Episode 01: The Queer Economy: The Future of LGBTQ+ Business in a Changing World
The economic power of the LGBTQ+ community is undeniable, with an estimated $4.7 trillion in consumer spending power globally. However, navigating the intersection of queerness and entrepreneurship presents unique challenges and opportunities rarely discussed in mainstream business media. In a recent episode of The Queerest Podcast, host Andraé BVR spoke with Travers Johnson, founder and CEO of Queerency, to unpack the complexities of LGBTQ+ financial resilience and entrepreneurship in today's socio-political climate.
Travers Johnson's journey with Queerency began in 2020 when he noticed a significant gap in media coverage of LGBTQ+ businesses. Despite having extensive experience in media and publishing, Johnson found himself surprised by discovering that major companies like Facebook, PayPal, and OpenAI had queer co-founders. "If someone like me, who nerds out over this content, is only learning this well into adulthood randomly and without any consistency, I'm sure other people don't know this stuff either," Johnson explained. This realization sparked the creation of Queerency, which started as an Instagram page and newsletter focused on LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship, business news, and personal finance.
What's particularly fascinating about Johnson's entrepreneurial journey is how he adapted to the constantly evolving digital landscape. When Queerency began experiencing plateaued growth in late 2020, Johnson recognized that the platform needed to pivot toward video content. Despite his initial reluctance to appear on camera, Johnson took the leap into TikTok in early 2022. This strategic shift paid off dramatically – within weeks, his content went viral, and over the next year, he grew from zero to 50,000 followers, eventually reaching 100,000. This growth exemplifies the reality that business success often requires founders to step outside their comfort zones and adapt to changing media consumption habits.
The conversation took an important turn when discussing LGBTQ+ Business Week, an initiative Johnson created in response to increasing anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and violence directed at queer-owned businesses. Rather than focusing solely on negative news, Johnson channeled his energy into creating a positive, proactive response. "The answer to a lot of the anti-queer-owned business sentiment and harassment that we were seeing was to create LGBTQ+ Business Week," Johnson explained. This initiative includes a comprehensive database of queer-owned businesses, allowing consumers and other businesses to connect with and support the LGBTQ+ entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Perhaps the most compelling portion of the conversation centered on the relationship between corporations and the LGBTQ+ community. Johnson offered this critical insight for brands: "LGBTQ+ consumers, our spending power is not really going to change, but what does change is our view of your brand based on how and if you stand up for our communities." He emphasized that in the current era of companies pulling back on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, brands should understand that their actions have lasting consequences. The trust built with the LGBTQ+ community "can go away very quickly and is really hard to get back."
Johnson offered concrete advice for those looking to support queer businesses beyond the performative "rainbow washing" that often occurs during Pride Month. He suggested that corporations should create joint ventures with LGBTQ+-owned businesses, build pipelines for these businesses to sell products in their retail stores, and encourage their customers to support queer businesses throughout the year. For individual consumers, he recommended shopping directly with queer-owned businesses, joining local LGBTQ+ chambers of commerce, and extending grace to small business owners who may not have the resources of corporate giants.
