Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Varnado.
Hi Alexander, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello, My name is Mr. V. Currently, I am a computer science instructor at Martin Luther King Jr. College Preparatory High School and Believe Memphis Academy. When I am not in the classroom instructing S.T.E.M, I am still pushing P. Promoting Individual Mobile Programming through Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (P.I.M.P. S.T.E.M.).
During my junior year of high school, I had an app idea and reached out to a development agency online for help. They offered to build it, but I would need to pay $50,000 for them to create just a mock-up! I didn’t have that kind of money at 17 years old, but I did have ambition! Not taking no for an answer, I did some more research and came across a YouTube video showing me step-by-step how to build an app. Now, I make Youtube videos and teach kids how to make their own apps!
Since I was getting ready to go to college, I thought, why not make an app for my school? I was considering going to Tennessee State University, so I created a free app for TSU. After I had the app developed, I created a Twitter page and followed hundreds of users that had hashtags #TSU18, #TSU19, #TSU20, and #TSU in their bio. Lastly, I went on the school’s website to get email addresses to the pep club members, administrators, and other organizations to send them flyers to post around campus.
Getting complete strangers’ support gave me the confidence that I could really change the world and make lives more convenient for people. I was able to get 100 downloads without me leaving my house. As a kid from a small town, this was huge to me! I called myself the black Steve Jobs. Thinking to myself, if I could do this for TSU, I could build apps for any school! Over the next couple of months, I narrowed down the choices of colleges I wanted to attend. I decided to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself.
After graduating from Millington Central High School in 2015, I decided to start my collegiate career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I wanted to be in a completely new environment to see if I could thrive at a Predominantly-White Institution. The college did not have a mobile app and I saw this as an opportunity to make history. Being on campus gave me a lot of inspiration and understanding of the different types of marketing available. I learned that in-person marketing is highly effective because people see your work ethic and word-of-mouth is the best type of marketing money can’t buy. They may not have said anything to me directly, but best believe they saw me grinding everyday and engaging with other colleagues. It is still weird to me that people will follow you on an app, but won’t say a word to you in person. I get that some people are shy, but seriously? Don’t get me started on that.
Every week, I created a marketing routine that allowed the students and staff to become familiar with me and what I was promoting. I knew the University Center gets crowded during lunch time, so I would go there after I got out of class. Two months in, I knew I was making an impact when I approached a complete stranger and they showed me the app before I could say a word. I took pride in walking around campus, posting flyers, and engaging with students about this new resource our school has to offer.
My marketing tactics were working so well that the Vice President of UTC had the app suspended and my social media page terminated. His reasoning was that I did not get written permission to use their logo. This was a learning lesson for me. One university will prioritize the vision and the other will minoritize it. This ultimately led to a suspension from the university with an option to appeal. During the appeal process, I was not allowed to stay on campus.They disabled my campus ID card so I couldn’t buy food or access my dorm room. I remember sneaking in the library just to use the wifi so I could still finish my classwork. I was lucky enough to meet two colleagues who allowed me to stay with them until I figured out what my next move was. Sadly, My appeal was denied and that is when I packed my bags up and came back to Memphis.
I became discouraged & unmotivated in app development after having my work vanish in just a blink of an eye. I thought maybe this isn’t for me. I enrolled into community college and started hanging back with my old friends. Peer pressure is one of the most dangerous drugs and I became addicted to it. I’ve broken trust with people who mean the most to me for people who didn’t even believe in me. I saw myself wanting to make decisions like them and it started taking a toll on me.
I had to remind myself that I have a billion-dollar skill that I am not even using. I made a decision that changed my life forever on(4/21/16) Today actually marks the 6-year anniversary of when I got arrested for dealing with one of the most dangerous drugs, peer pressure. This was the turning point in my life where I said, “Don’t worry about what the community is doing for you, what are you doing for your community?” I can honestly say Southwest was my best choice. This is where I found my mentor, Ronald Claxton. He taught me the art of financial aid, how to network effectively, and become more involved in the community that serves you. Under his mentorship, I was able to join multiple organizations, become a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and become a Student Ambassador for SWTCC. Being selected to represent the college after what I’ve been through, gave me the confidence I needed to get back into entrepreneurship.
After graduating from Southwest Tennessee Community College in 2018, I took my talents to the University of Memphis to get my Bachelor’s in Marketing Management. I had flashbacks of UTC on my first day of school. I realized I am on campus with thousands of people daily! There is too much opportunity here and I can’t waste it trying to make friends. One day, I’m going to graduate and I don’t want to look back and say, “I wish I would have done this or launched this while I was in school…” Life is too short to have regrets.
During the Spring semester of 2019, my best friend got diagnosed with cancer. He was only given a few months to live. I wanted to do something special to honor him and ensure his legacy lives on. On March 13th, I had an idea. What if there was a platform only for pets? Where owners can talk about their day, what they experienced, and etc.? Since humans have platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, I believe that pets deserve their own platform too! Pets play a significant role in human lives and I wanted to showcase how important they are.
Still feeling discouraged about launching another app, I thought let me do some market research before I start developing. Going to class the next day, I shared my idea with a few classmates. If they liked it, I asked for their email address. If they didn’t, I thanked them for listening. Even the people who wouldn’t give me their time, I still thanked them. I left that class with 3 email addresses. I went to my next class and only got 1. Once again, strangers supporting my idea amazes me because I always thought the people who know you would be your biggest supporters.
I decided to change my approach next week. Instead of telling them my idea first, I would ask “How are you today? Afterwards, I ask for just a minute of their time to get an opinion on a great idea that I believe would change the world. I ended up doing this for the next three weeks and I got over 100 email addresses. My plan was to email all of the people who believed in me when I turned my idea into reality. I knew that National Pet Day was April 11th, so that was going to be the launch date.
Just like humans, every pet has a story that deserves to be heard, but it is up to the owner to tell their story. Did you know some pets spend the majority of their lives waiting for their owners to come home from work? Soon as you get home from a long day of work, who is the most excited to see you? Some pets have actual jobs, families, and provide a service to the community! I wanted to give all pets a platform to share moments and insights into their life. If only one person reads Jessie’s story or one person shares a story of their pet, then my mission is being served. Jessie’s legacy will live on through Pets Are Wagging Wonderful. I also do giveaways every month to those who share their stories publicly.
During my final semester at the University of Memphis, I thought how could I leave a bigger legacy behind? “If you give a person a fish, you feed them for a day. If you teach a person how to fish, you feed them a lifetime.” I can build an app for your business in less than an hour, but what if I taught you how you could build your own app in an hour?
I launched Mobile Apps Designed Easy as a way to introduce the average person into the STEM field. We live in a time where apps are a part of our every day lives. You can’t use a smartphone without using an app! Mobile apps are being used every hour, minute, and second of our lives. I am willing to bet you are using one right now! Why don’t we know how to make these? It is so much easier than people think. We have to learn how to use the technology before it uses us! There is a lack of black representation in the S.T.E.M field and I am going to be one of the leaders of that revolution.
Instead of using your keyboard to code, M.A.D.E uses blocks of pre-built code that the user drag and drop. You have a physical representation of your app, so you see your changes in real time! According to Gartner Research, “By 2024, low-code app development will be responsible for 66% of the apps in the app stores.” What I want to do is give the south a head start within the STEM field by giving them access to the software early before it becomes mainstream. Since the pandemic began, people have been spending more time on their phones, which led to more time spent on apps, ultimately leading to more apps being created. I am on a mission to turn Memphis into Stemphis (P.I.M.P S.T.E.M).
I’ve partnered with multiple nonprofits in Memphis to help spread the mission of S.T.E.M. Code Crew allows me to teach classes in underrepresented areas in Memphis, TN. I volunteer with Stem4Fem to inspire girls, specifically in the South and other areas with less academic and economic opportunity, to pursue interests in the predominantly male field of S.T.E.M. Our long-term vision is to expand nationally, especially in regions with the need for diversity in this field.
We hope to reach thousands of girls interested in S.T.E.M and inspire them to pursue it while providing a platform for the girls to present their ideas to professionals, they get great feedback and advice to improve and build upon their solutions and ideas. Who would have thought that the next app developers to come out of Tennessee would be from Frayser and South Memphis? Today, kids spend so much time on mobile devices that I believe they should at least know how to build what they are consuming. Humans are starting to spend more time online than offline. Do you think that’s good or bad?
I love being in the classroom and hearing the student’s feedback. One student said. “We really need this in school. I can finally learn something in the classroom that I could go out and use today! We can create the next Facebook!” One of my sayings I tell the students, “Before you pick up a strap, before you decide to trap, or make a rap, make an app!” “We don’t make excuses, we make it hAPPen.” Anything that you are passionate about or love to do, you can make an app for it.
All you need is a plan. “When you fail to plan, your plan is to fail.” When you figure out what your niche is, you can build your own community around that niche and cater to your audience. As of now, I only teach kids how to make their own apps, but I also want to teach adults too.
I am always looking for places to hold hour classes where adults can come in and learn in person. I don’t want to feed you for a day, I want to feed you for a lifetime. If you are feeling inspired by my story, you can create your own app today. I would recommend watching the Youtube video before you try this at home.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would describe it as smooth as Frayser Blvd. I wanted to give up a number of times. I still feel like giving up because I don’t have the support of the city. It was a challenge getting the school’s support. Getting funding from the school’s entrepreneurship program was unsuccessful. They could not give funding to just one person. I needed at least a co-founder. My co-founder was my dog, Jessie. I was not about to replace him for money. They were surprised to find out I developed the app, came up with the concept, created logos, marketing materials, and managed the company all by myself. I remember trying to set up a meeting with the president of student affairs. One time I was going in for the meeting, and he rescheduled it due to a class he had to attend. The next meeting, he was not present in the office. A week later, I realized that the class he was going to was the same class I was going to. The pandemic was a challenge for me because I couldn’t do in-person marketing. I couldn’t go to events to promote and network. I am just getting back outside this year. Getting people to respond to emails and phone calls has always been a challenge. I got discouraged that I stopped checking my inboxes, messages, and etc.
I prefer connecting with people in real life so I can see if I have their undivided attention. It is easy to say no via email, phone, and text. When I am in your face building and updating an app right in your face, how can you not be intrigued? I love performing on the spot and creating apps from scratch.The testimonies are priceless and just motivate me to keep pushing S.T.E.M in the community.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I promote individual mobile programming through science, technology, and mathematics. I push P for real. I’m all about promoting positivity and helping our youth. These kids are paying attention to the music and they want to be just like their favorite rappers. Well I want to see if I can influence some of these kids to become app developers. I had to figure out what it is that I am passionate about. My passion is technology, music, and animals. I love making custom art. I perceive plain hoodies and sweatpants as blank canvas that I put my feelings onto. I also have experience in videography, photography, audio engineering, music production, songwriting, and marketing/promotions for other companies.
I am most proud of teaching kids how to make their own apps. I learned this skill in 2014 and used it 5 years later after I graduated. That means I can teach a fourth grader how to make an app, by the time they get to high school, they may want to make an app for their high school!
There are kids in Memphis that are capable of changing the world and creating generational wealth for their families. When kids see someone that looks like them and can relate to what they have been through, they digest that information differently.
What sets me apart from others is I will offer my services for free. For example, to celebrate the three year anniversary of P.A.W.W, my services were 100% discounted from April 11th – May 11th. I don’t work for money, I work for opportunity. As long as you have P.A.W.W downloaded, you have direct access to me. The information is already available on the internet. Just subscribe to the channel if you want to watch step-by-step videos on app creation. I just want to see my people advance in the S.T.E.M. field. I don’t want to place any more barriers in front of them to change the world. I am also a black man with two degrees who works at Big Lots. You know it’s a hard out here for a pimp!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My advice is to always ask questions! Being on a college campus, you will see somebody for one minute, turn your head, and never see them again. Say what’s on your mind and get it over with. Colleges have a number of resources to find mentors and network with colleagues and professionals. Please get familiar with career services at your school. Talk with your school’s guidance counselor. There are administrators at your school waiting for you to come in and ask about professional opportunities!
I ask older people all the time, “What’s some advice that you would give your younger self knowing what you know now and what you have experienced?” That one question opens up a lot of conversation and one can use that advice not to make the same mistakes they made. That one person you didn’t tell about your business is going to be somebody one day and they could have referred you.
I would go to networking events and introduce myself and shake hands. Always have business cards to give to people. I like to give people something tangible so I am still with them when I am not in front of them. Whether it’s a wristband, sticker, card, or etc. You will be surprised how many people remember when you give them something for free.
When you get business cards from other people, please follow up with them. Thank them for the cards and thank them for their time. It will set you apart from everyone else who they met at the event. You only get one time to make a first impression. Thanks for reading. I hope you live as long as you want & never want as long as you live. I hope you be honest.
Contact Info:
- Email: ihopeyoubehonest@gmail.com
- Website: ihopeyoubehonest.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/made.movement/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mobile-Apps-Designed-Easy-103521721751724/photos/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/paww_app
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqH4c6MkMtV_7_gNKeM8fGA
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/alexander-varnado/alexander-varnado-i-hope-you-be-honest-wav
- Other: linktr.ee/madeapps
Image Credits
Alexander Varnado
The Most Vulnerable Photography
I Hope You Be Honest Photos
