Building a community at Black Magic Reimagined

Oluchi, a senior communications associate in External Affairs, has built her career on connections. In 2023, she worked with VOICES, Capital One’s Black Business Resource Group (BRG), and Blacks in Tech, Capital One’s BRG supporting Black technologists, to send 100 associates to Black Magic Reimagined. 

The two-day summit, held in Dallas in 2023, celebrates Black women in business. Capital One is a sponsor of the event, which is organized by Boss Women Media, an organization committed to empowering and educating Black women.

Through this event, Oluchi hoped to help other associates find what she has at Capital One: a place where she feels seen, heard and valued.

“Everyone deserves to find their sense of community at work,” said Oluchi. “Through the relationships I’ve built by attending  Black Magic Reimagined, I’ve found people that support me and help me to thrive.”

Creating meaningful connections

Black Magic Reimagined was the first in-person event hosted by Capital One and Boss Women Media since 2020. Associates gathered in Dallas to listen to inspiring conversations and give back by supporting small, Black-women owned businesses.

Sonia, a principal project manager for Tech who works from our Dallas location, was excited to attend the event, along with other local Capital One associates. Networking face-to-face was very rewarding for her.

“You get a different perspective from associates in other job families,” Sonia said. “You can have real conversations about life at Capital One.” 

Even after the event, Sonia and Oluchi are still plugged into the Black Magic Reimagined community. In an ongoing Slack channel, attendees share career wins and inspiration with their fellow associates.

Learning from inspiring leaders 

Part of the appeal at Black Magic Reimagined, for Sonia and Oluchi, was getting to meet Capital One executives and Black women entrepreneurs.

A highlight for Oluchi was hearing from Keke Palmer, an actor and businesswoman. A quote Palmer shared on creating and maintaining spaces where Black women feel seen, appreciated and valued, resonated deeply with Oluchi.

“There were a lot of parallels between what she was sharing and what a lot of people at the summit were experiencing,” Oluchi said. “We all want to feel seen and represented.”

A signature event that Black Magic Reimagined holds is the pitch competition. Finalists shared their journeys to entrepreneurship and the goals behind their businesses, with Capital One leaders acting as judges.

“Seeing the backstories of these entrepreneurs made me realize anything is possible,” Sonia said. “It's just inspiring to see so many Black women coming out and supporting each other.”

Supporting small businesses extends beyond the pitch competition. Oluchi partnered with Dallas Black-owned businesses to offer swag bags and meaningful gifts to the attendees. Additionally, she prioritized hiring local Black women talent for the event, making sure that Black Magic Reimagined uplifted the Dallas community.

After sharpening her project management and event planning skills organizing the event, Oluchi felt motivated to take risks in her career.

“I told my husband that this is my year of fun,” Oluchi said. “I’m going to find the fun in whatever it is that I do. And I found so much fun and so much joy at Black Magic Reimagined. I think, whatever it is that I decide to do next, it's going to be less scary just because of how inspired I was after the summit.”