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How LGBTQ Entrepreneurs Can Pitch Their Business Ideas to Southern Lenders

Posted on February 19, 2024
A photo of LGBTQ entrepreneurs.

Being an entrepreneur is an incredible opportunity. Not only do you get to bring your unique perspectives and innovative ideas to the market, but your approach as a businessperson can also drive change. Your choices can make you instrumental in boosting diverse workplaces in your area and providing support for the next generation of queer professionals. Yet, there are still hurdles before you’re able to have this kind of impact. One of the significant challenges to starting a company is gaining…

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Driving LGBTQ+ Voices: How Allies Can and Should Shape Diverse Workplaces

Posted on August 1, 2023
A photo of LGBTQ allies in diverse workplaces.

Workplaces that cherish diversity are more resilient, attract better talent, and routinely outperform their more homogenous competitors. This sentiment is echoed by a recent McKinsey survey, which found that diverse businesses were 25% more likely to record above-average profits than the market average.   Concerningly, however, that same McKinsey study found that only 52% of employees viewed diversity in a positive light, while 61% had a thoroughly negative view of initiatives to improve inclusion in the workplace.  As an ally, there’s plenty you…

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Houston-based ‘Paradox Moth’ is the Queer, Black-owned Streetwear Brand Breaking Stereotypes

Posted on June 30, 2022
A photo of Paradox Moth co-founder Chuck Ohamara.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to get creative—in the ways we work, the hobbies we adopt, and the art we make. For queer Houstonian Chuck Ohamara, that creativity birthed Paradox Moth, a fully inclusive, LGBTQ-focused, minimalist streetwear brand. Along with fellow co-creator and queer model Alex Sundstrom, Ohamara set out with a simple mission: to build a fashion brand for everybody and every body. “It started as a side hustle,” Ohamara explains. “We wanted to test how to run…

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For the Comics, For the Culture: Black, BLASIAN, QUEER-owned Comic Shop Hosts Pop-Up in Houston’s Third Ward

Posted on July 30, 2021
An illustration of the co-owners of Gulf Coast Cosmos Comicbook Co. in Houston, Texas.

Did you know that Houston’s Third Ward is home to a queer-owned, Black-owned comic book shop? From now until July 31, Gulf Coast Cosmos Comicbook Co. is operating as a pop-up, with plans to soon be a permanent fixture in the community. The store is creating new comic fans and providing a safe haven for current aficionados.…

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Journals of a Leo and a Virgo: Pandemic Passion Projects

Posted on June 4, 2021
A photo of new queer literary journals.

The start of 2021 was rife with big events—on the macro scale, the nation watched in shock as a riot stormed the Capitol of the United States, and only a few weeks later, we witnessed our first female vice president step into her role. After a year under varying states of lockdown and social isolation, we rejoiced at the rollout of the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. At the micro scale, families around the nation saw their broods expand with the births…

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Sippin’ on Jen and Juice: Black and Lesbian-Owned Juicery Hopes to Heal Community Health

Posted on February 4, 2021
A photo of Jen and Juice.

Jennifer Jeffries, along with her wife and business partner, Ashley Jeffries, recently launched Jen and Juice Juicery in Houston. Jen and Juice Juicery, a name inspired by the catchy hook in Snoop Dogg’s 1994 song “Gin and Juice,” promotes health and wellness with their made-to-order cold-pressed juices filled with fresh vegetables and fruits. From apples and celery to beets and carrots, Jennifer hopes the nutrients from the juices also heal her community. “[We aren’t juicing] for people to lose weight,”…

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Earth Toned: New Black, Queer-Owned Wellness Shop Promotes Holistic Healing

Posted on October 8, 2020
A photo of Donavyn Hightower, owner of Earth Toned.

Holistic wellness is a journey—one that Donavyn Hightower knows well. Born and (mostly) raised in Houston, Hightower, a proud pansexual, Black woman and psychology major at the University of Houston, has long been passionate about spirituality and astrology. She is now seeking to help guide others toward better mental health and healing through her new online wellness shop, Earth Toned, whose slogan is “Bigger, Brighter, Inclusive.”…

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Mulholland to Marfa: How a Couple Destined for Hollywood Found Home in West Texas

Posted on August 21, 2020
A photo of The Lincoln owners in Marfa, Texas.

Marfa is a liminal space. It’s undeniable—the dusty roads, the streets that are somehow simultaneously vibrant and silent, and of course the infamous Marfa Mystery Lights. The small West Texas town exists on a plane that isn’t quite here nor there; a spot in the nether between Central Texas and the adobe settlements of New Mexico. If a film were to be made of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast and Marfa were chosen as the filming location, no one…

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Black, Queer-owned Bakery ‘Suga In Your Tank’ Serves Up Cookies and Smiles in Houston

Posted on July 15, 2020
A photo of oatmeal cookies from Suga in Your Tank.

Desmond Briggs has adored baking from the time he was a child growing up in Memphis, Tennessee. There he spent countless weekends baking with his grandmother in her kitchen, whipping up delicious desserts and absorbing her love for the hobby. Now, as the owner of the Houston-based bakery Suga In Your Tank, Briggs is fulfilling his baking dreams while positively impacting the daily lives of others. “It’s something that I am passionate about,” Briggs says. “I am so overwhelmed with…

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