Morgan DeBaun is an African American entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of Blavity Inc., a portfolio of brands and websites created by and for black millennials.
Early life and education
DeBaun was born in St. Louis, Missouri. While living in a predominantly white suburban neighborhood, her family surrounded her with positive black role models. They sent her to a magnet school in the city so she could be around more children like herself. DeBaun showed an interest in business at an early age. She sold sugary snacks to her fellow students in their middle school that lacked vending machines, and she learned about investing from her father at age 14. DeBaun came up with the idea of Blavity Inc. while attending Washington University in St. Louis. Black students there would sit together at lunch and talk for hours. She referred to this gathering of African-American students as Black Gravity, or Blavity.
Career
DeBaun began her career working on product management and business development at Intuit. She decided to leave her corporate job in part because she wanted to be more connected with "what was really going on on the ground". She also felt that she and other black millennials were not represented by mainstream media. DeBaun cofounded Blavity with Aaron Samuels and Jeff Nelson in 2014. The site features content created by and for young black Americans, including subjects such as the Black Lives Matter movement and protests of the National Anthem. Blavity receives several million unique visitors each month. In 2016, DeBaun launched a Blavity conference specifically for black women, EmpowerHer. Her company Blavity also launched AfroTech, the largest tech conference in Silicon Valley for African American startup founders, designers, engineers and operators. In September 2017, Blavity acquired Travel Noire, which offers traveling tips and guidance for black millennials. DeBaun is one of few African-American female founders that have raised more than $1 million in venture capital. DeBaun also founded a skincare line, M. Roze Essentials. DeBaun also advises entrepreneurs and start up founders in her WorkSmart Program.
