Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenai Charles. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jenai, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I think about this question quite a bit as I’m always trying to be self-aware. Since adolescence, I’ve always had the deepest desire to help and give. I remember being about 8 years old and my mom getting upset at me because I gave away her $50 to the person who bagged our groceries and brought it to our car. Understandably, that’s a lot of money and she needed it. Eventually, she laughed it off and said even though I should’ve asked first, she was still proud of me for being willing to give what “I” had.

As I got older, I’ve definitely learned to strike that balance between being giving and foolish, meaning making sure that my needs are taken care of. But that deep desire to give and to be of service to others has not left me and I don’t think it ever will. It’s one of the reasons why I started my design business, to be of service to others.

I hope that my legacy would be my devotion to creating a better life for others.

Jenai, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am currently leading Okay Jak Studio as Creative Director. I also lend my expertise to many different agencies, leading and supporting product design teams through complex business challenges.

I began my design journey as an UX/UI intern at a remarkable agency based in Los Angeles, CA. From there, I worked my way up to being a lead product designer. I’ve been able to work with award-winning agencies to re-imagine digital experiences for companies ranging from fortune 500 enterprises to founder-led brands.

At Okay Jak, our core services surround product design and product thinking for eCommerce brands in the fashion, beauty and luxury space. In short, we partner with direct-to-consumer brands to increase their conversion rates on Shopify/Shopify Plus through optimized user experience design and development.

Okay Jak is a design studio built on the foundation of three things: impact, inclusivity, and empathy. It’s of utmost importance that you feel heard + understood throughout each stage of the project process.

We partner with brands that emulate these same principles, so we can create the most thoughtful impact.

Thoughtful impact sparks the greatest change, and we know you seek to create masterful change through your brand + products.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

My co-founder also happens to be my best friend. I know they say never to work with your friends and I 100% agree with that sentiment. However, there are always exceptions. She serves as our Operations and Finance Director while I serve as the Creative Director. We have a deep respect for one another that always shines through in the way we interact with each other. We know our individual strengths and weaknesses and understand the importance of personal and work boundaries. We could not be a better match.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

For us, we receive most of our clients through referrals, which is why it’s incredibly important that we maintain healthy and ongoing relationships with our past clients.

We have seen great opportunities from platforms like Clutch.co and other directories that specify women or black founders.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dearjenai.com
• Instagram: @dearjenai
• Other: Studio site: https://www.okayjak.com

Image Credits
Images of me: Jeanne Canto