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

Alright, Tulani thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

My business is called Vessel, Inc., also known as The Vessel Experience. I came up with this name by really sitting down and figuring out what purpose my company was going to serve. I knew I wanted to provide opportunities to people and I knew I wanted to revive spaces that had been depleted for a while. I told myself that I don’t want to just sit here and do nothing if I have the power to do more. How can I serve my community? How can I be a vessel for my community? The dance workshops and events we hold are not just people coming in to take class and go home. It’s a complete and full experience from the moment you walk through the door to the moment you leave.

Tulani, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sure! Vessel, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that aims to connect communities by promoting health and well-being through dance instruction and performance opportunities. We were founded and are currently located in Montgomery County, Maryland. We have been able to serve over 250 community members and even some from out of our region with the events that we host. We want people who come into our spaces to enjoy a positive experience with their peers and leave feeling fulfilled.

In today’s world, people experience a lot of comparison and unhealthy validation with the increase of social media use across all age groups but specifically young adults. Vessel is created to be a space to escape that. We also like to incorporate meditation with some of our larger events. This is so the people attending can get a chance to really check in with themselves before dancing. How do you feel right now in your body? What do you hope to feel when you leave? How can you actively choose to release any negative energy? Every event we hold is extremely supportive and nurturing and we hope that the people who enter our space always feel that!

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

I believe what helped to build Vessel’s reputation in the dance world is the consistency and quality that we have maintained. We have been able to bring high quality dance training and opportunities at a consistent level since we began. In the area that we are located, that is not common at all. We have gotten to a point where people think of Vessel and see Vessel classes and know that it will always be worth the money, time and effort. We do not like to waste people’s time so it is extremely important to us to make sure we maintain what we have started and continue to be bigger and better year after year.

We also hold a showcase to celebrate our anniversary and this has become a major event for our community to look forward to every year. Giving people the chance to put together their pieces with their peers and sharing it with community always brings joy. This June we will be hosting our 3rd annual showcase and we are really looking forward to it!

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

I was able to use my personal following in connection with Vessel in order to gain credibility and attention to our page. People were able to understand it because there was a face and name behind the page connected to someone they already know and trust.

I would also say to make sure you really understand your target audience and who you are trying to reach. Find what’s trendy and what’s attractive to that specific audience. People always love memes or references to pop culture, so that is something to keep in mind when trying to increase engagement.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thevesselexperience.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevesselexperience/
• Linkedin: Vessel, Inc.
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thevesselexperience

Image Credits
Gabe Martinez Cabrera Eddy Montero-Gonzalez