Meena Harris, Founder and CEO, Phenomenal Media (joining virtually)
Interviewer: Michal Lev-Ram, FORTUNE


MPW Next Gen 2022 - Being Phenomenal

Conferences

Our next conversation is with an author, lawyer and entrepreneur whose career path and commitment to empowering women is distilled into the name of her values driven media company, phenomenal. I just love saying that word even Alright, Meena Harris founded her company with a mission focused on elevating the stories and talents of women and historically excluded communities, partnerships with entertainment, fashion and consumer goods companies followed. And as if that was not enough, the firm's magna Tony for co producing the best musical on broadway to share her insights on impacting culture through inspirational stories joining us virtually today. Please welcome Nina Harris, founder and Ceo of phenomenal media. Okay, Hi Nina. Hello, can you hear us? Okay? Can you hear me? We can hear you. We can hear you. Um, so first of all, I hope you're, I hope you're feeling better or that you feel better soon. I know you were supposed to be with us in person. I'm very sad not to be there in person that you can probably hear from my voice. I'm recovering. I will try not to cough through our time together, but I'm glad that we're able to make it happen. Yes, Thank thank you for doing this. Okay, so you're not here physically with us, but we want to know how you got here. Tell us about phenomenal and why and how you started this company. Yes, I have to say I use is the first time I'm doing a zoom where everyone else is not on zoom and there's a live audience. So a little awkward, but I'm gonna try to do here. I promise you they're really here. I have a background as a lawyer, as somebody who's been in the tech industry. And it was really the 2016 election that ended up being a big catalyst for me to make a shift. And even at that time I didn't quite know that it would become what today is phenomenal. Uh, can you hear me okay? There's a little bit of an echo. Yes, Okay. Um, and it was, I think for a lot of people right coming out of that election, a bit of a wake up call. Something that I think inspired a lot of people to speak up and speak out perhaps that they had before at the time, was toiling away at a law firm in Washington D. C. As a baby lawyer building lots of hours. And I had, you know, this idea to create a t shirt inspired by a poem by Maya Angelo um called phenomenal woman. And initially it was just a one month idea to raise money for women's organizations coming out of the election. And you know, to really just do my part to do anything right. Um, and that turned into a three month campaign, turned into a six month campaign, turned into, I'm gonna stop doing this after a year turned into three years and now here we are six years later and it is a values driven 360 degree media company. Uh, that is really about, you know, putting purpose first and for us, that means centering women and historically excluded communities and specifically in the medium of storytelling. Um, exciting time to be with you all and that it is exactly almost to the day a year from when we announce star expansion into content and entertainment and it's a great moment to sit back and realize all that we've accomplished in that year, how much to change just in that last year. Um, but you know, I think especially considering the theme of the conference today, um around, you know, realizing your power, um, that's something that I think about a lot in the work that we do as phenomenal, mainly in the context of systemic power, right? In terms of equity and access and visibility and um creating a platform for historically excluded voices. Um, but you know, the reason that I ultimately took this career path, this new career path, um having, as I said, you know, formerly a lawyer in the tech industry is that after working in those industries, which themselves are obviously huge centers of power, um, it became clear to me that no matter how much internal power you may have, uh, if the decision makers who actually have power in those rooms, I can't see it or worse are not willing to see it, then it doesn't mean much right. And um, so for me, it was really about, you know, wanting to make sure that the people who are in those rooms and, and ultimately the vision for phenomenal is specific change. Um, you know, to make sure that they don't all look the same. It's quite a basic, uh, you know, mandate that we have, right, that ultimately, um, knowing when people who bring different experiences and stories, um, can recognize that talent and the different frames of power, it's when we're actually able to, you know, change systems uh, for to make them more equitable. So that's really what's at the heart of the business. But I think, you know, it's, it's also about the themes of the conference of realizing that a lot of that is also internal, right? Um that all being said, we have to think about, you know, um finding our power and our purpose, which is what guides me and having faced that. Um, and so for me, when I think about the theme of realizing your power, it's really about power and purpose, right? Um, and and understand that we each have individual power to find that. Um, and you know, power without purpose is uh, you know, what we're seeing right now with Ellen and twitter, right? Um it's a lot of noise, a lot of people. Um, so I'm just really proud of the work that we're doing and I'm very grateful that I've been able to, you know, find a path that has allowed me to find passion and my purpose and find power in that. So, and there's obviously there's, there's been some progress, um, slow progress when it comes to representation in media and entertainment. We've seen a lot more attention to this, um, from a range of companies over the last few years. Do you feel like that's still something that is hard to convince or hard to sell? I mean, we just, I don't know who watched Wakanda Forever this last weekend, The biggest opening weekend of a November release, you know, 330 million box office ticket sales globally. Do you feel like you're still selling something that's hard to sell? Well, I would say speaking from personal experience, um, we're a year in, we're still very new at this, but we are very close to selling our first feature film. So I am optimistic. I'm hopeful at the same time. I think, you know, especially considering the uncertainty of this economy and looking at what's happening in the entertainment industry. Um, hearing a lot of folks saying things like, um, you know, the standards are higher now, and it's gonna be harder to do, you know, diversity. And the implicit message in that, of course, is that, um, when we were allowed to do those things, that the standards weren't as high. Right. Um, and so your question of, um, is it harder, is that still a priority? I'm certainly focused on that I'm certainly finding power in my purpose, right of, of continuing to fight for that. Um, and I think that's ultimately what I derived, you know, sort of, my, my vision and drive from, is understanding that that goal is um, still a lot of work to do that we have to do to, to work towards that, right? And it's it's much bigger than any one company or one movie, Right? And back to my point about systemic power. Um, but it is what, you know, gets me out of bed in the morning and still gives me hope in terms of, you know, really having confidence in a vision for something quite simple, which is a more equitable world in terms of storytelling where everyone has access to tell their stories to tell all of their stories, not to tell one story. Um, and uh, to find, you know, the nuances in that to, um, you know, to feel supported and not just like somebody's checking a diversity box, right? Um, it's really basic stuff that we're still fighting for. Um, but it's it's incredibly important and we know that in doing that and getting more of those folks in their rooms and changing those decision makers, right? They don't all look like white men who have historically been in power, that that makes more space for more stories to be told and that makes all of us better off, right? It's better for all of us. So, and just taking a step back, help us understand what in your eyes, it means to be a media company, a media startup in today's world, I know you just acquired a company called Seductress, would love to hear about that. And just what does it, what does it exactly mean to be a media company today? Yeah, I mean, that's a, you know, a big question, I'll tell you what it means for us, which is really about centering storytelling and centering the voices and experiences um and in terms of our mission of women and historically excluded communities and for us, um what I think is creative about what we're doing is that in some ways we are audience agnostic for us, that means that we care so much about a story and experience the storyteller that we want to get in front of any and all audiences we possibly can wherever they are, whether that is on a movie screen, whether that's on tv, whether that is in, you know, the theater industry, whether it's on a podcast, right? And so, um as a production company, we really pride ourselves in putting the creative and the creator first and um being nimble and being willing to take projects um to, you know, other content formats when the folks that are in power may tell us, you know, this is not such a good sitter and we just did a movie like that, right? We hear stuff like that all the time. Uh and for us it's like, all right, well, we'll be back, uh, and if you're not willing to make this into a tv show today, we're gonna go put it on stage and do it as a play tomorrow. And um, you know, really figure out how to just get that story in front of audiences. Right? And again, it's not just for us to tell our own stories, we know that these are better stories, there are more nuanced stories, the stories that all of us want to see and, and deserve to see. Uh, and, and it's really about, you know, finding audiences that we know will benefit from that and are open to that. Right? And, and, and talk a little bit about reductions and just sort of what your, what it is, why you acquired them. And are we going to be seeing you guys do more of that? Yeah, for sure. So I mean, the answer the question more from sort of a business perspective, um, we are a 3 60 media company and what that means is that, um, we, you know, when you talk about this sort of entertainment fly, will we have film and tv and theater, um, we're, you know, hopefully soon gonna be launching an audio business. Um, we have digital audiences through reductions through phenomenal, um, consumer products business, right? A brand that means something that has equity and so really, um, you know, leveraging all of those pieces of the fly, will that ultimately tie up into the mission driven brand. And we are um, when we talk about being a 3 60 media companies, so doctors in particular was um, you know, the strategy, there was um, many fold, but in terms of, you know, being a media company and focusing on audience and digital audiences, it was about original content and also looking at the medium. Um, and the tool of humor, right? And specifically in reduction in case, um, humor that appeals to a largely female and non binary, um, audience. Right? And understanding that back to the theme around realizing power. There's incredible power and human and humor to speak truth to power to talk about issues, um, in ways that you may not be able to do through a more sort of sincere, serious tone, which is what we have on the phenomenal side um, related, you know to that in terms of digital, it's also about building that, um, you know, e commerce business, which is something that we were originally known for. I mentioned that we started off as basically one t shirt almost six years ago, um, and have really built this 3 60 media company around that. And so it's about, um, you know, spanning our audiences and figuring out different ways of finding original specific content that will appeal to those different audience categories. Do you still sell a lot of t shirts, you broke up for a second. Do you still sell a lot of t shirts? We do still sell a lot of t shirts and reductions have lots of amazing new, different t shirts that are unlike anything you've seen from phenomenal, uh, encourage you to check out their shop. All right. Um, you uh, you had some, some really incredible uh, female role models in your life. Your aunt happens to be the vice president of the United States. Um, you've been surrounded by just very powerful women. Speaking of realizing your power, what's, what's something that you were told as a kid that you were told growing up that has stuck with you and that has helped shape you and the company you've built today. Um, a lot of things. Um, I feel very grateful to have grown up in a home that was really about, uh, you know, female ambition and realizing your power on a daily basis. I had a front row seat to that and it just was, as you said, it happens to be the case and it just happens to be the family I grew up and I feel very lucky for that. I would say, you know, first it be whoever you want to be and whatever you know, make whatever contribution you want to make in your own unique way. We all have power to do that, but do something right, have purpose in what you do. Uh, it was always a reminder that with privilege comes great responsibility and to show up for my community to fight for my community if I had any ounce of privilege to use that in ways that would be to make others better off. Right. And um, I grew up in uh in politics, I grew up, you know, on the Obama campaign, I I've been involved in that work my entire life. Um but what has been really just gratifying about my career to this day or two, you know, to date and getting to build this media company is realizing that there's power in doing in my own way uh and doing that in this case through media and it's been so special and exciting, just especially the last year, they said when we announced our expansion into content entertainment, um to see the power of that, right? And to see it coming to life. Um you've got t shirts, obviously digital content books, um feature film in the works. What, what do you see as sort of the next um organic extension for phenomenal right now, I'd like to take a nap. Um as you just mentioned, we have a lot going on and um, I would say, you know, on the one hand, we've been running really fast this year and doing a lot and on the other, um, I'm really proud of doing it well and really taking care of the projects that were entertaining projects in particular that we're developing. And for me, the next step is really about continuing to hone, you know, the y and the purpose and making sure that we're supporting the creatives and the, you know, creators that we're working with, and um, you know, sometimes that that does mean being, you know slower and more study and and coming back to the y and I'm really focused on that for next year in particular, um, after having had such a busy year and still having so many products in development, um I frankly cannot imagine thinking about anything else than what we're currently doing. So appreciate the question, but we have a lot on our plate. All right, well, we are gonna let you go take a nap. So, um I hope you feel better. Thank you for joining us, virtually, and hope to talk to you again soon when your voice is better. Thank you, Mina. Yes. Thank you for having me.