February 23, 2024

Building Bridges And Breaking Barriers: How Sheila Marmon Empowers Black Creators In A Fragmented Media Landscape

How the founder and CEO of Mirror Digital is letting underrepresented voices sing and shaping the future of media.

How the founder and CEO of Mirror Digital is letting underrepresented voices sing and shaping the future of media

Picture a world where diverse perspectives are acknowledged and celebrated; digital media is an inclusive space that reflects the true richness of our society, where Black creators are met with equal opportunities and support. This ambitious goal motivates Sheila Marmon, the visionary CEO and founder of Mirror Digital. Based in Los Angeles, her company is dedicated to empowering creators of color and bridging the gap between leading brands and agencies and the multicultural audiences they seek.

By curating a network of diverse digital publishers, social media influencers, and content creators, Mirror Digital unlocks revenue streams for Black-owned media often excluded from mainstream campaigns. Her team helps craft targeted campaigns across mobile, social media, video, and native content, ensuring brands not only reach Black audiences but resonate with them authentically. This commitment to empowering underrepresented communities in the innovation economy powered Sheila’s path from the beginning. She leads with the belief that inclusivity is not just the right thing to do but the key to a thriving future for all.

Reflecting on her entrepreneurial journey, Sheila acknowledged the scarcity of role models and resources tailored to Black founders, particularly in the digital media sphere.

“I was shocked by how difficult it was to find role models who looked like me when I started my business,” she shared. “Despite my extensive experience, people in the industry were not ready to accept my leadership, and resources were scarce. It was disheartening, especially because I had done everything ‘right.'”

Despite her impressive credentials and proven track record in corporate America, expertise at the crossroads of digital media and multiculturalism honed on Wall Street, and prominent roles at Essence and Time Inc., Sheila encountered barriers in accessing capital and garnering recognition for her innovative ideas.

In the early days, she spent a year attempting to raise pre-seed funding but fell short of her goal. Sadly, this is not uncommon. The lack of successful Black-owned media companies perpetuates the myth that such ventures are not viable. In fact, funding to Black founders has decreased for the third year in a row, and Black founders in the U.S. raised only 0.48% of all venture dollars last year.

Despite her mother’s decades-long employment with the city of Los Angeles, whose pension fund supported many venture funds in L.A., she struggled to access that capital. Although she gradually established traction with major clients, demonstrating proven product-market fit, she felt overlooked. However, Sheila’s resilience and support from her educational networks enabled her to secure initial funding and establish Mirror Digital.

Sheila believes that the historically exclusive media industry makes Mirror Digital’s presence even more crucial in today’s media landscape, combatting deep-rooted issues related to access to accurate information for and about multicultural communities. Having overcome limited access to capital and a decade of fighting for her seat at the table, she helped build Mirror Digital not just for success but for true impact.

“Reflecting your community and infusing personal experiences into your vision is crucial to establishing authenticity as an entrepreneur. It breaks stereotypes and creates a bond with your audience, propelling your company to new heights,” she said.

For Sheila, the most exciting aspect of growing the business over the past year has been to see new opportunities among diverse creators. Alongside her team, she said she spent a lot of time in 2023 empowering them to expand their horizons and move into different channels or formats, like podcasting or longer-form content.

“We are supporting creators to tell their stories in as many ways as possible, creating opportunities for community-building, their livelihoods, and amplifying their voices,” she said.

Sheila cited a quote from essayist, poet, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau as a key point of her leadership philosophy and how it has informed the way she led Mirror Digital as a company into the future.

“Thoreau said, ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined,’” she said. “To me, it’s about channeling my inner power and drive to lead. The life I’ve imagined is rooted in supporting diverse communities, and that holds true just as much in the media industry as it does in the workplace.”

This philosophy has led her to be intentional about creating an organization that is a safe space for rising diverse leaders and empowering them to shoot their shot. As Mirror Digital continues to evolve, Sheila remains dedicated to reshaping the media landscape and providing a platform for diverse storytellers to thrive. With a data-driven approach and a proven track record of success, Sheila and her team are poised to redefine the future of media.