What do you do when no one else in the company or the meeting looks like you? We asked entrepreneurs and creatives from across industries and geographies to share their experiences and advice.
Gustavo Romero
Being the only one in a room that looks like me is a great responsibility and motivator to excel. I know that how I perform in space like that, will mean that I may pave the way for others who look like to me to be invited and included in more opportunities. Read More>>
EH Drake
I’m usually working alone so first, I eliminate distractions. I’ve even started writing my first drafts in an actual journal, just to prevent to lure of TikTok or Insta when I’m struggling with a certain plot point. I also play elevator music and brew my favorite tea, setting the mood and triggering the habit. Finally, I have a simple goal. One sentence. Read More>>
Desmond Monette
I truly know that my success never was based on how I look, my race, etc. . Most of my work people have come in contact with outside of me before knowing me. I treat what I do as something way bigger than me, in which it is. All I do is beyond the physical realm. These ideas will survive with or without me. Read More>>
Donna Menne
I get my resilience from life itself. From being a Black woman in America born in the early 60s. From growing up in a world that often told me I was too much and not enough at the same time. I lost my father when I was a little girl and my mother when I was just stepping into adulthood. Read More>>
Yaretd Alcantara
My entire journey, from a frightened 14-year-old immigrant to the CEO and founder of Glamour Studio Enterprises, has been defined by being ‘the only one in the room.’ I’ve learned that success in that position is not about blending in; it’s about drawing strength from my unique experience and using it as a source of vision and effectiveness. Read More>>
tina bhardwaj
I’m an Indian fashion designer living and working in Silicon Valley—needless to say, there aren’t many rooms here where someone like me is at the table. But I’ve come to see that as less of a roadblock, and more of an opportunity. Of course, breaking into spaces where no one shares your background—or your profession, your aesthetics, your lived experience—can feel isolating. Read More>>
Brandy Alcoseba
I believe this situation comes down to my own perspective and attitude. It’s easy to feel like the “odd one out” or to worry about how others might judge me. But at this point in my life, I see moments like these as opportunities—chances to represent who I truly am beyond my outward appearance. Read More>>
Cruzer Urameshi
I use self motivation, discipline, and look at the big picture. I learned early on in music that inspiration feeling will go away quicker but if I stay focused everything will happen when it needs to Read More>>
Rolondo Talbott
I’ve spent much of my life being the only one in the room. The only Black person. The only autistic person. The only one who experiences the world just a little differently. When people talk about “the room,” they usually mean a literal space, like a meeting, a classroom, a community, but for me, it’s always been more metaphorical. Read More>>
Tami Jo Urban
I got my first tattoo and began my tattooing career when I was 18 years old. Tattooing was not the mainstream coveted industry it is today. I went on to earn my bachelors and masters degrees while maintaining a tattoo artist lifestyle. Once I graduated, I worked for such companies as General Motors and Campbell-Ewald. Read More>>
Alo Fails
Growing up, I was taught to do the right thing even when no one’s watching. That stuck with me. Playing sports, my coaches drilled in the idea that taking risks and never giving up would always give me that extra push forward. Over time, I learned that effectiveness isn’t just about effort, it’s about intention. Read More>>
Stephanie Phillips
“Being the only one in the room has been the story of my life.” I’m mixed race—born to a white mother and a Black father—and raised by my white family. That meant I spent my childhood moving between identities, cultures, and expectations. Read More>>
David Park
Breaking out of that shell to even step forward in the filmmaking world- where only a handful of actors look like you- is an incredible challenge. Growing up in an Asian household, I was raised to believe that certain opportunities held better status than others. Opportunities that were galaxies away from the silver screen. From the very beginning obstacles were placed before me. Read More>>
Matthew Orlando Miller
The beauty of every industry is that homage ‘paving the way’ is present in every chapter of that industry’s evolution. I believe you have a greater responsibility when you’re in rooms that lack representation, and I’ve taken that responsibility very seriously because I’ve met mentors along my career who’ve ensured they’ve been extremely productive in those spaces to create more opportunities for me. Read More>>
Kristy Silver 
Wow, this is such a great question! I often find myself, in my second profession, being the only in the room that looks like me. Mostly because I am the oldest in the room as well as being the one with the shortest hair and often time the one with the most fair skin. Read More>>
Evelyn Wong
I have been the only one in the room that looks like me for the majority of my life! I have not had other Chinese American role models growing up, and it was definitely a challenge to feel like I could be as accomplished, as cool, or as confident as my peers or the people I did look up to. Read More>>
Jessica ‘Jet’ Bolz
After all the illnesses and physical changes to my body and replaying my same attraction to narcissistic individuals that I learned to chase for love, after my heart transplant and a major discard I finally started to look at myself instead of others to solve the problem of why I incur so much pain and what I realized is that I constantly was in search of outside validation to make me feel like I was worth anything. Read More>>
Victoria Repa
I grew up in a small Ukrainian village, Novobakhmutivka, in the Donetsk region, where there were few opportunities and limited resources. However, I was surrounded by many examples of perseverance. Although I didn’t have access to information about a healthy lifestyle, I learned to work hard, be disciplined, and believe in the long-term benefits of effort. This way of thinking became my foundation. Read More>>
Marique Moss
As an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation and African American, this unique blend is often called Afro Indigenous. I have often been the only one in the room who looks like me, from Catholic school to higher education to executive leadership. I have learned that what makes me different is also what makes me effective. Read More>>
Leyla Zeynalova
I moved from Azerbaijan to the United States when I was 21, and my life changed almost overnight. Very quickly, I realized I was the only person in the room who came from my cultural background. I didn’t know anyone in my field at that stage, people sometimes didn’t even know where Azerbaijan was on the map. Read More>>
Vihaan Nayak
Being the youngest in the room has become a pattern in my life. Whether it was presenting at the United Nations, sitting in meetings with VCS, or discussing city wide plans with HOA members 30 years older than me, I was usually the only person still in high school. Read More>>
Tay No Tee
At the end of the day you just have to be yourself and know who you are and what you stand for. You have to limit the comparisons because all that will do is low ball your worth. No matter what room you walk in, despite whose in there, you show up as YOU and you can’t loose. Read More>>
Paty Araiza
I’m 28 years old. I’m a woman. I’m Mexican. I’m a mom. I’m a founder. And in almost every professional room I walk into, I’m the only one who looks like me. In the early years of my career, I didn’t see women in sales leadership, let alone women in the C-suite. I didn’t see women building their own companies. Read More>>
