Black media mogul Cathy Hughes, founder of Urban One, was rejected by 32 lenders
After facing dozens of rejections, media mogul Cathy Hughes successfully founded Urban One, creating a massive platform dedicated to Black audiences.
📻🔥 Thirty-two lenders told her no. Cathy Hughes kept going until somebody finally said yes.
Before becoming the founder and chairperson of Urban One, Hughes was trying to finance the purchase of her first radio station, WOL-AM in Washington, D.C. After being rejected repeatedly, she eventually secured the financing and bought the station in 1980.
That one station became the foundation for a media company built specifically around Black audiences — eventually expanding across radio, television, digital media and nationally recognized brands.
One station turned into a whole Black media empire. That’s what happens when “no” doesn’t get the final say. 🖤📻
👉🏾 Comment “FEATURE” if you’re a Black woman entrepreneur ready to get your business seen.