Coffee With: Spiritual Entrepreneur Nicholas Richards

Nicholas Richards
Location: New York, NY
Job: Founder and CEO, Roho
Education: B.S. in Political Science and Philosophy, Morehouse College; M.S. in Divinity, Union Theological Seminary
Twitter: @nicholas3360

What was your first job?

After focusing on divinity in graduate school, I became an assistant minister at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where I stayed for eight years. Initially, a mentor had recommended me for the job, and after six months of interviewing (showing up to the church all the time and bugging the senior minister), I finally got it.

Tell us about your startup, Roho.

“Roho” is Swahili for “spirit.” It’s a digital platform that organizes and shares videos of sermons – a single online repository for outstanding Black sermons and ministers. The platform also aggregates data on when, how, and why users are viewing the sermons.

What has it been like to transition from being a pastor at a historic institution to a CEO at a tech startup?

There were 4,000-plus members of Abyssinian Baptist when I preached there. I also counseled people, visited the sick in hospitals and the incarcerated in prison, officiated weddings, planned events, and managed budgets. It was one of those jobs where I did everything. In that sense, the church was a lot like a startup.

My first week full-time on Roho, I had no staff, no money, and had barely finished our wireframes. But, being the geek that I am, I was pumped to be doing exactly what I wanted to do: building an idea from scratch. In just six months, we've closed a round of funding, launched the site, and begun hiring new team members.

Having raised $750k in seed funding as of March, what’s your advice to other entrepreneurs seeking early funding?

Find investors who believe in you. I only knew one of my investors personally, and he’s the one who made important introductions. I also had a team lead who really rallied us throughout the process. Many investors might not understand your full dream and mission. Seek out those who do. It’s important for investors to think of themselves as partners. As any founder will tell you, starting a venture is a huge life challenge. Taking an idea, putting it on paper, galvanizing people around it – it’s all endlessly difficult. I stay encouraged and fueled by my faith.

Roho has been described as “Spotify meets the word of God.” Is that what you’re going for? What is your vision?

I’m interested in the crossroads between tech and religion. I would like to bridge the divide between these two worlds and create a space for people to curate their own faith. Eventually, innovative features like virtual reality will become a part of it.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read recently?

Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. It’s about simplifying your life, identifying your real needs, and questioning the idea that you need to be a unicorn and have a billion dollars to be happy. It’s been difficult going from a nonprofit church to a for-profit business. I believe I will make a bunch of money through Roho, but that’s not my main incentive.

Describe your experience working at the intersection of religion and technological innovation.

The good thing is that the tech community is not monolithic. Yes, there are some people who don’t get the product at all. But others understand the market. They understand how much data is consumed on religious sites, and they understand how much money those people spend. If I frame it as, “I’m building a site for Christians,” it doesn’t work. I have to frame it as, “I’m making an innovative and profitable product.”

Image by Mykwain Gainey