Our Story

 

How It Started: 

In response to racial justice protests in June 2020,  our founder wanted to “do something”; at the same time, she needed some stuff from the hardware store. Rather than going straight to the biggest and most convenient online retailer, she tried to find a Black-owned hardware store. Using typical online search methods, her search failed, and our story begins!

Everyone shops. Everyone needs to buy their necessities, their groceries, their clothes, their tools, and, if they can, a little extra. In fact, the average consumer spends $22k on consumer goods and services per year. We decided the best way to help was to harness the power of consumer habits and redirect them to benefit Black and minority-owned businesses. We’re making it easier to discover these businesses by working those changes into habits you already have. You already shop, so why not use our tools to discover new stores you didn’t know existed, and help close the wealth gap while you’re at it? Basically, we’re making it easier to shop with your values.

Why now?

Americans who were reluctant to acknowledge race-based economic inequality are acting. Instead of feeling powerless, we want buyers to feel empowered to fuel positive change through buying from Black-owned businesses.

  • Jay Norris

    CO-FOUNDER | CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

    Jay is an innovative leader who uses his creativity and imagination to uncover opportunities in today’s challenging retail, real estate, and media industries. He’s the CEO and founder of Guesst Software. At heart, Jay is a small to medium-sized business growth executive, uncovering pain points and building software solutions. Jay brings over 25 years of experience in lifestyle and experiential marketing working with Arista Records, Sony Music, and Tastemakers Media.

  • Pamela Moss

    CO-FOUNDER | CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

    Pam brings 25 years of experience building custom solutions for global consulting firms that provide auditing, measuring, and improvement modules for their multinational clients. Her clients work with Fortune 500 corporations on improving cyber security, corruption prevention, intellectual property protection, and social responsibility throughout their supply chains. She is an artist, competitive athlete, and serial volunteer. BlackLight™ embodies her commitment to technology’s potential for solving social and economic problems.

  • Alton Gunn

    CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

    Alton is a seasoned executive with a track record of high performance and success that spans over 30 years. He has served in numerous C-Suite positions with private sector corporations and non-profit organizations. Well respected for his unique organizational strategies, Alton excels at matching ideas, talent and resources to achieve effective, actionable results. He is an impactful leader who serves as CEO of Craftworks - a business development and innovation management consulting firm.

  • Michele Peterson

    CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

    Michele is an accomplished, dynamic, and top-performing international and domestic market automotive leader with extensive experience designing and implementing strategic plans, driving new business sales growth, and managing high performing teams. She has over 30 years in the automotive industry focused on marketing solutions, marketing technology and product development. Michele has consulted with every domestic and foreign based auto brand providing marketing solutions that deliver on customer acquisition and retention.