I think about that specific venue or comedy club. I am there mingling with the other artists, poets, comics and other attendees so I am able to give recommendations to them about different places around the city that they haven’t heard of or been to yet. It’s getting to the point where people ask me on Instagram, what I think of certain places it’s pretty cool! I am most proud of the response I’ve got and the genuine love I have gotten from people about my brand, people say they love it. Although, I am very happy about the response I get from people, my goal is to keep pushing more awareness about my brand to keep evolving
What were you like growing up?
As a kid, I was really active. I was into sports, I played a lot of flag football in my youth in the neighborhood with my friends and was on the basketball team at the Boys Club in Harlem, NY. I wasn’t that great though, lol. But, those were my favorite sports I would say. Personality wise, I was shy a bit but at the same time, outgoing like any other kid, we are filled with so much energy, we don’t really know much about the world yet, because your learning as you go and as you get older, you kind of stop doing some things you did when you were a kid. Growing, I was always at my Aunts hanging out with my cousins we basically grew up together so, I always had that family structure through my cousins, friends and my own parents which helped mold me growing up as a kid.
Interest wise, now that I think about as a kid I didn’t really think about being in business until, Russell Simmons came and popped up at my school in East Harlem one day and spoke to my peers and I. Which I thought was really dope of him to do I think was around 10 or 11 at the time, he just gave us a lot of knowledge about life, business, educating and uplifting the community around you among other things. I forever believe meeting him that day probably shaped my mindset as a kid as well. As a kid section, when I had to move upstate with my parents and in my latter years with my godparents, I had to get use to different surroundings than what I was accustomed to and had to adjust to meeting new people. I was still the same shy young at times but outgoing while upstate, that I was when I lived in NYC but I had to get use to seeing different things growing up. For example, when I attended private school in Harlem, it isn’t like some public schools where you can wear whatever you want. No, we had to wear uniforms and I used to get teased for wearing them, lol. I would catch so much flack for just going to school and enjoying it, they use to call me ‘school boy’. When I moved, that wasn’t the case at the school. I went to upstate education which was highly encouraged, it was all we had up there and sports, I had an interesting childhood.
Contact Info:
- Website: poppinplaces.com
- Email: poppinplaces.com
Image Credit:
@larimarmedia, @jamessimsiv, @swaylophotos
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.
