A Dope Platform for Everyday Women feat. Raisha Smith ‘22

At the time of this interview, Raisha Smith was set to graduate from the full-time MBA program in less than a month and was celebrating four years as founder and chief visionary of EveryDopeGirl, a platform that highlights the achievements of everyday women. 

She’s passionate about helping women of color reach their full potential professionally. And she’s on the brink of seeing her hard work pay off.

Raisha joins host David Droogleever to talk about life in the corporate space, how she shifted her career path, starting and building EveryDopeGirl, and why it's so important to cultivate support and mentorship between women in business.

Episode Quotes:
How attending Rice has grown EveryDopeGirl:

17:51 - Rice is no joke. I'm not going to lie, the entrepreneurship classes –when you are applying something from class to, like, your baby and you're getting graded on it?! Man, like, I mean, goodness gracious. You go in thinking, “Oh yeah, I just got this proclamation from the mayor.” And your professor's like, “Hey, you need a little bit more work on that pitch. You know, you're not pitch-ready.” You know? So having those difficult conversations, getting legitimate feedback from, like, the amazing professors, like, it has really made EveryDopeGirl pivot in a way that – I would've probably still just been posting on social media.

The mission of EveryDopeGirl:

11:53 - If EveryDopeGirl can ensure the success of female entrepreneurs, and then be kind of that catalyst and that incubator to get them in front of those corporations and those brands and those businesses, it creates a win-win for everyone. EveryDopeGirl is just literally here to be the cheerleader on the side. 

On the future of EveryDopeGirl:

23:32 - There are so many budding businesses out in the world that could be successful, they just lack the proper guidance. And so I want to be that brand that is literally linking women entrepreneurs in the pre-seed and ideation phase to VCs and angel investors. I want to get them pitch-ready. I want them to have funding.

Show Links:

• Episode Transcript

Guest Profile:

• EveryDopeGirl Website
• Raisha Smith on LinkedIn
• Raisha Smith on Twitter