Video Series Spotlights Trailblazing Women of Color Entrepreneurs

Listen & Level Up Explores the Value of Lived Experience, Health and Wellness, Trailblazers of Tomorrow, and the Importance of Representation

The women entrepreneurs in B Lab U.S. & Canada’s Level program bring their full selves to the table, creating positive impact in their communities and the business world. Their stories are a testament to their hard work, resilience, and the transformative businesses they lead.

A new Listen & Level Up video series from B Lab U.S. & Canada features conversations with Level program participants on the value of lived experience in business, health and wellness, trailblazers of tomorrow, and the importance of representation. Lauren Everett, Digital Storyteller at B Lab U.S. & Canada, hosts the conversations. 

The Level program supports businesses led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who also identify as women by helping them tell their stories, measure their impact, and work toward B Corp Certification. The video series features roundtable discussions with Level participants that spotlight their diverse backgrounds and experiences and their invaluable contributions to the business community. 

Patrice Mousseau, Founder and CEO of Satya Organics, says in the series’ highlight reel: “We have this innate knowledge in the Brown and Black communities about what it means to be a good, values-driven company. And bringing that into the B Corp environment just seems like something that’s going to help [the movement] itself evolve.” 

Check out all four Listen & Level Up video series episodes, read about previous Level participants, and visit the Level program website to learn more.

From left: Natika Washington, Founder and CEO of Tomorrow Owned By You (TOBY); Lauren Everett of B Lab U.S. & Canada; and Rebecca Denson, Founder of Sachai Tea.

The Value of Lived Experience

A business concept that springs from identity or community often plants deep roots that help it thrive. In the first installment of the Listen & Level Up video series, Natika Washington, Founder and CEO of the creative strategy agency Tomorrow Owned By You (TOBY), and Rebecca Denson, Founder of Sachai Tea, discuss how their lived experiences inspire and inform their entrepreneurship. This conversation isn’t just about leveraging lived experiences — it’s a celebration of how personal stories help foster understanding, dismantle barriers, and create resilient, empathetic communities. 

“When we’re thinking of empathy and how a lived experience will actually affect a person or a room or communities, it’s important for people to be able to relate,” Washington says. [It’s important] “to relate to you, the person that’s telling the story, but also to be able to see something in themselves and a way for them to overcome whatever issue that they’re experiencing.” 

From left: Patrice Mousseau, Founder and CEO of Satya Organics; Lauren Everett of B Lab U.S. & Canada; and Ehime Eigbe, Founder and CEO of Sweetkiwi.

Health and Wellness: Beyond Balance

Challenges sometimes inspire innovative solutions — not just for ourselves but for others. In the second installment of the Listen & Level Up series, Patrice Mousseau, Founder and CEO of Satya Organics, and Ehime Eigbe, Founder and CEO of Sweetkiwi, discuss their experiences with health issues and entrepreneurship. They share the personal health experiences that motivated their businesses, and how they channeled the solutions they sought for themselves and their loved ones into impactful companies committed to holistic wellness. 

Eigbe started her frozen yogurt business after being diagnosed with a uterine fibroid, a medical experience she saw her sister navigate years earlier. She began studying how food can support healing. “I discovered that a lot of the diseases that we fight have to do with a lack of nutrition,” she said. “I started trying to re-create my favorite treats in a way that they were delicious but still nutritionally sound, and that’s how Sweetkiwi was born.” 

From left: Mel Wyatt, Principal of MW Enterprises LLC; Lauren Everett of B Lab U.S. & Canada, Christa Barfield, Founder of FarmerJawn; and Beatriz Acevedo, Founder of Suma Wealth.

Trailblazers of Tomorrow 

The work of these business trailblazers goes beyond traditional philanthropy. In the third installment of the Listen & Level Up series, Beatriz Acevedo, Founder of Suma Wealth, Mel Wyatt, Principal of MW Enterprises LLC, and Christa Barfield, Founder of FarmerJawn, explore community-centric giving that focuses on grassroots initiatives and systemic change. The women discuss how aligning their initiatives with community needs helps to create sustainable impact and advance social justice. 

Acevedo speaks to the changemaking mission of Suma Wealth, a wealth-building digital platform for the Latinx Community. “Being a fintech company, obviously, financial literacy, financial education is crucial,” Acevedo says. “We certainly did not grow up having those money conversations at our dinner table. Even if our parents or grandparents were college-educated, the systems back in their countries of origin are so different than here. And when you think about our communities of color being more enrolled in college and being college educated, you still don’t learn that in college, right?”

From left: Aurora Archer, Founder and CEO of The Opt-In; Asha Wheeldon, Founder of Kula Foods; Clarenda “Farmer Cee” Stanley, CEO of Green Heffa Farms; Lauren Everett of B Lab U.S. & Canada; Lisbeth Carolina Arias, Founder of Decalza; and Melissa-Sue John, author and CEO of Lauren Simone Publishing.

The Importance of Representation: Breaking the Mold

Identities are multilayered, and these business owners bring it all to the table. In the final installment of the Listen & Level Up series, Clarenda “Farmer Cee” Stanley, CEO of Green Heffa Farms; Asha Wheeldon, Founder of Kula Foods; Lisbeth Carolina Arias, Founder of Decalza; Aurora Archer, Founder and CEO of The Opt-In; and Melissa-Sue John, author and CEO of Lauren Simone Publishing, discuss how they navigate the various intersections of their identities within both their companies and the business world. 

John, whose publishing service focuses on diverse and inclusive children’s stories, shares how her identities help shape her business. “As a Black woman who is also an immigrant, who is also a mother, I face different obstacles with those different identities,” John says. “But I bring them in with determination and persistence and networking, right? So using my experiences of the American dream, my determination, the legacy I want to leave for my kids — it allows me to network, make partners, and find white allies who support my vision to help build the dream that we have for the business.”