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Madame Speaker Says
Madame Speaker Says is the podcast for women of colour ready to own the mic, drop that book and get paid like a legend.
Join Magogodi oaMphela Makhene - author, speaker and coach - for real talk, shortcuts and receipts to help you lead with confidence — on stage, on the page and way beyond the 9–5. No caucacity, no crusty old school leadership.
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Madame Speaker Says
We Are the Ones: Imani Ellis on Purpose + Building CultureCon
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CultureCon's Imani Ellis: From Living Room to 12,000 People
What happens when you stop waiting for someone else to build the thing you've been craving? CultureCon founder Imani Ellis knows—because she built it herself, starting with 10 friends in her New York City apartment.
In this episode of Madam Speaker Says, Imani takes us inside the journey from publicist at NBCUniversal to founder of the largest creative conference for Black professionals. She reveals her definition of purpose (spoiler: it's not what the self-help industry sold you), why she believes "the dream evolves as your courage evolves," and the uncomfortable truth about the gap between what audiences say they want and what they actually need.
We talk leadership, loneliness, living room beginnings, and why sometimes the scariest thing isn't failure—it's realizing you might actually be qualified.
If you've been waiting for permission to start the thing that's been keeping you up at night, this is your sign.
In this episode of Madam Speaker Says, Imani Ellis shares the raw truth about:
→ Why she believes "purpose = your gifts solving a specific problem"
→ The mistake she made signing her first venue (no bathrooms, no AC 😬)
→ Why big things HAVE to start small
→ How to build self-trust as a leader
→ The gap between what audiences say vs. what they actually want
If you've been waiting for permission to start YOUR thing, this conversation is your sign.
Chapters
0:00 — "We are the ones we've been waiting for"
3:13 — How CultureCon started with 10 friends in a living room
5:02 — Why seeing your full vision too early would terrify you
8:09 — Your easy skill is still a skill (stop discounting it)
10:33 — Purpose = your gifts solving a specific problem
12:31 — The magic of starting when nobody's watching
17:31 — Building self-trust: "80% of the time, I make good decisions"
21:00 — What audiences say they want vs. what they actually need
25:14 — Inside the CultureCon war room: Reverse engineering success
29:39 — Stop letting no's make you bet against yourself
Connect with Imani
📲IG: @imaniimani
👩🏽💻Website: https://www.imaniellis.com/info
📧 JOIN - Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.
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