We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Morris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Andrea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s go back in time a bit – can you share a story of a time when you learned an important lesson during your education?
The most important lesson I’ve learned while in school is a lesson I learned during my time in undergrad at Bradley University. The lesson I learned is: my best effort may not meet someone’s expectations but that doesn’t mean I should not celebrate trying my best.
Sometimes, we as people get so caught up in going with the motions. We fall victim to a crippling matrix which often times distorts reality. You can give your best effort, pour your all into a project, team or mission and still not fully understand the assignment. You can completely miss the mark but that does not mean you did not do a good job. Be sure to recognize yourself, even if no one else decides to.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Born Andrea, but most know me as Dre. Chicago native born and raised. A proud product of CPS.
I am a marketing and branding virtuoso with 7+ years of experience and has been a decade-long cannabis advocate for individuals still effected by the war on drugs. Currently, I posses a B.S. in English, Secondary Education & Journalism with a concentration in photojournalism from thee Bradley University. It is at Bradley that I went on to join my illustrious organization Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
Post graduation I moved back to my beautiful city and began hitting the ground running working as an independent contractor with several businesses and brands from the city including but not limited to: Girls Inc., The Love Juice Co. and Illinois Cannabis Training Center to name a few. I ended up acquiring several opportunities to display my photography and videography at NYFW 2019 and LAFW 2019.
I am the Co-Founder and chief brand officer of Nuvé, a cannabis tech company focused on education around the plant and making more accessible and affordable content for those seeking to enter or navigate the cannabis industry.
As the CBO, I am responsible for branding, marketing and partnerships.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My co-founder and partner was initially my mentor. She’s still my mentor today, too! I joined a cannabis mentoring cohort. My only requirement for my mentor was that, “they need to be Black on the outside and inside.”
I was matched with Kirk prior to ever meeting her. Her profile was shared with me (and vice versus) and we were able to make a decision on if we wanted to be paired. I noticed Kirk had a background in higher education and was drawn to her as I too have a background in education.
Kirk and I were paired, she became the best mentor I’ve ever experienced. We both ended up joining a cannabis tech accelerator –both for our own individual ideas. After the first two weeks of the accelerator, Kirk sent me a proposition I couldn’t refuse. I was in a space of searching for work to further showcase me skillset as a marketing and communications guru. Kirk was in the market for a marketing director. The synergy was ever present and the rest is history.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Social Media and word of mouth.
The power of the tongue is sooooo powerful and people never forget how you treat them. Being my true authentic self, kind, compassionate keeps my clientele coming in.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.enternuve.com
- Instagram: @SprinkleMyDope
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dreamor/