We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chaymeriyia Moncrief a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chaymeriyia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

Being the founder of a prepaid wireless carrier in such a picky space where just 3 carriers dominate the industry can be a ruthless process. But when you’re utilizing the networks of these very companies, purchasing airtime from them, pushing marketing dollars to get ahead of the curve and build awareness, and more—the company may look good, the branding is there, and the customers are there, but profitability can be a huge concern when you’re having to push an excess in cash to grow, sustain, and build credibility.

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.

Ever since I was eight years old, my fascination with technology, computers, and gadgets has been a big part of my life. The dream of having my own smartphone and electronic brand has been with me since childhood, where I spent time drawing and sketching how I envisioned my smartphone would “look.” When I saw the first iPhone, it was what really increased my urge to create my own smartphone brand one day (Launched in 2020). This idea is what led to Tesix Wireless Network.

Entrepreneurship started as early as five years old, my family always told me– and carried on into adulthood. From my elementary years to the age of 16, I initiated numerous business ideas, consistently selling something at school and acting on every idea I had.

Fast forward to 2013, a year after graduating high school, I went out and got my first contract phone with a major carrier. Initially expecting to pay only $90 per month, I saw quickly it was more to phone bills than I expected. My phone bills were exceeding $150 per month and became a norm, and an outrageous $200+ monthly bill crossed the line.

Looking at the charges on my bill and starting to understand how postpaid carrier work, I had charges for over-data usage, activation fees, and various other fees. This realization led me to terminate the contract as the bills far surpassed my bi-weekly paychecks from my job at Taco Bell, where I earned just under $400 per month.

The “aha” moment for Tesix Wireless hit me while working on my smartphone idea and I started to think, If I launch a smartphone, why not add my own phone service to it. But, lacking a understanding of what to research at that time, the things that came up, I couldn’t even imagine having access to these things. My research showed I needed 100s of millions of dollars, land, towers, and infrastructure– I temporarily left the idea alone until 2017.

How I revisited the Idea

I recall browsing Facebook and coming across the launch of a new wireless carrier based in New York. Initially, I wondered if they owned their towers. However, upon seeing the young founders, I was intrigued and questioned how they gained the necessary access. Reading deeper into the company, it became evident that my focus needed to shift towards researching how to launch an MVNO/prepaid wireless carrier. Once I had this understanding, My research took off and this is when I really started to execute on the idea.

I remember the exact day. I did the most research I’d done in my life once I realized that I did not need millions and millions of dollars and towers in all 50 states. I just needed access to the CURRENT major wireless carrier infrastructures to get my carrier started.

While I did need funding, developers, software, and more… I now had a clear idea of how to go about it, planned my launch, created pitch decks, and started planning the entire company. From the moment I started to launch, it took me 412 days!

The entire service was to cater to young adults and millennials who wanted lower phone services, zero fees, no contracts, and zero limits on their data, just as I wanted back in 2013.

Building and Launching:

The front end was straightforward – creating the website and branding. However, the backend required provisions for billing, customer accounts, and functionality. Initially, I began constructing a prototype for how I envisioned the customer accounts to appear and operate.

Despite having knowledge of backend coding, this proved to be a challenging task. It turned into a major setback, and I dedicated weeks to finding a turnkey solution that could expedite the process since hiring a developer was not within my budget in the early stages of the company.

Building or acquiring the necessary software became a significant hurdle. After an extensive search lasting weeks, I eventually discovered a company that offered everything I needed to enable me to integrate the solutions I did not know how to do from scratch.

All that remained was for me to bring my coding A-game, customize the platform to fit the brand, configure some APIs, and prepare the platform for presentation to carriers. This demonstration would showcase a fully functioning provisioning platform, demonstrating my capability to integrate with the existing infrastructure.

The investment cost wasn’t initially in my plans because it would empty by bank account. However, being in the early stages of bootstrapping the company, I had to take the risk. Looking back, the $4,000 investment was the best I had ever made, but challenges were still there, and this one was just one off the table.

Beyond acquiring licenses, structuring the company, trademarking, and more, the focus shifted to building traction and awareness while seeking ways to raise funds for further investment.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Admittedly, I was at a loss on how to approach funding. I thought, “I am a phone carrier, right? Perhaps I can kickstart revenue by selling phones and slip in Tesix Wireless flyers to boost the brand’s visibility among phone purchasers.” Leveraging platforms like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and other marketplaces, I began selling smartphone and used this as a way to build up more people on the waitlist and to make the necessary money to fully launch.

Even after while smartphones, I still needed $125,000 to get started with just one of the carriers, and I was still a little over $100,000 from that target without any other funding raised yet.

Fast forward, to secure the first set of funding, I assessed what I had and who I knew, and as daring as it was, I decided to reach out to some of my biggest branding clients for whom I had done work for. Some of these clients were franchise owners of major brands, and I hoped that asking them to invest in the idea wouldn’t put them off.

This was the start of Tesix Wireless’s fund-raising efforts and was the start of an amazing journey to launching the company once and for all.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media has been instrumental in the growth of Tesix Wireless Network, enabling me to amass over 10k mobile subscribers at one point and expand our social media presence.

One of the most effective strategies employed over the past few years has been “utilizing the audience of others to grow” — with Influencer marketing playing a significant role.

For Tesix Wireless alone, I have executed over 40 campaigns, with varying levels of success. The key focus in these campaigns was brand awareness, which proved to be the most significant aspect.

The announcement of company milestones going viral and receiving major press coverage has attracted thousands of followers to our social media platforms, serving as the breakthrough for our continual growth over the years.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tesixwireless.com
• Instagram: www.facebook.com/tesixwireless

Image Credits
The 3 Images inside of store and with team, photo credits: Boohill Images