Morgan DeBaun joins Earn Your Leisure for an in-depth conversation about building Blavity, raising $12 million in funding, and creating AfroTech. She explains what inspired her journey, why she might have approached fundraising differently in hindsight, and how Blavity generates revenue without compromising its integrity for advertising dollars.

 

We break down the business behind AfroTech, including Morgan’s strategy for scaling the conference, securing corporate sponsorships, measuring its economic impact, and selecting the right host city. She also explains what corporations look for before sponsoring an event and why entrepreneurs should focus on building great companies that can shape the future.

 

The conversation also explores the future of technology: the lack of Black representation in tech, why cybersecurity may be the most important career to pursue, which college degrees are still worth the investment, and the growing risks of artificial intelligence. We discuss AI regulation, data centers, China’s global influence, artificial superintelligence, and whether the Black media industry is facing a serious crisis.

 

EarnYourLeisure #MorganDeBaun #Blavity #AfroTech #Entrepreneurship #Technology #ArtificialIntelligence #Cybersecurity #CorporateSponsorship #BlackMedia #BlackTech

 

 

00:00 AI Power Imbalance
00:19 Media Money Pressures
00:41 Cybersecurity And Regulation
01:33 Meet Morgan DeBaun
02:58 Blavity Origin Story
05:56 Building Black Tech Pipeline
07:18 Venture Capital Tradeoffs
09:58 Ads Subscriptions And AI
15:03 AfroTech Scaling Playbook
16:23 Sponsors Recruiting And ROI
21:28 Metrics Ecosystem And Parties
23:36 Choosing Cities Going Global
28:05 Tech Wealth Gap And Inclusion
31:16 Careers Cybersecurity Energy
33:27 Degrees To Pursue Avoid
35:46 Degrees AI Can Replace
36:14 Which Majors Matter
37:09 Career Path Strategy
38:16 AI Regulation Power Grab
39:36 Rogue AI Accountability
41:52 Global Race Reality
44:01 Fear Versus Literacy
45:06 Teaching Politicians AI
46:50 Data Centers Environment
48:32 Propaganda And Perception
52:44 AGI Superintelligence Debate
57:57 AI Agents Daily Workflow
59:31 Privacy And Model Choice
01:00:20 Future Of Black Media
01:03:22 AfroTech 2026 Preview
01:04:25 Handling Critique Online
01:06:41 Mission Over Discourse
01:10:41 Closing Thanks And Outro

Morgan DeBaun joins Earn Your Leisure for an in-depth conversation about building Blavity, raising $12 million in funding, and creating AfroTech. She explains what inspired her journey, why she might have approached fundraising differently in hindsight, and how Blavity generates revenue without compromising its integrity for advertising dollars.
&nbsp;
We break down the business behind AfroTech, including Morgan&rsquo;s strategy for scaling the conference, securing corporate sponsorships, measuring its economic impact, and selecting the right host city. She also explains what corporations look for before sponsoring an event and why entrepreneurs should focus on building great companies that can shape the future.
&nbsp;
The conversation also explores the future of technology: the lack of Black representation in tech, why cybersecurity may be the most important career to pursue, which college degrees are still worth the investment, and the growing risks of artificial intelligence. We discuss AI regulation, data centers, China&rsquo;s global influence, artificial superintelligence, and whether the Black media industry is facing a serious crisis.
&nbsp;
EarnYourLeisure #MorganDeBaun #Blavity #AfroTech #Entrepreneurship #Technology #ArtificialIntelligence #Cybersecurity #CorporateSponsorship #BlackMedia #BlackTech
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00:00 AI Power Imbalance 00:19 Media Money Pressures 00:41 Cybersecurity And Regulation 01:33 Meet Morgan DeBaun 02:58 Blavity Origin Story 05:56 Building Black Tech Pipeline 07:18 Venture Capital Tradeoffs 09:58 Ads Subscriptions And AI 15:03 AfroTech Scaling Playbook 16:23 Sponsors Recruiting And ROI 21:28 Metrics Ecosystem And Parties 23:36 Choosing Cities Going Global 28:05 Tech Wealth Gap And Inclusion 31:16 Careers Cybersecurity Energy 33:27 Degrees To Pursue Avoid 35:46 Degrees AI Can Replace 36:14 Which Majors Matter 37:09 Career Path Strategy 38:16 AI Regulation Power Grab 39:36 Rogue AI Accountability 41:52 Global Race Reality 44:01 Fear Versus Literacy 45:06 Teaching Politicians AI 46:50 Data Centers Environment 48:32 Propaganda And Perception 52:44 AGI Superintelligence Debate 57:57 AI Agents Daily Workflow 59:31 Privacy And Model Choice 01:00:20 Future Of Black Media 01:03:22 AfroTech 2026 Preview 01:04:25 Handling Critique Online 01:06:41 Mission Over Discourse 01:10:41 Closing Thanks And Outro

Welcome to The Earn Your Leisure Podcast. Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings will be your host. Earn Your Leisure will be giving you behind the scenes financial views into the entertainment and sports industries as well as highlighting back stories of entrepreneurs. We will also be breaking down business models and examining the latest trends in finance. Earn Your Leisure is a college business class mixed with pop culture. We blend the two together for a unique and exciting look into the world of business. Let’s go!! #earnyourleisurepodcast

Earn Your Leisure

🚨 THE #1 CAREER TO GET INTO BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE—AND THE COLLEGE DEGREES TO AVOID

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/024074f6-54cc-4d4c-a122-b4eb00e3be7d/transcript