Behind The Click: Danii Oliver of DAMN Digital Studio

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In our latest installment of Behind The Click, we are profiling Danii Oliver, who is the co-founder of DAMN Digital Studio, LLC – a company that specializes in emerging technology platforms in the digital space.  She has some interesting insight as well as suggestions for women interested in getting into the digital game.  So sit back and take notes.

LDC:  So I understand you went to Baruch College. What was it like attending that school?

DO: Before Baruch, I attended Temple University. I designed my own degree “Business and Graphic Communication” (a concentration on Marketing, Management, Entrepreneurship, Fine Art, Commercial Art and Digital Media Development), which at the time did not exist. I left Temple, and previously Arcadia University, because I completed all the courses that those schools could offer me to meet my unique degree requirements.

I also studied abroad with Semester at Sea through Pittsburgh University. Semester at Sea is a unique study aboard program that sails nearly 700 students around the world in 104 days. Each regular semester, they make stops in 10 countries for one week. Students explore the countries’ city and culture while learning first-hand what life is like outside the U.S. Ambassadors from each port of call joined us in the country before we visited their country in order to prep and inform us on cultural nuances. This was the greatest of all my experiences. It broadened my horizons well beyond anything as person who had never left the U.S. could imagine. I suggest that all students take advantage of studying abroad to learn about other cultures and broaden their knowledge of the world outside of where they live.

LDC: What encouraged you to pursue your interest in all things tech/programming?

DO: My passions encouraged me to pursue all things tech/programming. I am an artist by nature and I enjoy creating aesthetics, sensory or sensory-emotional experiences. My work had gotten to the point that my still images weren’t enough; they needed to be brought to life to tell a bigger and broader story. I needed a plot and scenario; actions and reactions to occur in my work and it was important to me that the audience always be deeply engaged. This coupled with too many trips to Disney (can’t count anymore) and my love for the supernatural, paranormal and science fiction led me to work with technology.

I only see myself creating something from nothing. Programming lets me do just that while engaging people. Technology has us all in awe and it is the way of our future. I just want to be the first to create something we’ve only read in books and make it real.

LDC: What is a typical day like for you?

DO:  It’s like TWO days to put it simply. I start like most with coffee or turmeric tea. Since moving to Brooklyn, I spend an hour in my car working while waiting for alternate side parking to end. It’s a rule that NYC has in place that you can’t park in a certain place until a certain time.

I then spend the morning taking calls and educating potential clients about what I do. I respond to emails, have planning meetings with my team, fight with my computer because it doesn’t render video fast enough while at the same time programming a new application. I’m constantly updating websites and designing something in Photoshop while having to stop and update social media about what I’m doing so potential clients trust that DAMN Digital is immersed in the latest technology platforms.

After my body forces me too eat something, often three hours after lunchtime has passed, I refresh my knowledge base. Being in tech means constantly learning and constantly growing and changes in technology often happens over night. I can’t afford to be behind in tech, something changes everyday. It’s very necessary to stay apprised and keep my skills up. The tech field is about how passionate you are about keep up with constant changes.

When the sun starts to go down, and most coworkers are leaving the building, that’s when my workday really begins. The phone stops ringing and I can focus on production, coding and completing projects. That’s possible if I don’t have a networking event or Meetup event to attend. In that case, I’m headed out the door to meet new people, gain new contacts and learn about new companies.

By 9:00 or 10:00 pm, I can get back to work once I get home with out interruption. I normally blog during this time, update social media and complete the tasks I postponed for the event. Around 3:00 or 4:00 am, I’m off to bed, anxious to do it all over again when the sun rises. I do this six days out the week. But often I’ll work seven days a week.

LDC:What is your biggest challenge in attracting clients?

DO: My biggest challenge in attracting clients is actually two-fold. If potential clients don’t know you, especially in the service business, they don’t trust you. That’s why I commit myself to attending several networking events per week. Then it’s either money or experience. I’ve also found that since DAMN Digital is a start-up, clients may not want to pay what we’re worth. The real challenge is gaining client trust.

Additionally, it takes money to make money. And it takes money or time to get the word out and attract more clients. Another small challenge is educating the client so much that it takes up so much of the agency’s time trying to sign them. But as a business owner, I am fully aware of the hard work that goes into maintaining a successful company.

LDC: The ad agency is notorious for possessing little diversity today. How do you think this will affect the industry in years to come given that we out index in all things digital?

DO: Not much has changed since the “Madison Avenue Ad Men” days of the 1950’s. I don’t believe that the little diversity in the ad agencies will affect the industry. There was a time when minorities couldn’t buy things and ads targeted the majority. Then there came a time when minorities could afford to purchase necessities, now luxuries.

Advertising is not about the nationality of the creative person that is creating the ads. It’s more about showing people why they can’t live without whatever is being advertised. If representation had anything to do with it, African-Americans alone would not be expected to gross $1 Trillion in purchases by 2012. Clearly all is well. People of all ethnicities are still purchasing in large numbers.

 LDC: What advice might you have for women reading this profile who are trying to break into the digital ad world and can’t seem to get a foothold?

DO: The advice my mentor and high school teacher, Dee Winfield, gave me was “Don’t take NO, from someone who can’t tell you YES.” This means keep going until you reach the decision maker. The tenacity that those words have given me since I was 16 years-old has gained me all the accomplishments I have earned so far in life.

LDC: How do you think we can create a better balance between being consumers and creators?

DO: I don’t know where there is a lack of balance. We live in the natural flow of society where the majority rules. If you want to change that then people will have to be willing to raise up and initiate change. When last did a minority group march for their desires?

LDC: What was the process like to decide to become an entrepreneur?

DO: For me, there wasn’t a process to decide to become an entrepreneur. I don’t ever recall sitting down and thinking I wanted to become an entrepreneur, I just was. I always made plans to achieve certain goals and as I did this, my plans got bigger. My goals forced me to adorn the title. What I remember is being told I can be anything I want to be. Working on someone else’s life goals, as their employee wasn’t going to allow me to be anything I wanted to be.

LDC: How might we encourage more Black people to become entrepreneurs in the digital space (and what do you think of the Bloomberg TV show not seemingly including any start-ups in NYC by people of color!?)

DO: You can’t encourage people who don’t have a passion for something to become an entrepreneur.

Certain people in this country have traditionally been taught to take safe jobs, government, city or nursing. This easy work mentality comes from the idea of guarantees pay and pension. Although the pay is low, from what I have witnessed, many are happy to get anything they can.

Furthermore, if you want people to be entrepreneurs in a certain industry, there needs to be investments and funding available in that area for them. Whites, Asians, Indians, etc. invest in technology and digital. Thus we find the same mix in those emerging fields. But African-Americans aren’t traditionally targeted for work in these fields. You can’t expect to encourage certain groups to participate in the industry, when that group isn’t targeted well for opportunities.

From what we see in the media, African-Americans invest in clothing lines, liquor companies and record labels. If not those industries, then in companies that already exist. If this is what is presented, then people will think that’s all there is. This group, as it is presented to the public, has not been big risk takers since the 1960’s and 1970’s.

As for that TV show, I don’t watch television. All anyone who takes offense to a particular show is doing is supporting the show. The show only needs one thing, that’s viewers, not anyone’s approval.

Please don’t miss the next profile.  In the meantime, keep up with digital events and trends at http://www.ldcoleman.com.  Follow me on Twitter @mediaempress