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

Gregory, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

I was born and raised in Haiti before moving to NY at the age of 13. I started my career working in digital media for ICR INC, a top 10 Investor Relations firm. I served as the Director of Marketing at eOne within the Black vertical for 5 years and launched their Black division. I continued the same path leading CSS Entertainment, Black Vertical, as the Senior Directory of Acquisitions, acquiring for Crackle, Redbox and Screen Media. Throughout my career, I have acquired over 350 titles that have generated over $100M and have been licensed to HBO, BET, Hulu, Showtime, Starz, Allblk and Amazon.

Although I had a successful career, the challenges I experienced in creating my professional path through trial and error was met with challenges of unfair treatment, uncertainty in how to thrive in corporate America or advocate for my needs, a reality most first and second generation immigrants face. Some of the challenges that I faced and most immigrants face in the corporate structure are self advocacy, cultural disconnect, code switching, professional branding, negotiating my salary, impostor syndrome finding the right mentors etc. My vision for Zaka is to create the future leaders of the world by providing first and second generation immigrants with the blueprint for success through actionable workshop, education, and community.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started in the entertainment industry in 2005 and I have a staggering portfolio of over 350 acquired titles and a cumulative licensing revenue of over 100 million dollars from prominent platforms like Netflix HBO, BET, Hulu, Showtime, Starz, Allblk, and Amazon. I have proven myself as a visionary executive, throughout his career, I have flourished in various renowned companies such as Fox, Big 3, and Redbull. However, my true breakthrough came when I spearheaded the launch of the Black vertical at eOne, igniting my passion for helping filmmakers from the marginalized community. My success in film acquisition in this underserved community combined with my immigrant background have influenced to utilize my skillsets into my own company, Zaka, which is designed to set up the blueprint professionally for immigrants in the US. After several conversations with immigrants like myself, I realized that the obstacles that I faced weren’t unique, they are shared by most immigrants who come to this country. First and second-generation immigrant professionals often experience challenges in the workplace around self-advocacy, highlighting their professional value, asking for what they desire and creating authentic connections with decision makers and leaders. While these challenges feel personal, they are shared. Zaka’s purpose is to provide the full spectrum of resources for what every immigrant professional needs to thrive in their careers. We provide highly vetted workshops, coaching, motivational content and a safe space where immigrant professionals can build a community with each other, industry leaders, recruiters to attain their professional vision instead of enduring the challenges that come with figuring it out for themselves

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My business was a side hustle that turned into my full time career. After my success in film acquisition, I built a credible and authentic reputation within the independent filmmaking community. I understood the challenges faced by filmmakers, particularly those who don’t have a blueprint for success. I aimed to empower individuals with invaluable strategies to monetize their films and avoid falling prey to exploitative systems. Operating with integrity, being transparent with my clients made me realized that these core values can be transferred to any business. As an immigrant who moved to the United States at a young age and had to figure out how to create my version of the “American Dream” through trial and error, all while immersing into American culture and maintaining my Haitian culture, a clear path towards attaining my professional and personal vision was unclear. Doing well in school, getting into a great college, getting a good job and making an honest living would not be enough for me to thrive in this world or position myself to use my talents and capabilities to attain my dream, a reality for all immigrants who have been underserved, marginalized and adversely affected. Moving into my career, I further realized the reality that my diverse, cultural background was not considered an advantage; rather, they were ignored or often taken advantage of. What would have helped me understand my potential, learn from similar-background immigrant leaders who attained success and reach for more than what was expected of immigrants would have been having access to a platform like Zaka.

In 2020 in the height of social and racial injustice conversations, people of all backgrounds got a glimpse of the many challenges underrepresented minorities face in their personal and professional lives, a topic that is often stifled. There is no time better than now to offer a motivational and career development- focused platform like Zaka to first and second generation Immigrants.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Operating with integrity helped me build some credible partnerships and relationships with some powerful Thought Leaders and Filmmakers during my film acquisition career. I will always be transparent with my clients no matter how uncomfortable it is. That level of commitment is respected by them and it has carried to my business Zaka where I can bring along people within my network during my film acquisition career

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zakaconnect.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/zakaconnect
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/zakaconnect
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zakaconnect/
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/zakaconnect
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/zakaconnect

Image Credits
Erica Simmons