BEE 523 How Orion Brown Built a Travel Brand the Industry Ignored

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Black Entrepreneur Experience

Episode: BEE 523 – How Orion Brown Built a Travel Brand the Industry Ignored
Host: Dr. Frances Richards, Chief Encouraging Officer
Guest: Orion Brown, Founder of Black Travel Box
Date: October 8, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Dr. Frances Richards sits down with Orion Brown, the visionary founder of Black Travel Box, to discuss her journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship. Brown shares her mission to empower travelers of color with personal care products tailored to their unique needs—a market long ignored by the mainstream industry. The conversation traverses Orion’s personal inspirations, her company’s pandemic pivots, lessons on authenticity, and the importance of mental health and self-care within the Black community.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origin and Purpose of Black Travel Box

• Founding Story:
  Orion founded Black Travel Box in August 2017 as a passion project after years of struggling to find suitable personal care products during her extensive travels. She saw an unmet need for products that catered to the hair and skincare needs of travelers of color.
  • “If I’m going on a 10 day trip to Japan, how do I find products that actually work for my hair and my skincare needs? Because I certainly can’t find them when I’m in the country.” (Orion Brown, 01:23)
• Mission:
  The company focuses on products that are portable, TSA-friendly, safe, natural (with ingredients like shea butter), and culturally relevant—addressing the specific needs of the Black community.

2. Pandemic Pivots and Community Care

• Navigating COVID-19:
  Orion describes a series of “micro-pivots,” choosing not to discount her brand but to remain true to its mission. Her focus shifted towards self-care during lockdowns.
  • Launched a donation-based “Covid Relief Kit” for frontline workers, including their body balm and lip balm to combat the skin and lip problems exacerbated by PPE and constant handwashing.
  • “Self care is particularly important to our community. And while people aren’t able to travel right now, finding ways to provide that self care is something that we want to help encourage.” (Orion Brown, 02:58)

3. Challenges in Manufacturing

• Self-Manufacturing:
  Initial attempts to find manufacturers were met with bias and logistical challenges.
  • “One is language, like ‘we don't make products for Afro kinky hair.’ Having that sent back to me in an email... was definitely a very eye opening experience.” (Orion Brown, 04:57)
  • As a result, Black Travel Box began self-manufacturing in Denver, overcoming both cultural indifference and operational hurdles faced by Black-owned startups.

4. Black Mental Health & Self Care

• Advocacy for Mental Health:
  Orion is passionate about normalizing conversations around mental health in the Black community, organizing wellness events, and incorporating mental, physical, and spiritual self-care into her routine.
  • “I am very much focused on mental health and wellness... people can have a conversation about being diabetic. They can’t necessarily have those same types of conversations about being schizophrenic or bipolar or even just depressed.” (Orion Brown, 06:25)
• Personal Self Care Routine:
  Mentally: Regular therapy sessions.
  Physically: Balanced diet/exercise, e.g., walking stairs while listening to podcasts.
  Spiritually: Prayer, meditation, and acceptance.
  • “Self care really is a workout in will, especially if you’re type A... I try to focus on mental, physical and spiritual and at least have one thing that I’m doing consistently in each area.” (Orion Brown, 07:46)

5. Gratitude and Growth

• Reflections on COVID’s Slower Pace:
  Orion’s gratitude centers on time for introspection, reconnection, and personal growth.
  • “The isolation allows for... some really good reflective time. It’s allowed me to reconnect with people in my life… work through a lot of my own feelings.” (Orion Brown, 10:28)

6. Entrepreneurial ‘Aha’ Moment & Transition

• Realization of Success:
  Orion describes a pivotal moment at the Inc. 5000 event where industry recognition confirmed the need and potential of her business.
  • “The first thing out of her mouth was, ‘I know who you are, I know about your company.’ ...If that wasn’t a sign, I didn’t know what would be.” (Orion Brown, 12:31)
• Leaving Corporate Life:
  The transition was challenging—navigating new operational, tactical, and fundraising responsibilities.
  • “There’s an onus, you own it… The learning curve is steep… It’s very different when you’re not only doing the strategic planning, but you’re also doing the tactical execution.” (Orion Brown, 14:43)

7. How Listeners Can Support

• Follow and share @lactravelbox on social media (Instagram preferred)
• Shop at BlackTravelBox.com; frontline worker discounts available
• Direct outreach for community support and encouragement
  • “Continue to take care of yourself... Listen to each other, give each other five minutes and help support each other through a challenging time.” (Orion Brown, 16:25)

8. Biggest Achievements and Inspirations

• Meaningful Impact:
  Orion values positive feedback from the global Black community, serving unmet needs rather than chasing wealth.
  • “The biggest achievement... is getting letters, DMs, emails, LinkedIn notes from people globally saying thank you for making this. This is what we need.” (Orion Brown, 17:57)
• Admired Brands:
  Cites The Honey Pot Company as a role model for scaling a Black-owned brand to mainstream prominence.
  • “She’s created this... mainstream company. Natural ingredients, wonderful scale... That should be more commonplace.” (Orion Brown, 19:49)

9. Critical Lessons and Influencers

• Lesson:
  Trust your gut instincts and avoid “analysis paralysis.”
  • “As an entrepreneur, you cannot waffle... Every minute you spend is taking a dollar out of your business.” (Orion Brown, 22:50)
• Key Influencers:
  Cites her supportive former partner and friends who embody resilient joy, as well as the resourcefulness learned from her mother.
  • “My mom was the most resourceful human being on the planet. She was somewhere between like an NSA agent and MacGyver.” (Orion Brown, 27:06)

10. Authenticity & Legacy

• Embracing Uniqueness:
  Encourages breaking free from trying to be “normal” and being true to oneself.
  • “We all think that everyone else is normal… But if you spend an entire day with me… I have quirks.” (Orion Brown, 25:58)
• Empathetic Legacy:
  Orion wants to be remembered for her deep empathy and tireless efforts to help others facing challenges and trauma.
  • “I want people to remember that… my heart for the challenges that people go through, my heart for the struggles... I can’t put into words the depth of empathy that I feel.” (Orion Brown, 30:32)

11. Worst Moment in Business

• Struggling with Brand Authenticity:
  Reflects on a low point pitching to Gimlet Media, where diluting her vision to please everyone led to a weak presentation.
  • “I was essentially pitching five different businesses at once instead of pitching my business, my vision… That was a low point… I had to really change my mindset from there and double down on the vision.” (Orion Brown, 32:41)

12. Unfulfilled Dreams & Passions

• Travel on the Horizon:
  Dreams of global travel experiences that provide perspective and rejuvenation, like visiting the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Giza.
  • “Those moving moments… help me center and re-ground myself in the humanity of being.” (Orion Brown, 35:35)

13. Essential Technology

• Team Trello:
  Credits Trello with helping organize her business visually; likens it to digital post-its for project management.
  • “I love Trello… it allows you to create a visual placard of all of the things that are in motion.” (Orion Brown, 37:53)

14. On Serving a ‘Niche’ Market

• Why Stay Focused:
  Orion chose to focus on an underserved market not for explosive growth, but to fill a real need.
  • “It may not make sense to everyone, but it’s not a money discussion, it’s a need discussion. The funny thing is, when you fill a need, the money does come.” (Orion Brown, 41:45)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Building for the Community:
  “Being able to serve that purpose is huge for me and I know what we do today... will influence what is we start creating these pathways and businesses that are truly inclusive.” (Orion Brown, 18:51)

• On Transitioning from Corporate:
  “The transition from corporate life, that plantation life to entrepreneurship at first was pretty rocky… The learning curve is steep.” (Orion Brown, 14:40)

• On Empathy as Legacy:
  “There’s an empathy that I cannot express. I can’t… there’s no way to put in words the depth of empathy that I feel for folks in situations where there’s been trauma.” (Orion Brown, 30:32)

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Important Timestamps

• [01:12] – Orion introduces Black Travel Box and its mission.
• [02:21] – Discussing COVID-19 pivots and self-care for the community.
• [04:49] – Challenges with manufacturers and decision to self-manufacture.
• [06:21] – Importance of mental health discussions for the Black community.
• [07:45] – Orion’s personal self-care philosophy.
• [11:51] – The moment Orion realized her business had real potential.
• [14:40] – Transitioning from corporate life to entrepreneurship.
• [16:25] – How listeners can support Black Travel Box.
• [17:53] – Orion’s biggest business achievement: community impact.
• [19:49] – Brand admired: The Honey Pot Company.
• [21:55] – “Listen to your gut”—the lesson Orion wishes she’d known.
• [27:06] – Inspiration from her mother’s resourcefulness.
• [30:28] – Orion’s hope for her legacy: empathy in action.
• [32:41] – Worst business moment: losing focus in a key pitch.
• [35:35] – Lifelong dreams centered around travel and new experiences.
• [37:53] – Trello as an essential business tool.
• [41:45] – On building for a “niche” market with impact.

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Fun Facts Lightning Round

(Sample Highlights)

• Last movie seen: Knives Out – “Daniel Craig is usually just cute, but in this, he was actually quite funny.” (Orion Brown, 42:30)
• Relaxing activity: Watching Netflix
• Favorite music: Beyoncé for her fierceness; RuPaul in her dance mix
• Go-to food: Kale and brussels sprout salad
• Favorite month: February (birthday month)
• Contact Info:
  • “Our company, Black Travel Box, is available online, BlackTravelBox.com, and on all social platforms, primarily Instagram, @lactravelbox… If you get bored and you like a little food porn, check me out on IG @TheLastyMuse.” (Orion Brown, 44:10)

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Takeaways

Orion Brown’s story is a compelling blend of strategic business acumen, authentic mission-driven leadership, and personal resilience. Her unwavering commitment to serving a marginalized market, readiness to pivot during crisis, and emphasis on mental health and self-care underscore the broader impact Black entrepreneurship can have on both individuals and communities.

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Connect:

• Website: BlackTravelBox.com
• Instagram: @lactravelbox
• Personal IG: @orionhelana | @TheLastyMuse

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Transcript

[Orion Brown]

Welcome to the Black Entrepreneur Experience podcast.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Inside the business buzz and brilliance of black entrepreneurs. Here is your host, Dr. Frances Arlene. What happens in Vegas goes all over the world on Black Entrepreneur Experience, episode number five. Thank you for joining us as we elevate the Black Entrepreneur experience by interviewing CEOs, thought leaders, innovative thinkers and black entrepreneurs across the globe. I'm your host, Dr. Frances Richards. Our next guest is on a mission to enable travelers to be their best selves wherever they travel, wherever their travels take them. Orion Brown is the founder of the personal care company Black Travel Box. Welcome, Orion.

[Orion Brown]

Hello. Thanks for having me.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

You have such an amazing background. Why don't you fill in the gaps and share with our audience what you'd like them to know about you and your company?

[Orion Brown]

Well, definitely. Yes. So I started Black Travel box back in August 2017 and and it started as a passion project. I'm an avid Traveler. I've spent 15 years in corporate and every time I got the chance to take vacation time, I took it and enjoyed it thoroughly. But I found that I was having difficulty finding products that actually worked for me. If I'm going on a 10 day trip to Japan, how do I find products that actually work for my hair and my skincare needs? Because I certainly can't find them when I'm in the country. It started out as a passing project, an opportunity to create, create something and get my hands back into a brand. And now it's grown to really a mission for me. Everything that we make is in forms and formats that's meant to travel well, get you through tsa. And we have safe and natural ingredients, primarily things like shea butter. So very relevant to the black community in particular, as well as providing us with safe and reliable products that are easy to work with and really meet our needs. I'm excited to continue to build on that. We've got a lot of fun stuff coming.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Talk about how did you pivot with the Travel Market and COVID 19 through.

[Orion Brown]

The middle of what I call several micro pivots as well as some larger ones. My primary concern is always that we're really clear about what our business is, where our brand is. Black Travel Box is a brand that is focused on travelers of color. So it's about out of home product usage, but it's also about cultural relevance in both the ingredients, the tone and manner and what we bring to the table, the elevated sort of beauty of the brand. And all of those things really still needs to be intact. Even if we're making pivots on the business to get through these challenges. So things like massive sales and degrading sort of the value of the brand was something that I wanted to avoid. However, I wanted to give people an accessible way to reach the brand as well as stay true to some of our mission. I mentioned that I'm personally an avid traveler. One of the things that travel does for me is a form of self care. I'm a firm believer that self care is particularly important to our community. And while people aren't able to travel right now, finding ways to provide that self care is something that we want to help encourage. Basically a Covid Relief kit is what we called it and it's a donation based product. So you can come onto our website, purchase the product and it goes to a frontline worker and for them it is a form of self care. So with hand washing being hard enough to hand wash while you're at home, but when you're doing it after caring for hundreds of people a day, your hands are going to be dry, cut up and just calloused. And so one of the things that we did was included our body balm in that which is a really rich emollient, vitamin and mineral rich balm that's great for really dry skin. We also included our lip balm. So again wearing those N95 masks and oftentimes people are putting on cloth masks on top of that, particularly hospital workers. The dryness of the moisture being caught around the mouth, it's just terrible for lips and skin getting rough patches and things like that. So we wanted to put products in that actually were self care related products and also give people the opportunity to give back to the community that's giving back to us. So all of those frontline workers are folks that are supporting and doing work in underserved communities, which are the communities of color that are actually dying most frequently due to COVID 19.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

So are you manufacturing Orion the products yourself or are you working with other vendors to get the products?

[Orion Brown]

So right now we're self manufacturing out of our studio here in Denver. It's a really interesting story because initially my goal was to come into the marketplace, go find a manufacturer that does lower minimum order quantities, right, works with startups and new businesses and develop out products with them. And I ran into two major issues. One is language like we don't make products for Afro kinky hair. Having that sent back to me in an email from a company was definitely a very eye opening experience. And I did notice that with several companies that were rather interested in working with small businesses, but found that the African American consumer wasn't their bread and butter. The second challenge is when you're talking smaller quantities, the complexity that you can get out of a manufacturing partner is relatively low. So when I was running larger brands for craft foods, I have $30 million to spend with you. With a new product launch over the next five years, you're going to jump through hoops and create whatever product I need and figure out how to do that and change your manufacturing setup. But when we're Talking about spending $10,000 on inventory, it's a very different discussion. And because our products are uniquely made for travel, the way in which we make them is really atypical to what's in the marketplace, which makes it harder to get a manufacturing partner to work with us to do that at scale.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Orion, what problem exists in the world today that you would like to solve?

[Orion Brown]

Right now, I am very much focused on mental health and wellness, and I think it's the discussion of mental health. Just as we discuss physical health, people can have a conversation about being diabetic. They can't necessarily have those same types of conversations about being schizophrenic or bipolar or even just depressed. That's something that's a personal passion for me. It is tied into the company in the sense that for a lot of people, travel is that valve of self care that is that way to manage these things that they're not having the discussions about, they're not necessarily going to therapists about, but it gives them a release valve for the frustrations and the challenges that they're going through. For me, if I could change anything, it would be opening up that discussion more. And I am trying to do that. But I don't know if I can change the world overnight in that regard. But I do several things to encourage that. Not only disseminating information and doing the things that we do through the brand and the business, but but also working with community organizations. Right now we're organizing a 5K walk here in Denver for our Five Points neighborhood. So primarily African American. And we want to get that neighborhood really talking about mental health and wellness. And we're using this as an opportunity to kind of create a platform for it.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

And what does self care looks like for you personally?

[Orion Brown]

It is a workout. And will self care really is a workout in will, especially if you're type A. And I'm pretty type A. So I'm the person that I will stay up all night and work, which isn't particularly healthy. I will kind of Push myself harder than probably I need to oftentimes. And so for me, it is a workout in managing my own willpower to take a step back. And so things that I do, I try to focus on mental, physical and spiritual and at least have one thing that I'm doing consistently in each area. So from the mental perspective, I work with a therapist, which I think is phenomenal. Even if you're just rambling, it's just great to just be able to ramble. And there's no repercussion. There's someone there to help you think about it, to pat you on the back and say, it's gonna be all right, or pat you on the back and say, go ahead and cry it out. So I think that's a wonderful outlet from a physical perspective. I try to balance eating right with exercising. And when I say that, I do not mean it in the fitness instructor way, where they're like, you need to be on a diet and you need to be at the gym five days a week. It's more of, if I didn't move the way that I wanted to today, am I at least eating clean and eating right for the day? And then tomorrow I will flip and I'll walk the stairs. So I live in a high rise building. I'll walk the stairs and listen to a podcast for 25, 45 minutes and just go up and down the stairs and I stop when I need to because I'm not a fitness guru. But it gets my blood pumping. I think that's really good. And then on the spiritual side, I make sure that I do take time to pray, to meditate, to really think about what sort of the broader. What's important to me, why am I here? What is my purpose and what am I doing about that and am I moving myself in the direction towards it? And with all of these things, to me, it's all serenity prayer, right? So it's learn to accept the things that you can't change. Don't have anxiety over that I'm not going to be a size two, and that's okay. Change the things that I can, right? Be courageous enough to step up and speak up when things aren't working and I have the ability and the voice to do something about it and then just be wise about the two and know which is which. So that I'm releasing myself from responsibilities that don't exist. That's either up to God or up to someone else. And the things that I can, that I'm moving towards that and making some progress so that I can feel like I'm doing the best that I can. And that truly is enough.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

So, Orion, tell us what you are most grateful for right now in your life.

[Orion Brown]

I'm actually grateful for the time that I've had to myself during this period. I think with COVID I think people are now realizing that the slowdown that we've maybe missed because we're all kind of running really fast and doing a lot of things this time can be really cathartic in a lot of ways. And it's sort of a forced slowdown. And I think that's definitely been the case for me. I think that the isolation allows for. Can allow for. I know it's not great for everybody and it's not great for me every day, but it has allowed for some really good reflective time. It's allowed me to reconnect with people in my life that I maybe hadn't made the time to do so before. It's allowed for me to work through a lot of my own feelings and things I may have held against people and all that. Because when it's quiet, you hear your thoughts a lot clearer. Right. And so I'm really grateful for that. And I think that there's been a lot of growth that has happened over this period and even some months leading up to it, that's just been. It's been really gratifying for me. And I feel like the more gratified that I am in my existence right now, the better I can present myself to the world, the better I can present my company and what I'm doing here.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

What was that aha moment that you knew that your business was going to be successful?

[Orion Brown]

It was kind of a gut moment. So back in 2018, I was still working full time, working in corporate. Corporate. I left the Plantation and I was thinking about what to do next. And the next logical step was just to get another job. I don't want to be miserable here, but I'll be miserable somewhere else as long as they're paying me kind of thing. And I took a step back and said, God, I don't know. I really don't want to be back in this. I really don't want to continue life in this corporate space in the way that it's been going. So I'm going to take some time and work on this passion project of mine, Black Travel Box. And I want you to be really clear with me if I should not be doing this. So if I'm going to fail, let me fail. Spectacularly and if I'm going to win, then I need you to be really clear with me and give me some clear signs that I need to keep going. And during that time, I accompanied my then partner to an event, Inc 5000, and he was a speaker there and I got a VIP pass. So I got to be a plus one in a space that I had never stepped foot into before. And besides a number of really wonderful things happening over the course of that trip, I was sat next to Jim Ledbetter at a dinner and he was the editor in chief at the time of Inc. Magazine. And we just had a really great chat about food and instapots and why it's annoying to make food for kids classrooms because everybody's allergic to something and I'm allergic to stuff too, so I get it. But so we're just kind of talking and he goes, well, tell me about your business. And so I start talking about it and in my mind I'm like, it's a small, it's just a plan. It's a passion project. I haven't really launched it yet, you know, but I tell him, oh, this is what we do. And yeah, great, let me introduce you to this person. Basically his right hand woman. The first thing out of her mouth was, I know who you are, I know about your company. We were just talking about you and we were going to approach you to do an interview, but thought that since you were still in beta, we would hold off. And I was floored. Now, obviously in that kind of situation, you can't keep a straight face. It's like, oh, but inside I'm like, you like me? You really like me. This is amazing. If that wasn't a sign, I didn't know what would be. And from there, I mean, we got insane PR over that three month period. I hadn't even gone out and done anything. I mean, just a couple people had heard about us and it started to snowball. I was getting notes from people saying, this is so needed. Thank you for making this company. And that's when I knew that was that period, that test period where I said, God, let me fail or let me win. But be really clear. That was sort of the turning point for me to say, I need to do this full time, I need to see it through. And I believe that this needs to exist in the world.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Talk about that transition off the plantation to entrepreneurial ship.

[Orion Brown]

The transition from corporate life, that plantation life to entrepreneurship at first was pretty rocky because I think it's. Again I mentioned I'm pretty type A. And so it's a very different thing when you're working and creating for yourself. And there's an onus, you own it, right? So I spent a lot of sleepless nights where again, I had to learn to take better care of myself because that was the first thing. I'm like, figuring everything out and the learning curve is steep and it's not even just a how do you do business? Because I'm very adept at business. And I say that with no hubris. It's just true. I'm adept at business. However, it's very different when you're working with a different resource set. It's very different when you're not only doing the strategic planning, but you're also doing the tactical execution. So there were nights that I was just up figuring out how the postal system worked and how to actually mail out orders to people. That was a rough point, I would say, of just trying to figure out the technicalities of everything. But not only that, how to manage myself as an entrepreneur. That was the first rough patch and I think the second one was really figuring out fundraising and what that space looks like. Because there's a lot of things that people don't tell you. They'll present how wonderfully they've done things and they'll give you great advice on how to speak to folks, but they don't tell you the behind the scenes of how they're networking, how they came upon the right person, those types of things that really make the fundamental differences no matter what your presentation or your pitch is. So that was sort of the second big hurdle for me in transitioning Orion.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

What can we do right now to support your business?

[Orion Brown]

Oh, I love that question. So to support Black Travel Box, there's three things that I want you guys to do. Number one, find us on social. We are lactravelbox on every platform but Instagram is our bread and butter. And share us with other people that you think would enjoy our products. Avid travelers, folks with dry skin, folks that believe in self care. Anybody that would be aligned with our mission and our vision, please do share us. Check us out on our website, theblackchavelbox.com we have wonderful products we've got. If you are a frontline worker, we actually have a discount for you that's going to be a standing discount and that's inclusive of hospital workers, police, fire, anybody who's out there risking their skin. We want to cover it in body balm and show you we love you and care for all the work that you're doing. So definitely check us out there and continue to take care of yourself. I really want to see our community flourish and I know this is a really challenging time. If you want to hop on and email me or find me on Social orionhelana H E L A N A on all platforms, I am happy to cheer you up. I am happy to be a sounding board. I think this is what we all should do. Listen to each other, give each other five minutes and help support each other through a challenging time. So those are the things that I want you guys to do and that will be very fulfilling for me.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

What is the biggest achievement so far in your business?

[Orion Brown]

Hopefully this doesn't sound corny, but the biggest achievement in the business so far to me is getting letters, DMs, emails, LinkedIn notes from people globally saying thank you for making this. This is what we need. Please keep fighting for it. I didn't start the business to be like a bazillionaire. I'm not looking for bezos trillionaire status or anything like that. I would like to make a good living. Don't get me wrong, this is the point of being in business. I believe in capitalism, but I think that there's something really moving to know that I create something for our community that is real. It's not just in my head that we need it, but people really connect with that. And not only that, they feel that it's important enough to just say, hey, I see you, I encourage you and I want to see more of this. Fifteen years in corporate, I hadn't seen a lot of opportunity to really serve our community and serve us as consumers and we have immense buying power. Being able to serve that purpose is huge for me and I know what we do today. Whether this company is around in 10, 20, 50 years or not, what we do today will influence what is we start creating these pathways and creating these businesses that are truly inclusive and not only cater to our community, but bring elevation to the products and the shelves in which they're on. That will change what we're sold in the future. That will change what's on our shelves and our homes. And so that's really important to me. So that acknowledgement has been an amazing achievement.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

We can learn from successful entrepreneurs, people or brands. Tell us a brand or a business that is dominating that you admire and.

[Orion Brown]

Why I really am loving the Honeypot company starting out. I think they started out selling out of. I'm going to butcher this. But they think they started selling like outside the Brauner Brothers convention, right? It was like I made a thousand units in the trunk of my car and then I went and sold them and we sold out. And I love that sort of, you know, everybody wants to hear the rags to riches story, but in seeing the founder of Honey Pot speak at events now, she is a corporate executive and not in any negative connotation at all whatsoever. So just seeing that transformation that she's made over the last several years. The company is black owned, but it is a mainstream company, which I think is wonderful. And I actually really love their products, Go check them out. But just seeing the infrastructure that's built there, the way that's being paid, it's not just another forest bias business, which, I mean, our business is essentially a forest bias business. But I love that she's created this really lovely mainstream company. Natural ingredients, wonderful scale. I think every other week I get an email from them saying that they've gotten into a new retailer and that should be more commonplace. We shouldn't have to go, is this a black owned business or not? Let's go look them up in the green cages or whatever. We should be able to go, oh yeah. Every other business that's on the shelf is either black owned or minority owned. And that just is what it is. And we make great businesses and we work very hard and we have wonderful vision and insight for our consumers. So I really admire what they're doing because it creates again that infrastructure for commonplace business ownership within the black community and other minority communities. So that in 10, 20, 50 years, we won't even necessarily be asking that question, at least not in the same way, because it will be commonplace that we're going out, we're creating great things, we're building wealth and we're serving our global communities with it.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Orion, there's one valuable lesson you wish you knew before starting your business.

[Orion Brown]

I would say listen to your gut. When I started out, I came in with a healthy dose of humility and I said, you know, I know corporate, I know brands, I know consumers. However, I don't know entrepreneurship. I was not the kid selling lemonade at the lemonade stand. I was not selling candy out of my gym bag or pickles or chips or anything like that. Like the other girls in high school, I'm going to take a step back and just try to listen as much as I can. And I'm going to try to what ended up being second guess myself a lot on decisions, because I think I know, but I probably don't. I need to kind of get more experience under my belt. And what I realized was that's complete bs. If you have a good gut, you have a good gut. And if you are good at assessing information and situations quickly and coming up with perspective and point of view, that nimbleness is actually incredibly valuable. As an entrepreneur, you cannot waffle, you cannot spend time in analysis paralysis because every minute you spend is taking a dollar out of your business. I spent some time learning how to be an entrepreneur and how to listen to my gut and be okay with, you know, there may be a knowledge gap, there may not be a knowledge gap, but don't second guess yourself just on the premise of, you know, the big bad space of being an entrepreneurship, because a lot of people will approach you and attempt to tell you what your business should be, especially when you're new and you're fresh and they're seeing that there's traction. Everyone wants to prove themselves with your business. They come in, I want to be a consultant, I want to be an advisor. But they have something to prove and that oftentimes has nothing to do with your business. Really sticking to your guns and understanding what it is that you're trying to create and working from that and being confident in that is really important.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Who are your top two influencers in your life and what lessons did they teach you?

[Orion Brown]

I think I mentioned my partner at the time, back in 2018, that accompanied me, or rather I accompanied to Inc. I would say I learned a really, really healthy dose of how to sort of stand in my truth and be as authentic and as me as possible. It was a situation of just constant encouragement. And I think that that's. You always need someone in your life who looks at you for who you are, exactly who you are, what you are, how you are, and says, not only is this okay, this is wonderful, now go out in the world and go do more of that. Go be more of that. So I think that was a big piece, and I think the other is. It's sort of nebulous. But I look at friends that have gone through challenges over the years, and particularly the ones that are. They still have joy after going through things. I have a friend right now, and I won't name names, but I have a friend whose husband went through a really debilitating disease just before we got into the COVID 19 season, if one can call it that, where he was hospitalized and it was very scary. And she's got three young children at home. And I'm so encouraged by the joy that she's still able to find. I'm encouraged by her saying things like, well, at one point I just had to realize I'm just going to get up today and just go do it. Like you can't dwell on it too much. You have to just get up and go do it. Folks like her, I have a few ladies in my circle that really inspired me by their strength and they inspired me by their will and their joy. You can look at things in your own life and go, well, but my stuff is different and this, that and the other. But people are going through stuff and it's not just Covid. People still have lives that are going on, troubles that are happening. And when you see someone who's able to still muster up that joy and that spark for life, I think it's really meaningful.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Or Ryan, if someone spent a whole day with you, what would they learn?

[Orion Brown]

I was gonna say had a deaf and Adam's birthday. I'm just kidding. If someone spent a whole day with me, I think that they would learn. I'm a little weird, but I think we all are, right. This idea of people being normal is non existent. We all think that everyone else is normal. We all want to be more normal like everyone else. But if you spend an entire day with me, you're going to get to know me. And I have quirks. There are times where I just need to unwind and watch Star Trek. Just I need to unwind and I need some Deep Space Nine just to make me feel better so I can get stuff going for me. It's. I think people learn to not take themselves so seriously being around me. Hopefully I think they'll learn about me in particular that I do think very deeply and I encourage others to think deeply about what they do in their day and what that means and why. And they'll probably learn how to cook because I cook a lot and I can't help but feed the folks and show them how to make it. So those are three things that they would learn.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Orion, talk about that person in your childhood or your lineage that inspired you.

[Orion Brown]

Well, when I was a kid, my mom was the most resourceful human being on the planet. She was somewhere between like an NSA agent and MacGyver. The way in which she could materialize resources and materialize the things that we needed in a situation where we didn't have much was awe inspiring. Until the age of, I want to say five or six and someone just asked me about this the other day and I hadn't thought about it in years, but until the age five or six. She made all my clothes from scratch. I remember spending, and when you're a kid, this is really boring. But I remember spending hours at Joann fabric, going through McCall's and Simplicity books, slipping through the pages while she was like, finding the patterns and the notions and finding the best deal. I mean, I could tell you how to find all the remnant fabrics, all the 75% off stuff. But her resourcefulness was truly awe inspiring. And I think, you know, she created a life for us, particularly in those early years that felt as middle class as anybody else's just by using her own hands. I mean, she wasn't up at night praying, she was up at night sewing, she was up at night cooking and she was creating. That's something that I've taken with me. And like I said, someone asked me a similar question before and that bubbled up and I hadn't even realized it. So again, I think that time to yourself, to really think about and be introspective, you'll find amazing things about yourself that you didn't know. I had no idea. My mom was such a big piece of why I'm an entrepreneur today and also why I refused to buy a scarf that I can knit myself. So she was a huge inspiration in that regard.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

How do you feel about who you have become?

[Orion Brown]

I'm feeling pretty good about who I've become right now. If you had asked me five years ago, I'd be like, but right now I think that there's a lot of work to be done. There's always going to be a lot of work to be done. And I think at the point in which I no longer have to learn to refine and to do better and be better, then that's when my time here is done. However, I think that some of the things that I've gone through, particularly in the last couple years, unrelated to business, but some of them actually business related as well, have taught me an ease about myself. It's well with my soul where I'm at, because I know where I'm going, I know where I've been, I know who I am and whose I am. And those are things that are hard to know. It's easy to hear it, it's easy to be told. But to know it is a practice that has to kind of be cultivated every day. And then, you know, just like any habit, as you start to cultivate that, it starts to really take seed and, and make more sense. And you feel it and you know it as opposed to hearing it and kind of Understanding it, I'm in a pretty good place, and I'm excited about what's ahead, even though I don't know what it is, which is, again, that ease is a wonderful thing to have when you don't know what's next. But I'm very comfortable with that and happy with that.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Orion, when it's all said and done, how do you want to be remembered? Talk about your legacy.

[Orion Brown]

Yeah, I'm tempted to say that I just want to be remembered, but, you know, no one wants to be remembered. Well, maybe some people want to be remembered in infamy. I definitely don't. I think I want people to remember that. My heart for the challenges that people go through, my heart for the struggles, particularly the ones that, you know, I've experienced myself. There's an empathy that I cannot express. I can't. There's no way to put in words the depth of empathy that I feel for folks in situations where there's been trauma, in situations where there's been emotional anguish, and in situations where just life has been incredibly unfair. I think the closest thing that could potentially mirror that is the feeling that we have as a community when we hear about one of us being gunned down, either by police or by friendly neighbors or, you know, those types of situations, but where we have that collective side, where we have that collective moment in our hearts of mourning, of anger, of visceral humanity. And that's something that has developed in me over the years for a number of things that are pretty close to my heart. And I want people to know that that comes from a pure place. And I want people to remember that it's always been from a pure place. And hopefully the legacy is that I'm actually able to help people in those positions, to help people to not end up in those positions, to just help. I'm not the people person that just loves talking to every single person. I'm not the bubbly human that's like, oh, she's like, she's totally a people person. I don't mind talking to folks, but it is truly that those quiet moments of empathy and those moments where I can see the struggle. I spend a lot of time encouraging people in my free time where I see them struggling and things getting them connected to resources, et cetera. So, yeah, I think that's sort of what the legacy should be. I would love for someone to look back on my life and say that she really tried. She really tried, and she really meant it.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Let's switch gears for a moment. Talk about the Worst moment in business. And what was your takeaway?

[Orion Brown]

I have to say I did a pitch podcast, actually. Gimlet Media is a pitch. And it wasn't the worst moment in that it actually, like, did anything negative to the business. I went in and pitched with them and I sat in a room full of, you know, it was actually a pretty diverse room. We had a discussion and I was pitching the business and the reason why it was the worst moment. And I actually spoke with one of the. One of the investors from that sort of tribunal afterwards, and he actually confirmed what I was feeling and thinking at the time. I went in and I tried to be everything for everybody, because going into that, I felt like it was a really big moment. It was going to be great PR for the business. And so I started asking people, well, how would you position this? Well, how would you think about this business? And I got so many conflicting things. And actually having talked to other investors previous, because again, everybody will try to create their vision for what you're building. I got a lot of feedback. Well, you're not going to get money if you make it just about black people. Well, it's really niche, like talking about travel and, well, I mean, really, you should position it for, like, mass market. Well, why isn't it for this person? Well, why are you doing? And so with all of that, instead of going, this is what my gut says, this is what I know, and I'm just going to go and fight for the thing that I'm trying to create. I took it and created this like Frankenstein. And the pitch went, okay. But one of the reasons why it really didn't resound in everybody's mind, oh, this is what we need to be focusing on, this is what we need to invest in, is because I was essentially pitching five different businesses at once instead of pitching my business, my vision. After that pitch, I did speak with one of the investors that I felt like he really connected. Not necessarily because he was a huge fan of the idea, but because he asked me intelligent questions that had nothing to do with the cultural aspects of the business, that had nothing to do with my capabilities. It was all about like, well, what's the business model? Help me understand this, help me understand that. So I spoke to him and he said, you know, I don't know if I get the whole travel thing, but if that is what you believe this business needs to be, then you need to just be that and go do that and don't try to be everything for everybody. That was a big moment for me and it was a little bit of a gut punch, not that he meant it that way, but that I knew that I was doing that. And that was a low point because I knew everything that I had been working on up to that point and around that point had been a mishmash of feedback and opinions and all these other things. And I wasn't working towards the vision. So I had to really change my mindset from there and double down on the vision and build from that.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

What have you not done in life that you dream about often?

[Orion Brown]

So most of the things that I dream about often that I haven't done have to do with traveling to places. So it's really more of just my bucket list. I really relish the moments, those moments, and I call them quiet moments, but they can be in an amphitheater with thousands of other people. But those moments and those experiences that give you chills and give you perspective. Things that are on my list. I mean, at some point I'll go to the Great Wall of China. At some point I'll see the Pyramids of Giza. And I'm really excited about those things. Those are probably the things that I think about most often of those experiences. I went to South Africa 10 years ago, yeah, I think it's 10 years ago. And stood at the Cape of Good Hope and looked over and I saw where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic met and how the clouds rolled back because of the temperature changes. And there's a whole bunch of science behind it. But nothing changes your mindset in your spirit like seeing a line in the ocean, a separation of clouds and water and earth. I don't know how high up we were. I'm afraid of heights. So it felt like thousands of feet. I don't think it was thousands, but we were up pretty high. Those moving moments. So those are the things that I dream about. Those are the things that I work towards every time I can get a chance to go somewhere on my own or even with other people. But that's a great motivator for me. That helps center me and that helps me kind of re ground myself in the humanity of being. And also just looking out at the beauty of the space that we've been given to live in. And I know that gets really, like, hokey and philosophical, but I look forward to those because day to day, when you're in traffic and you want to pass people out and you're frustrated at your cousin because they're being trifling and you don't like the way that your friend did something and you know, all of these things just pile up on you and they're all nonsense, but it's hard to remember that they're nonsense when you're in it. And so every day or every week I'm spending some time thinking about that next place that I can go to release all of that.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Orion, what is a technology tool or a technology platform that is a must have for you in managing your business day to day?

[Orion Brown]

This might start a fight, but I am Team Trello all the way now. I know people love Asana. These are both practice management platforms. People aren't familiar, but I love Trello. Trello is the equivalent to the post IT notes that I have all over my desk and I'm still transitioning out of post IT notes. It's a process, pray for me. But Trello allows you to create not only detailed project notes and assign them to people and create checklists and organize them and all of that, but it also allows you to create a visual placard of all of the things that are in motion and where they're in motion. And one of the things that I love the most, and I'm sure it is the biggest time suck and the least efficient part of it is putting in the images for each project because with each image it kind of burns it in my mind exactly what it is that we're trying to do and how we're trying to do it. And so I love my cello boards. I am a cello board hoarder. If I could have stock in Trello, I would buy it. Yeah, it's a really great project management tool, especially for people who are visual thinkers, learners and planners.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

If you conducted this interview, what is the one question you would have asked yourself? I'd like you to ask the question and answer it.

[Orion Brown]

I mentioned earlier the pushback on the business being niche. So the question that I would have posed around that is given all the feedback of the business, black travel box being such a niche brand, why continue to build that? Why not make something more scalable? And my answer is because again, I didn't start this business looking for, for a cash cow that is just. I mean I could have gone into some type of tech platform or something like that. Even being a non technical founder, found a developer, created something. I created this because I saw a real need in a very specific market. While everyone struggles with those tiny little tubes of toothpaste and little bottles of shampoo. It is particularly impactful to what I would consider the black travel market because of the importance of the time that we're taking to travel, I won't pigeonhole us and say we're all too impoverished or broke to travel. So when we travel, it's really worth a lot to us. What I will say is travel can be very expensive. We don't often, I think, from a responsibility standpoint, give ourselves a break to go do it as much as we would like to. And looking at the new travel generation and the black travel movement that has happened in the last 10 to 15 years, which I think is still a little bit of a sleeper to mainstream marketplace, we are growing into this space gangbusters. And so we're going out into the world. It's a new experience for a lot of us. The frequency of travel is a new experience. The locations. I mean, we're not just going to Jamaica. I love Jamaica. But people are going to Iceland, they're going to Russia, they're going to Japan. And so I want people to get every inch, every drop of that experience out without thinking about how black they are. Now, I can't control people taking pictures of you or trying to touch your hair, but what I can do is provide you something where you're not running around looking for products, looking for grapeseed oil and coconut oil, because nobody makes anything that works for you, because that thought is predicated on the reality that people aren't thinking about you, that mainstream beauty isn't thinking about you, and the availability of products for you is not necessarily a priority. And so I kind of want to. I want to create something that removes that issue in the world. It may not make sense to everyone, but it's not a money discussion, it's a need discussion. The funny thing is, when you fill a need, the money does come. So rather than going greed first, I'm going need first. And that's why I'm creating a company that's purportedly very niche.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Orion. We come to the part of our interview. It's called the Fun Facts Lightning Round. And I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I'd like you to give me very quick answers. If there's something you desire not to answer, feel free to say pass. Are you ready for the Fun Facts Lightning Round?

[Orion Brown]

Let's do it. I'm excited. The last movie you saw, Knives out, was the last movie I saw at a movie theater with other humans. And it was hilarious, which is very odd because Daniel Craig is usually just cute, but in this, he was actually quite funny.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

You relaxed doing what?

[Orion Brown]

I watched so much Netflix. It wasn't even Covid. I just, I love Netflix. I love watching movies and tv.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Your favorite singer or rapper?

[Orion Brown]

Oh, that's a good one. I mean, you know, I hate to say Beyonce because everybody loves Beyonce, but I love her fierceness and I love, I think, a lot of the things that other people love about her. The realness of her and her ability to capture the attention of not only the room but of the world.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Your favorite dance song?

[Orion Brown]

You know what? I don't have a favorite, but I do have a mix that I picked up on Tidal and there's a lot of RuPaul in the dance mix and I didn't know how much I love RuPaul, so I play that when I need a little energy, particularly if I haven't been out of the house.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

What food you eat every week, no matter what.

[Orion Brown]

So I am on this kale and brussels sprout salad kick. It comes pre bagged and it has like poppy seed lemon dressing that comes with it. I'm obsessed.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Your favorite month?

[Orion Brown]

February. It's when my birthday is hit the.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Gym or hit the couch. Thank you so much Orion for spending time with us on Black Entrepreneur Experience podcast. Before we let you go, why don't you share with our audience the best way for them to connect with you and all of your social media handles?

[Orion Brown]

Yes, definitely. Our company, Black Travel Box is available online. BlackTravelBox.com youm can also find us on all social platforms but primarily Instagram. Laktravelbox if you'd like to connect with me. My name is Orion O r I o n and you can find me orionhalana H E L a N A on all social platforms. So definitely hit me up. And if you get bored and you like a little food porn, check me out on IG TheLastyMuse that is how I spend my time. Tasty with a y that's how I spend my time. When I'm not working on the business I am cooking.

[Dr. Frances Richards]

Thank you Orion. That is a wrap.

[Orion Brown]

Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. This was fun.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

Thank you for listening and subscribing to Black Entrepreneur Experience. We would love for you to leave a review and rating on itunes and share with your friends. For show notes and more episodes go to www.beepodcast.com. join us next Wednesday. And remember, green is the new black so keep your bank accounts and your business in the black.