This is the 108th article in Bears Doing Big Things, a weekly column celebrating the stories of notable M-A alumni.
Kemi Ingram ‘91 has focused on entrepreneurship from the start. From launching successful ventures in high school to building an engaged following through her blog, she has consistently demonstrated creativity. Today, Ingram works in social entrepreneurship, supporting parents and children through online advocacy.
Ingram grew up in Redwood City and has always considered herself a Bay Area kid. “Now I see all the advantages of growing up in the Bay Area and being exposed to a wide variety of people,” she said. “It’s such an asset for me.”
At M-A, Ingram was a cheerleader during her senior year. “I was not particularly athletic, so cheerleading was the closest thing I’ve gotten to being an athlete,” she said. “It was a lot of fun, and I still talk to some of my friends from the squad.”
Ingram also loved her English classes at M-A, specifically with Shannon Griscom. “I’m still connected with her today,” she said. “Now, as I educate my own kids, I still refer to a number of the books that I discovered at M-A.”
“I was a bit of a floater at M-A. I was a part of all different groups, but it was such a great time surrounding myself with a diverse group of people,” Ingram added.
Ingram began her entrepreneurial journey in high school, launching several businesses—including a Cajun and Creole food brand that was sold at John’s Town and Country Market across from Stanford University, and a handmade cosmetic cream. “Growing up, my businesses were associated with freedom,” she said. “It meant that you could be creative and exercise freedom at the same time. It was limitless, there was no ceiling on it, and I liked the startup environment where I had an idea and it came to fruition.”
Following M-A, Ingram attended the University of Southern California, where she majored in Public Policy, Management, and Planning. While she originally entered USC as a pre-business major, Ingram soon realized it wasn’t the right fit. “What I realized at USC was that just because I was entrepreneurial didn’t mean that I actually wanted to be a business major,” she said. “I looked at different classes and the course catalog and discovered public policy. Studying how policies are made and the impact they have on people was far more interesting to me.”
“The transition to Southern California was definitely a little shocking,” Ingram said. “It’s the backdrop of Hollywood, and I remember people were dressing like Cher in Clueless to class, which I wasn’t used to seeing. I still got to experience a lot of different groups, which was great.”
Soon after graduating from college, Ingram launched a wellness brand called Tranquility. “At the time, I was working at Ernst and Young in their real estate IT department. I was working really long hours and constantly exhausted, so I created a company for people in corporate who couldn’t get away,” she said. “We had a whole line of products focused on wellness and rest—like a vacation in a box.”
“The company grew at 80% per month and was very successful,” Ingram said. However, Tranquility’s standing was brief. “It became a casuality of the dot.com era,” she explained.
Ingram also earned a Master’s of Theology from the University of Oxford, specializing in applied theology and business ethics. “I wanted to continue my education and faith, and a lot of what I learned relates to my advocacy today,” she said.
Ingram also became a mom while living in the UK. “Becoming a mom opened the door to a different type of entrepreneurship for me,” she said. “I started a Twitter channel in 2008, grew a large audience there, which launched me into the world of advocacy for families, parents, and children that I do today.”
Ingram is the creator of #MomsandBrands—a Twitter channel centered on parenting and issues affecting women and children—and ran it until 2015. “My job is to find ways for parents to be involved in making the world a better place, not just for their kids, but for other kids,” she said.
Through her platform, Ingram also partnered with companies through sponsorships. “Companies approached me to start talking about their products that are aimed at moms and children,” she explained.
Currently, Ingram is focusing her career on education advocacy. “I’m working on policy and creating opportunities for parents to be fully engaged in their kids’ education,” she said. “I give information to parents and educators about the best way to help children become literate, critical thinkers, and support their families in succeeding.”
“My favorite part is seeing the fruit of the work I do. When I started I was a brand new mom setting out on my own path. But now that I have adult kids, I feel like I can really talk to other parents and give my experience,” Ingram said.
Ingram’s advice to current M-A students: “Find out what actually motivates you. What would you do in your free time, even if you weren’t being paid? What drives you, and explore what that might look like down the road. Be creative with whatever it is that you’ve been gifted with.”
To those interested in building a brand: “Look at other companies and get the story behind the person who created them. Read a number of stories about businesses that you admire. Who were they and what did they do? It’s from those narratives that you’ll get ideas and see how you might go about making your own business or project.”
