Digital strategist and advertising veteran, Aubrey Flynn, built a community of over 550 small businesses.
Now he’s created his own brand infused with a streetwear athleisure collection inspired by a transitional lifestyle, and a seven-figure, profitable software company for entrepreneurs, fueled by a goal to multiply ownership in the Black community.
A student first
A product of south side Jamaica, Queens, NY, Flynn was well aware that technology was his route.
It all began at the University of Florida. He was a self-taught technology student who dedicated his time to working on fashion and learning business simultaneously.
But it was his career-defining experiences that helped catapult his vision into entrepreneurship. In fact, while Flynn harnessed his passions in marketing within the business and media in advertising industry, he was inspired by Sean Combs‘ journey leading up to the rapper’s 2015 CDFA award win.
“My career really started off as an intern for Sean Diddy Combs,” Flynn said. “I learned from Puff Diddy, ‘No excuses. Just let’s go. Let’s get it done.'”
Combs’ Sean John line made the velour tracksuit popular, and it’s still one of the most iconic rapper clothing lines to have ever existed. For Flynn, he recognized the possibility of doing something different.
Before working his way up to chief digital officer at Revolt TV & Media, a division of
Combs Enterprises, Flynn took pride in helping to grow the Cîroc business from 40,000 cases to 2 million. His other accomplishments included surpassing 2017 brand goals by 100% and garnering 1 billion social media impressions, which led to the selling out of an event held at the Barclays Center in just 7 minutes.“So after all that experience, I was really motivated to do something different, because I had a lot of experience, a lot of relationships, but I wanted to do something meaningful and impactful,” Flynn said, adding that he decided to “invest in my community of entrepreneurs and creators in this new creator economy.”
“There’s also the need for us to circulate the value within our community longer, because it doesn’t circulate in our community for very long in comparison to other communities. So by building and making these small business owners more visible, and making their businesses more accessible using existing low-cost technology, is the way to go,” Flynn said.
Flynn wanted to bundle software as a service for business with merchandising, but not without ironing out strategic partnerships, branding, legalities, and finances. So he built a case study.
Case studies launch brands
According to Flynn, what started off as case studies turned into launching real brands like Indiggo by Snoop Dogg, BLESSWELL by DJ Khaled, and even helped Redmont Vodka with Charles Barkley.
“I’m working with really influential, notable brands and building these case studies and building these tools and then packaging it and merchandise, because my community of entrepreneurs is big on telling, expressing themselves,” Flynn said.
“And I think what’s great is that now there’s some real evidence, there’s some real data that what we can bring to the community actually works.”
Looking to inspire up-and-coming entrepreneurs, Flynn recently launched his own streetwear technology brand, Goals Supply. The athleisure collection features an array of headwear, hoodies, sweatshirts, T-shirts, joggers, shorts, and footwear.
“You want to be professional, but you also need to be able to transition into self-wellness and care, whether that’s exercise, whether that’s travel,” Flynn explained.
What’s more? Each clothing tag includes a QR code that brings users to the Goals App, which offers exclusive access to tech, tools, and training for business on demand and gives budding entrepreneurs a roadmap to success. Customers get access to a real-life 24/7 concierge, not a robot, or a recording, Flynn said.
“Google is one of the biggest places that people go to discover businesses. And you would be shocked to know how many entrepreneurs don’t have their business on Google. I mean, I talk to thousands of them, and it’s like, ‘My business isn’t there. It’s not showing up,'” Flynn recalled.
He added: “We’ve really cultivated a nice suite of tools for that work-from-anywhere entrepreneur. And we’ve bundled it into the latest, greatest quality merchandise on the market. It’s the first of its kind. And the recognition that we’ve been able to get thus far, just the reviews, it’s like if you Google a lot of the experience, people are really appreciative of what we’re bringing to the marketplace.”
Using artificial intelligence, Web2, and Web3, the Goals app invites entrepreneurs to learn how to get their business on Google, Apple Maps, Siri, Amazon Alexa, chamberofcommerce.com, and Better Business Bureau, automatically. Flynn calls the process free, simple, and easy.
“Web2, Web3 is going to add value, not just to our community, but to the gross domestic product of the United States of America, like we always have since us became the dominant force globally.”
Innovations and partnerships
Flynn told BLACK ENTERPRISE that another common challenge for entrepreneurs is digital advertising.
“People spend money on ads, but they don’t measure their return on investment,” Flynn said.
“So now I’m saying, ‘Hey, scan the QR code in the tag of your clothes and get access to a calculator that’ll calculate your return on investment on your digital ads.'”
The future for Goals Ventures is bright as they prepare to enter the metaverse. Flynn spoke on his collaboration with Loyola Marymount University in metaverse technology and NFT communities, so that he can start to use Web3 and integrate some of those functions into the merchandise as well.
Additionally, Flynn partnered up with the National Business League, founded by Booker T. Washington, to help small businesses through digital transformation.
He said, “And we’re scaling to a million businesses. That is our goal. So we are dedicated, we’re focused, and we’re making sure that there’s access across the board. You scan the tag; you get access to a concierge. You get tools, complimentary consultation. It’s real business, and it’s real circulation of value back into our community.”
Check out Goals TV for inspiring content here.