Date Your Dreams

Featuring Imani Ellis, Founder & CEO of CultureCon and The Creative Collective

My move to London has sparked renewed energy for dating. It’s fun. It’s exciting. It’s promising. It’s also safe to say, I’m not quite ready to commit. But I am, dare I say, getting there? The overthinker in me keeps wondering: when will the moment come? The growing optimist in me says: maybe I don’t need to know. Maybe the answers will come when it’s the right time. Maybe the process will sort it all out for me.

And, until my conversation with Imani Ellis, I hadn’t considered how this logic might translate to my professional endeavors as well. “Date your dreams,” she told me. I had a chance to catch up with Imani in the midst of her CultureCon prep, which is taking place this weekend in Brooklyn. In other words: Flirt with ideas. Explore new professional adventures. See what lands. Experimenting with no expectations can often lead to bigger, more formal moves. Here’s a sneak peek from our conversation:

In Imani’s case, she dated her dreams by starting The Creative Collective with no formal business plan, just a desire to establish the community she’d been searching for. She also did it while working in a full-time VP role at NBC Universal. 

Imani Ellis (Photo: Spotify)

By dating your dreams, “you can lower the stakes,” Imani tells me. “I didn't have to worry about my finances. When you're desperate for money or you're desperate for things, you make certain decisions out of desperation that you wouldn't make out of abundance.”

This route may not be the most feasible option for everyone. But, like romantic dating, there’s no one or right way to date in the professional sense. We all have different values when it comes to what, ultimately, it takes to want to commit: What are my non-negotiables? What are my values? What are the red and green flags? How does this suit my lifestyle? What will it take to make this feel sustainable? How do I actually feel doing this?

And remember: Cuffing season may be among us, but don’t let that make you feel pressured to DTR. ;)

Stay In The Groove

Upcoming events for your calendar:

• CultureCon (October 5-6, Brooklyn)

• Black Travel Summit (October 10-13, Fort Lauderdale)

• GU Disruptor Summit (October 12, Atlanta)

• Black Love Summit (October 12, Los Angeles)

• EatOkra’s Culinary Creatives Conference (October 13, NYC; discount code below)

• Stylist Live (November 8-10, London)

• AfroTech Conference (November 13-16, Houston)

• The ADCOLOR Conference (November 14-16, Los Angeles)

Some job opportunities I’m seeing:

• Muck Rack is hiring a Social Media Manager

• TIME is looking for a Director, Partnerships

• MoMA is on the hunt for a Marketing Manager

• Shake Shack is accepting applications for Content Contributors

• Billboard is seeking a Social Media Coordinator

• Eventbrite has an opening for an Editorial Data Analyst

• Fortune is looking for a London and New York reporter

• Under Armour is seeking a Social Media Specialist (Women's & Run)

• Penguin Random House is accepting applications for Summer 2025 internships

• Business Insider is hiring an Editorial Assistant Fellow, Special Projects

• The San Francisco Chronicle has an opening for an Investigative Editor

• L'Oréal has opened up submissions for its 2025 Fellowship Program

I had the pleasure of leading a session for the Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford last month. As part of my “Art Of The Newsletter” workshop, I shared the inspiration behind launching Stella and encouraged students to flesh out their own newsletter outlines. It’s been truly heartwarming to learn many of them are moving forward with actually publishing their concepts. And in the spirit of dating your dreams, I’m now flirting with the idea of doing more workshops/lectures—anyone else? (Also a huge thank you to

L'Oreal Thompson Payton

for sharing her testimony as part of the workshop!)

I’m sooo excited to be moderating a fireside chat with the amazing Denise Woodard at EatOkra’s inaugural Culinary Creatives Conference taking place on Sunday, October 13 in New York City (I’m coming home!!). I’d love to see you there—register here or use the code Stella25 for 25% off all ticket options.

Honored to have shared my London relocation story with Travel Noire, including how it’s shaping my fresh perspective on life (thank you again, Natasha Decker and Darcel Duncan!). I also enjoyed speaking with Bria Sowell for Ebony about the trends and considerations associated with dual citizenship.

Dominique Jackson, a travel expert I deeply admire, is planning a 2025 coed group trip to Japan under the theme ‘All things New’—learn more here!

The Fifteen Percent Pledge is continuing its partnership with Shop with Google to give $250,000 in grant funding to three Black-owned businesses. One winner will also receive mentorship and free consulting services. More here!

I really enjoyed this refreshing, honest, and relatable take from Jasmine Browley on the concept of decentering men—and how this plays out in her own life. Let’s not forget: dating yourself is a thing, too!

My current read: The List by Yomi Adegoke