Today we’d like to introduce you to Melvin Glasco.
Melvin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started in the mortgage business in the late nineties because my mother got me a job. Nepotism at it’s finest. LOL. It only took me almost 20 years in various roles and eventually ending up a Sales manager to realize closing mortgage loans was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my working life. I’d developed a profound love for radio, specifically talk and public radio, podcasts and the connection they created with people. I decided I could make the type of art I was hearing and had the idea for a show that sounded like the ones I liked, long-form interview’s with fascinating people with plenty of witty banter and insight from a host who sounded and looked like me. This was back in 2013, so the podcast landscape was a bit more narrow back then. It took a little over two years to get the courage to produce an episode, but The Vocal Minority Report officially launched in December of 2015. The show took off in the spring of 2016 after my exclusive interview with the famed “alibi witness”, Asia McClain from the Serial podcast. The show has opened up numerous opportunities for me as a content creator and producer.
I was asked to produce a new series in the winter of 2016 and was part of the launch team at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival for the project. I was still working as an Account Executive for one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders and realized my new skillset could assist the bankers and brokers I called on every day. I started Lender Consultants, a digital media and marketing company for the mortgage and real estate professionals and MorMedia Consulting Group for small business owners so they wouldn’t have to struggle like I did to figure out how to manage and grow my business online. Today, those companies have been consolidated into one, Level 13 Creative, a digital marketing, consulting and PR firm helping professionals and entrepreneurs spend more time doing what they do best. I also am establishing a nonprofit news organization based in Dallas and am doing some political consulting currently.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road hasn’t been smooth. There have been many obstacles, most of which centered around the question, “How do I get started?”. But there have also been practical challenges like losing a cohost, trying to maintain a full-time job I’ve lost the passion for and finding sustainable funding sources. Additionally growing an audience and finding the right people to engage with was a big challenge.
Please tell us about your business.
The Vocal Minority Report is a long-form podcast covering culture, true crime and Black life in America. Initially, we were an interview show and have become known for our wide range of notable guests and deep dives into controversial often overlooked topics like our Who is policing the police? episode from 2016 or our true crime features, like our in-depth coverage of the Botham Jean murder and Amber Guyger trial or overlooked cases like the mysterious death of Christie Hopson.
I am most proud of the connection we’ve made with the people. Either you’re part of The Vocal Minority or you’re not. My mission is to get people free and feel what we have is a movement.
There’s been a lot of evolution and growth because of the show and that’s led to freedom for me that’s been life changing. I want everyone to have that feeling and that’s what The Vocal Minority Report, Level 13 Creative and our nonprofit Dallas Vanguard are designed to do.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have jumped in with both feet and not hesitated. You don’t know what you don’t know and I wish I’d worried less and just made it happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.level13creative.com
- Phone: 469-740-8034
- Email: melvin@level13creative.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevocalminority/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevocalminorityreport/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/vocalreport
- Other: www.thevocalminorityreport.com
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