For Jay Veal, the pandemic has provided opportunities pivots and growth.
On Thursday, Veal joined NTX Inno for the first in a new virtual event series, Bytes with the Beat, to talk about how he has been navigating the pandemic, even overcoming Covid-19 himself.
“The pandemic has put a lot of parents at stress,” Veal said. “A lot more families are needing homeschool type services… and tighter tutoring services to deal with school curriculum.”
One of the first ventures Veal founded was INC Education (formerly called INC Tutoring) back in 2015. With the goal of addressing representation of teachers of color in education, the company now operates in North Texas, Austin, Chicago and Washington, D.C., among other places. But as the pandemic has caused teachers and students alike to learn how to operate in a digital format, many are looking for ways to stay caught up. In response to requests, Veal has a team of about six working in Atlanta for a planned second headquarters there next month. The move will also help INC expand into the Charlotte region.
And, while the idea had been tossed around for a few months, the current crisis has spurred the launch of Veal’s newest venture, the nonprofit Black Tutors of Social Media - a nonprofit that will help connect students of color with tutoring and support services in their local area, as well as highlight black-owned tutoring companies across the country. And though the nonprofit will focus on students of color, all students are welcomed.
“I think it was the right time. The pandemic just made it light up a little brighter,” Veal said.
In keeping with his core mission of education, Veal has been making some changes, along with co-founder and CEO Gia McCloud, at their other business INC Beauty. Before the pandemic, the company provided in-person, on-demand salon services, while teaching the customer how to recreate the looks and teaching the stylists how to run their own business. And though some of that business is slowly starting to come back online, through the pandemic, INC Beauty has been creating pre-recorded and personalized webinars to keep their customers looking fresh.
“We've been pretty much recession proof just about this whole time and have been able to be creative and be able to pivot on everything, and… come out of it successful,” Veal said.
If you weren’t able to join us for Bytes with the Beat this time, you can watch the conversation below and hear it in Veal’s own words.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucb53twyoiQ&feature=youtu.be[/embed]
