GGBA LETTER FROM LEADERSHIP
The Importance of Being Out and Representing in Business
GGBA CALENDAR
By Jay Greene, JD, CPA As we reflect after celebrating a joyous 50th year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the Golden Gate Business Association (GGBA) continues to be a force for change and continuing achievements within the LGBTQ+ community. Celebrating the GGBA’s 45th anniversary in 2019, I want to reflect on how we all have achieved such momentous results for the LGBTQ+ community. Founded in 1974, the GGBA was an historically commensurate force with our beloved Supervisor Harvey Milk as we both worked toward achieving equality by being out. As Harvey Milk so eloquently asked, “How can people change their minds about us if they don’t know who we are?” Through generations of LGBTQ+ individuals expressing their true authentic selves, society has moved forward with us in our continued march for equality. Many individuals have found the freedom that being fully out offers in circles with their friends and family. However, many business owners and employees, who are members of the LGBTQ+ community, are not fully out in their professional lives. What does it mean to be fully out in your professional life? It means empowering your community and making sure that the business decisions reflect the entire rich diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. It means expressing yourself as queer, bi, lesbian, gay, pansexual, or any of the sexualities represented in our community. Your voice as a gender non-conforming, nonbinary, gender neutral, transgender, male, female, or any of the spectrum of genders represented in our community helps to
Jay Greene JD, CPA
enrich the entire business world when it is expressed in your business.
You might be asking: How can I start to express my true authentic self more in my business? The GGBA has been serving the San Francisco business community for over four decades, providing a resource that offers its members opportunity, education and advocacy. The GGBA welcomes you to join the discussion within our community: https://ggba.com/ You will find mentors and peers who want to see your business succeed. Others will be enriched when you actively bring your thoughts and skills that add diversity to our membership. Membership in the GGBA allows for certification at no cost as a majority-owned LGBT business enterprise for qualifying businesses. This allows diverse owned businesses to get equity when competing for contracts with corporations. Please reach out to any GGBA board member to learn more about how you can enrich your community. Jay Greene, JD, CPA, is an attorney at his namesake The Greene Law Firm (447 Sutter Street) that handles estate, probate and elder law. For more information: https://assetprotectionbayarea.com/
GGBA Member Spotlight
Jonathan Mildenhall of Twenty First Century Brand The GGBA member spotlight for this issue is on Jonathan Mildenhall and Twenty First Century Brand (21CB). Mildenhall, former CMO of Airbnb, co-founded the company, which helps businesses to use marketing to drive their financial, consumer, cultural and employee growth and value. As Joe Gebbia, Airbnb co-founder says, “The 21CB team brings brands to life with unlimited humanity. Be prepared for an explosion of creativity.” Magdalena Rodriquez: Please describe your business and its mission and values. Jonathan Mildenhall: 21CB is a marketing consultancy, founded in May 2018. Our mission is to work with founders and CEOs to help build the world’s most influential brands. We believe in building purpose-driven businesses that have values and integrity at their core. We hold ourselves accountable to high standards of excellence and use the following values to guide us: • Ambush with Humanity - We go out of our way to create a safe space for people to be vulnerable, creative and challenging. To be themselves, and not who they think they “should” be. • Diversity & Harmony - We embrace all forms of diversity from ethnicity to experience. The process of building harmony can be messy, but the results are powerful and more than worth it. • Commercial Creativity - We see creativity as a mindset and not a discipline. The art is in using it to create real value, with the entire company as our canvas. • Purposeful Growth - Commerce is predicated on growth, but not all that grows is good. We pursue growth that is sustainable for people, the planet and profit. Magdalena Rodriquez: Why did you decide to create your business? Jonathan Mildenhall: 21st century companies desperately need clearer brand strategies that can act on a purposeful North Star that can guide strategic decisions across a number of company-wide initiatives including corporate culture, product development & innovation, community management, employee engagement, and marketing strategy and execution. The collective experience of the team at 21CB means that we can unlock the strategic and creative potential with our client companies, and in so doing accelerate growth and reputation in a clear and purposeful way. Our clients include Pinterest, WeWork, Harklinikken, Thrive Global, Airtime, GoDaddy, Peloton, UberEats, Uber and TurboTax.
By Magdalena Rodriguez
Coffee with the President Each Friday through September 6, 2019, Audry deLucia and Gina Grahame—President and President-elect of GGBA—invite you to share your thoughts with them about GGBA and to learn more about the Association and LGBT business certification. July 12, 19 and 26, 7:30 am–8:30 am Equator Coffee, LinkedIn building 222 2nd Street (at Howard) https://bit.ly/2LJm01E GGBA Member Roundtable Make Contact The GGBA is shifting the July Make Contact a bit, asking members to engage in a roundtable discussion regarding the chamber’s member programming. The board wants to hear from members on what programs you want the chamber to continue producing and what other programming you would find meaningful and engaging, in pursuit of your business goals. Tuesday, July 16, 5:45 pm Registration 6:15 pm–7:30 pm Program/ Roundtable Discussion Free for Members; $25 for Non-Members SF LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street https://bit.ly/2Jp18K8
GGBA’s Pride Make Contact, held on June 18 at Goorin Brothers Haberdashery, celebrated local retail merchants. The gathering featured lessons in hat care, festive drinks, tasty bites and guest speakers led by GGBA’s president Audry deLucia. Photos Courtesy of GGBA
Jonathan Mildenhall
Magdalena Rodriquez: Do you have any specific policies in place that benefit the LGBT community? Jonathan Mildenhall: First and foremost, we pride ourselves on creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive to all regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. Everyone gets the same benefits, including parental leave for LGBTQ moms and dads. In addition, we are proud to say we received our LGBT certification with NGLCC (National LGBT Chamber of Commerce) in our first year in business and look forward to continuing finding other ways to support and partner with the LGBT community as a whole. Magdalena Rodriquez: Do you have any specific policies in place regarding workplace equality? Jonathan Mildenhall: As mentioned, all of our employee benefits have been built around fairness and equality. Magdalena Rodriquez: Why did you decide to join the GGBA? Jonathan Mildenhall: We joined GGBA because a number of our employees and clients are proud members of the LGBTQ community and as our business grows, so too will our involvement in the Bay Area communities that we are part of. GGBA is the first of several organizations we hope to partner with. Magdalena Rodriquez: What has been your biggest reward and satisfaction during your journey as an entrepreneur? Jonathan Mildenhall: Candidly speaking, the most rewarding aspect of my journey as an entrepreneur is that I get to build a company and culture that reflect the real human values I care passionately about. I have had to fire a client that compromised my company values and therefore my employee experience. 21CB is a company built without compromise. Magdalena Rodriquez: And your biggest disappointment/nerve-wracking situation? Jonathan Mildenhall: Firing a client is never easy, but it was necessary to protect our company culture. Even though it cost
my company $225k in lost revenue—which hurt—it was without question the right thing to do. For more information: https://twentyfirstcenturybrand.com/ Magdalena Rodriguez is the Co-Founder and Director of GPSGAY Inc. mobile app and website—available in Spanish, English and Portuguese—for the LGBTQ community, www.gpsgay.com S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES
JULY 11, 2019
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