The 4 Best Pieces of Creative Advice From CultureCon

On Saturday, CultureCon New York took over the Duggal Greenhouse in Brooklyn. We rounded up the best advice you need right now from the event.

CultureCon New York came and went quickly. On Saturday in Brooklyn, 3,500 attendees were present for the live summit created for creatives of color who were looking to network but also on the hunt for inspiring tips on taking a leap in their careers. The massive crowd also attended to listen to panels featuring heavy hitters like Taraji P. Henson, Angie Martinez, Tracee Ellis Ross, Lena Waithe, Kenya Barris, Sam Jay, and Elaine Welteroth just to name a few.

Founded by Imani Ellis, CultureCon NYC has grown tremendously over the years – it’s become a well-known safe space for those who often feel unheard in their day-to-day jobs in corporate America whilst also offering moments for fellow creatives to feel welcome too. Aside from being a safe space, CCNYC has become a festering ground for meeting up with digital friends you haven’t met IRL and also building authentic relationships.  Saturday didn’t just consist of panels, there were also fireside chats and an incredibly large activations space featuring installations from LinkedIn, where attendees could take new headshots, Audible, which featured mini icebreaker stations for new friends, and more. 

With all of that being said, we soaked up some advice from some of the entrepreneurs and panelists who shared ideas at CultureCon NYC on when they began walking in their purpose like comic Sam Jay. Also, we spoke with them about best practices for building an audience online and more. Below you’ll also find tips from, journalist and CEO of EveryStylishGirl Nana Agyemang, celebrity stylist Dan P. Lee and rising rapper Big Boss Vette. 

Comic Sam Jay on how to figure out how to be the best version of yourself:

“I had to find myself first. It was a process, finding myself. I just never wanted to make it in this shit not being me. I just wanted to be a human being.” 

EveryStylishGirl CEO Nana Agyemang on building an organic audience on Instagram:

“Know your audience like the back of your hand. You can’t tell an authentic story if you don’t even know who you’re speaking to. Truly figure out what your audience wants, needs, desires, what they hate, and what they’re passionate about. Figure that out so you can carve out stories and content around those passions and things that inspire and motivate them. Speak to your audience [too].”

Rapper Big Boss Vette on how to battle against the TikTok algorithm:

“Being yourself and giving [your audience] everything you as a person can give them and just being genuine with everything that you do – they will gravitate towards that energy. At first, it was very discouraging because I was doing [the “Snatched” trend] for months on end and I didn’t feel that the [reach] was going fast enough. But then all of the sudden I woke up one day to it continually going up, I was very excited about that. You just have to keep on going.”

Celebrity Stylist Dan P. Lee on when you want to give up:

“Think about the past opportunities that you have and how blessed you are to have experienced them. [Remember] it took a lot of hard work and faith to get to that point. Think of those good moments and that gives you the desire to keep pushing through. Lean on your past blessings when you’re discouraged.”