AMSTERDAM - Tuesday 5 November, 2019
Today, WeTransfer and Squarespace, brands best known for democratizing design and supporting creatives, combine their platforms to champion Black female entrepreneurs in new content series ‘Make It Real’. The series is developed by and hosted on WePresent, WeTransfer’s editorial platform for Squarespace. It provides a candid insight into four success stories across the UK and USA. Watch the series here.
Recent studies* identify Black female entrepreneurs as the fastest growing segment of the business industry in the USA. Accessibility and representation have long been roadblocks for women of color to rise to positions of power across many industries. The stories shared in this series cite the challenges that these women have overcome in order to become trailblazers in each of their fields.
‘Make it Real’ is produced by Amsterdam-based Pi Studios, and directed by Lou Jasmine. The content series stars a cast of Squarespace customers, including gal-dem founder Liv Little and entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid MBE from London, and CEO of Oratory Glory Holley Murchison, and visual artist Jade Purple Brown in New York. The resounding message across all four episodes is ‘do not wait for a seat at the table, create your own’.
One of the core values of WePresent is to support representation across the creative industry, whether that be across race, artistic disciplines, age, gender, sexual preference or abilities. With over 2 million monthly readers, an almost 50/50 gender split across readership, writers and featured artists, it has become a platform renowned for its representation of diverse voices and high quality editorial content.
Holly Fraser, Editor in Chief says “WePresent has always existed to elevate important, representative stories, spotlighting those who we believe are pushing the boundaries of creativity and thinking.” She continues, “Each of the four trailblazing women in this series are doing just that, while also using their platforms to promote inclusion in industries that have not always made space for the Black female voice. We are delighted to partner with Squarespace to bring their stories to life in such a vibrant and impactful way.”
Squarespace is the leading all-in-one platform which entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals use to maintain their brands online. WeTransfer’s collaboration with Squarespace is an evolution from a long-standing advertising partnership on wetransfer.com, and the two brands have similar missions to make creativity accessible for everyone.
“We’re proud to partner with WePresent for the “The Make It Real” series to uplift the stories of four woman-identifying Black Squarespace customers who are using their platform to build community and showcase their work with the world,” said Kinjil Mathur, Chief Marketing Officer of Squarespace. “Our vision at Squarespace is to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and creatives to find success and make their dreams a reality by democratizing access to elevated design. Black women-identifying business owners are a historically underrepresented community, and we hope this series inspires young entrepreneurs to follow in Liv, Holley, Sharmadean and Jade’s footsteps to continue to set the standard for excellence in business.”
Natascha Chamuleau, WeTransfer’s Global VP of Advertising continues, “WeTransfer is the leading brand-building platform into the creative community, recognized for pushing the boundaries of creative thinking. We are continuing this journey by expanding the opportunities for the brands we work with. Through WePresent, we enable our partners to start a true dialogue with our audience, to inspire and engage with them in a deep and beautiful way.”
*Statistic quoted within 2018 ‘State of Women-owned Businesses Report’ by American Express in 2018 - read here