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The founding father of Shaderoom, Angie Nwandu, transformed her hobby publishing rumors about celebrities on Instagram in the Empire of Social Media, which boasts more followers than the New York Times. Today, its platform is a leading voice in a black online community – the responsibility it fully includes.
However, her journey to success was hard, teaching her essential lessons about life and entrepreneurship along the way.
Humble beginnings
Nwandy had difficult upbringing. After her father murdered her mother in 2002, she entered the foster care system in Los Angeles, where she experienced many types of abuse. Despite these difficulties, she persistent and found relief in writing, especially poetry. One of her strongest songs, Behind the spraying glassShe reflects her personal experience with domestic violence.
Talented poet will receive filled with Loyola Marymount University scholarship; However, attributable to external pressure and the need for quick money, she specialized in accounting, a field that didn’t come so naturally.
“At the last minute I changed my field of HR to be able to graduate,” says Nwandu Entrepreneur. “I felt like a failure. I couldn’t get to school. I was lost at that moment of my life.”
By her mentor she confided that her real passion was writing, and he introduced her to a friend working on the script. Nwandu contributed to the project, which eventually reached the Sundance – a turning point in its perspective.
“Instead of thinking that writing would only lead to failure and poverty, I realized, waited, it went on Sundance,” he says. “It made me believe in myself.”
The key moment got here when the artists presented their movies, but Nwandy without a film shared the version of his poem Behind the spraying glass. She began to cry, mainly because she was dismissed from work in an accounting office.
Nevertheless, the director Michelle Satter, raised by her performance, granted her a subsidy of $ 5,000 for a writing profession. Although Nwandu had more urgent financial needs, the grant gave her time to focus on one other passion: rumors.
“I was unemployed, calling friends to discuss the message,” he says. “Then one suggested that I set up my own media company.”
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Publishing to Promiseland
Not knowing the first thing about the development of internet sites, Nwandu went straight to Instagram, where she created the ubiquitous Shade Room account, and began to blog about Celebrity News. Her bizarre comedy tone quickly attracted users, and the account increased to 300 followers during the first day.
Noticing an early increase in influencers on Instagram – individuals who weren’t traditional celebrities, but had great observations in social media – Nwandu began to adapt their content to cover messages and drama in this emerging space of the creator.
“Everyone said:” Oh, finally we have a place to search out news about these people, “says Nwandy.” Since I achieved 3500 followers, I knew it might be a media empire. “
It was clear that Nwandu came across gold with her content strategy, but she was the only one she spent at that time.
“I worked 24 hours a day, updating them every hour,” he says. I would stop on the side of the highway to update them because I felt it would be something big. “
Her hustle and bustle paid off. The account hit 10k followers, then 100k, then 500K.
“At that moment it began to affect the series of mainstream messages,” says Nwandu. “I realized that I have an audience of black people who come to me after news about our community,” he says. “That’s when I decided – this platform will be used to strengthen black voices.”
When the community becomes a currency
There are many famous services, but The Shade Room stands out, there is a strong focus on the community.
“I noticed that we can publish something already contained on ten other pages, but people are still coming to the shadow room,” says Nwandy. “It is because of the audience we built – one authorized meticulously and intentionally.”
To cultivate this base of fans, Nwandu drew inspiration from culture a state in which supporters of celebrities take collective names – reminiscent of Swifties Nicki Minaj or Swifties Taylor Swift. Shade Room fans called themselves “roommates” and then Nwandy noticed that the community was starting to achieve its own life.
“They metaphorically knocked down the door for celebrities on Instagram,” says Nwandy. “They would pass the comments saying:” The Shade Room wants an interview “or” The Shade Room wants exclusive. ” This would force a celebrity to ask: “What is a shadow room?” At first, the audience literally moved like an army. “
Nwandu tries to take care of this energetic relationship on each side, responding to as much DM and comments as possible and bringing a serious value of fans’ opinions.
“They feel like they have it,” says Nwandu. “If they asked us to do something. If they want us to publish something – and it is verified and true – we will do it too. They shape what they see, sending tips and informing us what they want us to embrace.”
When Nwandy built a loyal and committed base of fans, the next challenge was earning.
“I copied influential culture,” says Nwandu. “I saw how they publish ads for brands such as Slim Fit Tea, and many had less followers than I did. I am a media company – I can do it too. So I started to contact the brands advertising with them and said: Come to the shadow. ”
In the early days in the shade she downloaded only USD 75 for an promoting space – an opportunity, which probably caused the eyes of PR professionals brightened, especially considering her about half a million followers.
Finally, she hired a seller to barter more favorable rates, and the money began to flow. “You just have to try and try until you get something that makes sense and provides revenues,” says Nwandu.
Indulgence
Now that The Shade Room is a fixed cultural force, Angie Nwandu focused on gifting away the community that built it. “After reaching a specific size, people begin to perceive you as large media,” he says. “And the relationship is changing. Now” you derive a profit of black culture – you have to offer it back “. I was like, you are right.
Nwand philanthropic efforts include both the US and Africa. She renewed from four to five schools in Nigeria and built water wells in several Niger villages, providing clean water and enabling local agriculture. Her team also finances scholarships to help children in access to education.
In the United States, she supported temporary housing programs for substitute youth, including helping in Peace4kids in purchasing land at Santa Clarita, California. She contributed to organizations such as UFC, which supports adoptive youth through education and apartments, as well as the national initiative to save, helping mothers and survival of domestic violence.
In addition, Nwandu created six scholarships in HBCus and her Alma Mater to support students on all environments.
“We give 10% of our community profits each yr,” he says. “Some people shared the Church – I would like a tithe in the community.”