Joah Spearman

About Joah Spearman

I think a lot about generational wealth. My work leading TenYour helps Middle-Class professionals pursue it by building a Safety Net that provides financial stability despite rampant job instability in the age of A.I. Over the years, my work has led me to become one of the only Black tech founder-CEOs in history to raise more than $5 million in startup funding, initially without Silicon Valley VCs, then I started building a mission-driven fintech and partnered with some of the most respected and best emerging managers VCs who share our values. I have built communities that have spanned the globe (Localeur), industries ranging from travel to fashion (SXSW), and helped brands (FedEx) and nonprofits (March of Dimes) better communicate and relate to their customers, employees and users through community building and storytelling. When I was a senior in high school, I won the National March of Dimes Scholarship while serving as the District President of Future Business Leaders of America so my understanding that business and purpose go hand-in-hand to create impact goes back decades. As a communications practitioner and executive counselor, I have had the privilege of servicing companies and organizations such as FedEx, Volkswagen, the PAC-12 Conference, Northrop Grumman, TNTP, The Guild, Memphis City Schools, Motorola and Southwest Airlines. I have also had the privilege of serving on the boards for several major Texas-based nonprofit organizations and advising the Mayor of Austin, ESPN X Games, South by Southwest Festival, and the Beijing Olympics on various issues over the years. As a speaker, I truly enjoy delighting audiences all over the country with compelling tales of going from a childhood of food stamps to gracing the TED stage, speaking with brands like lululemon, Nike and Amazon and rubbing elbows with the CEO of Apple.

Experience

1. Keynote Speaker & Strategic Communications Counsel

   Fresh Speakers

   Feb 2009 — Present · Austin, TX, US

   In this role, I provide expertise - typically directly to / for CEOs and founders - in startup formation, fundraising from friends and family to early-stage VCs, corporate communications, media relations, PR, events and experiential marketing, social media, internal communications, storytelling, thought leadership development, crisis communications and public affairs.Previous speaking audiences/clients have included: lululemon, Nike, Amazon, Facebook, TechStars, Capital Factory, Retailmenot, McCombs School of Business (moderator and in-class guest lecturer), South by Southwest (moderator for multiple panels), Tech808 Conference, Bolt Conference, St. Andrews Episcopal School, Pursuit Creative Conference, American Society of Association Executives, Wharton Business School, National Black Law Students Association, Delta Sigma Phi Leadership Summit, National Forum for Black Public Administrators Central Texas Chapter, African-American Boys & Girls Harvest Foundation, St. Edward\'s University, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the Austin Music Memorial 2011 ceremony, the University of Texas at Austin and Teach for America classrooms around the country.Writing and offering comments for stories by various outlets including Inc. Magazine, Financial Times, San Francisco Gate, Huffington Post, PopSugar, Texas Observer, Austin American-Statesman, Austin Monthly, New York Times (online), and others.Consulting on all things community building, fundraising, marketing, PR, and social media. Past clients have included Memphis City Schools, FedEx, Doritos, BP, Deep Eddy Vodka, The Guild, Peoplism, TNTP, Convey, Supply Drop, Petal, Aerion, and Lustre Pearl.

Education

• The University of Texas at Austin

  Bachelor of Science - BS

Skills

• Location Based Marketing
• Management
• Writing
• Sports
• Books
• Public Relations
• Internal Communications
• Media Relations
• Publicity
• Social Networking
• Social Media Measurement
• Social Media Marketing
• Press Releases
• Digital Media
• Newsletters
• Music
• Op-Eds
• Film
• Video Production
• Leadership
• Poetry
• Magazines
• Start-Ups
• Corporate Communications
• Nonprofits
• Public Speaking
• New Media
• Copywriting
• Journalism
• Social Media
• Running
• Fundraising
• Marketing Strategy
• Marketing
• Marketing Communications
• Facebook
• Publishing
• Speech Writing
• Event Management
• Crisis Communications