Fashion tycoon and business icon Diane von Fürstenberg once said, “The success of every single woman is an inspiration for another.” After our recent sit down with Narrative CEO and Russell Simmons’ business partner Tricia Clarke-Stone, one couldn’t help but recall and muse on DVF’s wise words. The passion in which Clarke-Stone speaks of her work is beyond inspiring, and her feats nudge us to answer to our own calling. She has it all: limitless vision, bold audacity to pursue it, unapologetic confidence in her intellect and presence, and a bonus style sense that will ignite your inner fashionista. Tricia shared her experience partnering with one of entertainment’s biggest moguls, her process transitioning from employee to CEO, how women can capitalize off of our God-given emotion in the workplace and so much more. Read on and get inspired.
BlackEnterprise.com: You partnered with Russell Simmons for your latest venture, Narrative. Tell us exactly what it is.
Tricia Clarke-Stone: We consider ourselves more a collaborative than an agency, so we really focus on putting storytelling, technology and culture at the center of everything we do. We leverage those three pillars to challenge brands to tell stories the world can’t live without, because the way you connect with things is through stories and people; not brands. In terms of what our output is, we work on creative entertainment technology to really create brand experiences, products and campaigns across different platforms.
How did this whole concept of Narrative come about?
I’ve had a lot of experience working with agencies because I’ve been on the media and marketing side, and then I’ve worked with a ton of brands. So, what I started seeing was you have these really big agencies that kind of operate from an archaic sensibility. They have a formula, it’s working for them, and they’re continuing to do it. And then you have these more niche-focused agencies that are more relegated to events or digital and social, but there’s a big disconnect if a brand is using one of these big agencies and then going to a small agency for digital and social. The brand messaging gets muddled. I wanted to bring some continuity to that so that we would be an agency that can really do things through the line: We can do strategy, creative, and it doesn’t end there. We don’t ship it to another agency to actually execute; we do the execution as well. We’ll produce the commercial if it’s a commercial. We have a development team that’s internal, so if it requires product development or technology build we can build it. And then we can market it, iterate it, and stay close to it. Instead of shipping something out and then taking a step back, we’re constantly involved.
Prior to Narrative, you worked at Russell’s digital platform Global Grind. What was your role there?
I was brought in as Vice President of Sales and Operations… Within four months I quickly realized I couldn’t really package or sell things to these brands because the product and the content wasn’t there. That’s when I went to Russell and said I think we need to revamp this and figure out what the content strategy is, who our audience is, how are we reaching them, what can we be doing differently and how can we be a different kind of a publisher. We didn’t have that reach because we were small. I mapped all of that out and then we re-launched Global Grind to be more of a pop culture site instead of an urban skewed gossip site. It wasn’t really relegated to being a “black site.” It was about us bringing these two worlds together because now this millennial audience is focused on passion points and points of interest… Once that started panning out Russell promoted me to co-president, so that was in about four months.
Russell Simmons is such an icon and business mogul in the entertainment industry. What’s one of the most valuable things you’ve learned while working alongside him?
I think before I started working for him I was a big risk taker. It was calculated risks; you weigh the good and the bad. With him, there was always still a lot of apprehension and I think he kind of gave me that extra level of confidence to even take it a step further. The other thing, too, is really focusing on passion and purpose. You always do your best work when you have the passion for it and when it’s purposeful. That was always part of my ethos, but I think he showed me how you could really build a career and a track based on that.
Check out how Clarke-Stone became a CEO on the next page.
How did you transition from employee to CEO?
Well, I was always a boss. I think that’s just my mentality. When I take something on, I go at it 150 percent or else I don’t want to do it. In my experience at Global Grind, because so much needed to be fixed, it was almost as though I was running the entire company. I think a lot of that job and my job before that really prepared me to take on the responsibility of being a leader, but then also being a doer—being able to step back and have that strategic vision and figuring out how to execute that. And then identifying talent because I’m only as good as my team. That’s another piece I learned from Russell.
Throughout your entire career, which project are you most proud of?
Proably the Samsung project that we’re working on now at Narrative. I think I’m most proud of that because when I went to Russell with the concept about Narrative… I didn’t know how quickly I’d get to exercise the tech and product development piece of it. With Samsung and this All Def Digital 52 platform that we built, it’s a merging artist
platform, it powers Russell’s label. So, it’s the A&R engine for Russell’s label. It gives emerging artists the opportunity to upload tracks. We have an algorithm that ranks it based on user engagement, and then Russell will then look at that chart system that gets created and decide who he wants to explore and possibly sign. Samsung was our partner in this… Because Samsung is about the next big thing, we brought them the next big thing in music. …We’re giving them now a seat at the table to say, “We’re identifying who the next big thing is going to be, and we’re telling you who that is.â€We’re in a day where people are becoming more innovative in using technology to become their own bosses, especially within the younger generations. What career opportunities do you see in the marriage of fashion, technology, and entertainment?
I think it’s utilizing tools that we use every day. People started utilizing YouTube as a form of entertainment, and I think it’s folks who are driven that said, “Wait a minute. These people are on YouTube. I have all this entertainment… How can I capitalize on this?†I think it’s identifying platforms and environments that we’re comfortable in because we know our way around them, and then figuring out where the opportunity is. In the case of YouTube, as long as I have a webcam or camera I can now start building my audience. I also think you have to look at different trends. Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding are really big. I think it’s looking at trends and saying how can you pair this trend with technology, how can you pair this trend with fashion, and then experimenting and seeing what works.
What insight do you have for career women in overcoming any professional challenges?
Anytime I get into a situation, personally or professionally, I always think of how I can impact it. I always put myself in positions where I can
be that impact player. That’s why I never had jobs where I’m just a cog in the wheel… I want to be in a place where my output means something. And value proposition. Anything I do I always look back and ask, “Am I adding value?†Return on Investment I think a lot of people just equate that to revenue, but for me it could be an amazing idea, an amazing concept. So if you’re adding value and if you’re delivering ROI for any company or individual, you’re going to win. Also, hard work. When I first started working for Russell, it wasn’t a 9 to 5 job. It was a 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. of when I was physically in the office and then it continued after that. As I continued to innovate more, I would be there until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. I think that was another piece as to why he took the risk and said I’m going to invest. He always said to me, “I saw how hard you worked for my company, so I can imagine how hard you will work for your own.”What do you think our biggest strength as women overall is and how do we capitalize off of it in the workplace?
I think often times we get a lot of flak for being too emotional or being too passionate, or having too much empathy. But I think we can use that to our advantage. That’s what drives people to do things. If I’m in a meeting and I’m pitching to a potential a client, it’s the passion that will connect us. There are five or six other people who can do the job, but it’s the passion and emotional connection that’s going to really be that X-factor.
Also see what CEO Trica Clarke-Stone has to say about the differences between women and men leaders here. Keep up with @narrative_ and @Tricia002 on Twitter.