Black Money: A conversation with Darbi Dorleia from BCA Culture

Justin Minott from the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs interviews (Insert Guest), (Title) of (Business), focusing on (her/his) journey, mission, and the impact of (her/his) work. Here is a brief recap of this powerful conversation:

Justin: I am here with Darbi Dorleia, CEO of BCA Culture, doing really innovative work, supporting so many black businesses and other businesses around the country. So glad to have you here. How are you doing? 

Darbi: Thank you so much, Justin. It's an honor and a pleasure to be invited and to be here. So thank you so much, to you and also to the Alliance. 

Justin: Your energy is palpable! Is this how you are all the time, or would you say you’re more introverted?

Darbi: So when I was very young, I've always had a spirit of joy. As I've gotten older and as I've become a mom, I think I'm more introspective, but I still have those characteristics. If you see me, I'm mostly quiet, but I'm mostly outgoing with my team and I know how to have a good time with my inner circle, my friends, and my family who I've had long relationships with. 

Justin: Who are you to the core? What are the building blocks that make you who you are?

Darbi: I would say God. I'm really focused on my faith and my interface. So I do believe that God is within. I'm also focused heavily on family. As a CEO, I work my business during the day, but I also homeschool my son as well. I'm very focused on family and impact. I'd say I’m a connector, so I'm the one that's like, “Hey. Let's go grab something to eat and let's meet face to face.” As a woman, I love peace, which speaks to my introverted side, but at the same time I'm very outgoing and bold. And when I believe in something, I go at it 100 percent. There's no denying that or stopping me from doing that. 

Justin: Darby, tell us the journey that you've gone on that has led to BCA culture. How did this all come together for you and what led you to this moment? 

Darbi: Originally, I was seeking business credit for my businesses and seeking government contracts. After a disappointing experience with an Atlanta service provider, I went down the rabbit hole of how to do business services on my own. I actually got connected, as faith would have it, with a bank VP and learned about business funding and began teaching others online on Facebook live. Then I started teaching classes, and I realized that I need to figure out how I can scale this up. That’s when Adam, our CTO actually reached out and was like, "Woah. I see the work you're doing. How can I help?" This led to the creation of BCA Culture, where we developed software to assist businesses in securing funding and growing. It literally started with me talking on a camera and doing a livestream like we're doing now. I would be in front of the camera and say, “Hey guys, this is what you need to do”. And it came from organic experience. We’ve evolved from teaching basic courses, to a premier software  that uses AI to provide technical assistance for small businesses. 

Justin: I love that. So tell us how the software actually works right now. What has it grown into? Tell us about BCA culture. 

Darbi: So, originally, we were like a learning management system, like large platforms such as Kajabi or other platforms where you teach online courses. Adam and myself originally built it to where it was a core classroom style. And, then from there, we begin to realize that it needs to be more interactive. So we introduced the coaching, like, the 1 on 1 coaching calls with group sessions inside of our platform. Then we evolved into matching up data inside of our software. So we evolved from manually researching the businesses to now our software automatically does it. We use AI, and then we have our data partners. With the large credit reporting agencies, we pull any type of data about a business, and then we pooled it into a report. So business owners can see exactly where they are as of today. We call it our business readiness report.

We went from manually doing our processes; going on the secretary of state websites to find the businesses to having a system that automatically does that. We're then able to see if a business is on the watch list with any outstanding debts or any loans because we're able to pull all of that information from the credit agencies, and then we can see the business data. Finally, we formulate their business technical assistance plan according to their specific needs. One business might be a startup business, whose needs are different from someone that's on a growth track. A growing business might have different needs than a business that's scaling. So our system analyzes the data. The end user, which is the small business owner, their journey has gone from a manual learning management system to our system that automatically unlocks as they go to each level. It's automated on both sides. It's driven by the data that the business owners give us and we're able to give them recommendations and then teach them inside of our software on how to resolve those problems. 

Justin: You've started working more with CDFIs and other lending partners. Talk about that process and why you decided to go that direction because you were doing a lot of direct service before. 

Darbi: So that shift from B2B was something. It just naturally came. We were invited by the Minority Business Development Agency- a government under the United States Commerce Department- to showcase our software. They're a government agency under the US Department of Commerce. I never forget Trevon Pitt. Trevon was like, “Yo, y'all got something amazing here. Can y'all come and be a part of our pitch series?” And it was so amazing to see all of the resources, things that could enhance our business, the feedback that we received from a lot of the leadership, at the Department of Commerce for how we can improve our software. We started getting insight from the government and from a corporate viewpoint on what can make the software better for their clients. 

Then in 2021, we got invited to the sprint. That's like a 12 week program. We showcased it and we were selected by the minority business development agency. They wanted to use our software. Then we just kept going about our day to day. And the next thing you know, we got invited by other CDFIs and banking partners like, “Hey. We wanna look at your software.” We started getting companies that actually serve small businesses. We noticed a shift in our customers. We had way more customers now who were more corporate or government entities or private organizations who serve business owners. I was beginning to be more in the conversations with the corporations and seeing, like, what their needs were for their customers. It was truly a natural evolution. 

Justin: What does black liberation mean to you?

Darbi: I'm all about mindset and personal development. I think that black liberation is to be free in every sense of the word. When you know your identity, I think that is liberation. Not being bound by our past or being bound by PTSD of slavery or economic hardships, but us really liberating our own minds, and tapping into the God within us. And once our mindset changes and as our mindset evolves, I think that that translates into everything that we do. 

Justin: Free your mind and the rest will follow. Right? Talk about the business mindset and what is needed to actually grow and scale and impact in ways that people really want to.

Darbi: Get a mentor. I always say it's so much easier to follow someone who's already, like, paved the way instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. And I see so many business owners who deal with these three letters, E G and O, ego. And they're always like, well, you know, I don't wanna ask or they might feel intimidated by someone who's been successful in their industry. That's the best person to learn from. Because there are certain traits that you can pick up from that person that you can apply in your business that'll take you to the next level. So I think the mindset and being confident that, hey, everybody had to start. Don't feel intimidated by someone's chapter 20 versus your chapter 1. You know what I'm saying? Hold the mindset that every day counts. That every hour counts. And I always ask business owners, what's in your daily appointment book? Those just those daily habits just make a difference in everything.

Justin: What is one daily habit that you think is vital?

Darbi: Okay. You gotta have me time. Yeah. You gotta have your me time. As business owners, we are servants of everyone else. So our day is expended, especially when you're a CEO. You're looking at all of these different pieces, and I think that if you need to take time for yourself. Because sometimes you can tire yourself out to the point where you're exhausted by the end of the week. And you need to take me time, at least 15 minutes every day, and just get recentered. That might be stretching and breathing. That might be reading your Bible. That might be just sitting quietly in solitude. Whatever that might be for you. Do something that you actually enjoy every day for at least 15 minutes. It's just you, not children, not your spouse, not anyone else, just you. 

Justin: You’re now taking your work into the CDFI space. Why CDFI? What drew you to this area?

Darbi: For one, It's the need. The need is there. We started listening to the feedback, especially being a part of the Alliance. We went through the CDFI 1 on 1 program with you all, and then we began to realize small business technical assistance is a need, and we already offer this. Just being exposed and being in the Alliance with all of these wonderful CDFIs, the CEOs and leaders and executive teams that are part of CDFIs in the Alliance organization has transformed the way that we worked. Secondly, we have the same mission and alignment. As we were working with the B2B business owners, our statement and our mission was working with small minority led businesses seeking funding. And we found that the CDFI industry, the whole industry as a whole, has similar missions. So we were operating at level A, and God took us to Z.

Justin: What's a story for you that reminds you of why you started?

Darbi: This might sound different, but it's really knowing that my ancestors like my grandmother and my grandfather and my great grandparents could not do this. It was a time that they were limited by law to not start a business, to not vote. So for me, we have very inspirational and motivational stories all day, every day for business owners. But what really makes it real for me is that there was a time that there was no opportunity to even be able to be in business. There was not a time or an opportunity given to even start or have conversations about business. There wasn't even the ability to learn to read or write, you know? So when I think about that, it just puts it in a different perspective that inspires me to keep going every day and say, "You have zero excuses, so do all you can while you can."

Justin: When you’re tired, rest. Don't quit. Right? So what is next for BCA culture? Where is the future? 

Darbi: I see BCA culture being the premier small business technical assistance provider for every bank and CDFI servicing local and global U.S. citizens. Our program will be recognized by banks and CDFIs, with businesses that complete it earning "BCA certified" status. This certification will signal to financial institutions that these businesses are well-prepared, with a solid plan for revenue generation and loan repayment.

Ideally, I want to set a standard. I see our program gaining widespread endorsement from government bodies like the SBA and the Department of Commerce, becoming a benchmark for business success. BCA Culture’s software could be white-labeled by the government, banks, and CDFIs, establishing it as the go-to standard for small business support. This approach has the potential to create significant economic impact both nationally and internationally. That's how I see it. And we'll be able to make trillions of dollars of impact across the United States and across the world.

Justin: So we're in the United States. Does this translate global?

Darbi: It does. We'll have to we'll have to know the laws of those states, but I believe that it can be done. 

Justin: You said you have a goal, some 3 and 5. Tell us about that.

Darbi: So we have a goal and initiative for 3 and 5, and there's $3,000,000,000 across, over in the next, 5 years that we are able to prepare businesses for funding, whether they're going through a CDFI, whether they're going through a bank, or whether they're going through directly with us. But our goal is to be able to help banks and CDFIs be able to move that much money to businesses. We have thousands of jobs that are retained, hundreds of thousands of jobs that are created, with that initiative. So that's the goal.

Justin: What song are you currently listening to? What is your jam?

Darbi: You know what? You know, it's so funny. I was listening to There You Go by Johnny Gill the other day. I don't know. It's just I'm just on a whole R&B vibe right now. Just the old school R&B vibe right now. Definitely love Celine Dion. Definitely love soulful gospel. Listen, rock and roll, all of it. But I've just been on aR&B vibe, like, seriously. Been listening to R&B, like, heavily for the past couple of weeks, actually. And that's why it's been on repeat for, like, yeah, the past couple of weeks.

Justin: What is one thing that very few people know about Darbi that we can talk about on this show? 

Darbi: Well, like, in my previous life, I was a professional singer. Like, singer of the band. Was in the process of you know, I'm from Atlanta. So I was actually in the process of getting signed to a record label. And I saw all the things that were going on behind the scenes, and I was like, you know what? No. I think I'll pass. And what happened was that I was like, well, you know what? I can build my own record label. That was my motivation. That's how I actually got started in business. I was like, oh, let me just make enough money, and then I can start my own record label. Then I just got sucked into the business vacuum. And then now I just look at music like a long lost dream. 

Justin: Maybe one day, that could be your retirement thing? There's this guy who started modeling at age 80, and he's walking runways now and doing his things. What I'm saying is dreams don't have an expiration date. If you're meant to bring your voice to the world in those ways you go do it however and start whenever. 

Darbi: I received that, Justin. That's so good. I was thinking about the other day. I've had people reach out and tell me, when you gonna get back in the music? And I'm like, do you see all that we're doing right now? How dare you? But, there's a side of me that's like, "You know what? I'll do it... eventually" I'll do it under a different alias, maybe.

Justin: And, I mean, that can feed your work. It can be a great source of stress relief. I see the game. You're out here playing chess, not checkers. I love it. I love it. 

Darbi: That's true. That's so true.

Justin: Well, Darbi, you've been wonderful. Thank you for being here today. And to everybody who tuned in, we are so grateful you could have been anywhere else, but you're here with us on LinkedIn. Alright, Darbi, give us a closing statement. Like, an inspirational quote. 

Darbi: Something I just said this morning, like, winners never quit, and quitters never win. Keep fighting the good fight of faith. Thank you, Justin.

Justin: Amen. I love it. Thanks, Darbi. You've been wonderful. And everybody out there, keep changing the world. We'll see you again next week.

Thank you for reading! You can watch the full interview HERE. Be sure to connect with Darbi and follow BCA Culture to stay connected to the impact.