DIF profiles Junie Baptiste Poitevien from Propel Innovations as they set to debut their latest podcast, Uncover Untapped Markets. 

Propel Innovations is set to debut their latest podcast, Uncover Untapped Markets, hosted by Junie Baptiste Poitevien, the founder and CEO of Propel Innovations. This engaging interview-style podcast series explores and discusses the intricate challenges faced by consumers and users of digital technology, making it an invaluable resource and a must-listen for business leaders and professionals seeking to create more inclusive tech designs.  

As an active member of the DIF Community, we first met Junie at the DIF Hub Geelong in 2022 when she was part of the Runway team. program. Then at the TechDiversity Awards we heard about her latest venture as the founder and CEO of Propel Innovations. When we heard they were also the creator of the Uncover Untapped Markets podcast, we just had to ask a few questions before they launched on Thursday June 29th. 

Hi Junie, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?

I am of Haitian-origin and born in Canada – a Black woman and global citizen with 5 languages at the tip of my tongue!

I landed in Australia in 2014, where I had noticed that the world of tech was at its infancy compared to Canada or the USA; and even China (where I saw people’s adoption to tech was fascinating). Being in Australia, I realised how accessing basic products and services became ever more so challenging and disheartening: like the number of steps and the length of time it takes me to access afro-textured hair products from overseas; or, not being able to access financial services when I was an international student, and living in regional areas which required me to constantly ship products from metropolitan areas.

Fast forward to 2020, the pandemic accelerated my journey into starting Propel Innovations. As the founder & CEO of Propel Innovations, a boutique of user experience (UX) research and inclusive design tapping into niche markets for consumer brands to gain a competitive edge, I’m on a wild mission to remove biases in the design of products and technology. 

What do you hope to achieve with your podcast? 

I want to give business leaders, marketers, product teams the confidence that it’s not a scary thing or too much of an effort to build products that are adaptable to a wider audience.

As the founder & CEO of Propel Innovations, a boutique of user experience (UX) research and inclusive design tapping into niche markets for consumer brands to gain a competitive edge, I’m on a wild mission to remove biases in the design of products and technology.

As I delved deeper into tech, I’ll never forget my reaction when I read that an AI has a 35% error rate in recognizing people like Serena Williams, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, because of their dark skin. Now, I’ve entered the tech industry as a non-tech, by tapping into my entrepreneurial spirit to start seeing better representation in tech and better products that truly resonate with people.

Tell us more about the Uncover Untapped Markets podcast 

There’s a huge disconnect between businesses and consumers. Some businesses market the wrong products or services to consumers, yet they want more customers or want them to stay loyal. And consumers want to feel represented and understood with products and services that truly resonate with them. So, this podcast is a bridge to share how our podcast guests tapped into this multifaceted issue, and share stories on how they reached overlooked consumers to uncover markets, build businesses and disrupt their industries innovatively. 

In a way, Uncover Untapped Markets is a podcast to change the narrative about how widening your audience benefits your business when you scale up, and to drive the urgency on how valuable it is to design products and services inclusively to remain competitive.

Are there any particular guests that you're excited to have on your show? 

Annie Jean Baptiste! She’s a business disrupting tech exec and the co-founder of the practice of Product Inclusion & Equity at Google. She’s been spearheading exactly what we focus on at Propel Innovations: tapping into people’s areas of lives that matter so people can feel like they belong. 

Deborah Yeh, who was previously a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Sephora because I’m curious to hear the behind-the-scenes of Color IQ technology that uses - you guessed it, AI-, for people to find make-up based on their skin tones. The beauty of it is that the designing for women of colour’s experience shopping online, for instance, is adaptable for all and a business opportunity for Sephora. It’s a win-win!

What topics will your podcast cover, and how do you plan to ensure that listeners can gain insights from the diverse perspectives within those topics? 

I want this podcast to remove marketers and business leaders’ blind spots. I also want this podcast to level up the playing field of overlooked consumers’ needs. I feel this platform is a good way to challenge marketers and business leaders’ perceptions of their consumers and say: “I didn’t think about that!”.  

Our conversations are light-hearted, insightful and raw. They’re not stories you can ask ChatGPT or Google it. These are unique insights of people’s lived experiences and the richness behind the business value of uncovering untapped markets.  

Just to give you taste, we cover stories ranging from: an accessibility need that could turn into legal action; a father turned founder widening his audience and disrupting the baby cot industry, and a missed customer segment that led to an innovative solution in the financial industry. And, the way they go about it is gold!

Image description: A Black woman is sitting and smiling wearing a black leather jacket with blue jeans in front of a navy blue background with the podcast title juxtaposed one on top of the other. It says Uncover Untapped Markets in bold yellow at the top and regular yellow font at the bottom. On the right-hand side it says with Junie Baptiste Poitevien, who is the podcast host. Underneath, the date of the podcast launch party is Thursday June 29th 2023 at 6:00 PM AEST. On the bottom left corner, logos of Digital Innovation Futures Victoria and Stone & Chalk.

Propel Innovations is hosting a podcast launch party in person in Melbourne or online on Thursday June 29th 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM (AEST) at Stone & Chalk. Tap here for more information on attending.

Subscribe to Uncover Untapped Markets' podcast.