Entrevista com o inovador: Juan Carlos Dueweke-Perez, Featherstone

A TechTown e o Rocket Community Fund estabeleceram uma parceria para destacar os proprietários de empresas e prestadores de serviços de ecossistema que responderam rapidamente à pandemia da COVID-19. Na contagem decrescente para o final de 2020, partilharemos as histórias destes "Inovadores", num esforço para elevar o engenho dos habitantes de Detroit e levantar o ânimo. 

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

P: Porque é que faz o que faz e há quanto tempo o faz?

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: Como é que adaptaram ou alteraram o vosso trabalho desde março?

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. 

P: O que é que o surpreendeu mais na forma como as pessoas reagiram às mudanças que fez?

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: Qual foi o impacto da vossa resposta à pandemia 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.