Nana Agyemang Is Taking Sisterhood to Another Level

Every few months, my timeline floods with pictures of Black women in vibrant attire at a conference I quickly learned is EveryStylishGirl, a digital platform focused on highlighting Black and Brown women at the intersection of media and fashion. I immediately followed, and I have been a supporter ever since.

“I started EveryStylishGirl because I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless,” EveryStylishGirl’s CEO and founder, Nana Agyemang, tells me. “I felt like when it comes to Black and Brown women in nontraditional career paths, we’re often silenced or not recognized. We don’t have a seat at the table. So I told myself, ‘Well, if we don’t have a seat at the table, I’m going to build our own table.’”

And she did just that. In 2016, she started to build an Instagram presence to try and create a “millennial Essence magazine.” She began interviewing women in and around Washington, D.C. “At that time, I was attending George Washington University and I wanted to interview cool Black women who are multifaceted. So maybe they’re doctors or engineers, but they have a clothing brand or a skin-care company. They’re tapping into these nontraditional roles.”

Inspired by media and digital platforms that curate in-person events for people of color, such as Essence’s Essence Fest or The Creative Collective’s Culture Con, Nana Agyemang came up with Sip N’ Slay, which she wanted to be the “largest fashion and beauty summit for Black women.” And after reaching her target of selling more than 1,000 tickets, Agyemang might’ve successfully accomplished that this year again.

In previous years, Sip N’ Slay has taken place in New York, Los Angeles, and Accra, Ghana. Last weekend, during their biggest summit yet, the event took place at Industry City in Brooklyn. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., the day consisted of panels focused on entrepreneurship and content creation, an outdoor Black-Owned Business Market, and a Wine Down Happy Hour to finish off the day.

One of the biggest draws to Sip N’ Slay is the accessibility to high-profile women in the media and fashion industry. This year, Agyemang brought together Jordyn Woods, founder of Woods by Jordyn Woods; Sabrina Elba, founder of S’ABLE Labs Skincare; Clarke Peoples, an influential content creator; and Achieng Agutu, Swimsuit Illustrated 2024 Rookie of the Year. The panel, “From Passion to Profit: Turning Content Creation into a Business,” received noticeably positive feedback from the crowd, with constant “Mmm-hmms” and applause.

Ahead of Sip N’ Slay, I caught up with Agyemang to talk about everything from her morning phone routine to the importance of having a strong network and more in Glamour’s latest installment of Doing the Work.

Glamour: What would you consider to be your first big job'?

Nana Agyemang: Working at The New York Times. I went to Columbia Journalism School, and they were the first company to hire me after graduation. I thought I was going to be poor, sleeping on someone’s couch. So when I got that job, it was surreal because that was such a vision-board company for me. They were transitioning from print to pushing their Style section online. So they had me redirecting and rebranding their digital voice on Twitter and a little bit on Instagram Stories. Having that community was vital because an editor I met [there] helped me get my next job at Refinery 29.

Was there a moment when you realized, “Okay, I just might be good at what I do”? Or do you even feel you’ve reached that moment?

The moment that was a little surreal for me was selling a thousand tickets because I was always afraid of the thousands. I was like, “Are that many people going to show up? Is the demand really there because it is for women of color in creative industries? Is it too small of a population?” So many things are going through my mind. I think in the first week we sold 500 tickets, and it was so rapid that I remember calling my mom and telling her this number and she was like, “You have to screenshot this. I don’t believe it.”

What’s your typical morning routine?

I want to be that person that’s like, “I meditate.” But no, I grab that phone with a quickness because my job is my phone. I am also a content creator, and a CEO and founder. So I am responding to my team right away in the morning. I do that for about 30 minutes, and then I read The New York Times. I read the DealBook, which is amazing and gets me up to date on the world of business.

What are your key workplace essentials?

My biggest work essential is my journal. I can’t function without it. Every morning, I make a to-do list. I cross it out. I refer to it. I feel so naked without my journal, without my to-do list. Another thing would be my phone wipe. I always wipe the back of my phone. I don’t go anywhere without it because I never know when I have to shoot a moment. That’s me thinking, marketing, thinking content. Then, a water bottle because if I’m not hydrated, I can’t be productive. I never used to be the girl to always bring her water bottle everywhere, but now I do. And then, I never leave the house unless I’m comfortable, so I’m always in athleisure. That’s kind of my thing. I need to be ready to move.

What’s next?

My goal in life is for every Black and Brown woman to have heard of Sip N’ Slay. To have had a conversation with it, to be able to feel it, experience it, read about it, moved by it. I want to give as many women access globally to experience this conference as possible and to know that you are seen, you are loved, and you’re capable. The feeling it gives you when you leave [the event] is incomparable. It’s something you’ve never had before.