“Lauren Maillian is catalyzing economic growth and creating new pathways for Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs.
Lauren Maillian is a change agent committed to diversity, innovation, equity, and inclusion. She is an award-winning marketer, prolific investor, advisor, entrepreneur, and board member with a deep understanding of consumer brands and culture woven through her multi-hyphenate career—which includes wine expert, philanthropist and former international fashion model. Maillian’s entrepreneurial journey is an inspiration for many; and equally is the work she is doing to redefine the path for future generations of entrepreneurs.
Which brings us to Maillian’s current role as CEO of digitalundivided, the leading nonprofit leveraging data, programs, and advocacy to catalyze economic growth for Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs and innovators. The mission is to create a greater world in which all women of color own their work and worth. As the former Board Chair of digitalundivided, Lauren took the helm to evolve and grow the organization to further support women of color entrepreneurs, especially in the wake of the racial reckoning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization was also the first to debut authoritative research on the state of Black and Latinx women founders in the United States through the ProjectDiane Report. In the future, Maillian aims to grow the organization’s overall research capabilities to release more data reports and entrepreneurship insights annually. Ahead, she tells Create & Cultivate about the research she is doing to address realities, experiences, and disparities present in entrepreneurship, how she avoids taking the backseat in her career, and the biggest mistake she sees entrepreneurs make.”
