Today we’d like to introduce you to Roderick Burke Jr.
Roderick, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Hello, thank you again for hearing my story! Well, the story of Evntures was born out of the frustration from traveling around the world. Everywhere I traveled, I had to deal with the tourist attractions, the safe space events, gimmicky, and superficial attractions. The culture of the community was missing, the spice of what makes that place special was lost to capitalism. So while traveling through Thailand in a cramped cab, my fellow Co-Founder Roberto Jolliffe and I came up with the concept of Evntures. We wanted to know what the alternative events in each city were. We wanted the experience to be organic and free for everyone to experience. I have seen how much traveling and attending social gatherings can change people’s rigid stereotypes of each other. Being a Recruiter and a Police Officer, I have seen first hand the effects of people feeling abandoned, mistreated, and economically abandoned. I wanted this experience to be a free form listing of everything that goes on around them. Give everyone the ability to attend, explore, and interact with all walks of life. I want everyone to experience the ultimate human experience of gathering and interacting with one another. The process for creating the App was an adventure, to say the least. Fellow Co-Founder Marshall Felder, our CTO, really helped with designing the code and the functionality of the App. Roberto Jolliffe, our CEO experience with USAA in quality control and app development, brought the project together.
My Business and Marketing background as CMO allowed us to grow the project to what it is now. We had plenty of bumps along the way, from unforeseen expenses, no one knew to build an app would cost us over 40k in cash. Shady attorneys attempting to charge us thousands of dollars to form our Business and later finding the actual cost was way cheaper. Through the journey, we found that education was the key to saving money, so it drove us to learn everything about Business and technology. We also went through the young and black phase, which affected people taking us seriously. Those people being friends and family too. I fight with myself at times, trying not to become frustrated with other’s preconceived perceptions of my team and me. You can feel and hear the negative perceptions when after we pitch or Company, and you hear “Your very articulate” or wow “You did this.” That was expected, but getting that from friends and family was the most deflating experience. We all have to deal with negativity; how we handle, it builds our character. We have also had amazing support throughout the experience, from other business owners reaching out to us, such as Rackspace. Who gave us feedback and allowed us to use there facility. In all, this journey has been amazing. I feel so accomplished and equipped with the tools to help anyone succeed in the business world.
Has it been a smooth road?
We had plenty of bumps along the way, from unforeseen expenses, no one knew to build an app would cost us over 40k in cash. Shady attorneys attempting to charge us thousands of dollars to form our Business and later finding the actual cost was way cheaper. Through the journey, we found that education was the key to saving money, so it drove us to learn everything about Business and technology. We also went through the young and black phase, which affected people taking us seriously. Those people being friends and family also. I fight with myself at times, trying not to become frustrated with other’s preconceived perceptions of my team and me. You can feel and hear the negative perceptions when after we pitch or Company, and you hear “Your very articulate” or wow “You did this.”That was expected, but getting that from friends and family was the most deflating experience. It feels like an uphill fight being black-owned in a tech world that barely represents us. I hate using race as a crutch, but that’s the world we live in.
Please tell us about the company.
Our Company Evntures specializes in integrating alternative events around the world, into an easy to see and interact format for anyone to enjoy. We want to put the whole world in everyone’s hands. I’m most proud of the fact that we were able to Bootstrap the Company so we could make it a free experience for all. I love the fact that we bring communities together and allow people to feel at home everywhere they travel. The thing that sets us apart from others is that this is completely our vision. No one paid to influence our thoughts or product. This App represents our blood, sweat, and tears. Its out gift to the world.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see us becoming a one-stop-shop for events, where you can get tickets, travel to and from the event all in one click. We will be the number one place to come to when you are bored, trying to find a place to take a date, wife or husband, spring break fun, vacation, and grow your business. We want to partner with communities around the world to show the real essence of what makes them special and unique.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Evntures.com
- Phone: 915-861-2732
- Email: Info@Evntures.com
- Instagram: Evnturesapp
- Facebook: Evntures
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Evntures
Image Credit:
Roderick Burke Jr.
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