Claima Stories x Vista: The Story of Essie Golden

On Dec 10, 2022

Growing up in foster care, early childhood was anything but ordinary for Essie. Transitioning from different homes until she was the age of 6, Essie was luckily adopted by a family that poured into her and was the first successful Black family she ever saw. Essie started to step into her confidence after attending a HBCU, but that high she was riding on was short lived after she flunked out of school. Trying to find her purpose, Essie decided to move to NY where she immediately felt like she had found her place seeing plus sized models inspiring her to pursue a career in fashion. Instagram became the perfect place for Essie to garner attention and become a source of inspiration for plus sized women. She launched her blog Golden Confidence, a cornerstone of the Body Positivity movement and later created of the sneaker community, Thick Laces. Today, Essie continues to make it her business to not only take up space in fashion but make space for other women who look like her working on campaigns for brands like New Balance, Torrid, Amazon and more.

Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.

From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship, featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.

At Vistaprint, we’re proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Intro
0:43 – Essie shares story on growing up in New York City with her dad
2:45 – Essie on her mothers battle with addiction
3:37 – Essie reflects on moving to Florida with her father
5:03 – Essie on going through foster care system at 6
8:44 – Essie shares story on seeing a successful black couple
10:23 – Essie on transition into a new more affluent environment
11:52 – Essie shares story on her experience at Bethune-Cookman University
17:40 – Essie on flunking out of college and what she did after
19:55 – Essie reflects on couch surfing during her 20’s
21:04 – Essie shares story on meeting her biological father after he got out of prison
24:36 – Essie shares her vision on why she moved to New York City
26:29 – Essie how she used Instagram to build her brand
28:08 – Essie shares story on the origins of Golden Confidence
31:30 – Essie shares story on how the TV show “Shrill” was inspired by her work
39:54 – Essie on how she started making money through her Body Positivity community
43:07 – Essie share story on how she was by the action of some brands
46:45 – Essie on how she started sneaker community Thick Laces
51:59 – Essie shares the ambition for Thick Laces and where it can go
55:15 – Essie reflects on how a looming recession effects her business
59:00 – Essie gives advice to young creators and entrepreneurs

💙 More from Vista 💙
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💜 More from Claima 💜
Website: https://www.claimastories.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/

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