One of the things we hear the most from Impact Growth Accelerator founders is that entrepreneurship can feel like an isolating journey, and that our program fills that gap by helping them build long-lasting community and connection. When we heard about two of our IV League founders working together, we had to share!
Last week we sat down with Kelli Mumphrey, CEO and Founder of Milkspace, a Veteran Woman-Owned business focused on providing breastfeeding solutions to public spaces and outdoor venue operators, to talk about her event, We Outside: Celebrating Community & Culture through Literature and Wellness, on August 26th. Kelli, a Cohort 3 founder, collaborated with Nia-Tayler Clark, the Cohort 4 founder of BLACKLIT, to bring the event to the DFW community. Here is our interview with Kelli:
Tell us about you as a founder, and what your business is all about:
Founder is a unique word. I just roll with that F word. In all honesty, I view myself as a child of God who was blessed with a life and a vision that God designed for me. At the heart of it, I am just a human-being on earth with a gift, trying my best to bring life to my gift where it can be seen, touched, and be of service. MilkSpace, LLC is only part of that gift, not all of it. In that perspective, part of my gift includes birthing two little girls and experiencing the struggles of being a nursing mother, and as a result, I created MilkSpace, LLC.
MilkSpace, LLC is a Veteran Woman-Owned Business passionate about providing innovative accessibility breastfeeding solutions to public spaces and outdoor venue operators as a B2B service. MilkSpace, LLC’s vision is to become the #1 DFW business to provide premier innovative lactation solutions for outdoor public space operators and event organizers. In addition, MilkSpace, LLC is committed to lessening breastfeeding disparities in communities of color through collaborative community efforts to ensure Black communities have access to breastfeeding resources.
Tell us about the event:
We Outside: Celebrating Community & Culture through Literature and Wellness was a 3-hour event held during Black Breastfeeding Week to Celebrate and Educate Black Mamas. As my very first event, it had gone better than I anticipated. The speakers, vendors, attendees, food, and music were all amazing! It was a Mother-Friendly/Family-Friendly event where Black families could gather, receive insightful information, share with one another, and simply have a good time in the midst of celebrating Black Breastfeeding Week!
What is your WHY for this event?
As a Black mother who experienced challenges breastfeeding, I wanted to create an event where Black women could receive information about motherhood, wellness, celebrate themselves, and shop in a comfortable environment they felt seen and appreciated.
What inspired the collaboration between you and Nia?
Nia and I both were Featured Founders at the [Impact Ventures] Inclusive Capital Summit. Day 1 I saw my sis working hard to get all of her equipment/supplies in the parking lot onto her cart (didn’t know her). I offered my dolly so she could have an easier trip in with her equipment. Day 2, we really connected. We shared more about ourselves…low and behold, my sis is from Prince George’s (PG) County, MD right around the corner from where I graduated from Largo High School in PG County, Maryland!!! We shared with one another our experiences as founders and learned more about one another. I expressed the challenges I experience in securing events to service with my Mobile MilkSpace to create Mother-Friendly experiences for nursing mothers. My sis then said, “Why don’t you just have the pop-ups at my book store?” I never thought about that!!! So here we are today… Creating the table for Mother-Friendly event experiences.
How has Impact Ventures played into your journey as founders leading up to this event?
Impact Ventures was instrumental leading up to this event. Since participating in the LEAP Cohort, Impact Ventures has helped me really create a great starting point for MilkSpace with a solid service and move forward with confidence to pitch in front of audiences to secure capital.
What can we look forward to in the future with MilkSpace and BlackLit?
MilkSpace is on a mission to create Mother-Friendly event experiences in the DFW area and throughout the nation while making an impact servicing events held in Black Communities. MilkSpace is striving to create intentional Business & Community Partnerships with organizations/corporations whose Corporate Social Responsibility is inclusive of motherhood. Stay tuned for more intentional partnerships and event collaborations with BlackLIT where Black Mamas (and their families) can come together to receive information about motherhood and wellness, celebrate themselves, and shop in a comfortable environment they feel seen and appreciated.
We thank Kelli for her time and look forward to more events by IV League collaborators both in North Texas, and throughout the US. Congratulations to both Kelli and Nia on a successful event!
