Revival: Tech Entrepreneur Angela Benton On Building A Life Of Longevity After Cancer
Angela Benton has made a lot of changes over the last few years.
She's traded in San Francisco's Sillicon Valley, a place that she called home for over five years while building her company NewMe Accelerator, for scenic views of Miami's crystal blue waters. The technology company that used to run her due to countless meetings with budding entrepreneurs, investors, and tech industry disruptors is now running smoothly with little effort. Even her dietary habits have changed. She's trading in turkey for tofu in an attempt to transition to a vegan diet, though she admits that her fear of being hungry all the time is keeping her from fully embracing the lifestyle.
But the changes didn't come without a little push—a wake up call even. In fact, it was her diagnosis for early stage breast cancer that set of an alarm and nearly forced Benton to slow down and reevaluate her life. “What's funny is that things were changing in my life anyway, and things were just moving out of the way organically on its own," says Benton. “And now I guess I can see why."
Benton is the definition of a go-getter, something that followed her from her childhood days as a basketball player waking up with a Kobe state-of-mind of bettering her ball-handling skills from sunrise to sunset, but her entrepreneurial spirit came from her parents. Her dad was always working on projects while her mom dabbled with ideas of her own. But tech? That was something that wasn't initially on Angela's mind—boys were. At 16 she became a mom to what would be the first of three daughters. Not that being a young mother slowed her down any. She continued moving and shaking with the best of them—balancing school, a part time job, and night courses so that she could graduate early. At 20 she was married, and her second daughter was learning to walk while she working on her BFA in visual communications. And by 24, she had her third daughter and a MFA in graphic design to match.
Raising a family while juggling a career helped Angela master the art of management, catapulting her from a freelance graphic designer to a director of digital strategy where she worked on everything from web design to front-end development. As a minority in the digital space, she developed an interest of sharing the knowledge and experiences of Black entrepreneurs in tech, and in 2007 she launched Black Web 2.0 (now B20), and pursued her passion project full-time soon after.
On the career front Benton was winning. Black Web was becoming the go-to site for tech news and the mom boss was building her brand as a minority leader in the digital space.
But at home it was a different story. Her six-year marriage to her high-school sweetheart was no longer serving either of them, and at 26 she was signing divorce papers. “The marriage that we had was a period where we both grew as individuals during the marriage and then towards the end of it I think I probably felt like I had outgrown a situation. I looked at my life from a state of awareness and I'm asking myself what my feel is this it? Is this all that I'm supposed to be doing? I felt that towards the end of my marriage that I couldn't be who I was meant to be in the relationship."
"I felt that towards the end of my marriage that I couldn't be who I was meant to be in the relationship."
They parted amicably, and Benton continued to go full throttle in her career. In 2010 she launched her NewME Accelerator platform to help minority startups get the funding and knowledge needed to create successful businesses, such as how to get investors to fund their ideas.
“When you're talking to an investor and trying to pitch your idea, it's so important to say the right things and to say it just enough and not too much. A lot of entrepreneurs over talk and then some of [the investors] are not interested anymore because what an entrepreneur doesn't realize is that they've exposed the flaw in their business model, or they've exposed the flaw in their marketing just because they were talking too much."
To date, NewMe has helped startups raise over $20 million in venture capital funding. Meanwhile, Benton was racking up her own successes. In 2010, she was listed on Ebony magazine's Power 150 and in 2013 Goldman Sachs' 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, in addition to features in Forbes and participating in a number of discussions about the evolution of the tech industry and entrepreneurship.
“There's definitely a lot more people of color in tech now, so I think that is for sure going to continue," says Benton. “The level that it's at is what I think is going to be interesting. I think we'll have a lot of smaller businesses, and that's okay. I think when people think of tech starters it's almost like they have to be a billion dollar company and if they're not a billion dollar company they're a failure, and that's certainly not true. The whole game of being an entrepreneur is having some kind of exit. That's what we're working so hard for, is to have a company acquire their company for some odd millions and now they can just chill and relax or work on another idea."
Her own wins attest to the amount of time and effort that is often required of entrepreneurs, but the no-sleep lifestyle that often comes with being a boss can sometimes take a toll on health. While Benton can't quite pinpoint the cause of her diagnosis, she's taking the necessary steps to ensure that she gets back to optimal health, and for once that means making herself the number one priority as she focuses on her health and takes the time to exhale.
“I think that my life is a little different from most people, because when you're in your 20s and before you have kids, you kind of have time to yourself; I've never really had that—at all. So that's kind of what I'm doing and it's also just on what I really want. And figuring out what I want, is what I want to change from where I was at last year then that's also okay."
The time alone without the stress of having to run a day-to-day operation has allowed her some much needed reflection on everything from her lifestyle to her relationships. “The whole cancer diagnosis is pivotal in my life and has made me reflect on a lot of things, why you meet certain people and why certain things happen in the way that they do. I've just gotten a lot of support from [my ex-husband], so I just feel like our relationship we are in each other's lives for whatever reason and I guess I'm always hoping that I have connections that are more like that than superficial. It's more about if the people, places and things around you are nurturing you. If it's nurturing you, then it should be propelling you to the highest version of yourself. If you're doing anything less than that then what's the point?"
"If it's nurturing you, then it should be propelling you to the highest version of yourself."
Openly sharing her journey from chemotherapy to cutting her curls with her social media followers has enabled Benton to continue empowering others even outside of the tech industry.
Through her vulnerability she continues to exude the same strength that has brought her the awards and accolades throughout her career.
“I just feel like women are so powerful. Not in a power hungry kind of way, but in the most humble way possible. We're a quiet kind of power."
Catch more of Angela Benton's story in her powerful new book, "Revival" in stores and on Amazon.
Kiah McBride writes technical content by day and uses storytelling to pen real and raw personal development pieces on her blog Write On Kiah. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @writeonkiah.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Between the rise of the creator economy and the gig economy, the window of opportunity to leverage your creativity for long-term gain has never been more potent.
For the last four years, I’ve worked as a full-time freelance writer and content creator. A year into this journey, I knew that if I wanted to create a sense of structure around my life outside of a traditional 9-5, I would have to create it.
To my surprise, that came in the form of social media.
Now, you might be wondering how someone might be able to juggle their work in a creatively-dominant career like writing while still having the mental capacity to produce ideas for their own personal brand, and well, that answer didn’t come easily.
In 2021, I hit a wall with writing and content creation.
With the stress and uncertainty that came as a result of the pandemic, to being burned out from having to live off my creativity, I reached a breaking point. For me, writing was always a space to explore my thoughts, process heavy topics, and express concepts that only words could bring reason to. However, when I didn’t have the brainpower to write or create content, I knew it was time to set parameters around my hobby of content creation and my passion for storytelling.
In this case, the biggest challenge was finding the balance between the two by releasing the guilt and shame of taking a break from both in order to reconnect with them.
Through years of trial and error, the fog finally cleared, and I was able to hit my stride in 2023. From garnering over 10K followers on TikTok, building an Instagram community around lifestyle and creative encouragement, along with my wellness collective, Black Girl Playground, and writing for xoNecole as a lifestyle contributor, the creative juices have been flowing steadily.
And it all happened by creating a strategy that allowed space for planning, resting, and creating. Today, I’ll be sharing my top tips to help you find your balance between your side hustle and passions.
On staying inspired and motivated when working on various content creation and freelancing projects:
Early this year, I came to the bright conclusion that I needed to shorten the gap between ideation and execution — and it completely changed how I create.
Oftentimes, when we have an idea come to us, we let it sit for too long, and then before we know it, we’ve either lost the enthusiasm to put it into action, or someone else grabs it. If you want to stay in a flow of creativity, whether side projects or full-time work, it’s important to not get slowed down by self-doubt, procrastination, or perfectionism.
Give yourself permission to act on your ideas as they come to you. Even if they’re a little muddy or not “perfect,” you can always fine-tune them later.
@yagirlaley shrinking the gap between [ideation] + [execution] 🧠💡#fyp #creativeadvice
On the importance of choosing a niche:
If there’s one thing that has helped me balance my work as a writer and content creator, it’s putting each in its own niche (or category). By definition, a niche is a specialized segment of the market or a specific area of expertise.
When you are creating in the same niche that you’re also making a living in, that’s an easy way to get your wires crossed. And at times, this could lead to feeling as if you don’t have any ideas for yourself because you’ve given them to the other area you're juggling.
When balancing two, you want to have enough fresh ideas to give to your personal projects and your full-time work to avoid any overlap. This ensures that your personal creative vision isn’t compromised when working on client projects while still having some for yourself.
On the strategies that have helped to maintain a consistent workflow in both areas:
I can’t stress enough how important it is to create a workflow and structure for yourself as a freelancer — this applies to those with a 9-5 in the day and a 5-9 at night, too.
As someone who admittedly has ADHD tendencies, object permanence can sometimes create a block in time and project management. That’s why I encourage creatives and professionals to create systems that allow you to see the work that’s ahead of you.
Personally, I can’t live without having multiple calendars going at once. My Google calendar keeps track of interviews for articles and events, while my physical calendar helps me keep track of important dates. I also work out of an Excel sheet where I can log in ongoing stories and track their status from drafting to submission. I’ve also heard great things about the Notion app for planning and tracking.
When it comes to creating content, spending time doing bulk content days has been an asset to my creative workflow. When I complete the videos, I save them to my drafts and upload them as needed.
Credit: Amberita
Courtesy of the writer
On the best advice for someone who is considering pursuing both content creation and freelancing simultaneously:
Don’t be ashamed of taking a break and resting — because both are essential to the life of a creative. Last month, I returned to Instagram after taking 6 months off from posting. During that time, I worked on growing my TikTok page, using the platform to practice vulnerability and allowing myself to put the fun back into creating content. Without the time, I can’t say I’d be able to approach Instagram with the same ease and playfulness; but thanks to that time away, it was possible.
Resting, letting our minds wander, or simply doing nothing are all just as productive as creating. No one can produce at all times, we have to allow ourselves the space for new concepts and ideas to flow to us. In addition to that, when we take breaks from social media, it allows us to stop the wheel of comparison and consume more than we create. So if you feel like you’re in a creative rut with all you want to balance, it may be time to take a step back, unapologetically.
Your creativity will thank you for it.
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Featured image by Sir Taylor