Lisa S. Jones

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Lisa S. Jones
Lisa S. Jones.jpg
Jones in 2018.
Born (1974-04-01) 1 April 1974 (age 47)
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Education
Occupation
Years active2004—present
TitleFounder and CEO of EyeMail Inc.

Lisa S. Jones (born 1 April 1974) is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur, best known for being the founder of Atlanta-based video email company EyeMail Inc. As both a black and woman-owned business, EyeMail Inc. is classified as a Minority Women Business Enterprise (MWBE). Her company began as a start-up, eventually growing exponentially through partnerships with Microsoft,[1] Delta Air Lines, Time Warner, Porsche North America,[2] the Atlanta Tech Village,[3] PepsiCo and,[4] most notably, The Coca-Cola Company,[5] through which EyeMail Inc. got selected by Microsoft as a premier MWBE supplier in digital marketing.[6]

Prior to dedicating herself to entrepreneurship, Jones worked in supplier diversity for telecommunications provider AT&T,[5][7] and continues to develop a career as a thought leader and public speaker in the matter.[8][7]

In 2008, Jones became the first winner of CBS reality competition show The Next Tycoon. In 2010, she received the "Most Innovative Company of the Year" prize at the Stevie Awards,[9] and was also a finalist for Black Enterprise's "Innovator of the Year" award.[10]

Life and career[]

Lisa S. Jones was born on 1 April 1974 in Montgomery, Alabama, in the Southeastern U.S,[11] the youngest of three girls.[12] Jones became interested in the world of entrepreneurship from an early age, finding inspiration in her father, who opened an ice cream shop from the ground up and "significantly [impacted] her life".[4] As a teenager, she worked at McDonald's, where she "learned several fundamental business principles, including how much she loved interacting with costumers", as well as the "importance of developing interpersonal and communication skills".[4] Jones is an Alabama A&M University alumna, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Logistics and Procurement, and MBA degrees.[13] During her formative years, she also studied marketing management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.[14]

While still living in Alabama, Jones was a logistics and supply chain expert at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center,[12][5] a work experience that lasted for four years,[12] and she has cited as one of the reasons for wanting to develop a product that improves companies' internal communication.[3] After being laid off from NASA, Jones decided to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia,[12] where she expanded her career in supplier diversity for companies such as AT&T.[5][11] Jones has stated that she decided to become an entrepreneur after her mother's unexpected death at age 61.[12][15] In a 2021 interview for Forbes, she explained: "It was my mom's passing that gave me the courage to step out on my own. EyeMail Inc. was born from a necessity to re-engage as a vibrate happy person, living life on my own terms and with a specific purpose."[1] According to the magazine's Laurel Donnellan: "At her mother's gravesite in her native Alabama, [Jones] made a vow to start and scale a global company in her honor but had no idea what [type of company she would start] once she returned home to Atlanta."[1]

Jones eventually set out to create a product to improve engagement marketing,[1] coming up with an "email video" service that enables up to 60 seconds-long high-definition videos to be compressed and embeded directly into emails, avoiding the need to click on a link or access a browser to play them.[3][16] She officially founded her company EyeMail Inc. in Atlanta in 2004,[12][5] and developed the product for five years during her spare time, as she also had a full-time job as an executive in telecommunications.[1] Also in 2004, Jones filed her first patent focused on video in email.[17] Writing in 2022, Arizona-based magazine Success Knocks noted that "as an African American female in technology and from Alabama, she did not receive enough support, guidance, and open-door access as her colleagues."[4] At first, Jones had difficulty finding support from American development agencies, so she tried several international technical teams until choosing a partnership that she considered most suitable.[1][16] Following this, the team developed the product in only six months.[1] As part of EyeMail Inc.'s development process, Jones took part in Microsoft's Mentor/Protégé Innovation Lab Program, which "provided more support and expertise",[1] as well as its Innovation Center, making her the first African-American woman to do so.[2] In 2008, Jones was the winner of the first season of CBS reality competition show The Next Tycoon.[2][9]

EyeMail Inc. got the interest of business executives after its use in a Georgia's Greater Women's Business Council (GWBC) campaign, to whom Jones offered to use her service for free in an effort to showcase her product.[16][2] It first caught the attention of Time Warner, which became EyeMail Inc.'s first client.[2][5] This achievement prompted Jones to leave her day job and fully dedicate herself to the company.[1] In 2008, EyeMail Inc. was listed at number 3 on the Atlanta Tribune's list for the "Top 8 Atlanta Businesses to Watch".[18] That year, Jones began a partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, as part of its mentor program with the Georgia Minority Supplier Diversity Council (GMSDC).[5] Jones' relationship with The Coca-Cola Company, both as a client and partner, was pivotal to EyeMail Inc.'s growth, as it "gave her product more visibility and helped her develop business skills", and purportedly caused its revenue to quadruple.[5] The company operates in several countries—including the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Pakistan and Mexico—[5] and works for businesses such as Delta Air Lines, Major League Baseball,[16] Porsche North America, Aetna, the Atlanta Braves,[1] The Home Depot,[2] and PepsiCo.[4]

Jones is a board member of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG),[19] as well as a partner of the Billion Dollar Roundtable organization, where EyeMail Inc. is classified as a Minority Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) strategic partner.[20] She took part as a panelist at the organization's 2014 Billion Dollar Summit.[21] As a continuing part of her pre-entrepreneurial career, Jones continues to work as a supplier diversity thought leader and public speaker at specialized forums and panels.[8][7] In 2010, Black Enterprise nominated Jones as a finalist for the "Innovator of the Year" award,[10] and was also given the "Georgia Minority Technology Industry Award".[9] In 2018, Jones received the "Catalyst of the Year" award at Delta Air Lines' Annual Star Awards ceremony.[22] In 2019, Minority Business Entrepreneur magazine listed Jones in a special feature titled "Honoring WBEs Who Rock!".[23]

Jones is a board member of the Technology Association of Georgia Diversity and Inclusion, and a volunteer at the local chapter of the Women in Technology Association.[24] She is currently pursuing an executive degree at Harvard University.[24][25] In 2020, she was chosen by PepsiCo as one of 15 participants in the Stacy's Rise Project, a mentorship program to support black women business owners.[26]

In 2021, Jones was listed as one of the "Top 10 Businesswomen to Admire in 2021" by global business magazine CIO Look.[4][27] That year, EyeMail was listed as one of the "20 Innovative Companies Which Everyone Should Know in 2021" by the Atlanta-based Global Business Leaders Mag.[4][17] In 2022, Jones was included in The Enterprise World's list for the "Enterprising Women of the Year",[28] and The Atlantan Magazine's special feature on the top innovators from Atlanta.[29]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Donnellan, Laurel (4 November 2021). "Love Is The Bottom Line At EyeMail Inc". Forbes. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Neil Howe, Craig Williams (2017). Lisa Jones - Founder and Chief Executive Officer of EyeMail Inc (radio show). Business Authority Radio. Business Innovators Radio Network. Retrieved 5 November 2021 – via iHeartRadio.
  3. ^ a b c Jim Fitzpatrick, Lisa S. Jones (6 March 2019). How to Transform Traditional Email into Engaging Experiences – Lisa S. Jones, EyeMail (YouTube video). Atlanta Tech Village: Atlanta Small Business Network. JBF Business Media. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "The Entrepreneural Spirit of Lisa S. Jones". Success Knocks. Arizona: Foresight Tech Media LLC. 8 March 2022. pp. 27–30. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Southerland, Randy (16 September 2014). "Corporate partnership helps email tech company quadruple its revenue". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  6. ^ "2011 U.S. Diversity Stewardship Report" (PDF). The Coca-Cola Company. 2011. p. 21.
  7. ^ a b c Iain Campbell-McKenna (22 October 2021). How do you build diversity into your procurement department? (audio). Sourcing Solved. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Circling the Globe with Diversity". Minority Business News USA (MBNUSA): 1. 15 June 2007.
  9. ^ a b c "EyeMail Inc". Stevie Awards. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  10. ^ a b Robinson, Tennille M. (4 June 2010). "Vote for the 2010 Innovator of the Year Nominees". Black Enterprise. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  11. ^ a b Archie Tucker, Lisa S. Jones (16 September 2020). Guest Lisa S. Jones, Alumna and Founder/CEO of EyeMail, Inc. Start and Go (audio). Alabama A&M University. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Lisa Jones - Founder Story". Atlanta Tech Village. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  13. ^ Blake, Tania (20 August 2020). "10 Incredible Women of Email (that you may not have heard about yet)". Knak. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  14. ^ Lowery, Melissa (24 November 2014). "EyeMail: Lisa Jones Wants To Start An Email Revolution". Women's Enterprise. WE USA. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  15. ^ Gesenhues, Amy (September 30, 2020). "Success Spotlight: Lisa S. Jones". Women of Martech. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d Beilin, Holly (9 May 2018). "How This Founder Got Execs At Delta, Coca-cola and More to Notice Her Email Marketing Product". Hypepotamus. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  17. ^ a b Paul, Logan, ed. (July 2021). "EyeMail Technology: Reshaping the Communication Experience". Global Business Leaders Mag. Atlanta. pp. 72–75. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  18. ^ Morrow, Candace (2008). "Top 8 Atlanta Businesses to Watch". Atlanta Tribune: 38.
  19. ^ "TAG Diversity, Equity & Inclusion". Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  20. ^ "M/WBE Partners". Mobile, Alabama, U.S.: Billion Dollar Roundtable (BDR). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  21. ^ "BDR SUMMIT PANELIST". Minority Business News USA (MBNUSA). Dallas, Texas: TexCorp Communications Inc. IV: 58. 2014.
  22. ^ Kruse, Brian (1 March 2018). "Diverse suppliers honored at 19th annual Star Awards". Delta News Hub. Delta Air Lines. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Honoring WBEs Who Rock!". Minority Business Entrepreneur. MBE. 36 (3): 34–35. 2019. ISSN 1048-0919. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Lisa S. Jones". Seattle, U.S.: Digital.com. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  25. ^ "Lisa S. Jones: Delivering the Best Visual and Engaging Email Communication Experience". IndustryWired Magazine. San Jose, California: IndustryWired. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Stacy's Rise Project Expands Commitment to Female Founders; Partners with Hello Alice to Fund $150,000 in Grants to Black Women Business Owners". PepsiCo. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  27. ^ Hitesh, Hitesh, ed. (May 2021). "Lisa Jones: Innovating without Restrictions". CIO Look. Vol. 1, no. 5. pp. 40–42. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  28. ^ "EyeMail Inc.-Communication & Innovation | Lisa S. Jones". The Enterprise World. 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  29. ^ "Next Level: Lisa S. Jones". The Atlantan Magazine. Atlanta. March 2022. pp. 90–91. Retrieved 22 March 2022.

External links[]

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