March is Women’s History Month, a time when we reflect on brave, brilliant and beautiful-inside-and-out women who made the world a better place. For the next four weeks, OnMilwaukee is identifying Milwaukee women who are currently in the process of making history, like Nyesha Stone.
Stone is the founder of Carvd N Stone, a media company that creates content about positive news in the Black community.
“We only cover original positive news through articles, video interviews and podcast. We are real journalists covering real news, just focused on positivity,” says Stone, a graduate of Rufus King High School and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Recently, Stone was accepted into the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women: Black in Business program, a highly competitive national initiative that selected 1,000 Black women entrepreneurs nationwide.
Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women is a $10 billion investment commitment that creates opportunities for Black women in health, housing, education and entrepreneurship. It provides free business education, capital, networking and mentorship.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm headquartered in New York City.
Last year, a mentor of Stone’s suggested she apply for the program, and she found out she was selected in mid-January.
“I am beyond excited. I love learning, and I love it when I am able to learn more about how to be a better businesswoman,” says Stone.
Stone identified her goals for what she will accomplish in the program.
“Being in this program will get me in the position to fully grow our team, and keep scaling the business across the nation and world,” says Stone.
Carvd N Stone is a nine-year-old media company. Carvd N Stone Foundation, the company’s not-for-profit arm, aims to expand the business’s community impact. Since 2019, it’s been awarded over $30,000 in scholarships and grants, held multiple community events, taught 100 kids basic journalism skills, given away community awards and more. Most recently, it received a grant from The Journal Foundation, funded by Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
Stone’s long-term goals for the company include international expansion that provides sustainable employment.
“I want to have Carvd N Stone hubs around the world like USA Today. We are working our way up to providing career-long jobs in covering positive news,” says Stone.
While still in college for journalism, Stone started Carvd N Stone to counter the negative portrayal of Black people in the media.
“I would like for local news to stop sharing so much negative news about the Black community in Milwaukee. We are more than what they portray us as,” says Stone. “The clickbait, the mugshots, the dead bodies – all of it needs to stop. We have too many successful and intelligent Black people in the city for the news to only focus on the bad things so much.”
Hopefully, Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women: Black in Business program will help her achieve her goals.
“I never take these opportunities for granted. Being a Black woman from the North Side of Milwaukee, we are constantly told that we won’t make it in life, but here I am: thriving with my own positive news company for nine years,” says Stone.
Follow Carvd N Stone on Facebook and Instagram.
