We were lucky to catch up with Brionika Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brionika , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
As I left my campus community after graduation and returned home, I realized that not only was it hard dating romantically and building professional networks within my age range, but it was even harder to build these connections with fellow HBCU Graduates. Upon this realization, I contacted my friend and business partner Braxton Simpson, and she was also experiencing the very same reality. Hence the birth of HBCULinx, a one-stop shop for building relationships personally, professionally, and romantically.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
When we built HBCULinx, COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted the lack of connection many HBCU Graduates felt after leaving college. In fact, nearly 49% of college graduates experience post-grad depression due to a lack of community, professional connections, and access to genuine relationships.
To combat the lack of connection, our mission is to cultivate and encourage sustainable bonds of community through a Black relationship-building platform, invest in the growth and stability of HBCU attendees/grads between ages 21-30, and nurture and support ALL Healthy Black Relationships.
We currently have three services to include the “HBCULinx Experience,” designed to connect HBCU Graduates, “Love at First Linx,” designed to connect HBCU graduates romantically, and the “Linx Up,” designed to connect HBCU graduates professionally.
Our current competitive landscape includes other dating platforms and professional networks that support HBCU Graduates. However, our differentiating factor is that we connect young HBCU Alum professionally, personally, and romantically–while our competitors check only 1 of those boxes.
Since our launch in December of 2022, we are happy to have sold out our 1st event, grown our social media platforms to over 800 HBCU community members, and we are building HBCU key partnerships every day.
Altogether, we are striving to impact and enhance Black Excellence and support the HBCU Community in professional development and finding Black love by gifting meaningful connections.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The most impactful skills and qualities that impacted our journey was our vision to change the landscape and the presence of HBCUs. Secondly, we established a goal to impact graduates from HBCUs and give them a platform that is for us and by us. Thirdly, collaborate and align with key partners to help us expand our vision and make people aware of the importance that HBCU Alumni bring personally and professionally.
The advice I would give to others that are starting their journey:
1. Find a mentor
2. Embrace a Growth Mindset
3. Seek Feedback
4. Be Patient and Persistent
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We seek potential collaborators who understand the following:
Shared Values and Goals: Aligning values and goals is crucial for a successful collaboration. We are looking for partners who share our commitment and core values who are aligned with our long-term vision and mission.
Innovation and Creativity: We are particularly interested in collaborating with forward-thinking individuals or organizations that bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas. Embracing creativity together can lead to breakthrough solutions and a competitive advantage.
Complementary Expertise: We seek partners with expertise and capabilities that complement our own. This ensures that the collaboration creates synergies, expands our collective knowledge, and enhances the quality of our offerings.
These qualities can help with our goal of expansion and increase exposure to support our company.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hbculinx.co/
- Instagram: HBCULinx
- Facebook: HBCULinx
- Linkedin: HBCULinx
- Twitter: HBCULinx
- Youtube: HBCULinx
Image Credits
Dante Price
