5 Years A Start-up
Our start-up, ZaMLabs, Inc., turns 5 this summer! If we hosted a party, would you come??
This summer, Kortney & I celebrate 5 years of continuous work history together. 🎂
We started as BlackStarMedia and now our parent company is named ZaMLabs (Ziegler & Mikell Labs), Inc.
Our mission is very similar to when we began: Economic Justice for Marginalized Communities.
The active ZaMLabs Portfolio includes AerialSpaces, Appolition, & now TheMediaLab:CHI (Chicago HQ)!
In 2014, we had no idea where this #StartupLife would take us and we couldn’t have dreamed or imagined the highs, lows and lessons we would learn along the way.
After 5 years, we are SO grateful for the many lessons and SO excited for the journey ahead. Join us in this celebration of perseverance, bad-assery, growth and achievement.
A memory for each year:
2014: That time we watched YC’s How To Start A Startup + became frustrated with the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley/Founder Edu spaces. On June 15th, 2014, we both quit our jobs and launched a Learning Platform for Entrepreneurs and Technologists of Color (Launch date — July 28, 2014). Ahh..The first year of startup life is special 😌
2015: That time when we wanted to host an engaging Live Online Event but all the tools that existed sucked, so we built our own thing…2 hours after the Virtual Conference doors “opened”…we hit 4x our Monthly Revenue Goal. We’d NEVER done this before. Finally, a *taste* of Product/Market Fit..📈
2016: That time when Github + Microsoft piloted our Beta..and our app successfully hosts hundreds of real-time learners at once — without crashing.. 🙌🏿
2017: That time we took selfies to blow off steam after solving a challenging customer problem, tweeted it and walked out of the client office (a few hours later) with 32K retweets and 4 Million Impressions. 💻
2018: That time when our flights were cancelled and we drove overnight to NYC to give a keynote talk about our journey…crossed the Manhattan Bridge @ 11:11am …9 minutes before we were scheduled be on stage. We arrived on-time AND were greeted with a standing ovation. 👏🏿
2019: We will celebrate 5!! AND we have a physical office in Chicago!! 🎉
Check-out more of highlights and impact history of our work here.
ZaMLabs will always be a “startup” at heart…but also now is the time for us to solidify our foundation for growth and institution building.
Has our work brought you any value over the last 5 years??
Please considering giving this post a clap, sharing *how* in the comments below and/or engaging with us this Birthday Summer Season (Officially June 15 — July 28) via one (or more 😉) of the following ways:
- Make a One-Time Donation to Appolition (no donation is too small or large)
- RSVP/Buy Tickets to an upcoming Live Online Event
- Visit our Chicago HQ on Co-Working Mondays (Full Summer Event Series to be announced)
- Visit the ZaMLabs’ STORE & Purchase a Summer Statement Piece
- Schedule time with me to discuss collaboration & partnership
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Have an idea on how ZaMLabs can support your work?? Please do share!
Kortney & I are looking forward to reconnecting and catching-up with friends ALL SUMMER!!
Thanks again to our supporters for being awesome. (And to our haters as well for helping us grow 😋.)
Love, peace & prosperity,
Tiffany Mikell, Co-Founding Equity Partner @ZaMLabs
