The Takeover with Tim and Cindy

How to Build Your Own Table and Dominate Your Industry with Crystal Foote (Ad Tech & AI)

• Tim and Cindy Dodd • Season 2 • Episode 2

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Imagine being told you don’t fit the mold, and then creating a whole new table to sit at. That’s exactly what Crystal Foote did.

In this powerful conversation, we sit down with Crystal Foote: award-winning executive, founder of Digital Culture Group, and creator of ARI, the groundbreaking AI platform making waves across Fortune 500 brands. From breaking glass ceilings to building the only woman- and Black-owned ad tech company in the country, Crystal shares her raw insights on what it really means to lead with vision, resilience, and impact.

We dissect her journey from top sales performer to industry disruptor, how she navigates the challenges of building as an underrepresented founder, and why legacy matters more than accolades.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to truly stand out and win in business today, this is an episode you can’t afford to miss.

Chapter Markers:

 [03:17] Founding Digital Culture Group and Filling the Industry Gap
 [06:06] Relationships as the Key to Entrepreneurial Success
 [10:19] Winning Awards and Why Validation Matters in Business
 [16:01] Turning Challenges Into Superpowers and Making AI Inclusive
 [29:43] Building Culture, Giving Back, and Defining Legacy


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  • Tim & Cindy Dodd are the Co-founders of PEMA.io, based out of Miami, FL. Connect with Tim and Cindy on LinkedIn and Instagram:

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PEMA.io is an Inc. 5000 Outbound Agency specializing in helping Marketing Agencies scale with pay-for-performance lead generation. Need more sales meetings? Learn more and schedule a call here: https://pema.agency

00:00

We are the only woman-owned and black-owned ad tech company in the country. And so that comes with a lot of weight on my shoulders. But I take that on with all the smiles on my face with the biggest honor because I know that, again, somebody is watching me. We want to make sure that, hey, is this really the best tool in the industry? Or are we just thinking that? Are we hyping ourselves up? We need to know.


00:27

And so that submission and then getting that validation from Digiday saying that, yes, you do have the best AI tool in the industry was so overwhelming and emotional for us because we're a startup and we were going against some big players. Winning means that my daughter can Google my name and say, my mother did this. My son can Google my name and said, my mother did this in the industry. She shook tables. She broke.


00:56

glass ceilings.  She created her own table because a table did not invite her to sit there.  Welcome to The Takeover with Tim and Cindy, where we show you how to dominate every area of life and business.  Let's get winning.  There are very few people that I have ever met  that have the level of accolades,  consistency,  scalability, and just next level thinking.


01:24

than this guest that we're about to have on the show. Today, we are joined by Crystal Foot, who is an award-winning advertising executive, entrepreneur, and published author who's launched high-performance campaigns for Fortune 500 brands and culture-defining startups. She's the founder of the Digital Culture Group and creator of ARI, a groundbreaking AI platform


01:53

that pinpoints exactly when and how audiences are ready to convert. In this episode, we talk all things  sales,  marketing, challenges that she's overcome, and most importantly, AI and how it's completely changing the game, not just industry-wide, but for her agency as well.  Lock into this episode. It is packed with so much value and you don't want to miss a beat.


02:21

Welcome to the Takeover Crystal Foot. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it, Cindy.  I am excited about this conversation for several reasons.  One,  you are my first guest back on the podcast for the fall season,  and you have  so much value to share. And ladies and gents, this is an audio recording, so you may not see Crystal, but you have to check her out on LinkedIn. So off to the show.


02:49

Go follow her on LinkedIn, see all the amazing things that she's doing, but also see how beautiful she is.  You can't hear it, but I know she's going to deliver amazing value on today's show. So Crystal, I want to start with and kind of give our audience an overview, picture.  What is the Digital Culture Group? How did you all get started? And if you would describe what you will do in one sentence, what would it be? All right. So


03:17

background digital culture group. was created by me  a few years ago because I saw that there was a gap in the industry.  And Cindy, I love challenges. I have been an all-star cheerleader. I was an all-star cheerleader for 16 years. Once an all-star cheerleader, always an all-star cheerleader. So I've always had this very competitive edge to me.  And when you're in an industry for 20 years and you see a problem, you have to fix it, right?  If you have a competitive edge, you can't just let things just go by the wayside. So I saw there was a gap.


03:46

And the gap was really identifying who audiences are that you should be connecting with.  And brands and agencies we're working with were struggling.  They were using a very monolithic approach, a very outdated approach. And I was like, no, there's so much data at our fingertips that we can utilize to reach these diverse audiences, to reach different types of audiences. Why are we not using this? That's why I created Digital Culture Group. And we're so excited because  we're able to inform, educate, and activate on a


04:16

it campaigns to these audiences across different digital platforms, including your phone, digital out of home, TV, you name it. If I had to give you one sentence about Digital Culture Group, we are an audience first performance engineered ad tech company that's looking to really diversify the way we utilize data in the industry to decode audiences and provide you the why behind the buy. We're to dive into a lot of that on the show. You mentioned ad tech.


04:45

You mentioned diverse audiences, so we're going to cover a lot of that.  One thing I noticed about your background, Crystal, is that you've had roles in marketing as well as sales.  I think that  any successful entrepreneur has to have the sales element, meaning whether you like it or not, understanding sales, being great at sales, persuasion, right? Putting yourself out there.


05:11

How do you feel like your background in sales has impacted your leadership and your entrepreneurship skills today? Yeah, I think that sells the great stepping stone to  guide you in the entrepreneur path. Because to your point, persuasion, speaking with people, stepping out of your comfort zone, but also relationships. Relationships are number one and so critical in any type of successful business that you want to have, right?


05:38

And with all those relationships, you cannot have a successful business. And I realized when I was working on the sales side, when I was working hard, top seller for organizations, that I was contributing to someone else's dream. I wasn't getting the support that I needed for my book of business. Or if I wanted to elevate a certain client, I wasn't getting that support. So I said, why am I doing this for someone else? I can do this for myself.  And it really...


06:06

was the relationship that catapulted Digital Culture Group to the next level. It wasn't stepping out just saying, oh, we have these solutions. That was it. No,  it was the friends in the industry that I've been able to make over the years I was in sales, even when I was on the agency side that helped us get to where we are today.  mentioned relationships. So if I'm thinking about  I am like a VP of marketing, maybe I'm a director of sales. How do I start to build those relationships in my career right now?


06:35

that may help me down the line in the future, whether it's to jump to a new opportunity or it's to start my own business like you did. Yeah, I would say go to different networking events, conferences, and then also be authentic. Don't always ask for something when you first meet somebody. See how you can help them, right? Build on that relationship. It might not happen overnight. It might take years. One of the largest clients that we have,


07:00

It took around two years to cultivate that relationship and it's authentic. know, whether we're doing business with them or not, I know that I can always go to them and have a conversation, go to dinner and I have to talk shop all the time. Be real. And that's how you really build those relationships and your strong network within that ecosystem, trying to get to the next level. Absolutely. I 100 % agree. I think sometimes we can get into a culture that's so transactional. What can I get? What can I get? And I strongly believe


07:30

building relationships in the long term, right? Ones that serve both parties.  It is that staying power. It's being able to say, like, check in with somebody just to say hello and not have an ask.  Networking events, going in to learn more about the other person,  asking questions, listening versus, this is what I do. Here's how you can help me. Right. And I think that shift in perspective is critical as we're learning how to build relationships and foster them over the long term like you've done. It's incredible.


07:59

Thank you. And you know, it is reciprocal. Although my clients and I, work together and we have really shipped outside of work as well. I will make sure that I take care of them because they take care of us with the contracts. Right. So  a lot of times you'll go to industry events  and you'll see some people at the top, very greedy or overlook the people who have gotten them there  and not, you know, take care of their, their best clients.


08:25

And I have those conversations with their best clients. I'm like, why aren't you attending this event with that company? Why aren't you here?  And they're like, well, because we didn't get invited. And they remember that. And I make sure that we take care of our top clients. We even take care of the clients that don't spend a lot of money or don't spend money at all, prospects, because we want to show them that it doesn't just start or end with activation. It's also customer service. And we want to show you that by how we approach doing business.


08:51

how we approach just day-to-day conversations, and also how we can elevate our clients and put the spotlight on them as well for any type of industry publications and news. That's true win-win. Win-win relationships, partnerships across the board. I love that. Did you always know you wanted to get into marketing, advertising? How did that start? That is a great question. Yes, I've always wanted to know. It started when I was in high school. I saw a movie  and the character played by Vivica A. Fox.


09:21

in the movie to complete that game. And she was an advertising executive. Right. I saw her, Cindy, I was like, wow, she's smart. She's beautiful.  She  looks like she's the only  woman in this role at this organization.  But she took it so  gracefully and she was so eloquent. And I was like, I want to be that. I didn't see any other career field where that was a representation.


09:49

in my life until I saw that movie. And they say the adage is if you see it, you can be it. So when I saw her, I said, I can be that too.  And so I pursued a degree in integrated marketing strategies and business management.  know. think it's so when you see somebody in that position  and that resonates with you immediately, you're like, I could be that person. Like, why not pursue it? And I think you have all the skills. And of course, you've demonstrated it through all the amazing things that you do and you became that. So that's incredible props to you. Thank you.


10:19

When we talk about award winning, ladies and gents, it is not just a term for Crystal. You truly have, I mean, the accolades, they go on and on and on. are truly an award winning marketer, executive professional from entrepreneurs to 100, Inc. female, 500, Gold Stevie Award, ad exchanger, ad monsters, entrepreneur of the year. It goes on and on. And also the culture group just...


10:47

won best AI tool at the 2025 Digiday Technology Awards. I mean, you are winning. Let me ask you, Crystal, what does it take to win? What are you doing differently that others are maybe not? You know, I can't speak to others, to be honest, but I can speak to what we're doing. And it's taking a lot of hard work, a lot of grit, a lot of creativity and innovation to get where we are today.


11:17

for granted.  I am very grateful for the awards because in our industry, we need credibility  or else big clients are not going to work with you. We need validation and you can't grade your own homework to get that validation. You know, people say, oh, we have the best tool. We have this and that, but was it graded by you or another organization? Right.  And so especially with something like AI.


11:42

which is a buzzword that's been really hot since last year, the year prior. We wanted to create a tool that could really help our clients and not just say AI in the sake of just saying AI. And to submit it for an award, we wanted to make sure that, hey, is this really the best tool in the industry? Or are we just thinking that? Are we hyping ourselves up? We need to know.


12:07

And so that submission and then getting that validation from Digiday saying that, yes, you do have the best AI tool in the industry  was so overwhelming and emotional for us because we're a startup  and we were going against some big players in the people who are spending tens of millions of dollars  on AI. And we were able to create it at  our own company, ground up, proprietary to Digital Culture Group.


12:37

And we're so, so excited about that nomination.  And now  we know that we won and having that honor. We're still happy about that. Congratulations. Well deserved. That's really incredible. There's so much I want to unpack about what you said.  One thing I want to sit on a little bit is like, how do you know when it's the right time  to start applying for the awards to go in for the accolades and things like that? Because I think as entrepreneurs, sometimes we either think that we're too early.


13:07

So we kind of count ourselves out or we don't think that it matters. love that you mentioned third party validation. That is critical, especially in very competitive industries, having somebody else speak to your work as like that stamp of approval versus you saying that we're the best, right? That just adds that extra layer of credibility for entrepreneurs and people out there. Like, when do you know it's the right time to step out and apply for the award? And what are some...


13:35

limitations that maybe you've had to overcome to start to take the steps to apply? I love that question because we literally went through that for this submission. So I would say when you have a very solid case study of whatever you're submitting to make sure that you have great results from a brand, right? Just having it, for example, a tech stack and not applying it to a campaign  doesn't do anything, but you have to have metrics. You have to say how it moved the needle.


14:04

for your client, for consumers, overall KPI,  how you really delivered on those benchmark goals. So that's number one. Number two is legal.  Getting legal approval to submit that case study from the brand side is insane. It could take years to get legal approval, and sometimes you don't get it. And so we had to make a quick pivot because the brand that we submitted with got


14:32

Approval from PR but not from their legal team. We said, okay, what can we do? We asked several of our clients that are heavily using this tool. I'm 150 reports a quarter, know, 20 reports in a month. And they were like, sorry, can't do it because, know, we're too big of a company. It would take months to get approval from legal. So what we decided to do was to basically do a non-branded case study.


15:02

across our fingers, hoping that we were going to at least get the nomination, the finalist type of announcement. And when we did, we're like, okay, great, we got this far. But then when we were awarded to have the best AI tool, we're like, oh my gosh, this is incredible. So we were happy about that, especially since we had a pivot last minute. Right.  The challenge has always come right before the breakthrough.  Yes. Wow, that's incredible. Let's talk about challenges. They're always going to come up.


15:31

In business, it's part of entrepreneurship, part of being a high performer. Is there one uh memory or experience for you, that comes up as like, this was a challenge that was significant, that either pushed me in a different direction or really solidified myself in this career? You're putting me through a lot of challenges. And if I had to pick one to talk about today, I will say something that we still  can't hide from. And that's the fact that we are a woman-owned business.


16:01

that we are majority-owned business. I can't hide that. People see that. And I put my whole self into this business.  And that can be a challenge for some people who think that an ad tech company  should have a certain founder or CEO behind it based on historical aesthetics, right? I don't fit that mold. We are the only woman-owned and black-owned ad tech company in the country. And so that comes with a lot of weight on my shoulders. But I take that on  with  all the


16:31

smiles on my face with the  biggest honor because I know that again, somebody is watching me, right? They see it and they can be it.  Now I'm turning into that role model for them. And so it's a challenge that I greatly accept and that I continue pushing through those barriers every day. It's almost what the world perceives as a quote unquote weakness is your superpower. it's the strength. You stand out in an industry that was not


17:00

quote unquote, built for you or looks like you, it's a superpower. Agreed, yeah. And I love it. We also love the fact that  with our AI tool, it infuses cultural resonance in there, which right now AI is super polarizing when it comes to biases, right? Some people believe it's biased, some people don't think it is, but majority do.  And because I am from an underrepresented group, we make sure that we'll be build.


17:28

is responsible and is inclusive of everyone. That's one of the questions I was going to ask you. So that takes us really nicely into it. One of the guests we had on the show recently spoke about AI governance, how important it is now as we're entering into this, I mean, this era of all things AI to make sure that AI is inclusive, representative.  How do you all do that? And you don't have to go into like the practical nitty gritty of it, but  at a high level, how is DCG thinking about AI being


17:57

culturally relevant as well as sensitive to  diverse audience needs.  Subscribing is the easiest way to support the podcast.  Plus, you'll never miss an episode.  Hit that subscribe button on iTunes, Spotify, Google, or wherever you're listening so that you don't miss a beat.


18:18

Right. So we look at different metrics that includes cultural resonance, that includes geocultural fit.  And when we say culture, it doesn't always have to be about black and white. Culture is a commonality that a group shares, right? So if you're trying to reach parents, make sure that you're across different diverse websites, not just mainstream websites that you think parents are going to be on.  Make sure you reach websites as well.


18:46

that speak to those diverse parents. And so with the coding that we did with Digital Culture Groups, ARIES platform, we wanted to make sure that all that was taken into consideration when we are evaluating a brief or an RFP from a client. So that way we don't have any missteps when we're recommending strategies and tactics to reach their audience. Wow. It sounds like what you all have built is incredible. Thank you. How long have you been building the platform?


19:13

So it took us around a year to build it and we had a beta opportunity with a large streaming platform.  And also we initially built it because of a brand meeting that we had and we're like, we need to make sure that we at least have the MVP. So,  you know, most viable product offering for this and we can show a demo at least. And when I got the response from that client that,  oh,  whoa, this is.


19:41

difference. We've never seen anything like this. I said, okay, we're onto something  and we  need to tweak it and make it better and better.  So I tell, you know, our clients and prospects, this is not done. This is a living and breathing machine. This will continue to have tweaks and growth with it because of things that are moving in our industry and new audiences that we want to explore and new tactics. So I think that's also the biggest difference that sometimes


20:10

the ad tech that we're using can be outdated in terms of the infrastructure because it's not looking at what's relevant to the clients and their needs, their marketing need. But with our platform, we are every day because we're in sales. So we're getting that feedback on the spot. And that's how we're to grow it to be better. If you have to think about AI and where you are now versus where you were when you first got started with technology, with AI, I'm sure you have like a software development team.


20:38

For founders that are just stepping into that, right? We speak a lot about AI on the show. Maybe they're just utilizing like chat GPT and a few other AI tools. Are they or is there any advice that you would give to people that are still kind of dabbling with AI to take it to that next level, whether it's in their agency, their company, or even within their individual roles? Number one, definitely use AI. Some people don't want to use AI. Some companies don't want to leverage it either.


21:07

but definitely use AI because that is our future. Whether you like it not, we have to understand how to use it.  And if you are developing it for your agency or company, make sure you have leaders in this space who can educate your team on how to use it. A lot of people don't know the certain prompts to use and don't know the full potential of AI because they haven't been trained on it. And they're just trying to figure out, they're like in the discovery phase. So let's make sure that we can amplify that and expedite that.


21:36

discovery phase by having true experts come to your company,  come to your agency, and educate your team on that. Also, I would say,  sky is not the limit with AI. Like, I don't know about you, Cindy, but I feel like it can do so much  more than I've ever seen  for a technology standpoint. And so really, even I even ask AI, like, what else should I be using you for? Right. Yes, that's so good.  To meet that next level. So, yeah, definitely.


22:05

Tap into experts, attend the conferences,  and make sure that your team is comfortable using it. So good. I love that. That's not one tip that anybody has mentioned just yet. It's tap into experts. Attend the conferences, attend the events,  hire experts to come into your company,  see what you're doing, identify areas of opportunity to actually integrate AI. I think that can speed up the learning  so much.  One thing that we're doing at my agency Pima is we started developing our own AI tool as well.


22:36

It is different in that we're going from being service-based to now being kind of tech-based, SaaS managed, right? And I think as a founder, the skills that you develop, transitioning from service-based agency to  dabbling into tech and starting to develop products, there's so many new skills that you learn along the way. And I think as the founder, you have to be at the forefront of learning and development around AI.


23:03

So if you're listening to this and you have teammates that are pushing AI and you as the founder or the leader or not, you definitely have to shift that mindset. You have to be the one that is pushing for advancement around AI that is encouraging your team to utilize tools. And one thing that we do at our agency as well is every second Wednesday of the month, we have AI innovation Wednesday. So we have our team just bring new ideas around AI. What tools are you learning? What's something new that you discovered?


23:32

So now learning becomes like a whole culture and a team wide initiative versus just the leaders or one individual on the team. Agreed. I love that. I was talking to another agency, a huge agency,  and only the leaders at the top to your point knew about their AI platform. And that's how they were running new business. But the people that were doing the day to day had no idea about their AI and that they were actually winning business because of that. So there was like a learning curve for oh


24:01

a new business and then making sure the right team was utilizing it instead of having this company wide type of approach where they're learning at the same time that leaders are at the top. So there was a true disconnect and the clients are coming to me like Crystal, you want to tap into your AI. And I was like, oh, but your agency also has AI. Did you know that? And they're like, no, we didn't know that. We weren't an existing client. We weren't part of the new business. So like, this is crazy. So yeah, definitely make sure your whole entire organization is familiar with it, comfortable with using it and can speak to it.


24:30

when they have a client presentation. Let's talk about scalability. Your company has scaled. What are some tips around scaling that you wish you knew when you were first starting out? I kind of went into creating Digital Culture Group with this mindset. So  making sure you have the right partnerships. So we talked about relationships that will help with success and growth, but still build partnerships. So what we did was we partnered with a company


25:00

that was very established in the industry  that did not have solutions that we did. But they had an existing client base, they had a full sales team, and we said, hey, let's get together and help each other out. And came up with the terms and how we would do that and the marketing materials.  And it has been a great partnership because we have been able to scale exponentially  since now  we have two teams working as one. Yes, partnerships. And I'm sure you would agree.


25:29

Crystal, that it's finding that kind of the skills that you have complementary, right? If both teams are doing the same thing, doesn't matter, right? But you were strategic about finding a fit where you all could compliment one another. That's right. Yeah. And that was the only way it would work because then we'll just be stepping on each other's toes, right? I have time for any of that ego stuff. I was like, no, we're good at this. You're good at that. So let's make sure that we can put those two together.


25:55

to make a really dynamic package for prospects and our current clients. What are some of the most successful companies that you're working with doing  that maybe you don't see other companies doing at all or even considering? I would say the companies that are doing that are  probably the most successful, they're working closely with us and their agency. That way there's no misstep.


26:24

For example, we're doing a huge initiative right now for  some websites that needed just a little bit more attention and love in the  ecosystem. And so we're working directly with a large brand as well as their agency on this initiative. We have weekly phone calls. We talk about next steps, but we've worked together  to make sure that the campaign is successful.


26:50

Now, usually you don't see that approach, right? That triangle approach, where you just see a very linear approach, where the brand talks to the agency, then talks to us. And sometimes we don't get information until four months after the campaign. Literally what happened. And I'm like, wait, well, we didn't get that before. Why didn't you know that? I was like, oh, the client didn't tell me. And the client's like, oh, well, we told the agency. But when you see the approach turning to more of the brand, the agency, and then us as the ad tech partner,


27:20

Everything is just, it flows beautifully. I love it. I wish  all of the agencies and brands we work with had that same type of relationship where we all share responsibility in making sure that we're meeting those goals or deadlines for creative as well. I think it's you becoming that strategic partner, right? Versus just like, we do ad tech, or the agency just does agency work. When you can position yourself as that strategic partner, that's...


27:47

really going for the goals of the business and making sure that you all are hitting that across the board. I that also leads to retention, right? I think the agencies or the companies, the tech companies that stick are the ones that beyond the software, beyond the tools, beyond the results, they see them as a strategic partner in the business that's helping them hit their business goals. 100%. And we tell people in any type of pitch prospecting relationship, we say, we're an extension of your team.


28:16

Do not see us as a vendor. So they will call sometimes nine o'clock on Valentine's day if there's an urgency, but they know that we're their partner. They know that they can trust us that if they need our help, we're there to help them because we want to be  in the fire with them as well. And to your point, that definitely builds Rikun-Chen with our book of business.  And again, it's authentic. We want to do this for our clients. I've been in those seats. I've been on the marketing teams.


28:44

I've been on the ASD side. I know how it feels. So I think also with that empathy, that's another reason why we feel like we had that responsibility to be an extension of their team to make sure they  succeed. Let's talk culture, culture of your team specifically.  I know before the show we were talking about gather, which is a new tool that I just learned about. So I'm going to go do my research,  but tell me, Crystal, how do you manage culture? Is your team remote or in person? Both. So in person of a few people here in Atlanta.


29:14

but for majority of our team there at Bromel. Okay. How are you managing culture remotely? How have you been able to build the kind of company that scales and sustain success? Because very often if a company isn't rooted in really good culture, the scalability does not last, right? Here today, gone tomorrow. What are you doing at DCG to really captivate culture, keep employees engaged, or maybe some things that...


29:43

you advise you with things that we're not thinking about around culture. Yeah. So I tell my team at the end of the day, I'm never too busy for them.  If they need help, please come to me. I never want them to feel like they're alone, even though they might be working remote.  That's why we have Gather, so that way they can see everyone that's in the office. They can virtually walk to their desk and start a conversation with them, just like you would do in the real world.  We also have a touch base every morning at 9 a.m. How are you doing? How are you feeling? What's going on today? You know, what do need help with?


30:12

How can we work together? Now I have a very demanding schedule, but my team is very important to me. I am not self-made. My team helps us get to where we are. It's all of us, right? And so with that collective effort, I want to make sure that the weakest link is going to be the strongest because that's a reflection of our organization. If the weakest link on the team is dropping the ball, missing deadlines, da da, then we fail.


30:41

And I write as their leader. So I want to make sure this is a team effort that we are strong in what we deliver and that we get great notes from our clients. Like, Oh, you're amazing. You did a great job. Love working with you all. You are number one  because it means a lot to them and it means a lot to me as well. Yes. I love how you prioritize your team. That's incredible. Let's look ahead. What's in store for DCG? Where do you see AI going? What's in store for you, Crystal? What are some things top of mind for you?


31:10

in terms of vision and future? Yes. So for me,  I want to do more philanthropic efforts. With Digital Culture Group, when I created it, I wanted to make sure that we had social responsibility tied into everything that we do. So we started the Impact Program, which is impressions, prepositive change, and transformation, where we give added value impressions to all of our partners. And we say, can pay it forward to a nonprofit that's aligned with the month you're advertising in, the audience you're trying to reach.


31:39

or that's along with your mission overall.  To date, we've been able to donate 3 million  added value impressions to those nonprofits and it's made a huge impact. Like, for example, Twizz for Tots, Wildlife Get Madagascar, En-Roads, Black Girls Code,  and it's allowing these nonprofits to have  visibility of what they're doing  as well as donations. And so we're really proud of that work. I'm going to continue that. Also, we...


32:09

open a computer lab in Liberia, West Africa, for students at a public school. So that way they can have global learning and also intern at different organizations within our industry. And I want to continue that. So I want to do different countries as well and open this computer lab so that way they can have this digital access and virtual access to educators, to executives, and learn more about what we do. For Digital Culture Group, within our roadmap, everything, everything.


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I want to continue  showing how  this company  taking into consideration culture and inclusivity is really paving the way  and changing how our industry is currently doing business in a sense of  utilizing outdated tools to not look at inclusivity  or to overlook certain groups of people because we're going show them how to do it. Right? So I'm trying to change the industry one day at a time. It's not going to be overnight, but RE is the first step.


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Our impact program, that's another stepping stone.  Our global  digital presence and having these computer labs around the country, that's another  stepping stone and milestone for us. So I want to continue that.  And I'm just really happy to have people  like you, Cindy, with platforms like this that allow us to  voice what we're doing in the industry and speak to your audience  and have that then speak to maybe their friends that they share it as well.


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about the impact that she can do beyond just business and a very transactional type of relationship. You can really do something that will change not only your industry, but also the world. I love it. I'm excited to see what you all are going to continue to do amazing things next. how can people get in touch with you? You can find us on LinkedIn, Digital Culture Group, our Crystal Flick with the E at the end. You can also reach out to us at hello.


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at digitalculture.group. Last question. What does winning mean to you? Winning means for us  and for me,  a legacy, right? Winning means that my daughter can Google my name and say, my mother did this. My son can Google my name and said, my mother did this. In the industry, she  shook tables. She broke glass ceilings. She created her own table because


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a table did not invite her to sit there.  Winning means  that my team can be proud of the work that they're doing and that not only take it from me, but take it from their industry peers to  different organizations. Winning means a lot.  And sometimes we don't win and that's okay because it's a learning opportunity for us.  It's a challenge for us to be more creative and create something that is going to be  mind blowing.


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And changing the way that we're looking, how we're doing, what we're currently doing and making that shift. So yes, winning is important, but also the losses are just as important. So that way we can make those shifts. Nobody on the show has ever said that for winnings. So good. I loved having you on the show, Crystal. You are just a wealth of information. You are so genuine. I can tell how much you pour into your team, those around you and


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your vision for the kind of impact that you want to make that you're already doing, but that next level of impact is incredible. And I'm excited to see what you and DCG, ARI, what you will do next. Such incredible things on the horizon. Thanks so much for joining the show. Thank you so much for having us. I appreciate it. I don't know about you all, but Crystal Shade, so many golden nuggets,  so much value. She's a wealth of knowledge. I'm going to go back and just re-listen to this.


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so that I can take notes because so many of the things that she mentioned,  I want to implement in my life and in my business as well. Thanks so much for joining again, ladies and gents. If you're not yet subscribed to the podcast, make sure you hit that subscribe button wherever you are listening so that you don't miss a beat. We have  amazing guests in store for you this season  and I don't want you to miss out on not any of them.


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This is The Takeover. Always remember, domination is not a destination, it's a way of life. Stay winning.