Alphonzo Terrell (born 1983) is a tech entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of the social media platform Spill, the first black-owned social platform.[1] Terrell worked in digital and social marketing, including the platform Twitter. Terrell also known as "Phonz" was let go during the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk. After Terrell was let go, he created the social media platform known as "Spill." The platform's team consist of the likes of Devaris Brown (co-founder), April Reign, and DeRay Mckesson.[2]
.jpg) Alphonzo Terrell @ SXSW 2019 | |
| Born | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Co-founder and CEO of Spill |
| College | Columbia University |
| Awards | Best overall social presence - Brand Webby Winner, 2022
Overall Social Presence 2019 Bronze Pencil 2019 |
Education
editTerrell was a student at Columbia University in New York where he was interested in basketball.[3] He gave this up to become the president of a student founded record label known as CU Records. Their goal as a label was to help promote and distribute young artists at the university.[4] Terrell facilitated a workshop with Robert Gangi director of the police reform. He co-founded a project with a pro social start-up named "Rise."[5]
Career
editEarly in his career, Terrell worked for Showtime, and Sony. He was the director of digital and social marketing at HBO,[6] before he transitioned to the social media company Twitter, where he worked as their global, social, and editorial head.[6] Terrell met the co-founder of Spill Devaris Brown during their orientation at Twitter. Terrell was with Twitter for about 3 years before he was let go by the new Twitter owner Elon Musk.[7][6]
Terrell and Brown decided to co-found Spill, a social media platform for people of color, and other historically marginalized groups like the LGBTQ community.[7][8][9] They wanted to create a safe space as one of the larger communities on Twitter, Black Twitter, was leaving the platform.[8] Spill gets its name from the phrase, "Spill The Tea" which often refers to gossip.[7]
Spill now has over 2 hundred thousand users and after a year has raised over 5 million dollars in pre seed funds.[10] Despite being in beta testing, Spill has attracted attention from news outlets like CNN, Essence, and GPB.
Awards and nominations
editTerrell was a part of the team that won Best overall social presence Brand Webby Winner in 2022,[11] Overall Social Presence in 2019,[12] and the Bronze Pencil in 2019.[13]
References
edit- ^ Dorisca, Samantha (2023-06-19). "Spill, Twitter's New Rival, Just Launched And Already Has Its Eyes On Becoming The First Unicorn Black-Owned Social Platform". AfroTech. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "This Founder Launched His Startup After Getting Laid Off From Twitter During Musk's Takeover—Now He's Raised More Than $2M For It". Essence. 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 1 March 2005 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 25 February 2005 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ cz. "Spark: A space for social innovators to combine ideas with networks | columbiasocialenterprise.org". columbiasocialenterprise.org. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ a b c Gagne, Yasmin (2023-07-30). "Twitter alternative Spill aims to recreate the magic of Black Twitter in a safe space". Fast Company. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ a b c Duffy, Clare (2023-11-07). "Spill app: Elon Musk laid him off. Now he's aiming to build a social network that's better than X | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
- ^ a b Burga, Solcyré (2023-07-06). "Spill Is A New Black-Owned Twitter Alternative: What to Know". TIME. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ Mendenhall, Natalie (2023-07-07). "Unlike Threads, Spill isn't trying to be the new Twitter. Safe spaces for minorities is the aim". Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "Spill toasts one year with a $2M seed extension, Kerry Washington and Champagne". Yahoo News. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ "HBO | The Sopranos Nicknames". www.oneclub.org. Retrieved 2024-03-05.