The Cashflow Show: Entrepreneurship Insights for Founders, CEOs and Business Leaders

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 that
Key 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 entry
Notable Quotes 
  • “Your story is what lands the funding.” – Sandra Adu 
  • “I never wanted the next generation of Black girls to feel as isolated as I once did.” – Sandra Adu 
  • “Profit-first founders give up in year one. Think purpose first.” – Sandra Adu 
Actionable Insights for Businesses & Investors 
  • Corporates: Partner with visible community organisations (e.g., Black Girls in Design, Foundervine) instead of building your own pipelines 
  • Recruiters: Tap into ready-made talent pools of Black creatives instead of asking “where are they?” 
  • Founders: Write your goals publicly → join a mentorship circle → get rejected → refine → win 
  • Trade skills for access when cash is tight (Sandra’s logo-for-ticket hack still works in 2025)
Resources 

The Cashflow Show can be reached here:
Website: www.thecashflowshowpodcast.com 
Email: thecashflowshowpodcast@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecashflowshow 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thecashflowshowpodcast

To sponsor or advertise on The Cashflow Show Podcast, contact us at thecashflowshowpodcast@gmail.com
Clayton M Coke can be found here:
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claytoncoke
Website: https://www.prmsltd.co.uk
Email: info@prmsltd.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/prmsltd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prmsltd/

Our theme music is called "The Mediator - aka Theme from The Cashflow Show" [PRS] and "Better Call Clayton" [PRS] 

“What are YOU like?”, “60 Second Shoot-Out” &"What About The Tech?" are all intellectual properties of Dialogue [London] Ltd

(c) Clayton M Coke/PRMS Ltd/Dialogue [London] Ltd | All Rights Reserved 
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