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THE ORIGINATION:

The HBCU Network: How did the idea for DallasBlack.com come about?

Lavida: My business partner, Corey Akins, and I were transplants from St. Louis and Chicago, respectively. Being new to the city, I didn't know how to get around or who to contact for services I needed, such as doctors and realtors. I wanted to live in a diverse area, but my company's relocation specialists didn't take me to those areas. I had to search for a realtor - a Black realtor, and I knew others like me wanted to work with Black professionals. The seed for DallasBlack.com was planted.

It started out as an e-mail distribution list, and just grew from there. We now provide a list of realtors, as well as other Black professionals, so people can have more choices available to them. If we don't support them who will?

But it wasn't until Corey and I partnered, that DallasBlack.com really took off.

The HBCU Network: Partner selection is very important for any business. What made you and Corey decide to take that leap?

Lavida: I started doing websites as a hobby and had done one for one of the local Dallas bookstores. Corey and I hadn't met at that point, but he e-mailed me and asked about some of the designs I'd done. We met for lunch one day, and he explained his idea of providing information to the Dallas community. It was very much in line with my vision. His was from an entertainment, aspect, and mine was on the business side.

We compliment each other well. What I like to do, he doesn't, and vice-versa.

DallasBlack.com was launched in February of 1999, and people grasped on immediately. DallasBlack.com took on a life of its own. We now have 25,000 registered members, and our e-mail distribution list reaches 65,000 people.

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THE GROWTH:

The HBCU Network: Many people handle their businesses at night, after they finish their 9-to-5 jobs. Was there ever an overlap?

Lavida: Oh yes, there was about a year overlap. The decision to make this a full-time job came during an emotionally difficult time for me. I lost a close member of my family - my 19 year old, cousin. She was more like a sister to me. Her death really hit me hard and put some things into perspective. Our time here is very precious, and tomorrow is not guaranteed.

I saw it like this - I have a degree and I can always get another job. Sure, I enjoyed the steady income and benefits, but that's all it was to me - just another job and I may never have an opportunity to do this (DallasBlack.com) again.

In the meantime, DallasBlack.com duties started to creep into my 9-to-5 time. Extended lunches to meet with people, hushed phone calls in the office. (Laughing) It got to a point where I had to devote all of my time, or nothing at all. I didn't want to wonder what if years later. Corey had the same mindset, and 1 month after I left my job, Corey did the same.

The HBCU Network: Wow! Both of you jumped in full-time, and now you support 6 full-time employees. How were you able to accomplish such a feat?

Lavida: It's really an interesting story how this all came together. A few years ago, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, & Mark's business partner, Todd Wagner, sold their company, Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $6 billion.

After the sale, Todd began running the Dallas branch of Yahoo, but he wanted to do something meaningful with his newfound riches. Todd decided to start a minority technology fund within Dallas to support up and coming businesses. http://www.toddwagnerfoundation.org

So, I put together a proposal dropped it off at the Yahoo office not knowing whether he'd received it or not. In the meantime, we were speaking with another company that was interested in investing. Unfortunately, that didn't come together, but during that process, we were able to cross our "T"s and dot our "I"s. By the time Todd called us 5 months after submitting our proposal - we were ready.

On July 1, 2001, we were funded by the Minority Technology Fund. It's a great business arrangement. They provide capital and invaluable advice. The Fund board consists of executives from Yahoo, Grocery works, and various other professionals, such as lawyers and accountants. We meet monthly, and we get all of that advice for free. It's not a traditional VC relationship we can take their advice or leave it. They want us to run the company.

The Fund owns a small percentage of Abstract Concepts (DallasBlack.com's parent company), and all of the profits the Fund receives from us are re-invested into other businesses in the Dallas community.

The HBCU Network: That's an incredible example of preparation meeting opportunity! Once DallasBlack.com was up and running, how did you get the word out?

Lavida: We used traditional grassroots venues - flyers, e-mails, t-shirts that we gave away - we also hosted happy-hour events to spread the word. It helped that we had a memorable web site address.

The HBCU Network: When did EbonyMate.com come into the picture?

Lavida: EbonyMate.com is another way of keeping people on DallasBlack.com. When we launched it, the site was so popular, the first version crashed. We had to create a custom-built site, but because of the site's popularity, the server started overloading, which meant hefty fees for us, so we turned it into a paid site to handle the costs.

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LOOKING FORWARD:

The HBCU Network: In this era of failing dot coms, how have you been able to keep Abstract Concepts ahead of the game?

Lavida: We've stayed ahead of the pack by trying to be innovative in the things we do and offer. We always have our ear to the ground. For instance, we provide an affordable way for businesses to promote and advertise, where their alternative would have been not to advertise at all. So, many businesses can't afford to buy a radio spot, but they can't afford not to advertise. We're the middle ground.

Another exciting venture for our company is redeveloping the Black America Web site for Tom Joyner. The webmaster of their site is a good friend of mine, and she told me their goal was to redevelop the site and give it a fresh look. They liked what we did for our own site, and the rest was history.

The HBCU Network: Have any competitors popped up for either site since their inception, and if so how are you handling the competition?

Lavida: Yes, there have been several, but it does help that we were first to market. People see what we do and think it's easy to replicate what we've done. It's not simple, though. It has taken us 5 years to get 65,000 people on our mailing list. We work hard all day every day - but I do take it as a compliment when people think it's easy.

To help us stand out from the pack, we offer added benefits and information that you won't find anywhere else. We also make favorable arrangements with our advertisers, if they advertise exclusively with us.

The HBCU Network: What are your goals for Abstract Concepts? Where do you see the company in 5 years?

Lavida: Ultimately, we'd love to have a profitable Black network of single and metro portals across the country.

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WRAPPING IT UP:

The HBCU Network: What are your thoughts on the state of HBCUs?

Lavida: I think as alumni we have the power to make changes, and see our schools succeed. We may pay alumni dues, but what are we really doing to make the schools successful? I'm guilty, too, but we as alumni have a responsibility to do what we can to make our schools better.

The HBCU Network: What words of inspiration do you have for the HBCU community?

Lavida: If there's something you have a passion about - don't be afraid to step out and try it. Make it an educated step, test the waters, and you'll know within yourself if it's the right thing to do.

The HBCU Network: If you could have a wish list of things to help Abstract Concepts reach its goal, what would be on that list?

Lavida: Three things: more advertisers, resources to be located in more places, and of course, more visitors to the site!

The HBCU Network: Are you coming on the HBCU cruise?

Lavida: (Laughing!) I haven't decided yet - I should, though!

The HBCU Network: Thanks Lavida, for an exciting and informative interview!

Check out: http://www.DallasBlack.com