Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Williams.
Hi Jeff, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a corporate professional + a social entrepreneur born and raised in Indianapolis, IN (From Nap, With Love), currently based in Dallas, TX! I spent the first half of my eight-year career navigating various sales roles within Fortune 500 companies and start-ups. I’ve since transitioned into the data analytics side, where I get to spend most of my time focused on sales strategy and most passionately, consumer insights. I’m currently in a senior sales analyst role at ABInBev, where I am also the Regional Lead for our company’s Black Employee Resource Group.
I pride myself in leveraging the skills and experience of corporate to impact my community, from advising others to developing Fundraising causes such as #WEHERENOW this summer, in which I donated 100% of the proceeds to the Equal Justice Initiative in support of the movement for Black Lives. By leveraging my company’s match program, I was able to double the amount given to the cause! I love traveling, fashion and sneakers, spending time with friends, working on ideas, playing ball, and going on adventures! Most recently, due to the pandemic, I picked up a new favorite hobby – cycling. I have found myself riding 100+ miles a week up and down the Santa Fe trail from Deep Ellum to up and around White Rock Lake! Mostly, I have spent most of my time outside of the past four years building up my own social enterprise + foundation (Be Nimble) with my big cousin and Co-Founder Kelli Jones, based in my hometown of Indy.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest challenges have been centered on being “new” whether it be in the city of Dallas or within the start-up landscape of a non-profit/startup. The initial response is typically to pay dues and to build relationships, but through my journey, I’ve been able to identify how stifling and political those things can be, particularly for those who can make an impact today. In the instance of my start up social enterprise, which is registered as a 501c3, it took a while for us to make it to the “table” and gain the attention of the powers that be and those with the purse to support our work. But, through that we were able to uncover an alternative route of connecting further with our community that we serve and were blessed to do great work. It taught us how to be more creative. And now we are blessed to have both working for us because we didn’t stop when we heard so many Nos and not right now. Another challenge – remaining consistent. Moving forward when things look bleak or you’ve heard too many nos. Particularly through the pandemic, when there were so many reasons to stop. We had just came off our most successful week and gala and then was forced to go inside. For us, we leaned into our work because it mattered more now. We’ve come to the end of 2020 in a better position than we came into it because of us staying the course.
We’ve been impressed with Be Nimble Foundation, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are most known for our millennial-driven gala, the Pardi Gras Ball and week of events in which we saw over 3,500 people participate this year from across the nation! We leverage the proceeds and sponsorships from these events to cut seed checks for Black start-ups and further our work in helping Black and Latinx professionals get into tech! This past year’s pitch competition, we delivered over $20,000 in cash prizes to the top contestants in our annual pitch competition! Foundationally, this is the most important piece has been on the ground building an eco-system which creates pathways and support for Black founders and professionals to grow and scale their talent and businesses. This work became more important in 2020 during the pandemic due to it disproportionately impacting our community. But, with many blessings from partners and foundations such as United Way, 16Tech and Microsoft, we were blessed to get the support of substantial grants to further our work, and I look forward in the coming years to set up Dallas as HQ2!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
These days it’s outdoor cycling, working on my inner-self, accomplishing goals, and building stronger relationships with the people I care about.
Contact Info:
- Email: jeff@benimbleco.com
- Website: www.jeffdreams.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jeff.dreams
- Twitter: twitter.com/jeff_dreams
