Meet the Soho House x Black Pound Day entrepreneurs

Spend your money with Black-owned businesses and you help to empower the community, nourish the economy, and repurpose energy from historical trauma. That’s the message behind Black Pound Day, an initiative set up by British rapper Swiss in June 2020 in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. The event, which takes place on the first Saturday of every month, provides a sustainable way of supporting the Black community, and offers a directory for more than 2,000 Black-owned businesses in the UK and beyond. 

In February, Soho House partnered with Black Pound Day by offering complimentary Soho Works membership to budding entrepreneurs from the Black community. Additionally, we have helped with mentorship, social exposure and events as a way of supporting and promoting each of their brands.

We caught up with some of them to see how they’re getting on.

Dammy Cooba, COOBA London

COOBA is a London-based menswear brand that occupies the space between high fashion and streetwear. Its aim is to create affordable, locally sourced, sustainable pieces with avant-garde design elements. ‘We draw influence from both classic tailoring and urban streetwear,’ says founder, Dammy Cooba. ‘The ethos of the label is to merge the two, creating pieces that can be dressed up or down with ease.’  

What inspired the name? 
‘COOBA is an acronym of Creating Out Of Body Awareness. Our mantra is to cultivate a brand experience that transcends fashion, allowing our consumers to become their best self in all walks of life.’

Who is your main audience?
‘The contemporary male who prides himself in his appearance and has a holistic approach to wellness, not only concerning himself with fashion but also health, fitness, architecture, art, music, literature, and spirituality.’

What’s next for COOBA? 
‘We want increased exposure through PR and marketing, so that as many people know about us as possible. Aligning ourselves with Soho House will hopefully give us the scope to do that. We also plan to onboard with stockists such as Mr Porter, Selfridges or Harvey Nichols.’

What advice would you give to your younger self?
‘To be more philosophical in their understanding of failure, not to be so hard on themselves when they miss the mark, and understand that it’s just part of the journey towards success.’ 

What Black History Month resource would you recommend to Soho House members? 
‘I’ve recently stumbled across The Peak Project, a global book programme that uses reading as a means to develop understanding of different cultures, to promote diversity and inclusion. I know that they’ll be heavily focused on Black History Month.’ 

Follow @coobalondon.

Joel Adebayo, Not Just Another Store

 
Not Just Another Store is a concept retail space for menswear, womenswear, and homeware. It focuses on experiences and community, which is promoted through events, workshops and partnerships with other brands and creatives. 

What’s your background and how did you get into the retail arena?
‘I came from an academic background, with a postgraduate degree in politics and an undergraduate degree in law. I worked as a civil servant for two years before I quit and started a business in the creative industries.’

What brands should we be looking out for? 
‘Brands that are doing amazing things and who I admire from afar are Cold Laundry and Labrum London; they are pushing boundaries in their nuances and storytelling of their brands, and they are Black owned.’

What has been a career highlight for you? 
‘Opening our first brick and mortar store in 2017.’

How has the Black Pound Day initiative been useful to you?
‘It has created awareness that we are a Black-owned company, and it helps push the narrative around the barriers that many Black-owned businesses face. Also, to me, it’s a celebration of the many successes of other Black entrepreneurs.’

What words of advice would you give to your younger self? 
‘Start and keep going; it’s a long road.’

What piece of literature would you recommend people read for Black History Month? 
‘I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin – it’s a must-read.'

Follow @notjustanotherstore_ldn

Zina Alba, UB Hair

Founded by Zina Alfa, UB Hair is a booking service that uses AI to match people to the best hair professional for their location, price range, and most importantly, hair type. ‘I started my company as I felt inadequate about my own hair,’ she explains.

How has the Black Pound Day initiative been useful to you?
‘It has really supported me through their one-to-one mentoring with Google. I’ve had multiple sessions with various experts at Google and they really helped me identify key areas where I can improve, whether it be in digital marketing or product. I’ve found it super useful.’ 

What has been a career highlight for you? 
‘Nominations and awards don’t mean as much as the grassroots community work that I care so much about. I launched a petition to make hair discrimination illegal, which has almost reached 100,000 signatures. It helped forge a partnership with Dove to create The Halo Code – a pledge that institutions can adopt, which promises members of the Black community that they have the freedom and security to wear all afro hairstyles without restriction or judgment. It helped with the UB Hair Esteem Project – an initiative where we host a series of workshops to build up the hair (self-) esteem of people with afro textured hair.’

What Black History Month resource would you recommend to Soho House members? 
‘Every person should read Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. Plus, I think every business should adopt the Halo Code.'

You can sign the petition here.

Follow @UBhair

Selma Nicholls, Looks Like Me Casting

Looks Like Me Casting is a casting agency that raises the profile of underrepresented groups featured in mainstream media. ‘I was motivated by my daughter, who questioned her own identity due to the limited visibility of children that looked like her,’ says founder Selma Nicholls. ‘I decided to create the change I wanted children and the world to see.’ Nicholls’ clients include Nickelodeon, Google, and director Jenn Nkiru for 'Brown Skin Girl', a music video by Beyoncé.

Why is representation important within the media landscape?
‘We are all part of a landscape that makes Great Britain a rich fruit salad of greatness. Britain’s ethnic minorities account for more than £300bn in purchasing power, and minority-owned small businesses contribute £25bn a year to the country’s gross value added (McKinsey, October 2020). It makes great business and ethical sense to have inclusive and representative advertising within media.’

What challenges have you faced in the past? 
‘Changing the hearts and minds of humans before they were woken up by Black Lives Matter.’

What words of advice would you give to your younger self? 
‘You are a bad ass and will continue to achieve whatever your beautiful mind conceives. Your spirit is full of sunshine –  let it shine in this world daily. The world could use one of you; love and light always.’

Follow @lookslikemecasting