PLUS ME Spotlight: Deen Wright

Deen’s story begins as a bicoastal kid, splitting his time between Maryland and California.

As the eldest of 5 kids, Deen was very aware of his family’s financial challenges at a young age. This prompted him to seek financial independence and his first entrepreneurial journey started in the fourth grade when he made a handsome profit selling items on eBay. 

With his intelligence and ingenuity, it’s no surprise that Deen ended up attending a private STEM magnet high school in Maryland. As one of the few Black students at this school, it was challenging to connect with his classmates who knew nothing about his culture. Despite the differences between him and his peers, Deen appreciated the education he received which laid the foundation for his academic career that continued at Howard University where he received a full scholarship. 

Although academically Deen was on the rise, emotionally, he was dealing with unpredictable, crippling anxiety that manifested into physical chest pain. He decided to begin the long, consistent work of managing his anxiety without prescription drugs. He would shift his focus onto the people he loved and also made sure that he had someone to talk to.  It was through his psychiatrist that he discovered the catalyst for his anxiety stemmed from his parents’ divorce and discovering his father was manic depressive. His father’s abusive episodes throughout his childhood suddenly made sense & Deen was able to navigate his anxiety much better.

While studying at Howard, a business idea was sparked after a money transaction via Craigslist ended with Deen being held at gunpoint. He knew that there needed to be a safer, more efficient way for people -- students in particular -- to buy and sell their products. With the help of an investor and a team of engineers, Deen launched his first startup after graduating Howard called B.A.S.E. (Buy And Sell Everything). 

After launching a second start-up years later, Deen soon discovered that he enjoyed solving problems through technology, but missed interacting with people. With this in mind, Deen believed pursuing a career as a product manager would align both his values and passion. He was hired for this role at Blackline in Southern California and recently received the company’s Circle of Excellence Award.

Deen’s story brings truth to his personal motto: “Life is ten percent of what happens to us and ninety percent of how we respond to it.” He is proud of his resilience in midst of the turmoil and is grateful that he followed his intuition to pursue what he loved. If you are reading this and are unsure about what career path to take, Deen encourages you to ask yourself one question, “If money didn’t exist, what would you do for free?” He believes your soul knows what it wants to do, you just have to let go of the fear and follow your gut. Once you can answer this question, you’ll never work another day in your life.

Deen’s story matters and so does yours.