Today we’d like to introduce you to Adedayo Fashanu. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Adedayo Fashanu is a media-tech entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of TANTV and SYNDEX AI, digital platforms dedicated to advancing the inclusion of multicultural and diverse communities through media. She is a strategic leader with demonstrated success in maximizing individual, agency, and team strengths. A change agent bringing innovative and human-centric approaches to multicultural mission-driven organizations. Over the course of her career, Adedayo has earned a formidable reputation as a trailblazing media entrepreneur, communications, and marketing executive.
Adedayo was previously a contributor for Forbes U30 and a seasoned contributor for HuffPost, where she profiled African/multicultural change-makers and business owners. As a Nigerian who immigrated to the U.S. at fifteen, Adedayo’s immigrant identity and experience shape who she is today as a founder. Adedayo has been featured in Voice of America (VOA), on Brightest Young Things DC, the Africanist podcast, Ten Thousand African podcast, Inside a Great Mind, Dear Diaspora, and more. Adedayo is an award-winning TV producer. In 2019, she won the Community Access (CA) award, the best new show category, for producing Africa’s Triumph. Africa’s Triumph airs on Prince George’s Community Television-PGCTV Comcast 76/Verizon 42.
She served as a senior White House correspondent, covered the United Nations General Assemblies and World Bank, interviewed presidents, and more. An advocate of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, she is a change maker who continues to champion sustainability through media. On a personal level, she is a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend, a philanthropist, a Christian, and a loving, caring individual who will go out of her way to support loved ones.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As a Black female start-up founder, I have faced fundraising challenges in building my company. One thing I always say is that “Black founders are over-mentored and underfunded.” Many Black founders will 100% agree with me.
The challenges we face in getting adequate capital/investments/loans/grants (funding) to build our companies are so discouraging that it is a miracle we stay in the game. Suppose I could speak to any challenge. It would be a challenge to raise capital for business growth as a minority founder.
One of the articles we published on TANTV addressed this topic, in which I interviewed a Black woman whose startup called Fundr is helping mitigate the gap. I’ll advise other founders to check out the article: https://www.tantvstudios.com/lauren-washington-fundr-interview/.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about TANTV?
As the CEO of TANTV, a U.S.-based media-technology company, I am proud to lead a force for change in representing diverse communities, particularly the Global Black diaspora and multicultural groups. Our platforms, including TANTV Studios, TANTV Streaming, TANTV Magazine, TANTV Brandz, and our groundbreaking AI technology, Syndex, are dedicated to one central goal: advancing inclusion, representation, and amplifying the voices of multicultural communities through the media landscape.
Our journey began with the recognition of a glaring issue: the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of diverse Black and multicultural communities in news media. Despite the rich tapestry of stories and perspectives within these communities, they are often overshadowed by negative portrayals and limited opportunities for visibility. This inspired us to establish TANTV, where we are committed to rewriting the narrative and ensuring diverse voices are heard, valued, and celebrated.
As a former independent journalist and contributor to Forbes and HuffPost, I encountered significant obstacles, including rejection and resistance from non-Black editors when advocating for the stories and perspectives of minority African Diaspora communities. As a first-generation Nigerian female immigrant, the realization that Black storytelling is diverse and often misrepresented in mainstream media fueled my drive to establish TANTV. This platform amplifies these varied narratives.
As a Black-owned media publisher, I soon realized that systemic barriers hinder minority publishers like myself from growing and being highly competitive with mainstream outlets. I founded SYNDEX.AI, the first AI-driven news and information aggregator for multicultural communities to address these challenges. SYNDEX will address the monetization, audience growth, tech, and infrastructure challenges faced by Black and diverse-owned publishers. It serves as a one-stop platform for trusted news and information, providing culturally attuned messaging and leveraging AI/ML to personalize content for users.
SYNDEX, our innovative AI platform, lies at the heart of our efforts. By leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, SYNDEX delivers hyperlocal news and information tailored specifically to underserved communities. It enhances content reach and monetization for publishers and enables smart, precision ad targeting for advertisers. Through SYNDEX, we are reshaping the media ecosystem, empowering diverse publishers, and bridging the gap between advertisers and multicultural audiences.
Our dedication to advancing diversity and inclusion extends beyond technology to our content offerings. TANTV Studios serves as a hub for impactful journalism, original programming, and culturally relevant entertainment. From thought-provoking documentaries to captivating TV shows, we curate content that informs, inspires, and entertains, reflecting the rich diversity of the multicultural Black diaspora.
What sets TANTV apart is not just our technological innovation but also our unwavering commitment to our mission. We are driven by the belief that unless we tell our own stories, the narratives of diverse communities will continue to be marginalized. Every day, we strive to amplify these voices, challenge stereotypes, and build a more inclusive media landscape.
We are currently fundraising our pre-seed round of $500,000 and have raised about $150,000 from funders, including the BGE, Black Owned Media Equity & Sustainability Institute. We are in talks with other potential funders and are open to chatting with angel investors, VCs, or anyone interested in venturing with us into the media and technology space.
We are also giving the opportunity to passionate philanthropists who believe in News/media sustainability for underserved communities, you can give to support our mission: https://www.tantvstudios.com/donation/.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tantvstudios.com/ and www.syndex.ai
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/tantvstudios ; https://www.instagram.com/adedayo_fashanu/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TanTVStudios/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adedayofashanu/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/adedayo-fashanu and https://twitter.com/tantvstudios
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TANTVSTUDIOS
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tantvstudios/
Image Credits
TANTV and @Michaeldosh
