Cultivating a Business Grounded in Faith: Demetri Morris's Blueprint for Success

Have you ever wondered how to build a business that doesn't just survive, but thrives, within the framework of your faith? Demetri Morris, our visionary guest and CEO who kickstarted his entrepreneurial journey during his college days, unveils the intricate dance of aligning one's spiritual values with the cutthroat world of business. He doesn't just preach the gospel of hard work; Demetri lives it, having mastered the delicate art of balancing academic rigor with his business aspirations. His narrative is a compelling playbook for anyone looking to forge a path where faith and business go hand in hand.

Demetri reflects on the profound influence of a supportive spouse and the unexpected turns in life that led him to Nashville for love—a leap of faith that paid dividends in both his personal and professional life. He honors the deep impact of mentorship, sharing how a connection birthed in church pews grew to a bond strong enough to have his mentor stand beside him as the best man at his wedding. His testament to the power of relationships is a reminder of how essential it is to have allies who will offer candid truths and unwavering support, especially when stepping off the beaten path.

As we wrap up this enriching episode, we glean actionable advice on engaging with mentors and fostering networks that are pivotal in the entrepreneurial landscape. Demetri's upcoming appearance at the Createur Conference is a beacon for those ready to ignite their entrepreneurial spirit.

Connect with Demetri. Check out MORR Agency.

To connect with Olivet’s Entrepreneurship Program, contact Program Director, Chris Perez at caperez2@olivet.edu.

To learn more about other entrepreneurship opportunities and the McGraw School of Business’s very own Createur Conference and Pitch Competition, go to Createur.Olivet.edu.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

What does it mean to be a Christian entrepreneur? How can I turn my ideas into an actual business? How do I navigate my path to entrepreneurship?

Speaker 2: 0:09

Welcome to Creator, the podcast brought to you by Olivette Nazarene University's McGraw School of Business to unlock the secrets to Christian entrepreneurship and fuel your path to success.

Speaker 1: 0:21

I'm your host, Carly Bird, graduate assistant of Olivette Entrepreneurship Program.

Speaker 2: 0:26

I'm your co-host, Spencer, James and Olivette Undergraduate Marketing Management and Business Administration major.

Speaker 1: 0:32

Join us, fellow students, as we embark on a journey to discover the call of the entrepreneur.

Speaker 2: 0:39

Hello everyone. This week, Carly and I are so excited to be joined by a 2020 graduate of O&U that truly embodies what it means to have an entrepreneurial spirit Dmitri Morris.

Speaker 1: 0:50

Dmitri is the founder and CEO of Moor, a digital advertising agency and venture studio with a focus on merging marketing and technology to humanize brands and drive their success. Moor has worked with over 100 brands, helping them achieve their marketing and technology goals. In 2023, Moor expanded to launch Moor Studio, a venture wing with a mission to elevate and amplify entrepreneurs of color. Moor also runs Somebody's Nobody, a philanthropic initiative that connects aspiring individuals in creative art and entertainment industries with mentors and resources. Dmitri, it is so great to have you here today. Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 3: 1:34

Super excited to be here. Thank you, spencer, thank you, carly, for having me.

Speaker 1: 1:39

Dmitri, I just want to start by taking you back for a moment to when you were still a student at O&U, which I know was not that long ago, but I noticed that you attended O&U from 2016 to 2020, and you started your business, if I'm correct, in 2018. With it being said, between university responsibilities and the struggles that come along with starting an agency, you must have had a lot on your plate.

Speaker 3: 2:04

I mean, really, what sparked a lot of it was just this desire to do more. I know that sounds cheesy, but really I was in a headspace where I knew already that I did not want to go work for somebody In 2018, I had a mentor that I'd been really close with, but he gave me my first big project. I was able to produce a TV pilot with US Foods, and that summer was really the summer that kicked off all of this business opportunity that you see now. I think it organically started because somebody saw a potential in me and in terms of balancing with school. You know I really wasn't the most social person per se, but I certainly found a way to get through, so I tended to just call it I'm just trying to graduate, you know. So.

Speaker 1: 2:59

What was that like? Exactly that process of you know you've got your college career going, you're trying to balance that, work, school, you know even social life a little bit there balance. Were there some ways that you were able to do that?

Speaker 3: 3:13

I said no quite a bit and even look at that phrase as saying no as a really important principle in my life now, but specifically in college, you know you have tests, you have actual homework that needs to be done or your grades are going down right. So the reality is I made it a priority to knock out all of the homework and all of the required stuff that needed to be done in order to focus on what I actually cared about, which was building my portfolio, building my business, engaging with clients, you know. So I really engineered my life to be centered around growing in that area, with outside of school, which was focused on my business, freelancing, that kind of thing.

Speaker 2: 3:54

So Well, we talked a little bit in doing some creator stuff about how, in kind of this journey to pitch series that we produce, a lot of these students, young entrepreneurs, are also wanting to be their own boss and I think it's interesting how that theme relates for a lot of young entrepreneurs. But I mean for you, when you were in school, was it ever difficult for you to relate with fellow students who were, you know, probably on the path to get a job for a big company right out of college or maybe even starting their own company?

Speaker 3: 4:23

Absolutely. I'd say that was probably the hardest part for me personally. It just was my headspace was I don't know I was trying to be calculated with it right. I knew that every project was going to build on each other. So, in terms of almost like my effort, like I was putting way more effort into my school or into my business than I was into my schoolwork you know, don't take that advice, but the reality is I was getting good grades but I was still focused on making sure that the effort I was putting into this, you know, the projects I was getting was able to compound and the next one would be bigger than the next one and the next, you know.

Speaker 3: 5:00

But in terms of relating to people, I think I really only found a few core friends that understood what I was trying to do.

Speaker 3: 5:07

Otherwise, I kind of was in an environment where I really couldn't relate, and so that's kind of what I was saying earlier.

Speaker 3: 5:14

I just, you know, I would be asked to hang out or do things that perhaps were boring, or I really took it as a priority just to focus on the people that knew what I wanted in life and created that environment around me where it basically pushed me towards my goal, and so I think it's easy to create an environment where everybody is your best friend and you know you're liked by everybody. But I think it's actually a very different journey if you're trying to pursue something that's not common, you know, and you kind of have to be okay with that and you have to support yourself. Right, it's not just like you can isolate yourself. You still need to be supported emotionally, mentally, spiritually. You can't just let those things go. But I think in order to thrive in your goal as a young entrepreneur that's trying to build something, you have to still support yourself with people that care about you and love you. But you also still need to say no to relationships that aren't catering to where you want to go in life, you know.

Speaker 2: 6:17

So was it hard for you to persevere, in kind of having to say no to some of that right? Like obviously you made it where you are today, but in that stage of life I mean, was it hard for you to say no to those things, knowing that you had a much bigger dream? No, I think.

Speaker 3: 6:31

I was pretty set on being able to not have a FOMO. I really didn't care, honestly, and I would recommend that mindset for anybody listening to this. That's like like if somebody's listening to this right now and they know in their heart of hearts they want to, you know, be in a position where they're building a business and they're making money after school and not working for somebody like you kind of just got to not, you just can't care. You know, you kind of have to be set on it, and if you're not set on it, you're going to allow your highs to be too high and your lows to be too low, and then you're going to give up. And so I just kind of made it a very clear goal to not care, you know, and so I just kept going, no matter what.

Speaker 1: 7:15

That is such a good point being able to surround yourself with the people that are going to motivate you, encourage you to be the best person that you're going to be, rather than, you know, kind of sidetrack you or take you on a path that just isn't going to be beneficial in the long run.

Speaker 3: 7:32

Absolutely, yeah, I mean. I think another point is, if you're a student right now that has a big vision, there's going to be people that have this childlike curiosity and they might potentially doubt you and you kind of have to allow their doubt, and see their doubt as their own insecurity, to do their own thing on their own. So you kind of almost have to like compartmentalize the interactions you have when you're sharing your big vision, because not everybody's going to be equipped to handle something that is big. And you know what I'm saying. You kind of have to allow yourself to just see it as that's their perspective. I'm not going to allow that to change what I want to do. And there was a lot of moments like that where I would tell somebody yeah, I want to have an agency, all this stuff. I would share my vision with people if they were really asking like, what do you want to do after college? And you know I would hear doubt. And it just was one of those things where it's like don't listen to that, keep going, you know.

Speaker 1: 8:33

So yeah, I love that mentality. With that all being said, I kind of want to switch gears for a second and talk a little bit about life after college for you. So, dmitri, you moved to Nashville shortly after graduation, is that correct?

Speaker 3: 8:50

I moved to Nashville actually June 2021. I stayed in the Chicago land area until then, so I've been in Nashville for two and a half years now.

Speaker 1: 9:01

That's good to know. So, with that being said, you know most post graduates it's a hard time leaving your hometown or leaving. You know the area that you're most comfortable with, you've grown up in and you know that's what you know. But you think that we can all agree that where you choose to go or where you end up, what that location is, makes a huge impact on your career. So you know, you kind of mentioned then with being in the Chicago land area versus Nashville. You know how did that impact your business and you know that jump that you took.

Speaker 3: 9:34

You know it played a really positive role on the business. I think it's. It certainly has been challenging. Personally, you know it's. I moved into adult life. You know adulthood. You got to pay your own bills, you got to meet new people and figure out your way. But from a business standpoint, I think moving to a different city than you grew up is a massive power move. It's going to push you to grow and handle things in life and get out of your comfort zone in ways you could never experience by staying in your hometown. So I think it's played a massive role in to where more is at today and to where I'm at. Personally, you know, I think I've grown immensely from a personal level in the last few years and so I'm grateful for it and even meeting my wife and at all of that actually, and then getting married here in Nashville, so I think a lot of positives in moving.

Speaker 1: 10:26

That's great. I'm happy to hear that you know. Another question that kind of comes along with that, I guess just to add a little bit more, is why do you feel that God was calling you to Nashville?

Speaker 3: 10:37

I guess you know, I think God has certainly played a big role in a lot of moments. I think, to be extremely honest, I would say I really just followed my wife, you know. So I knew from the day we started dating that we were going to get married and she really wanted to move to a new city. So I just, I think God gave me confidence that my girlfriend at the time was going to be my wife and so choosing where she wanted to go is an important factor in that, and so obviously it's paid off where we've been married for now over a year and a half and yeah, it's been, it's been awesome. So I think God placing my wife in my life is the reason why I'm here at Nashville.

Speaker 1: 11:20

Congratulations also.

Speaker 2: 11:23

Thank you. Even more recently, how do you feel like maybe your faith, or even your spouse, has kind of helped to shape your entrepreneurial journey just kind of in these last few years post-graduation?

Speaker 3: 11:36

I think my wife has been instrumental, you know, in terms of where I feel like I'm at spiritually. It's being able to and I hate to get, you know, esoteric, or woo-woo is what I would call it. I don't want to get, I don't want to be too out there. But you know, I really do believe. You know, there is a war on the mind, you know. And so if you're not able to tame that, when you're experiencing high highs or low lows, you're going to put yourself in a position where you're not able to hear God.

Speaker 3: 12:13

And so being able to have somebody that's really locked in, like my wife so she's an ICU nurse, so she sees some crazy stuff but being able to have somebody that's really your co-pilot I guess your co-pilot in life, I think, has been huge, because there's been so many moments where I've had a bad day, a deal didn't close, a client's given me a pain or a headache, where she just brings up scripture and she's like she's just speaking truth, you know. And so I really believe if you say you're not even dating right now, you still need to have people speaking truth in your life, because sometimes you're not going to be able to do that in your own strength and yeah, my wife has certainly carried some of the weight and pushing me to be reminded of truth in a lot of moments.

Speaker 2: 12:59

A really big recurring theme that we have kind of across a lot of these episodes that we've done is the power of mentors and the power of people speaking into your life and it's evident that your spouse is speaking into your life and are there any other mentors that you feel like have spoken into your life in a way that has just been transformational for you, or just yeah, I mean I mentioned a mentor.

Speaker 3: 13:24

There's so many I don't know how I could unpack them all, but number one would be John Ross. He's somebody I met at my church in Naperville. He was like the. He oversaw the live stream video. If you go to a bigger church there's typically a lot of cameras, so he would oversee that and we would just find time to talk. And he was curious about my story. I was curious about his story, but it turned into something that I'm really grateful for.

Speaker 3: 13:52

You know, john has three kids. He's a little bit older, married, but he stood in my wedding as my best man and really what I take away from that relationship is a mentorship is two ways. It's just as important for the mentee as it is the mentor, and so I think it's not as much a taking kind of thing You're still giving. So it's a symbiotic relationship where you have to be invested in the relationship. It's not just about business.

Speaker 3: 14:24

I think that's probably my core thesis around mentorship is that I'm sure people are going to come up to the different speakers at the Creator Conference.

Speaker 3: 14:33

If you really want a mentor that's going to help you and guide you, you got to get personal and I think that's what, honestly, it unlocks a lot of growth.

Speaker 3: 14:44

It's, you know, most of the time a lot of people kind of already have the answers in a way.

Speaker 3: 14:50

Like you know, like if you go to a therapist, right, like they're just kind of asking you questions, right, most of the time we're humans, are intelligent, like we know what we need to do, like we've gotten through painful schoolwork over the last you know how many years, but we're capable is basically what I'm trying to say, and so, but I think what really unlocks a lot of growth in a mentor-mentee relationship is being able to get personal, and that's, I think, what has unlocked a lot in that relationship with Don Ross. He's, you know, he's asked me the real questions, you know, like the limiting beliefs, the vampires that have stopped me from tapping into my full potential, and so that's one relationship where I'm grateful for and I think I encourage everybody that's looking for a mentor. It's not just about the skill set, it's about the character that they had to build to be where they're at today, and I think that's more important than the actual skill set, because you can find that on Google.

Speaker 1: 15:45

I love that you mentioned that. It's this symbiotic relationship where you're simultaneously giving and receiving with the individual. You know, a lot of us assume and I know that a lot of the students out there that are listening, they're assuming that they're only receiving, you know, and they have nothing to give, and then that's not true either.

Speaker 3: 16:06

Yeah, another principle.

Speaker 3: 16:07

I don't want to go into every mentor because all of them have impacted me.

Speaker 3: 16:11

I'd love to shout out Dr Jeff Williams, and he's been amazing, but in terms of a very simple principle that has absolutely helped me, like, I think you know I've closed sales or deals, or you know new clients through mentors, but a simple principle that I think everybody should, that's listening to this show right now and is add value first, right, most of the time you have nothing to offer to these people, right, like, and that's just honest, you know unless you are able to offer a free video or a consultation of some sort, right, but most of the time you have nothing to offer.

Speaker 3: 16:44

So you need to figure out what can you do to really help them. You know, and most of the time it's not going to move the needle, that crazy, but it's just a gesture that opens the door to more conversation than it being like, hey, can I pick your brain? Like, if you're a young entrepreneur, do not say that phrase. Like, can I pick your brain is probably the most condescending thing for these people, because they've worked hard to build their you know, their mindset, to build their skill set. You know, and so you want to be in a position where you're seen as somebody that just wants to build a relationship and get in their presence. You know so from Butch. I think that's important.

Speaker 1: 17:22

Okay, so really quick too. You've mentioned and I know that we don't have time to go through all of your mentors, like you said, but you say that you have quite a few mentors. How did you build those relationships? Where did that come from?

Speaker 3: 17:38

I would say just general curiosity. The same way I met John Ross is the same way I met Dylan Morgan, who's the founder of Oudham, as like 20 million downloads on the app store Somehow met them in an environment where they weren't focused or trying to do something. So it wasn't like an environment where I was like stopping them in their tracks from being productive, it was just like somehow organic and I just asked very good questions. So if you can figure out, like don't ask I mean, there's no such thing as a dumb question but you want to be somewhat calculated and like dig deep, right, and I think a lot of these entrepreneurs that are doing well are kind of past the stage of thinking about the tactics or the what not or the best practices. They're philosophically thinking about how they can build better teams, create better product experiences for their customers. So it's like how can you kind of dig into potentially something of that they're trying to figure out in the current state, instead of kind of the basic stuff, right?

Speaker 3: 18:48

I think that is you want. You want somebody to say that's a good question after you ask it, and so you're going to get opportunities to be in the room with people that can unlock something that changes your entire life, you know, but you're not going to get that nugget if you're asking how did you start your business? That's you know. That's a good question, but is it actually leading to something deeper? That, like, is something that they're you know. Let's say they have to be somewhere in 10 minutes. Let's say, you know, actually, like this is more important, like I want to talk, I want to finish this. You know, you want those kind of moments and that kind of being able to ask the right question. I think and there's no such thing as a right question but being able to come up with stuff that truly intrigues, I think has been a key factor in getting people to be interested in me as much as I'm interested in them.

Speaker 1: 19:36

I like that. That's a great tip, you know, just to stand out in general even. You know, as you mentioned, the Creator Conference is coming up and for individuals coming, you know, that's a great way to stick in someone's head too.

Speaker 3: 19:49

Don't ask basic questions. That's what I would say. That's a good piece of advice.

Speaker 1: 19:53

Well, dimitri, now I'm going to. You know that's so funny that we're talking about questions and, you know, asking the right questions are, you know, a strong, you know carefully thought out question. And yet here I go, kind of going to wrap things up with a question that isn't very intelligent. So what we like to do I know that sounds strange, but what we like to do here on the Creator Podcast is we always end with our quirky question of the week. So, yeah, right, it's got to be. You know, we can have a little fun. So, dimitri, are you ready for your question?

Speaker 3: 20:27

Can't be with it. Let's do this.

Speaker 1: 20:29

All right. If your company more agency was a candy bar, what would it be and why? I'm telling you. Our questions are out there.

Speaker 3: 20:40

My business was a candy bar. What would it be and why we're starting with chocolate? If you have them into our website, certainly a lot of dark colors. You know our logo is black and white, so it would be a luxury chocolate bar with white chocolate drizzled. So you know, I don't know. You know just something simple that like you open it and it's just like but bam, so very basic chocolate bar with white drizzles on top. Boom, not dark chocolate. Let me be clear Not dark chocolate. We're talking milk chocolate.

Speaker 2: 21:19

That's good, all right. Well, dmitri, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today and giving the listeners of this podcast really just a really strong and great example of what entrepreneurship looks like, and for those who are starting their own entrepreneurial journey, I know that they are inspired by your story, so thank you.

Speaker 1: 21:42

Absolutely yes. This has been such an inspiring conversation and I look forward to seeing how your agency grows in the coming years as well. And, listeners, if you want to connect with Dmitri, you can email him at Dmitri at moreagencycom or find more agency's official website at wwwmoreagencycom. So go check that out.

Speaker 2: 22:06

And to connect with all of its entrepreneurship program director, chris Perez, or discover other entrepreneurial opportunities the program has to offer, such as the McGraw School of Businesses very own Creator Conference and Pitch Competition. You can visit creatorallivetteedu, and Dmitri is actually going to join us here in April at the conference too.

Speaker 1: 22:27

All right, yeah, thank you everyone so much for listening this week, and don't forget to tune in next time when Dan Chapman will be joining us to discuss what it means to give back and how it truly is never too soon to start.

Speaker 2: 22:40

Where faith and business meet. This is the Creator Podcast. We'll see you later.