Behind the Scenes with Black Girl MATHgic

#032 -  Julie chats with one of her Subscription Box Bootcamps, Brittany Rhodes, founder of the Black Girl MATHgic subscription box. We'll get to hear how Brittany got into the subscription box business and the Black Girl MATHgic launch story.

Links:

Sparkle Hustle Grow
Subscription Box Bootcamp
Black Girl MATHgic
Cratejoy: Black Girl MATHgic
Instagram: Black Girl MATHgic
Facebook: Black Girl MATHgic
Youtube: Black Girl MATHgic
Black Girl MATHgic Goodies
Black Girl MATHgic Anniversary & Website Launch Party

Transcript

Julie: 0:01

So you want to launch a subscription box and don't know where to start? Girl, you are in the right place. I'm Julie Ball, a subscription box coach and your host here at Subscription Box Basics, a podcast for new and aspiring subscription box entrepreneurs that want to avoid overwhelm. So grab a coffee, some pen and paper and let's have some fun! Hey, and welcome back to another episode of Subscription Box Basics. Sometimes I unpack topics on my own. Sometimes I interview vendors or team members, but sometimes I get the chance to interview some of my Subscription Box Bootcampers like today. I would like to introduce Brittany Rhodes founder of the Black Girl MATHgic subscription box. Welcome Brittany.

Brittany: 0:48

Thank you, Julie. Thank you so much for having me.

Julie: 0:51

Yes, I'm so excited. I've had the opportunity to meet Brittany in person and she is a ball of energy and I would always want her in my corner because she is amazing. you joined Subscription Box Bootcamp. I think it was early 2019. So you've got your good foundation. You've got your feet on the ground. So I am just super proud of you. Some people are going to be meeting you for the first time. So why don't we start with a little introduction a little bit about your background?

Brittany: 1:20

Sure. So I always like to start off by giving, paying homage to my hometown. So I am a proud Detroiter born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. I love my city, despite all of the things that has been through. It made me who I am today. And so I have literally lived here my entire life with an exception of a few years in a neighboring suburb, but born and raised here. And this is really where my love affair with math started. So I have loved math since I can remember. I really don't remember a time. I didn't enjoy math. I was always good at it in school and it's just a subject I really enjoy. And when I got to high school, I was recommended by my algebra one teacher to take algebra two, my sophomore year, which typically was the class we didn't take until junior year. So I ended up taking algebra two in the required class sophomore year, which is geometry in the same year. So I graduated with five math classes in four years. And I remember my mom saying to me and my mom is a retired principal. So at the time she was, she was a principal. So this is coming from someone, you know, who knows a little bit about what they're talking about. And she said to me, I was 16. I never forget it. She said,"Are you she was like, I think you should major in math. When you go to college, that would be a great major for you". And I remember like it was yesterday, I looked at her and I scoffed and I said,"Who would, who, who will go to college and major in math? Like that's all they would be doing is math?" And then three years later I was going into my sophomore year at Spelman College in Atlanta. I started out as a computer science major, but coding was not, coding was not sexy like it is now. It didn't really resonate with me at the beginning of my sophomore year. I called my mother and I was like,"I'm changing my major to math". And so the moral of the story is mom always knows best.

Julie: 3:24

That's so true. I love that. Did she say,"I told you so".

Brittany: 3:31

She didn't, and she's not that kind of person, but I felt like she probably was thinking it in her head. She was like,"Yes!".

Julie: 3:38

She won! I love that. That's a great story.

Brittany: 3:41

Yup. So I started tutoring there. I started tutoring other some of my peers, you know, some of my classmates, we just had one class, one math class, they had to satisfy and they were very happy to get it over with. So I started tutoring there and I fell in love with tutoring. It was just something about connecting with a student one-on-one and really understanding their unique needs and their particular struggles with math and helping them see the light so to speak. And so that was almost over 15 years ago. And now up until this point, no matter what I've done from a fulltime perspective, whatever fulltime job I was in, tutoring was always my side hustle, always, always my side hustle. And about four years ago, I started tutoring at a local nonprofit here in Detroit. And this was, this was a new experience for me in the sense that up until that point, my tutoring had always been one on one. You know, I'm at the student's home, sitting with them. No, at this particular nonprofit, it is actually a boxing gym. So we have some students who compete professionally, but then it's also an academic program. So we have about 150 students that we serve on any at any given time. And our children are between the ages of eight and 18. So I, I don't, most days, I didn't know what, you know, a student needed. They could be coming to me from the sixth grade, asking about fractions. They could be coming to me in the, from the 11th grade, asking about algebra. It really ran the gamut. But what I noticed very quickly was regardless of where they went to school, regardless of where they live, regardless of really anything, whenever they asked for help, especially the middle and high school kids, whenever they would ask for help with algebra or geometry or some of this higher level math, most of the time when we dug into the problem that they needed help with, it really wasn't that higher level math that they were struggling with. You know, it was basic math.

Julie: 5:35

Basic math.

Brittany: 5:36

Basic math. So fractions, percentages, negative numbers. So all of the things that we are exposed to in elementary school, they were struggling with. And so of course, if you have math fully mastered how to do division of fractions, algebra is gonna feel harder. Geometry is gonna feel harder. And so I was really thinking about that and what I can do about that. And in a, in a, in a twist of turns and things, that's how Black Girl MATHgic was born.

Julie: 6:11

Awesome. And I can really relate to what you're saying because I have an eight year old daughter and she just finished third grade and she just worked so hard on her multiplication tables. And my husband being a former teacher, he taught between fifth and eighth grade. He kept telling her, and I, I kept hearing this in the background. He would say, it's so important for you to learn these multiplication facts, because this is going to make your life so much easier as you grow in your math skills.

Brittany: 6:39

Right.

Julie: 6:39

And it sounds like, you know, that could be a big gap for a lot of students.

Brittany: 6:45

For sure. Yeah. And I liked that you brought up the fact, the word gap, because there, there are lots of gaps in math education, like a student to have mastered multiplication of fractions because by some accounts, some students feel that that's the easiest type of manipulation. Students were fraction is to multiply it, but they may still struggle with simplifying it because that requires a division. That's another skillset. So there are so many gaps and I was looking for a way to fill them, but I wanted to do it in a fun way.

Julie: 7:15

Yeah. Okay. So that is the perfect segue into telling everyone about your subscription box, which I don't feel like this is just a subscription box girl. This is like a movement. So tell everyone about it. Tell us your launch story.

Brittany: 7:30

My launch story. Yes. Okay. So rewinding back to before I started tutoring at the nonprofit. Two years before that I met actually on fun fact. I swiped right and met, who is now my husband. We met on Tinder.

Julie: 7:50

No way I met my husband on match.com.

Brittany: 7:53

Really? Yay to online loves. When my husband and I first started dating, he had about four subscription boxes he was subscribed to, am I allowed to say the names of them? Yeah. Okay. So he, so full disclosure. My husband does not like to shop physically, like you'd much rather order. My mom's always like he loves ordering. so he had HelloFresh sending food to the house and he had blue. So he left HelloFresh and went to Blue Apron. And then like went back to HelloFresh. He also had a he still gets these they are called Menlo now. I think they were called Five Four before. And they sent him clothes every month. He's 6'6". So he's really hard to shop for. So they sent him clothes that fit him perfectly. And then he also had another, another box who I believe is no longer in business. I think it was called Stunner Shades. And they would send sunglasses every month, and I was like, you know, we live Michigan, we don't, we don't really need do we need sunglasses every month? And so his, him getting those boxes was my introduction to the subscription box world. And I was fascinated by the model. So I went to business school after I got my bachelor's in mathematics took like a year or two off to get my feet wet in the working world. And then I went to business school and got my MBA at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.

Julie: 9:23

I'm from Pittsburgh. You know that right.

Brittany: 9:29

Oh yeah, we did talked about that. And so, you know, I have been studying business, but I was in school, you know, from 2008 to 2010. So the subscription box model hadn't really taken off like it had a few years later. So when we started dating in 2014, I was just like, what is this? I'm fascinated by this. So he had unknowingly planted this seed. So that was 2014 and 2016. I started working at the nonprofit I referenced earlier. And then in 2018, when we were on our honeymoon, we went to Bali and I was like, I gotta come up with an idea. Like I gotta do something. I don't know what I had a job. I really enjoyed. So I spent the past seven years after I moved back home to Detroit, I had left for 10 years for school and other things. And so I came back home and I have been working in nonprofit exclusively for seven years. And I was enjoying that work, but I re I wanted something. I felt like I wasn't all the way toward, I was getting to where my purpose was, but I wasn't quite there yet. And I couldn't figure out where, how exactly to do that. So I was like, what better time than to be on a beautiful Island, you know, figuring out what your life path is going to be. So we were in Bali and I was like, I gotta come up with something. So I was just brainstorming a few different things, just writing stuff down. And I don't even remember the exact moment. And I hate that I don't, because I feel like I was so intentional about intentional, about coming up with an idea. But at some point in 2018, the idea to do Black Girl MATHgic was born. And part of it also was because in 2015, like I said, my husband had planted this seed in 2014, I had started work. I had worked on and I had come up with another subscription box idea that I would love to share because no one's done it. And I still think it's a great idea. It didn't work. It didn't end up working for what I needed, but I still feel like it's a great idea. So this was when Stitch Fix was really, we'll still boom in of course, but when they were really, really booming DIA ENCO Gwenny B. So, you know, there were these boxes for plus size women. And like I said, my husband gets a clothing box and he's super tall. And I was like, well, where are the boxes for tall women? I'm 5'10". So I have always, it's gotten a lot better, you know, in the past decade, but as a teenager, you know, shopping for clothes was really a struggle. So my initial subscription idea in 2015 was a box for tall women, first clothes, help problem, and find clothes.

Julie: 12:00

I love it.

Brittany: 12:01

So yeah, if there's anyone out there.

Julie: 12:04

I was just going to say, are you releasing this to the wild? Or you say, this is my next move, or are you suggesting someone take it and run?

Brittany: 12:13

I am suggesting someone take it and run. I am releasing it into the wild. And I had a, you know, I had, I only worked on it for a few months, but I got my email list up to a hundred and I had a few followers on Instagram. It was fun. But the beautiful thing about that is that I had all my notes from my work on that subscription box summit sub summit had, was, it was the first year that they did it in 2016.

Julie: 12:42

In Detroit right?

Brittany: 12:42

In Detroit, yes! And I won a free ticket me and one of my good friends and we just soaked up everything like everything[inaudible] was there and Katia Beauchamp of Birchbox and you know, all the...and Dia& Co CEO she was there. So it was just a wealth of knowledge. And I had pages full of copious notes. So even when I hung up that initial subscription box idea, again, the seed had been planted and now it has been watered a little bit. Okay. So three years later in 2018, I was looking at the STEM subscription box landscape. And for those who don't know what STEM stands for, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, because of course my first love has always been educating children in mathematics. And I was looking, and I was seeing that there were, there were a proliferation of STEM subscription boxes, and I said, okay, cool. We got the coding boxes. And we got the science boxes and we got the art boxes and we got the chemistry boxes. And I was like, where are the math boxes? I don't see them. The reason why, of course, I'm biased because you know, my background is in math. But also if the goal is to get our students to engage in STEM, to the point that they want to major in a STEM subject and eventually pursue a STEM career, if we are not showing them the math that is inherent in all of the other STEM subjects, we are doing them a disservice. The reason why we are doing them a disservice is because math is the foundation of STEM. You cannot major in any STEM-related subject without doing a ton of math. I don't care if you want to be an astrophysicist, a bio chemist, a doctor, industrial engineer, a computer scientist, whatever it is you want to do, or you think you want to do, or you have aspirations to do. Math is going to, there's going to be a lot of math required. So here I am, why not fill the gap? So that's how a Black Girl MATHgic was born in. The name of, is a play on the term black girl magic, which was popularized in 2013 by CaShawn Thompson. And it was really just kind of like a rallying call and the celebratory statement to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of black women. You know, who are, we are a doubly marginalized group in the United States. And so it was kind of this thing that bonded us all together, and I love a good pun. So I was like, I'm going to call mine Black Girl MATHgic wink wink.

Julie: 15:13

I love it, love it. So what, what month and year was that when you kind of launched it out into the world and you started telling people about it and started shipping those first boxes, give us a timeframe around there.

Brittany: 15:28

Sure. So I pre-launched in November, 2018, I left my full time job, thanks to my wonderful supportive spouse. And I left my full time. So I left in November, 2018 and I actually announced my prelaunch on December, 19 2018, which was my 34th birthday. And so I said for my birthday, would you please join my email list? This is something you would be interested in, or if, you know, a parent or a child who this solution could work for. And so I spent about six months in prelaunch and I literally was doing everything under the sun. I was building my email list. I was vending at girl focused and STEM focused events again, to build my email list, but also to let people know what I was doing. I entered in one, a couple of fish competitions. I got my branding and logo package together, even though in hindsight, I don't think I needed to do it that early. So that's the tidbit I wanted to share. And I was working on what was going to go on this box and what it was going to look like, and whether I needed to do, I don't know, custom boxes or not. And I joined Julie Ball's subscription box to boot camp. I am. So I think part of the reason why I enjoy math so much, and there are issues with how it's taught. And I definitely think there needs to be some reform, but in terms of how, how step by step and linear ideas that works for my personality, because I'm very analytical and I've had to really push myself outside of that, which was part of the reason why I decided to go to business school to kind of get this a tangible piece, you know, tangible education next to my abstract math education. And so that means that I Google a lot and I get stuck in research and I don't always know how to pull myself out of that. I literally can get headaches from doing that.

Julie: 17:22

Oh man.

Brittany: 17:23

So when I saw and you know, there have been other resources, of course, all of the amazing subscription, Facebook groups and the websites. But those also to me can be very overwhelming. I kind of like for me having too many options, I kind of liken it to the cereal aisle or the tissue aisle at the store. Like it's just too much, like it's over. I don't, I don't even know what, I don't even know what I want anymore.

Julie: 17:48

So that's a real thing. That's what do they call it? Like decision paralysis or analysis or something. I get that all the time. And I have to lean on my team to just sometimes just, just make the decision for me.

Brittany: 18:03

Yeah. And so that, that was really what enrolling in your Subscription Box Bootcamp did for me, it removed my over analysis in terms of getting to market quicker. You know, it, it really streamlined so many different things. And even like to this day, my, my inserts that go in my boxes are literally the templates you provide in Subscription Box Bootcamp

Julie: 18:29

Why not? Right. Make it easy.

Brittany: 18:31

And people love them. So it's, and this and that could seemingly be a little thing, but like for somebody like me, I could mall, there's so many options. What can my inserts look like? What can I do? I can do this. I can do that. And you do it. You were like,"No girl do this". And that's what I'm doing.

Julie: 18:47

I love it. Thank you for that, that comment. And I appreciate you joining. You've been such a great asset to the hive mind, I call it as part of the community, we all lean on each other and answer questions and you know, I just thank you for being an active member in there, Brittany.

Brittany: 19:03

Oh, of course. I loved it. I actually got a subscriber from the bootcamp.

Julie: 19:07

Oh, that's awesome. Okay. So let's get back to your box. So since increasing confidence is part of your box goals, so what are, what are some of the things you actually do for the subscribers that make them see, feel seen, heard, represented, and just help them build that confidence.

Brittany: 19:28

Yeah. I'm glad you asked that because I just realized I didn't give the elevator pitch for Black Girl MATHgic. So thank you, Julie.

Julie: 19:35

So what, what goes in it? And so what physical items go in it, but what experience do you build around that also to help with them, with their competence?

Speaker 2: 19:44

Absolutely. So my elevator pitch is that Black Girl MATHgic is the first and only monthly subscription box designed to increase math, confidence and decrease math, anxiety and girls on the third to eighth grade math level. We cure rate a box that provides a high quality math experience and addresses the phenomena that contributes to low math confidence and high math anxiety in girls specifically. And so I have a different theme every month, you know, much like Sparkle Hustle Grow. There's a different theme every month. I choose a theme that number one, there's two parts to the theme. So I pick things that I know girls like from my many, many years of working with girls and understanding, you know, their likes and dislikes. So I pick a theme that they like that's relatable, that is in line with their lived experiences and social realities. And I also feature a different woman mathematician every month in the box. So my, the women, I feature all have at least one degree in math, which is intentional because I'm not necessarily saying to girls like you must major in math. When you go to college, if you decide to go to college, what I'm trying to show them is the various career pathways that are available with a math degree. Part of that is because when I was in college and even after college, when I would tell people I had a math degree, they automatically assume that all you can do is be a teacher, which of course is not and nothing wrong with that. My mother was a teacher for 20 years and a principal for almost 20 years, but I want to show not only girls, but just people that there are so many other careers you can have because literally math is everywhere. So they get to learn about a different woman mathematician every month. The women are really how I come up with the theme. So for instance, my June box, which I will be shipping in a couple of days, Julie, pray for me because FedEx has the rest of my boxes, but that's another conversation. The waiting on them for a week. They, so this month I am featuring a woman who has a math degree and she is a real estate agent. So we're doing real estate and home ownership math this month. And on top of that, June is also national home ownership month. I have learned more about national months and days and weeks than I ever knew since I started this business.

Brittany: 22:03

So we're digging into the math, of course, that is all up in, through, you know, being a homeowner and being a real estate agent commissions, area, perimeter, word problems, mortgages. I mean, we're really unpacking a lot of those things. So what does that look like in the box? So that's an actual interview with the woman that I conduct and a bio, all my women, a Black Girl MATHgic button in the mail, and they take a picture and send it back to me. And I include that in their feature. Then we always include three to five items, tangible items to bring the theme to life. So these are the only items that I source from vendors, everything else I create in house. So the three to five items, there's always one, at least one screen free manipulative or activity. Again, I work with kids. I know how overscreen they are. I have nieces and nephews who are extremely overscreened and much like your family. I am all about unplugging and enjoying educational experiences that don't require a screen. So there's always at least one screen for activity. So that could be a book. Yes, I do include books some months because reading literacy directly positively impacts math literacy. So that could be a book that could be a math game. I've included dice games. I've included cards to create math games with cards and learn fraction. So it really runs the gamut there, but it's always going to be something math or reading related. And then other things, you know, like money, like we're putting a money notepad in there because it's about money and homeownership. And we're putting a little mini custom folder because realtors often carry folders to create a professional presentation. So kind of stuff like that. Then we always include a math affirmation card. So that is literally a positive statement about math, on a little postcard that the girls can put up in their room. Actually, one of my customers sent me, she subscribes for her little sister and she has all, she's been getting the boxes since we launched. And she has all of her card, her affirmation cards on her mirror in her room. So every minimal up, yes, she sees all of these positive statements about math. So that's one really big thing because the studies, the studies and research and on my own personal experiences, working with girls and Julie, you probably maybe have seen this in McKenna is that girls are much more likely to become less confident in their math ability, abilities than boys. Not to say that boys don't have confidence issues, but by and large girls have much larger confidence issues. I have literally watched some of my girls students sit and do math and do it well. And they're saying out of their minds, Ms. Brittany, I'm not good at this as Brittany. I don't get this. So there's this disconnect. So something as simple as a positive statement about math that they look at every single day on their wall can work wonder. So that's why we pulled the math affirmation.

Julie: 24:58

I love that. Can I just stop for a second? You guys can't see this, but like I literally have tears in my eyes because when, when we, as box owners get to see the impact that we make. And when we see that the people are actually using what we send in the manner that we dreamt of, as we were curing it curating, it is so powerful. And it just feeds that that why, you know why we do this. And so I can imagine seeing the picture of all those math affirmations on the wall must have been very moving.

Brittany: 25:30

It was very moving and I'm holding up something. I got from the Julie box cause I do use my Julie box. So yeah, so the math affirmation and then the meat of the box is a math activity booklet based on the theme. So that's where we do all the math related to the theme. That is something I create and produce myself Canva and I are BFFs and custom stickers because girls love stickers. So I work with an artist every month. I tell him what I want him to draw, and then I turn it into stickers. And then the last two items of course, are our inserts that tell this, tell folks within the box why is it in there, how it connects to the theme. And maybe the most important item in the box is our caring adult guide, understanding that a lot of times, mom or another female adult in her life is going to be working with her. And we know that mom more than likely had some math anxiety as a child, and more than likely she carried that math anxiety into adulthood. And so we want to stop that cycle. We don't want her to pass that math anxiety on to her girl. So we include a caring adult guide with tips and just some ideas for how to make this experience great. And for the caring adult to maximize, to help her girl maximize her experience with the box and an answer key to the booklet so that the parent or adult is not trying to figure this out themselves.

Julie: 26:57

Sure. I think that's a really brilliant idea to have something in there for the adult, not only to provide answers and kind of guidance on how to work through some of this stuff, but also to impact multiple generations.

Brittany: 27:12

Right, right. Yeah. Because it's, I can't, I don't know how much money I would have if I had a dollar for every time an adult woman came up to me and said, where were you when I was a child? Or can I order this for myself right now to which my answer is always, why not?

Julie: 27:28

Yeah, why not exactly. I love that. That's so awesome.

Brittany: 27:32

Well, I love what you're doing with your box and you are such a good leader, by example as well. I see you out there, you're showing up, you know, you're doing these pitch competitions, but you're also willing to talk to people about this stuff as far as like coming on the podcast today and talking about, you know, where your heart was and how you executed things. so I am cheering you on big time. I think you're doing a great job. Thank you, Julie. Thank you so much for, you know, all of the guidance and support and you know, it's been a few times where I've sent you long Facebook messages.

Julie: 28:07

I got you. It's okay.

Brittany: 28:10

I just appreciate you though. You making yourself available. I often tell people because now of course, you know, people will want to talk about it. They have their own subscription box ideas, especially, you know, with the, with the pandemic, a lot of people are kind of rethinking their business models and I've had people reach out and I always tell them about you. and you and you have also made me look really good in pitch competitions because sometimes people will ask about fulfillment. Like, do you do fulfillment in house or do you take it out house? And I said, you know, my, my coaches advised me once you get to a certain number, that's what you should begin to outsource. So I'm just really thankful for all of the things that you have in partying, not only in the bootcamp, but also in Sparkle Hustle Grow. And it's so funny. Cause I just was telling my husband the other day, I was like, I've been following Sparkle Hustle Grow. I mean, it's, I think when you first started, I started following you on Instagram. I don't even remember how long it's been.

Julie: 29:07

So we started in October, 2016 was our first box.

Brittany: 29:11

It was around that time. But, and I actually forgot that I, that I didn't, I don't think, I don't remember when I made the connection, but I was just like, Oh my goodness, Julie and I have been, you know, friends without knowing it for a long time.

Julie: 29:27

And I'm sure you've probably seen me grow in my own business too. And like become more polished and, you know, transform my my role into a coach because I wasn't doing this. I wasn't coaching when I was launching my box. I was learning. I was in the trenches. you know, I took a lot of what I've learned and turned it into this bootcamp. So people wouldn't have to spend so much time and money and energy and tears. So yeah, that's awesome. I love that. And thank you for being a Sparkler as well with sparkle hustle grow. Okay. So I like to ask my guests this, what is your favorite thing about the subscription box industry?

Brittany: 30:09

So for me, my favorite thing is the fact that this model, this industry allows me to provide a solution that exposes children to the math competence. They have to build over time, month after month, month after month. Of course I sell my boxes as a onetime order or gift box and past boxes and all that good stuff. But I always recommend to families that they asked me that a subscription is the best route. Not because you're giving me money every month. Like, it's really not about that. It's about the fact that like anything we have to be exposed to it continuously for it to go well for us to see results, whether that's losing 10 pounds, you got to work out on a regular basis or you want to eat better. You can't just eat one piece of broccoli and be like, okay, I'm done. you, you have to have that consistent exposure to whatever that positive result is that you're looking for. And so for me, the subscription box industry was perfect because it allows me to help girls build math confidence month after month after month.

Julie: 31:16

Love it. Okay. So what's next for you?

Brittany: 31:21

So I am fairly excited because June, June of last year, like I said, I was in prelaunch for about six months. June of last year is when I opened my cart and July of last year was when I sent my very first Black Girl MATHgic box. And I featured Dr. Gladys West, who is the mathematician whose calculations help create what we now know as the GPS.

Julie: 31:44

Ooh.

Brittany: 31:44

She is almost 90 years old. I love her to pieces. So as a way to celebrate my one year anniversary and also my, the launch of my full website quick tidbit for those who are listening, when I first ideated Black Girl MATHgic, blackgirlmathgic.com was not available for some strange reason. Somebody, somebody, they weren't doing anything with it. But of course there are things that are going to come up when you're working on your business and you can't let those things stop you because it could easily could have been like, Oh, my domain is not available let me just wait a few more months. And then I could have missed a lot of precious time. So I ended up purchasing blackgirlmathgicbox.com. But like you said, Julie, this really is a movement. This is a movement. So I wanted to get blackgirlmathgic.com. So when I finally got it, my web designer and I, you know, took some months for us to get the website up and running. So now it's just about ready to launch. So I'm going to be having a one year anniversary and website launch virtual party on zoom on July 12th. Right now. And my very special guest who I have not even announced to the world yet, but because it's Julie and because it's subscription box resources, I am going to be having Dr. Gladys West.

Julie: 33:09

No Way. She's gotta be on there. That's so awesome. You'll have to, you'll have to provide us with the link so we can make sure we share it. Um.

Brittany: 33:16

absolutely

Julie: 33:17

Make sure that we spread all that information and make sure people know. So we want to shout that from the rooftops. That's so cool.

Brittany: 33:23

Yay. So that's, what's coming up next. like I said, getting ready to ship my June boxes, uh, gearing up for July and just really doing some things that are going to continue to help our girls build their math confidence. I've had boy moms ask about a boy box. I am working on that as well. I thought that I was going to be hitting that or rolling that out in father winter, but with COVID-19, some of my priorities have shifted. So I am going to announce that when it's ready, but I always like to tell peers like this box for the most part is gender neutral. Of course it's girl in the name, but once you open it, the math, the math is the same, whether it's a boy or a girl. So, I mean, I'm next and I'm so excited

Julie: 34:13

And it's not a bad thing for all the young men of the world to see all these amazing women mathematicians. So you know.

Brittany: 34:20

Like I said, girls are not the only ones who need some other girls are good at math.

Julie: 34:23

That's right. That's right. Cool. Okay. So where can people follow you and actually subscribe to the box, share some links and we'll make sure that we put these in the show notes as well.

Brittany: 34:34

So yeah. So going back to my earlier story about not having my, the website I wanted I'm a little all over the place. So I'm on, Cratejoy under Black Girl MATHgic, which I'm sure I'll remain there. Even after my website rolls out, I'm on a Shopify selling past boxes and other math confidence items. And I am also also have a YouTube channel, but what I did was I put everything in a link tree. So on the Facebook and Instagram, I am@BlackGirl MATHgic and Mathgic of course is M A T H G I C. And then on Twitter, I am BLKgirlmathgic because Black Girl MATHgic was too long. And so all of my links are in the files of each of those social media platforms.

Julie: 35:22

Okay. Well, we'll make sure that we link all those out for everyone to follow you, Brittany. Thank you so so much for being a guest on the podcast, you know, I'm cheering you on. My team is cheering you on and now all of our listeners I imagine are going to be doing same thing. Thanks for listening today. Everyone go subscribe to Black Girl MATHgic and I'll see you in the next episode. Thanks Brittany.

Brittany: 35:44

Thank you, Julie.

Speaker 3: 35:55

[inaudible].