CLLCTVE – How student entrepreneur Kelsey Davis harnesses creativity and diversity to power next generation marketing for America’s largest companies
Kelsey Davis, a Masters of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises student in the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, is an unstoppable visionary dedicated to creating opportunities for college creatives across the country.
In the world of content creation, launching yourself as a creator and developing a successful business with steady clients requires a wide network of connections. Whether you’re a videographer, designer, or web developer, the business model of content creation hinges on building a widely known platform to connect for opportunities. Building this platform, however, is no simple undertaking. It requires immense effort.
In addition, hiring creative skills is no easy task for companies. They are often forced to search through enormous online platforms that don’t qualify talent or rely on primary network connections that might not be the right fit for a campaign—especially one targeted at a massive new market opportunity like GenZ.
Through CLLCTVE, a student startup that Davis founded with the support of the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars network, she has created a solution that bridges the gap between student creatives and brands who want to discover emerging talent. CLLCTVE offers a technology platform and client-centered service that makes it easier for college creatives to build a clientele base and for brands to hire fresh GenZ voices and creative talent. Similar to job networking websites such as LinkedIn or Handshake, CLLCTVE allows student creatives to sign up for free to showcase their projects and be certified for their marketable skills, while brands pay a subscription to easily source data insights and talent to find the skills locally that they need.
Davis was driven to start CLLCTVE because she herself knows too well the difficulties of making a name as a creative. Raised in Atlanta, Davis discovered her own voice through a video production class in her high school which taught her how to record and edit. Inspired to create, she bought her own equipment and started her own freelance business, working for companies in the Atlanta area such as Coca-Cola, YMCA, and SkyZone Sports. She chose to attend Syracuse University for an undergraduate degree in Television, Radio, and Film because of the reputation of the Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Davis was relentless in building her freelance work as a side hustle during her early college years. As her opportunities grew, she began paying friends to help her. Realizing the benefit of connecting with other creatives, she used her magnetic energy to start gatherings, pop-ups, and workshops for her fellow students. Soon it turned into a club for student creatives to meet, network, and share skills with one another—a “collective,” as Davis dubbed it.
When her club turned out to be popular among students and beneficial to their platform growth, Davis realized there was a market for a connective service and began working to turn her “collective” into a business. She partnered with another Syracuse student, Brendan O’Keeffe, majoring in Information Management and Technology at Syracuse University’s iSchool, and together, they built CLLCTVE as an actual business venture.
Since Davis is a content creator herself, she understands the customer base and worked furiously to build a service that benefits brands and students. This past year, CLLCTVE partnered with its first brand, Good Uncle, a food delivery app for college campuses, to film a commercial for them. They’re currently growing their multi-person team, and Davis and O’Keeffe are moving to Los Angeles this summer after graduation to fully launch the company.
“Diverse teams are 15-35% more likely to have financial returns above the industry average, and Davis is confident that what makes her an underdog is what also makes her company more valuable and speaks to the increasing diversity of rising generations.”
One of the strengths of CLLCTVE is its ability to harness the power of Generation Z. CLLCTVE, designed for students, is focused on the next generation overtaking the labor force that has an important attribute: diversity. Davis, as a black female entrepreneur, lets nothing stop her in building her company— even dramatic underrepresentation. Since 2009, less than 1% of venture capital funding has gone to women of color. “In all of the spaces I occupy, I generally am the only one of my kind.” Although Davis is cognizant of the barriers she may face, she draws on her identity as something to strengthen her unique persona and company. Diverse teams are 15-35% more likely to have financial returns above the industry average, and Davis is confident that what makes her an underdog is what also makes her company more valuable and speaks to the increasing diversity of rising generations.
CLLCTVE’s power is also Davis’ indomitable energy and enthusiasm, so it’s no surprise that CLLCTVE has already built a strong client base. It is changing the market for creative skills. “We’re democratizing the landscape and opening doors for accessibility.” However, Davis’ goal to even the playing field for creatives doesn’t come without tireless dedication on her part: “It’s a lot of grit and freaking hard work.” But, for anyone who knows it, those qualities also define her.
Helping her along the way has been the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars program, a network of university innovation ecosystems seeded by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. Davis has done a great job tapping university resources across the Syracuse University campus while incubating at the Syracuse LaunchPad, which has served as her corporate HQ. Through that program, she was able to assemble resources—winning campus and state business plan competitions which provided critical pre-seed non-dilutive funding—and access mentors and beta customers in the community. In the #GiveFirst spirit of Techstars, Davis was also a peer mentor for other Syracuse student startups as a Rubin Family Innovation Mentor at the campus LaunchPad. She also created original programming for the LaunchPad, including a campus-community “Afropreneurship Summit” this spring in celebration of Black History Month. She was also a featured speaker at events and in publications by Adweek, where she was honored as a leading GenZEO.
But even more importantly, her connection to the LaunchPad network opened the doors to intensive global mentoring through the Blackstone and Techstars programs. She participated in the #LaunchPadPropel program in NYC, sponsored by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, where she won a $10,000 prize in a global pitch competition. She also participated in the LaunchPad Lift program during the spring 2020 academic semester. The program, created by Blackstone and Techstars, is a virtual accelerator for top performing student-led ventures. Each student startup receives a $10,000 grant from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, along with top tier mentors from Techstars, in a 10-week development program. More than 50% of the startups in the LaunchPad Lift Cohort have diverse founding teams that include women and founders of color. The program was developed to support full-time students who are entrepreneurs, accommodating their academic schedules.
“I am so excited about the next chapter for CLLCTVE,” says Davis. “GenZ grew up learning how to make websites and videos before they even thought about college, but they often lack the capabilities to scale and monetize from their creative skills, while thriving in an intense academic environment. I was this kid. By my sophomore year of college, I was producing content for Grammy artists and global brands and realized that I had two choices: slow down and pursue a collegiate path, or run full speed toward my passion. Thanks to programs like the LaunchPad, I didn’t have to choose between two paths. I’m looking forward to continuing to be part of the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars community and giving back while I grow CLLCTVE. Together, we can empower the next generation workforce of America.”
By Claire Howard ’23, Syracuse University