Episode 2: Christele Parham

Pretty Powerful Podcast with Angela Gennari, Episode 2: Christele Parham

Do you aspire to be a woman who stands in her power, is unapologetic for her success, and is unwilling to compromise on her standards, values, and goals? Welcome. This is the Pretty Powerful Podcast where Angela Gennari speaks with extraordinary women who are breaking barriers, shattering glass ceilings, dominating their sports, and rising to the top of their industry. It's time to step into your power.

Angela Gennari: Thank you for joining us today. We have miss Christele Parham with us from Macon black tech and Ham tech solutions, and we are so excited to have you here. I know that you'll be an incredible source of inspiration because I have read your story and I have learned about you and you are an extremely exceptional woman, so I'm so happy to have you with us today.

Christele Parham: Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here.

Angela Gennari: Well, thank you. We are going to talk a little bit about how you got here and you know that you were born in Haiti. Is that right?

Christele Parham: That's correct.

Angela Gennari: Awesome.

Christele Parham: I was born in Haiti.

Angela Gennari: So, what brings you here? When did you come here? Tell me about your journey.

Christele Parham: Okay. So, pretty much I grew up in Haiti, and at the age of about 11 or 12, I moved to the United States, and actually moved to south Florida.

Angela Gennari: Okay.

Christele Parham: lived in Broward County and Dade County for a few years. And seven years ago, I moved to Macon. So, what brought me here, I guess it's not a glamorous story when I was growing up, my mom and dad, they were in the middle separating, but also there was a lot of political unrest and, you know, for safety they had me go to south Florida.

Angela Gennari Okay, good. And so, you are very entrepreneurial right now.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: You have a very incredible career. And have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Christele Parham: Yes, actually entrepreneurship growing up in Haiti I grew up watching my great-aunt who owned the only bookstore slash library in the neighborhood.

Angela Gennari: Wow.

Christele Parham: And my grandparents from my mom's side lived in the country. My grandfather was the only auto parts store for miles in the city that they lived in. My grandpa and my grandma and most of their kids were entrepreneurs. My uncle was an engineer to the president and my grandma was also an entrepreneur. So, I pretty much saw it all around me. I knew I was going to be an entrepreneur. I just didn't know when.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Well, it's incredible that you've had that kind of influence in your life, because what a great role model set that you've had women and men.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: Which is incredible because it's so rare, especially with your grandmother being an entrepreneur.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: And how amazing is that? So, you were able to envision it as a child. Whereas I think a lot of girls, especially young ones, we can't envision that for ourselves just yet. We don't have as much of that influence in our lives, and so that's incredible that you did, and it's no doubt why you've become as successful as you are. So, that's amazing.

Christele Parham: Thank you.

Angela Gennari: Well, good for you.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: And I know that you've got a great work ethic because you are running multiple businesses right now.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: So, you definitely stay busy.

Christele Parham: Not on my own, but doing my best. Yes. It's not a glamorous story, but we're doing our best.

Angela Gennari: Well, I'd love to hear about Ham tech solutions. So, you are in a very specific space for HIPAA regulations and cyber security. So, talk about male-dominated space I mean, you are really just driving tech in some of the trickiest waters that you could be in because I mean, it's very highly regulated I would imagine.

Christele Parham: Well, yeah, thank you for asking. So pretty much with ham tech solutions, we are in Macon and we service a lot of the local smaller practices. We have some clients in Atlanta as well, and North Dakota that's the random one. Not random, but you know, geographically random.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: But yeah, what we do is first, when we first started as new business owners we were doing as anything we were doing it and things of that sort. But when life got a little busier, we decided to go into HIPPA management and specialize in it only. It is heavily growing so also a little bit of background for me and even for my husband and how we ended up in that field, my husband was doing it full time as an employee, but also, I was working. My background's actually in accounting. Okay. And I was doing auditing at a local hospital. And then, later on, moved on to become a contractor in the innovation department. That's one of my favorite places that actually kind of led me to go full-time into full-time entrepreneurship. Yeah. So, as we started working in that space, we realized that we were already based on the experiences that we were building, we were navigating into being very niche.

Angela Gennari: Yes. Well, that's incredible. And you started the company with your husband when, how long ago?

Christele Parham: So, fun fact, we didn't even know. We were just friends at the time. Actually. I helped pick out the name.

Angela Gennari: Oh, really?

Christele Parham: Yes. And then little did I know this was going to be, you know, like our family business but yeah. And what happened was, as Arian is my husband's name. We were working full time, both of us, and he started working more hours and we had just gotten married so one of us needed to quit first. He quit first because my insurance was the best in the city.

Angela Gennari: Yes.

Christele Parham: Yes. And then later on I quit. So, yeah.

Angela Gennari: Okay. Wow. That's amazing. And the company is how old now?

Christele Parham: We've had the company since 2012. What's the math on that?

Angela Gennari: Ooh, about 10 years.

Christele Parham: Okay. Yes. Yes, so about 10 years.

Angela Gennari: Awesome, nice. Good for you. That's great. Because you know, as entrepreneurs, one of the biggest achievements is getting past that one-year mark.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: And then they say five years is the next big milestone and so 10 years is tremendous, so good for you. That's amazing.

Christele Parham: Thank you.

Angela Gennari: Good, good, good. And then more recently you started an incubator accelerator called Macon black tech, tell me what drove you into that.

Christele Parham: Well, yeah. Thank you. So, pretty much Macon black tech started because we being in Macon, although like I shared with you that my family in Haiti were entrepreneurs moving away when I moved to Macon, I didn't have my family to call to say, hey, how do you do this?

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: And then also feeling like the rules in Haiti are when it comes to entrepreneurship are different. Like we really didn't know what we were doing. We were just trying to figure it out as if thank God all our bills were paid, but like we were figuring it out, you know, but also as we were doing that, we realized that we needed to find a sense of community because we felt alone. Right. And even for me, I wanted to find other women that look like me or any women at all, just to feel like, hey, to share similar stories as to persevere.

So, we found a community in the ecosystem in Atlanta.

Angela Gennari: Yes.

Christele Parham: So, because we have clients here, we ended up joining a local co-working space on the gathering spot and we would attend their events and things like that. And we found a community being from South Florida from one of the ecosystem builders in Miami called Felicia. She also had organization. So, we were just attending these events, trying to figure out what other people are doing and what happened was we were like, we are driving a lot, and we realized that the people that look like us that were in the community as well, they were looking for the same.

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Christele Parham: So, that's how we ended up creating Macon black tech.

Angela Gennari: That's amazing.

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: Well, and what I love is that you know, you guys see there was a gap in service and I love that you call it an ecosystem, because there's nothing more relevant than saying that business entrepreneurship is an ecosystem because it really is because it takes all of us working together and supporting each other and nurturing each other to rise up.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: And I think that that's so incredibly important, and so I love that you guys call it an ecosystem because that is really telling about how important it is in the community to have something where you can grow and thrive. So, that's incredible. So, with Macon black tech, you have entrepreneurs that come to you and are looking for support. So, what kind of support do you provide to them?

Christele Parham: So, when we just started with Macon black tech, we're just running a few events. We had networking events, we had virtual events, but what ended up happening as we were starting out, we had a vision, for example, that's how the Macon Thon came about, right. We had a vision of providing a space where entrepreneurs can learn about how to develop ideas and how to do it in a space where the resources come to you rather than you seek them out.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: And then pitch them so that you can be in the ears of investors and things like that. I know that in a lot of different communities, like pitch Dand Ays, demo days, they're accelerators, they're very common, but we don't really have that locally. So, that's how we ended up starting the Macon Thon. So, with the Macon Thon, what we did was created a three-month program where people could develop their ideas. We've had a lot of good classes, like a class from Microsoft, from Google, in like founder stories. A lot of the things that we've implemented during the program were founder stories because it's one thing to have an idea and want to pursue it, but sometimes when you're in a soil where everything is so new, it's hard to have it stick, you know, it's hard to have it grow. So, sometimes you just need that story that inspires you. And that's personal for me because as I was building things out as I know, we've talked earlier about being able to have conversations with Mel in this space. Like I've had conversations with other founders in this space where they have that confidence because you know, even for me, one of the examples I'll share is as I became a contractor, that's when I've really experienced imposter syndrome. Right?

So, you probably read this already. I'm a full-blown introvert so a lot of times I live in my head and I just show up and I have a thought in my head and I get it done. But other than that, you probably won't see me outside or anything like that. So, for me, as I was working on Macon, black tech, and Macon Thon, although I've seen a lot of great spaces that I envisioned that Macon could look like it was not quite there yet, right? And I feel like one thing that I equated to, not that I know any scripture as well, but I equated to the Noah's ark. Right. Because you know, he was building, I wish there was a woman version of the Noah's ark he was building and he looked foolish to a lot of people, but when it came and made sense and that's the same thing, right. As I was going into different spaces and talking about wanting to create a space for black founders, people were like, what? What is space? Like y'all don't because also a little bit of background Macon is 54% African American.

Angela Gennari: Okay.

Christele Parham: But a lot of times we don't really see a lot of different environments where there's not much tech enable environment for founders of color.

Angela Gennari: I see.

Christele Parham: So, wanting to build something first, it's hard to sell the dream if people don't see the necessity for it.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: So, I have to believe in the dream myself to see it through.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely.

Christele Parham: I've had the privilege to have these raw conversations with other ecosystem builders outside of my community that has really said, if no one can understand what you're doing, that means it needs to be done. You know? So, that has really motivated me to persevere.

Angela Gennari: I love it. So, clarity of message is something that I think it becomes challenging because you don't have to just sell the need for it. You have to sell the why, right?

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: So, it's one thing to say, this is why we need it and how I think it's going to improve everything. But this is also why it matters to you.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: Right? Because it's the why to you, why does this matter to me? If you're trying to sell me something I can understand. Okay. That's a pretty good idea. But also, why do I care? You know?

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: And so that is a challenging conversation to have because you really have to understand somebody's motivation.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: And you know how to get them involved in a conversation, especially when you're talking to somebody who is not a black business owner.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: Right. Because that your conversation has to be, and this is why diversity matters.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: This is why you want people of color sitting at the table. This is why you want women sitting at the table.

Christele Parham: Exactly.

Angela Gennari: Because we can bring experiences and ideas from our own journeys...

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: That you may not be able to relate to, but I promise you, it adds value.

Christele Parham: Not only are we having ongoing conversations as to why that matters, like creating touch points because a lot of times, even if you say it, it might fall on deaf ears now, but you have to show up for the idea in the beginning when I would be explaining why Macon black tech was important or why is the Macon Thon necessary and it would fall on deaf ears. I would still show up and build. Right. I still showed up and created a curriculum. I still showed up and build those relationships so that eventually, even if people might not understand it now, little by little they're understanding. And the good thing that's happened with that is now like as soon as an opportunity shows up locally, I'm the first person they think about because they remember Christel spoke to them about this, right?

Angela Gennari: Yes. So, well in consistency, right?

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: Consistency and tenacity sometimes beat, you know, talent all day long. And not that you lack talent but the consistency and the tenacity that I'm showing up because it's the right thing to do, and I'm going to keep showing up and you can count on me being here next week too.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: I want you to remember me because I'm showing up for the people who matter to me.

Christele Parham: Exactly.

Angela Gennari: And I think that more people need to do that for each other.

Christele Parham: Exactly.

Angela Gennari: Especially in, you know, whether its minority businesses showing up for each other or women own businesses showing up for each other. And I think that's where we are lacking support is that we tend to feel like we're on an island by ourselves.

Christele Parham: Yeah. That's so true. You brought up a point that it made me remember my startup journey. Right. So, as a Haitian, like an island or some, an immigrant, one of the top things that had been instilled in me is hard work, right?

Angela Gennari: Yes.

Christele Parham: So, it was crazy moving and trying to connect to the community. I'm a hard worker. I work hard. Ain't no doubt about it, but it's funny because I had to quickly learn one time I read this survey, the success pyramid or something like that, they were talking about working hard was at the bottom, but how people perceive you and how do you look to others or is actually higher.

Angela Gennari: Really?

Christele Parham: Yeah. I forgot what it's called. Maybe I need to look that up.

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Christele Parham: Yeah. And that really challenged me because like I told you earlier, working hard and as an introvert, I always believed in doing the hard work, and then it will show for it but I got to a point where I was so frustrated because I was always being passed around. Right. So, it challenged me to start developing relationships. So not only now I still work hard, but I also value that building relationships is hard.

Angela Gennari: So, let me ask you this as an introvert and as a woman.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: How hard is it for you to step into your power and own your success?

Christele Parham: Whew. I don't know about the owning your success part of stepping into my power. I still struggle with that and if I'm being honest with you, because navigating a lot of times spaces where, for example, even as current as of the Macon Thon, it's a pilot program and we've been able to like connect the right relationships to the platform. But a lot of times I'm overwhelmed because I'm scared, you know? But last year actually really challenged me and I lost my grandmother.

Angela Gennari: Oh, I'm sorry.

Christele Parham: Thank you. But when I lost my grandmother, that changed me, you know, because growing up, going back to, I shared with you that my grandmother was an entrepreneur, but also, she didn't know how to read and write, but...

Angela Gennari: Wow.

Christele Parham: Yeah. But she actually owned land. She did a lot, and she owned a lot of things, but I remember how much power she had in her community. When she passed away, as a whole, is it a state? I don't know how you transcribe that, where she was from, mourned her.

Angela Gennari: Wow.

Christele Parham: You know?

Angela Gennari: So, she had a legacy,

Christele Parham: She had a legacy.

Angela Gennari: Wow.

Christele Parham: And she's a short lady, but you don't want to mess with her. She's always brought so much power into rooms that she's walked in and I can grow up, I had been really shy and I've often shrunk myself. Right. And being in this space, like you talked about being in a male-dominated space and even not just, male-dominated also building something from scratch, you know, having to translate as to why this is important within our community. It's hard. So, when she passed away it kind of like was... It flipped a switch for me to remind me that my legacy was bigger than I tapped into.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely.

Christele Parham: Yeah. So.

Angela Gennari: Well, and imagine her feelings, not knowing she could not read or write, knowing that she was an entrepreneur. Imagine how scared she was in a room, you know, where she felt she had to portray confidence.

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: Because probably everything inside of her was afraid.

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: You know, and felt less than because she couldn't read and write. And because entrepreneurialism was probably her only real path of success of being able to put food on her table. So, imagine being in her situation and feeling like you're walking in with a disadvantage and still having the strength to command a room and still leave a legacy, the way that she did so kudos to her for the power that she was able to step into, even when I can guarantee you, she was terrified at times.

Christele Parham: Yeah. I mean, if she was terrified, I didn't know about it. I don't think any of us did because...

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: She mustered a lot of confidence that I'm still learning how to walk into because it gets challenging. Like even the other day we had one of the Macon Thon sessions and someone mentioned, that if you're pitching your idea to an investor or someone that you want to partner with, you're not going to say, hey, I'm here in Macon. I'm building this product, and hopefully, you can support me. You're going to say, I'm building this organization that in 20, 25, it will support a thousand minorities in the middle Georgia area. And I think a lot of times I forget that I have to constantly switch it up. And for me, it's not wrong. It's just for me to like constantly show up and remind myself that, hey, this is available to you. You have the power and authority to just walk into your full self.

Angela Gennari: Yes.

Christele Parham: So, that's available.

Angela Gennari: What gives you strength?

Christele Parham: What gives me strength? That's a great question. What gives me strength? Okay, one of the things, because I, my work is community work, and in order to tackle community work, I think one of the very first things that I did that I honor is going back to therapy because I do a lot of work that involves getting out of my comfort zone. A lot of times I get overwhelmed quickly, but being able to have my therapist and have vulnerable conversations, it really helped me heal a lot of my childhood trauma, which in turn helps me show up with strength.

Angela Gennari: Well, I love that because you know, Brene Brown talks about vulnerability. Have you read her book that's...?

Christele Parham: I haven't but I've heard her Speak of...

Angela Gennari: Ted talk?

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: Her Ted talk is amazing. So, I love her because for the longest time I had a hard time being vulnerable. I really was. I felt like I always needed to be strong. I felt like I always needed to convey confidence, even if I was terrified, and listening to her is the first time I ever looked at vulnerability as strength.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: Its strength to be able to say, hey, I'm really struggling right now, and this is why. That is strength. That is bravery.

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: And so, having that bravery to say, I'm struggling, I need help, and to ask for help or to say, I need advice or whatever that looks like to be able to do that, I no longer look at his weakness.

Christele Parham: Totally. It's funny you say that. Because recently last year, a few women showed up to me and said, that one thing that they appreciated about me is I show up vulnerable through my leadership and I didn't realize how powerful that was because for navigating a lot of spaces, a lot of times I've been asked to look differently. Right.

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Christele Parham: But you know, as an advantage of working hard to where I am today, as one of the gifts that give is being able to show up as my myself. Right?

Angela Gennari: Yeah, as your true, authentic self.

Christele Parham: Exactly. And I think that more than anything, I am grateful for the people that have shown up as themselves as well to empower me, to show up as myself because that right there, because I think navigating spaces where you don't feel safe, I often seek out people that I can talk to, you know? And a lot of times it becomes challenging to just navigate spaces alone. So yeah. Showing up vulnerable is showing up strong.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. And that vulnerability allows people to approach you.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: You become more approachable and when you are, what I realized is that my relationships now are much more authentic and strong because of the vulnerability, because when I was showing up as strong all the time and I really didn't let anyone into that vulnerable side people felt intimidated like, well, she's got it all together. She can't possibly understand that I'm struggling and I don't want to share anything or look weak in front of her. And really what it did is the vulnerability allowed me to be a resource for them where they may not have come otherwise.

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: And so, whether it's employees, whether it's vendors, whether it's, you know, whoever's in our lives, family members, you want to show up vulnerable and authentic because that's how you create deep relationships.

Christele Parham: For sure. I definitely think for me though, it took work.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: You know? Because growing up culturally speaking, I was taught that was a sign of weakness, so having to unlearn that has been very hard.

Angela Gennari: Right. I understand.

Christele Parham: But yet filled with reward.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. So, what advice would you give to an 18-year-old you setting out on a journey and you know, kind of getting that first step into a career?

Christele Parham: I think for my 18-year-old self, the best advice I would give her is to relax.

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Christele Parham: Yeah, because I think like the pressure of having to show up a certain way and not feeling good enough because of what I was taught, you know, I spent a lot of times trying to be perfect, you know, and even with that came, as I started going back to therapy, I realized that I was apologizing all the time.

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Christele Parham: You know?

Angela Gennari: Absolutely.

Christele Parham: Yeah. And the advice I would give to my 18-year-old self is to be okay with being a student of learning instead of rushing the process of having to figure it out all fast.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. I agree. I think we do that a lot like women, we apologize constantly. You know, I lead a women's small group for my church and you know, sometimes when the ladies will speak in the group, she's like, I'm sorry if I'm taking up too much time. I'm sorry if I'm like stop apologizing. Stop.

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: We, we do that. We're afraid of taking up too much space.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: Right. Like we're afraid that, well, what are they going to do? Are they going to judge us? Do they think less of us? Are we taking up too much space? Because we're taught to be small. Right. We're taught to minimize, we're taught to, you know, kind of share all the accolades. We don't have to own our success. And you know, I think it's interesting because when I said, you know, how are you about stepping into your power and owning your success? And you're like, well, I don't know about owning my success. You were the 2021 young business person of the year. You dominated that space. You should own that success because you really are accomplished. And I think as women we're like, well, I mean I do okay. And I think that that's a normal female response.

Christele Parham: Yeah. And I think for me too, it was more like you said, I didn't really take time to grasp it.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: because like the awards that I won last year, right after the reward, I had to travel right after reward, I had to do something. And then because I'm always doing something I never stand still, you know?

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: And I don't want to do that anymore. So, yeah. Like that's when I said that, I realized that things are so rushed because I'm always thinking about step a hundred.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: Right? Rather than focusing on today, I never fully internalize the things that happen today, but I do want to do a better job at that.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Well, I think when we own our success, we're able to better convey the importance of it to other women.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: And so, so many times we give away our power.

Christele Parham: Totally.

Angela Gennari: We give away our power to our husband, to our team, to our community. Well, it's because the community did this it's because my partner did that. It's because, you know, we, share our power or we lift up other people, you know so that we can minimize our own relevance.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: And so, I think as women, that's one thing that we do to ourselves and that's where our question of, you know, do we deserve a seat at the table? We do deserve a seat at the table. We just have to step into that.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: We have to step into it and own it and say, this is why I deserve to be here. and we're really bad at that as we.

Christele Parham: I know I am because it's so funny because I usually invite myself to the table.

Angela Gennari: Sure.

Christele Parham: I do that all the time. Yeah. but when I get there, I'm not able to be fully present because that's when I start having those inward conversations.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: You know? And so that is an Alling me finding my strength to just show up to the table.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: So, having to have those healthy, inward conversations where you're here now, what are you going to do about it?

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: You know?

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: You took the position, show me what you can do. And it is a struggle. And it's something that I think especially being introverted, you're probably in a position where you're like, should I say anything? And then you talk yourself out of it.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: Right. You'll talk yourself out of speaking up and totally understand that. And even though I am more extroverted, I find myself doing the same thing because I'll start saying nothing, I have to say matters. You know, nothing I have to say really matters. Nobody really cares, you know, are they going to think I'm, you know, not smart enough if I say this am, are they going to judge me? And so, you want to be part of the conversation, but we have to teach ourselves that it's okay to speak up and say what we want to say.

Christele Parham: Definitely. And also, like creating room for others to do the same too, because definitely what I'm grateful for in the work that we do through the community organization is seeing it's so humbling and beautiful in the sense of when you see a person imitating what you once work through, you know, to let them know like, look, I don't want you to apologize anymore. I need you to be okay with what you're sharing because so many times... and I think that's part of the ripple effect, right? Because we, we dream of creating safe spaces. We dream of eliminating barriers for women, for people that we feel need to be part of a change. It takes work every day, right? But to be part of that lesson. So, that's why I also believe that there are twofold. The first fold is to work on myself because I can't really give you if I am not really preparing myself to show up to do the same. And also, as I'm working on myself and learning these things, I also want to create that room for people that are in the space that I work on, and to do the same. So.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. Well, I love that you're creating, you know, when you call it a safe space, it really is that it's a safe space to be who you are authentically vulnerably, and supporting people in that role.

Christele Parham: Yes.

Angela Gennari: So, that's really important. I want to talk and ask you a little bit about, you know, you were talking about doing the Macon Thon and is part of that fundraising and investors because being a woman and being a black woman, you have probably one of the biggest hurdles in getting financing and getting investors to pay attention. How do you overcome that?

Christele Parham: That's a great question because not only that. Okay, so being doing what I do also because I do a lot, time is limited.

Angela Gennari: Right.

Christele Parham: So, as I make a decision to fundraise, I have to also consider what is also not getting done, like opportunity costs, right? Like.

Angela Gennari: Sure.

Christele Parham: You get something done at the cost of something else not getting done.

Angela Gennari: Sacrifices.

Christele Parham: Sacrifices. Yeah. So, and also ego.

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Christele Parham: Because you know, all these no's, they don't feel good.

Angela Gennari:

Christele Parham: No. But yeah. But I think for me what's really been helpful. Although as I fundraise, I get a lot of no's being part of communities it's like I'm part of this organization called the black innovation Alliance, which is a lot of other entrepreneurs supporting organizations together, forming one organization, we help each other.

Angela Gennari: Wow.

Christele Parham: You know,

Angela Gennari: That's amazing.

Christele Parham: Yeah. So, being part of, and I'm also part of other communities that do the same. So, pretty much finding my community and during the pandemic, the pandemic made the earth flat

Angela Gennari: Yes.

Christele Parham: You know, as to like people that would never come to Macon now I can just like reach out to them virtually. Right?

Angela Gennari: Sure.

Christele Parham: Yeah. So, being able to have access to information, talking to other people that might have gotten a grant from someone that I didn't get from and I can ask them, hey, what did you do was different.

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Christele Parham: You know, so finding those spaces because I know fundraising within itself can be very hard, but one of the things that have helped me is a lot of people feel like how I feel like automatically feel like there's a barrier to fundraising, but building relationships with people that are offering funding has helped me to know what has worked. So that way next time I can do better.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely.

Christele Parham: Yeah. So, I hope I answered your question.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. Yes, definitely. So, the last question what do you want people to know? What do you wish people knew?

Christele Parham: Overall?

Angela Gennari: What do you wish people knew? Yeah. You can answer it however you want.

Christele Parham: Yes. All right. So, one of my favorite mantras that I live my life by is you have everything that you need to create impact and that looks different for everyone. So, for me, like when I was starting out Macon black tech with no funding, I bootstrapped what that meant we were working hand tech and putting the money towards Macon black tech. And also, another thing that I did was use my relationships.

Angela Gennari: Yes.

Christele Parham: You know, having social capital is so important.

Angela Gennari: Yes.

Christele Parham: So, in the way that we frame our questions are important, instead of saying that we can't do something ask ourselves, what can we do with what we have? And that's, what's carried me on ever since I was a little girl.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. I love that. Yes. I agree. We, do have all the resources we need and I think we're really good at making excuses for why we can't get started, but really truly the first step is the hardest.

Christele Parham: Yeah, the first.

Angela Gennari: If we can just get through it? The journey takes us, right?

Christele Parham: Definitely.

Angela Gennari: Doors open as long as we're willing to walk.

Christele Parham: Definitely.

Angela Gennari: So, I love that. Well, thank you so much.

Christele Parham: Thank you for.

Angela Gennari: Thank you for joining us today. I really enjoyed your story. I'm super excited about Macon black tech. I think you guys are going to be doing amazing things for so many entrepreneurs and definitely, God speeds everything that you're doing, because I think you are incredible and you are only getting started on your journey. So, I see a lot of great things happening, so.

Christele Parham: Thank you so much, Angela. I am wishing you much success.

Angela Gennari: Thank you.

Christele Parham: This new journey. I'm excited. I'm looking forward to hearing what the other episodes will be like because we all need a space like this.

Angela Gennari: We do. And I think it's about time and I think this is not just for women. It's for men too.

Christele Parham: Yeah, definitely.

Angela Gennari: You know, it really is just a conversation of, you know, how can we really honor those who are doing what women have set out to do, and you know, they've been doing it for so long without recognition and once we start recognizing them, maybe it brings the conversation closer. And maybe it becomes something where we start seeing the importance of having women at the table and in a conversation when it comes to technology and innovation, and things that you're doing with the community because I think that that's where really it all starts is making sure that our community and the business leaders hear our voices.

Christele Parham: Definitely.

Angela Gennari: And so as long as we can start there, we have, we have a long way to go, but it's going to be amazing. So, thank you.

Christele Parham: It going to be amazing. Thank you so much.

Angela Gennari: So, thanks for everything God did not bless us with this new day so that we can be mediocre so let's go make the most out of it. So, let's go be amazing.

Christele Parham: All right, thank you so much.

Angela Gennari: Thank you.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the pretty powerful podcast. If you are enjoying the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe, and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts, we'll catch you in the next episode.