{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Cashflow Show: Entrepreneurship Insights for Founders, CEOs and Business Leaders","title":"How Sandra Adu Built a Global Community of 570+ Black Women Designers | Black Girls In Design","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":881,"description":"Episode Summary From feeling like an outsider in fashion to founding Black Girls in Design London (now 570+ members across UK & Ghana), Sandra Adu reveals how lockdown workshops turned into flagship programmes with Canva, BrainStation and Akaya Foundation. Discover the raw truth about self-funding, getting rejected 3× for grants, and the mentorship + accountability strategies that finally unlocked multi-year funding to empower 300+ Black girls in design.Chapters [00:00] Intro & Powerbook 2025 Recognition [00:51] Sandra’s Journey: Fashion → Graphic Design → Agency Art Director (Rolls-Royce, HSBC, Adobe) [01:48] Lockdown Pivot → Lecturer at UAL & Royal College of Art → PhD [02:15] Founding Black Girls in Design (2022) – The Community She Wished She Had [02:44] Flagship Programmes: Design Her Skills (Canva), Design Her Futures (Ghana-UK), Mastering Your Skills (BrainStation) [03:41] Self-Funding Reality: Building Everything Herself + Spending Thousands While Full-Time Employed [05:01] Rejected 3× → Won Multi-Year Funding: The Power of Storytelling & Community Support [06:30] Accountability Strategy: Mentorship Circles That Actually Work [09:25] How Corporates & Investors Can Find & Fund Black-Led Impact Businesses [11:50] Advice to Aspiring Founders: Purpose Over Profit, Start Small, Trade Skills for Access Key Discussion Points 3 flagship programmes reaching UK + Ghana Turned 3 lockdown workshops into partnerships with Canva, BrainStation & Akaya Foundation Rejected 3 times for funding → finally won by leading with personal story & measurable impact Built a 570+ strong global community in just 3 years 79% of Black business owners feel unsupported — here’s how to change thatKey Takeaways Your personal “why” and story are your strongest funding assets Mentorship + accountability circles > life coaches Write the vision, share it publicly, let the community hold you to it Start where you are: Sandra traded logos for event tickets when she couldn’t afford entryNotable...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/5TDQUThJM60yAtjdMtHop6E3IULiY5PXxdvmQ0Ytl6Q/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83ZWMx/YzQ2ZjFmMWEyNTUy/NTMyYWFjZWI2ZWM0/MzIwZC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}