Interview d'un innovateur : Juan Carlos Dueweke-Perez, Featherstone

TechTown et le Rocket Community Fund se sont associés pour mettre en lumière les propriétaires d'entreprises et les fournisseurs de services de l'écosystème qui ont réagi rapidement à la pandémie de COVID-19. À l'approche de la fin de l'année 2020, nous partagerons les histoires de ces "innovateurs" afin de mettre en valeur l'ingéniosité des habitants de Détroit et de leur redonner le moral. 

For our fourth Innovator Series spotlight, we spoke with the founder of Featherstone, Juan Carlos Dueweke-Perez. 

Q : Pourquoi faites-vous ce que vous faites et depuis combien de temps ?

A: It’s been five years that Featherstone has been operating. We’re a digital marketing and PR agency focused on building prosperity and wealth for businesses and communities of color. I think that our collective response to why we do it, as a team, is because we care. We’ve seen our family, neighbors and friends be put down, dismissed, and be underserved throughout the years. But we’ve also learned that we have each other, and we build together.

Q : Comment avez-vous adapté ou pivoté vos activités depuis le mois de mars ?

A: I’d say two ways: 

1.  We had to seek funding from grants and loans to help us continue to move forward. We also had to shift gears and diversify our services (a goal we had already) faster than we imagined. In the process, our team grew from 4 – 6 people.
2. We’ve supported different initiatives and entrepreneurs privately or through volunteer opportunities, including through Techtown’s Ask An Expert, Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week, Platica Candida (an organic get-together of business owners), Detroit Means Business, etc. 

Q : Qu'est-ce qui vous a le plus surpris dans la réaction des gens aux changements que vous avez apportés ?

A: I’ve been disappointed by some people’s lack of time to mourn the death of many folks and their drive to “succeed” and hustle. It’s not many people, though. At the same time, I’ve been inspired by the level of empathy of other folks (and their lovely and comical cynicism) throughout these two crises. This is such a tough time.

Q : Quel a été l'impact de votre réponse à la pandémie de COVID-19 ?

A: As a team, every day it feels like we’re growing as a family. As a member of different communities, I’ve become closer to folks to who I didn’t imagine I’d be close to. As a friend, I can’t wait to hug my circle of peeps freely.