Meet Aaron Francois

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aaron Francois. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aaron below.

Hi Aaron, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I feel my purpose was in front of me the entire time. Growing up, I’ve always been the person who would mix and match friend groups. The high school football player who would geek out with the nerds over anime (before it was trending). As I went through college, I did the same thing, and it continued as I found my way into the marketing industry. This quickly turned into me having a community of people who did very different things.

As the saying goes, “you are the company you keep.” I wanted to do something amazing, so I tried to pour into the people whom I felt were amazing. Eventually, we were in a post-COVID world (well, kinda) in 2022 and Black History Month was approaching. As a person who spent a lot of my time creating space for Black Professionals and discussing our challenges in corporate, I’ve always wanted to find a way to celebrate each other at scale. Earlier that year, I was afforded an opportunity via an award that came with a financial stipend that allowed me to host my first gathering. But this one was different, it wasn’t a “hang out” at my crib. It was a brunch built to celebrate Black Innovators, Changemakers and doers overall. The Black Visionaries Brunch. What was meant to be a space for me to celebrate my peers who barely celebrated themselves was followed by one question: “When’s the next one?” With that question, I found my purpose and turned Black Visionaries into a non-profit organization.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My name is Aaron Francois, and I’m a Brooklyn native, Blerd, Sneakerhead & cultural enthusiast. In this case, I’d say the most important title of all is Founder. In 2022, Black Visionaries was launched as a career navigation resource for Black Professionals across industries. It’s no secret that Black professionals are often given limited resources for career advancement, and our mission is to democratize that access via in-person and digital experiences.

Our team is comprised of professionals who share a passion for creating space for their peers while innovating to bridge the gaps between non-traditional paths. This has allowed us to curate experiences like the Black Visionaries Brunch, a premiere event dedicated to celebrating professionals in our community for a day of professional development via guest speakers, career discussion, and networking. We’ve also hosted events for entrepreneurs, such as our “Founders Day” even,t which connects those innovating with people who are still in their aspirational stages. To ensure we remain accessible, we consistently look to digital spaces as an outlet for upskilling, via information distribution on social media, virtual career workshops, and partnerships with brands that share a mission.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

If I had to think back, I’d say the three most important qualities/skills that helped me on my journey were:

1. Empathy
2. Humility
3. Transparency

In any business, the most successful are the ones who understand the journey or experience of their employees, vs. shutting it down as if it doesn’t concern them. It’s always your concern, because people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers. It’s also important to show humility, which shows up in more ways than you may realize. I’ve made a habit out of admitting when people are better than me at a thing, because then you know when to ask for help. That’s also linked to transparency with yourself but also being able to share real updates with those who are invested in you.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

We’re always looking for potential partners to collaborate with. In terms of what those partnerships look like, it can surely range between financial and in-kind sponsorships. As a community looking for professional development resources, we’re always open to working with partners who share the mission to upskill our community.

For any brands interested in partnering please reach out to: BlackVisionariesLead@gmail.com.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theblackvisionaries.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackvisionarieslead/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-visionaries/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@blackvisionarieslead

Image Credits

Photographers:
ShotsByObam
Pocstock
Emptagemedia