In the thrilling saga of entrepreneurship, the journey of every aspiring business owner traverses s a whirlwind of emotions, from the soaring peaks of success to the challenging valleys of setbacks. Amidst these struggles lies a pivotal moment — a breakthrough that reshapes the trajectory of their venture. Suddenly, what once seemed insurmountable fades into insignificance, replaced by a newfound sense of opportunity and growth.
Meet three remarkable founders who embarked on a transformative path through digitalundivided’s esteemed 2023 BREAKTHROUGH Program, generously sponsored by JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways. Learn how these visionary women successfully scaled their businesses to new heights.
Samora Suber (Founder, Samora Life)
Samora Suber is an E-RYT 500 Yoga Teacher and Certified Somatic Life Coach based in Los Angeles. Through her journey, she has hosted rejuvenating international retreats, coached private clients, collaborated with top brands, and facilitated workshops at various organizations. Her expertise has garnered attention, leading to features in notable publications such as Forbes, Cosmopolitan, and Essence, among others. The mission of SamoraLife is to assist individuals in achieving clarity, confidence, and connection in their bodies and lives through practices that enhance emotional, physical, and mental well-being.
During a conversation with digitalundivided, the Wellness Expert reflected on her experience with the BREAKTHROUGH program and revealed that it arrived during a period of intense depletion and overwhelm in their entrepreneurial journey, about a year and a half into her business. The program served as a much-needed validation, affirming her worth as an entrepreneur and providing a sense of security and support. Samora felt that the community fostered within the program proved invaluable, leading to lasting connections with numerous women whom she continues to stay in touch with.
“There’s so many women that I met in the program that really helped me in my business. And also, in my personal life, a lot of these women ended up being my friends. These are all women who understand this journey. Also, the funding grant that I received helped me launch a bigger funding round that I did. I launched a crowdfunding campaign, and I needed to get some promotional tools together. The BREAKTHROUGH grant helped me to get things more organized and more tight. I feel like all of that wouldn’t have been easy or possible if it wasn’t for the BREAKTHROUGH program.”
Camille Newman (Founder, Body By Love)
Camille Newman serves as the Founder of Body By Love, initially established as an online boutique catering to curvy trendsetters in sizes 12 and above. The current collection features a carefully curated selection of contemporary, international, and indie pieces. Camille, who identifies as plus-sized, recognizes the lack of representation of plus-size women in discussions surrounding wellness. As an active plus-size individual herself, she advocates for expanding the conversation beyond weight loss to encompass various aspects of wellness, including yoga and positive body image messaging, aiming to empower others in the process.
In an interview with Camille, she expressed her love for digitalundivided’s BREAKTHROUGH Program in scaling her company. Finding it intriguing to be part of a cohort aptly named BREAKTHROUGH, she felt a strong resonance with the program’s name, sensing she was at a pivotal breakthrough point in her journey. Despite the condensed format of the cohort, she found each week’s class to be precisely what was needed, dispelling any concerns about rushed or insufficient learning. Drawing from her extensive experience in various cohorts, she declared digitalundivided’s BREAKTHROUGH program to be truly incredible and uniquely impactful.
“The facilitators of the material were informative and very eye-opening. The group of entrepreneurs that they brought together — we still communicate to see how we can support each other. And the final presentation that we did around refining our buyer personas and really digging deep into the subject was also impactful. I’m grateful to digitalundivided and Chase because it always helps that you get funding. Overall, it was a transformative experience.”
Shannon Morales (Founder, Tribaja)
Shannon Morales is a dynamic social entrepreneur whose aim is to revolutionize the connection between tech talent and purpose-driven brands. Motivated by her own experiences of bias in the workplace, she founded Tribaja, her first venture. Through dedication and vision, Tribaja has evolved into a thriving community of 7,000 members with over 150 partnerships. The focus is on creating pathways to tech careers for underrepresented professionals.
Under Shannon’s leadership, Tribaja has become a global tech talent network, driving the growth of major companies like Lyft, Microsoft, and Comcast. Her achievements include winning accolades such as Hispanic Business of the Year in Philadelphia, triumphing in the CBK pitch competition, earning the title of Al Dias Women of Merit “Emerging Leader,” securing a place on the Forbes Next 1000 small businesses list, and expanding operations into Latin America.
In a recent conversation with digitalundivided, the entrepreneur reflected on the abundance of valuable insights and tips gleaned from the DID’s BREAKTHROUGH program. Beyond the learning, she highlighted the opportunity to connect with impressive local founders previously unknown to them. Building a network of professionals through the program meant that she could always reach out for support or collaboration, whether it was grabbing coffee to discuss challenges or offering mutual assistance. Shannon emphasized the invaluable nature of cultivating a community and network of like-minded women, all striving to build remarkable businesses.
“I will say there’s a lot of pieces that go in the business that go undeveloped. I’m a solo founder, and I pretty much touch all areas of operation for the business. I wasn’t really looking at how we can improve our marketing analytics? How can we understand our users better? All of those different things was something that we learned during the digitalundivided BREAKTHROUGH program that I just felt very enlightened and grateful to have been a part of, because those were spaces or topics that just weren’t being talked about in other programmes.”
The deadline to apply to BREAKTHROUGH is only a few weeks away! Our program is designed to help you build capital and scale your business successfully. Don’t pass up the opportunity to receive $5,000 to grow your company and gain the kind of industry knowledge many would pay to have.
Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways, this 100% virtual program is open to all diverse women entrepreneurs based in Detroit with a tech component to their business.