Who is Zach Nunn?
Zach Nunn is a thought leader; diversity, equity and inclusion consultant; and the founder of the media platform, Living Corporate. He recently took on the role of Head of Strategic Growth at DiversityInc. His focus is amplifying marginalized voices in corporate America and sharing practical insights and stories of growth.
Mission and purpose first.
This is the motto that Zach Nunn lives by, and the approach that has led his media platform, Living Corporate, to success.
The realization that there was nowhere to go for words of wisdom or quick tips specifically catered to the experiences of Black or Brown people in corporate America led to the launch of Living Corporate, a media platform for amplifying marginalized voices.
The recent launch of Living Corporate’s new website design, designed by branding agency Workshop Built, elevated the platform, bringing the immense amount of content it has to the spotlight in an approachable and user-friendly way.
CEO Zach Nunn walks us through the redesign process and the biggest challenges of launching and growing an online space like Living Corporate.
Spotlight: How did Living Corporate start and how essential is this platform to corporate America today?
Zach Nunn: Living Corporate started because of me. As a first-generation professional, I was looking for authentic dialogue and wisdom, or “real talk”, from other folks who looked like me. Living Corporate is 1-of-1 because there is no other space that is completely dedicated to authentic dialogues that go from awareness to action and accountability, and do so by talking with executives, activists, entrepreneurs, influencers, authors and elected officials several times a week, every single week, across a network of podcasts, web shows, blogs and more.
Living Corporate consists of investors, entrepreneurs, researchers, doctors and consultants who support the community through online content and other resources. What was your approach when establishing this team of professionals?
My approach was always mission and purpose first. I’m of the belief that authenticity and intentionality attract themselves. I’ve been blessed to network and build incredible relationships that are committed to our mission of having “real talk” in a corporate world.
You worked with Workshop Built agency for your new website. Please tell us about that collaborative process, from brief to execution.
I came to Workshop Built with a very strong vision of what I was looking for. I already documented a bunch of features, websites that inspired me and key experiences I wanted visitors to have. What I didn’t expect was for them to take my vision so much further, but that’s what they did. Their mock-ups were incredible and they were extremely communicative as they worked to build everything up. I think we both underestimated the sheer size of our content catalog, so it was a great exercise in re-experiencing and exploring our huge backlog. I walked away genuinely pleased and excited about the site.
Living Corporate's new website design by Workshop Built
What is the inspiration behind Living Corporate’s website design and how does it address the brand’s goals?
From a content and experience perspective, the biggest inspiration for Living Corporate was TED — they have a huge library of content and based on your profile, they push specific content to you. This was important for me because not only does Living Corporate have one of the biggest libraries of thought leadership on leadership, equity, inclusion, allyship, etc., but it’s growing every week through our active media network. I wanted a motion that not only promoted our newer content but also activated our years-deep backlog.
The Living Corporate website features multiple forms of content: blog, podcast, shows and job board, among others. What was the most challenging part of creating a multimedia website that hosts all these and how did you tackle it?
The hardest part is the management and coordination in not only getting the content produced and published but also scheduled. Thankfully we have an incredible operations manager and a team that embraces communication and teamwork, so it’s not an impossible hurdle.
Your network includes Google, Twitter, H&M and Forbes, to name a few. What are the most significant partnerships you’ve had so far?
Really tough question because I appreciate all of the brands that have worked with us by simply being willing to talk on the record or by being part of a campaign, but I’m certainly thankful for Pfizer, Textio, Doximity, AWS and Capgemini — brands that have trusted us to promote them through our storytelling capabilities as a media company.
Another notable partnership is with the team at Blind who we collaborate with to publish incredible research on employee experiences in the tech industry, which of course is hyper-relevant right now. We have some more partnerships we’re excited to announce in the coming months — stay tuned for that.
As a successful media platform, what tips can you share with brands looking to initiate social change online?
Intentionality is important — what are you actually trying to achieve? Be honest with yourself on that upfront to save yourself, and anyone you reach out to, time. The second is to recognize that if you’re an eight, nine, or ten-plus-figure brand, you need to pay. This work isn’t free. Pay folks for their talent and their time, and pay them well. Thirdly, tie your social change goals to your company’s mission, this reduces the chances of it getting cut later.
Keep up with exciting content from Living Corporate on Instagram @livingcorporate and read about other succesful entrepreneurs here!
