Meet the Founder | Dianna Donahue of URBANE Magazine

Welcome to our Spark! Meet the Founder series, where we introduce you to the amazing entrepreneurs who are participating in our 2022 Spring Spark! program with a quick Q&A!

Spark! is a small business accelerator that puts the right people, opportunities, and access in place for local entrepreneurs in Arkansas to take their venture to the next level. 

Please meet Dianna Donahue, founder of URBANE Magazine, an African American lifestyle publication that honors Central Arkansas’s Black culture and identity. 

The Venture Center: Tell us about URBANE Magazine! 

Dianna Donahue: URBANE Magazine is central Arkansas’ leading African American lifestyle publication that honors its Black culture and identity. We use our print and digital platforms to showcase the infinite treasures within Black Arkansas. We also use it to celebrate our unsung heroes and leaders that shaped and are shaping the next generation of this great state.

Our mission is to ignite conversations, show our culture’s successes, show how we are thriving, refute stereotypes, promote empowerment, and induce overwhelming pride in just how dope we are! It’s our honor to uphold and reaffirm the respect, dignity, and existence of all Black people in Arkansas.

Why did you choose to become an entrepreneur?

I started my business because Arkansas’ professional printed media industry was missing a constant and positive visual representation of Black people.

What are your biggest challenges as a business owner?

My biggest challenges as a business owner in the publishing industry are funding and finding reliable, skilled, and committed team members.

What do you hope for the future of your business?

URBANE Magazine’s future will include becoming a media company that will expand throughout and outside Arkansas.

What are you proudest of so far?

Regarding URBANE, I’m most proud that it still exists and is thriving. I am also proud of the meaningful impact and positive influences that the magazine has had on the Black community thus far.

What do you hope to gain from Spark!?

I hope to gain new insight that I didn’t know about and be affirmed in what I do know. I also hope to network with great minds and learn additional ways to aid my company’s success.

Huge thanks to Dianna Donahue for participating in Spark! We can’t wait to see your business grow! 

You can support our Spring Spark! Cohort of entrepreneurs by cheering them on at the Spring Pitch ‘N Pint pitch contest June 23rd – first round is on us!