Empowering Native Artists: FAME App Brings Innovation to First American E-Commerce
Entrepreneurs are problem solvers. They are constantly striving for solutions to issues they see in the world or in their own lives. In the case of Richard and Jennifer Chance, this entrepreneurial spirit has led them to multiple ventures, including an exciting new app, FAME, that is set to launch in March. They saw a need for an e-commerce platform focusing on First American artists and artisans, so they created it. Richard and Jennifer Chance developed FAME, the First Americans Marketplace Exchange, to solve a problem they saw their daughters, among others, experiencing. As a Cherokee citizen, this was a problem near to Richard’s heart. However, this was not the first time that the Chances used innovation and creativity to solve a challenge.
Richard and Jennifer will have been married for twenty years this coming February. In the early 2010’s, their five-year-old son, Richard, was having trouble reading. The Chances tried all the tools they could find to help their son but had no luck. This was a problem in need of a solution, so they solved it. Richard decided to design a cool and colorful site words app that could help their son. He was not a coder, but in order to help his son, he taught himself how to code. Not only did the app help their son, but when he put it in the app store, thousands of people downloaded it, helping other children as well. This experience was gratifying, but it also ended up changing the course of their lives.
In 2017, Richard and Jennifer started their own company, Green Country Media, which focuses on mobile app development. They create software and tech for other companies. The Tulsa City-County Library hired them to create apps for the library, including one for their summer reading program and another for preschool-age children to build reading skills, where their experience with the Site Words app proved invaluable. Through their business, they were able to do work that they love while helping other people, but they also had the good fortune to be able to work together. Jennifer says, “These last few years, being able to wake up every day and work with someone who gets you, who pushes you, who wants you to be your best is beautiful. We wouldn’t trade this for anything!”
Even after the success of Green Country Media, the Chances were still always looking for new opportunities, and, as true entrepreneurs, they kept an eye out for problems that they could solve and, much like with the Site Words app, they discovered an issue within their own family. Two of their daughters, Tehya and Aiyana, were artists and struggled as buyers repeatedly ripped them off when they sold their work online. As they started looking at the different ways that Native artists and artisans sold their work, Richard and Jennifer noticed that this was a problem that went far beyond their own family unit. In Facebook groups, people would order expensive items, put down a downpayment, and then never receive the item. Or artists would accept orders, complete them, and then never hear from the buyer again. Richard says, “Almost daily I look at the Native arts and crafts groups on Facebook and people are getting ripped off. There have to be huge amounts of trust for both the vendor and the buyer and people are getting taken advantage of. That isn’t fair.” As they expanded their view of the issue, they also realized that it extended to other e-commerce platforms like Etsy, where people would claim to be creating traditional Native American arts and crafts, but they weren’t actually Native. Rather, non-Native sellers cashed in on a popular aesthetic, which pushed actual Native artists out of the market and made it harder for them to sell their work.
Once the Chances realized the problem, they decided to create a solution in the form of another app: FAME, which stands for First Americans Marketplace Exchange. Their app, which they plan to launch in March, is an e-commerce platform that exclusively caters to First American artists and artisans. They offer certificates of authenticity on the items and provide a never-before-seen level of credibility when it comes to online sales of Native American arts and crafts. This approach protects both the artist and the consumer while helping artists more easily find a market for their work. For instance, many artists will set up booths at powwows, but if a customer likes their work, they don’t necessarily know where to find them again. This app will give people a regulated and trustworthy online presence.
The Chances already have plans for expansion after the launch of FAME. Within six months they will be adding an AI component where people can design digital art that they can sell on the app as well. They will create specialized prompts for people to use, or users can enter their own. Then, within a year of the original launch, they are planning on adding a feature where artists and artisans can go live to either chat with their customers or provide online courses. This feature will help users expand their customer base and provide opportunities for others to learn about Native art directly from Native artists.
At the moment, the Chances, with support from the Chickasaw Nation Apelachi Business Incubator and the i2E Bridge2 Pre-Accelerator Program, are finalizing their launch plans. They are actively seeking artists and artisans to join this platform, expand its reach, and help fulfil their mission of “Empowering Native Artisans One Purchase at a Time.” For more information, contact Jennifer Chance at info@greencountrymedia.com.
Socials:
Website – https://sites.google.com/greencountrymedia.com/fame/home
LinkedIN – https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-americans-marketplace-exchange/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/share/18Ae9RJs69/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/fame.nativemarketplace