Seated on a plush green couch with late morning sunlight peeking through the window, Stirred Stories recently spoke with Elizabeth Gay about her entrepreneurial experiences. The regal backdrop to our conversation was ìpàdé, the co-working space Elizabeth brought to life. 

Like many Millennials, we are deeply familiar with co-working spaces. But until ìpàdé, we had never experienced a co-working environment that was built by and for Black women and women of color. 

Below, you’ll find an excerpt from our conversation with Elizabeth. We discussed her journey as a Black female entrepreneur, the importance of BIPOC femmes having safe spaces, and why there is still work to be done to protect and uplift women of color despite the recent surge in racial justice initiatives and uprisings.

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SS: What is ìpàdé? And what does the word ìpàdé mean? 

EG: ìpàdé is a co-working and event space for Black women and people who identify as femmes of color or nonbinary people of color. The word ìpàdé comes from the West African Yoruba language and it means “meeting.” 

When I was thinking through the idea for this space, I wanted the name to reflect an African diaspora heritage. I reached out to some of my friends who speak other languages from the African continent and asked them for words that would resemble or connect with a “women’s meeting” or a “women’s gathering space.” ìpàdé wa comes from Nigeria and it means “women’s meeting.”

SS: Why was it important for you to have the name of this space be a word from the African diaspora? 

EG: For me, names have always meant a lot. I’ve always connected strongly with my name––I’m named after my great grandmother. I’ve always been interested in what words mean, what languages mean, what they signify. And so in creating a space that prioritizes Black women and women of color, I wanted the name to wholly resonate and connect with that. 

SS: What inspired you to found ìpàdé? 

EG: In 2013, I started an initiative called Black Women For… It was a leadership development network for progressive Black women in DC. I did a few events, workshops, happy hours, things like that for about a year. And Amber J. Phillips, who actually designed ìpàdé, did a workshop for Black Women For… on organizing. Designing ìpàdé with Amber was a full circle moment. 

Black Women For... was an effort at the time that I didn’t recognize would bring me to ìpàdé but when you look back at things it’s like, “Oh, that’s kind of always where I was going!” So I’ve always been interested in getting Black women in particular and women of color in general together to build ourselves up, enhance our skills, connect and network, and share information. 

In 2018, I joined The Wing coworking space when it came to DC and I was obviously impressed with what they had, but it was very white. I was sitting with one of my friends who later left The WIng because of racial tension and we started talking about, “well what if we had a space like this for women of color? Could you imagine if this space were full of women of color––just doing our thing?” 

I thought about it for a little while and realized that people had a need for shared space with other women of color, someplace that they could exist without having to deal with microaggressions and some of the discrimination that happens in the workplace.

For me, ìpàdé is the next iteration of my work for Black women.

SS: That’s exciting!

EG: Yeah, it is!

SS: Once you decided in 2019 that you were going to pursue this space, what was the journey from there? What was your journey from “I have this idea, I want to pursue it” to “Let’s make it happen!”?

EG: My first step was research. I checked-in with the community and folks who would be our potential customers and asked, “Do you even want this? Would this be helpful to you?” The idea did resonate with people so I jumped to looking at spaces in DC to make it happen. Obviously, I had a business plan too. 

I started to think about where this space could exist in the DC area. It was probably premature, but I met my realtor through going to see some of these places. I became really interested in one place (it was crazy expensive) and then the pandemic hit. I actually started drafting a letter of intent––you know, going through the process of getting the space––and then the pandemic hit and I was forced to pause. That pause was actually an opportunity to continue to hone my entrepreneurship skills and to understand more about what it was actually going to take to make ìpàdé happen. 

SS: You got moving pretty quickly!  

EG: Yeah, that was a lot! I don’t know how that would’ve worked out, right? Because there were a lot of steps. There were a lot of things I had to learn, and learn by doing. That’s the only way you can learn some of these things. 

You know, during the racial justice uprisings in 2020, all these businesses and companies started investing in and putting out programs for Black people, for entrepreneurs. I signed up for as many as I could because I was sitting at home like, “What else do I have to do? I’m here. I have time. Let me learn as much as I can.” 

Those programs were helpful but were also very theoretical because they’re speaking to a broad audience. So there was a lot I had to learn as I went through the process. The pandemic provided that time and space for me to do that. 

I would say the process was: idea; research; experimentation to a certain extent; learning; iterating; and then execution. But at the same time, execution also involves a continual process of learning and growth.

SS: What have been some teachable moments for you as a Black femme founder? 

EG: I’ve learned a lot––there are so many teachable moments. One that stands out to me right now is this core lesson of you really have to believe in yourself because there are moments when no one else believes in you. People will, intentionally or unintentionally, try to discourage you or end up discouraging you in one way or another. People can’t always match your energy and excitement so you have to be committed. If you’re not 100% in it, it’s not going to happen. 

SS: What have been some wins?

EG: Seeing the space come together! The day before the launch party, there was a moment where it felt complete –– not 100% but it was like, “Oh! The vision has arrived.”

Seeing everyone in the space the next day was super exciting for me. And hearing stories of how people are working together and connecting based on the gatherings that we’ve done [was great]. For example, there are two people who are working together and have built a new company that’s putting products out into the world that are for Black people. Those partnerships, those connections are the core of what makes ìpàdé special and leads to impact for our communities.

SS: Congrats on already making an impact! 

EG: Yeah, thank you! 

SS: How is being a Black woman and a BIPOC femme in general an asset in the entrepreneurial space? 

EG: Being a Black woman is very special. What I see in Black women, and how we move in the world and create things that are missing in our lives, [is outstanding]. 

From oppression and lack, we build. We create abundance and better livelihoods for our families, our communities, and the world. 

We enhance the world through our actions and our existence. Our existence is an asset. 

The way we care for the people in our lives is valuable. The way we contribute to the economy is valuable. But even if we didn’t, we would still be valuable, right? 

SS: Conversely, are there any challenges you think people should be aware of?

EG:I have seen a lot of talk about how Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs. And there’s a lot of data showing that when you invest in Black women and women in general, when you invest in people who are historically under-resourced, the money is spent in fantastic ways that produce a positive snowball effect. 

So, from that perspective, the outsider perspective, it’s like Black women are valuable because of what they can do for others. How they can produce for others. That’s a tough narrative to navigate and to deal with––especially when we continue to be under-resourced and underfinanced. We’re part of the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, but many businesses are struggling, doing a lot with a little, aren’t fairly represented in VC funding…it’s tough. 

SS: Since 2020, many folks have been more attentive to racial justice and DEI initiatives. Businesses have issued statements about research they’re doing in their companies, folks have committed to buying Black and from marginalized communities in general. In a moment where these topics are arguably more of a priority for society, can you explain why a space like ìpàdé is still a necessity for femmes and women of color? 

EG: It’s a necessity because the changes that have happened don’t get to the core of the issue, which is widespread white supremacist ideology and systems, policies, and practices that continue to undermine the livelihoods of communities of color. 

So DEI initiatives, putting money into entrepreneurship programs, and supporting Black businesses…that’s just the beginning. We have to ultimately transform the way our society functions and the way people view Black people and treat Black people. Supporting a Black business doesn’t change what Black women experience in society every day, in the workplace every day. 

There’s a lot more that we have to do and I think for the foreseeable future, at least in my lifetime, spaces like ìpàdé will be necessary as a haven, as a sanctuary, and as a place where Black women are celebrated. 

SS: Any advice for Black women and women of color who are hoping to start a business? 

EG: Get started and keep going. No matter what, keep going.

Learn more about ìpàdé here.