Meet Michael Fletcher and Douglas Smallwood of Waffle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Fletcher and Douglas Smallwood.

Michael and Douglas, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Douglas Smallwood: I began researching back in 2015 within the industries that I’ve been working in for the last ten years. I’ve had many things that I’ve been interested in, so I decided to find ways to master each thing I was interested in and see how they can work together. Most people know me for my photography after being on the road a couple of times with notable artists, magazine publishing, etc. I decided to run the idea of getting into the technology space with Michael because I began seeing how the future is being projected. Soon, we had immediately begun figuring out what issues are faced in the entertainment industry. We also took into account that some of the industry had taken data, culture, and other things have been capitalized off of black people. We have little to no experience in this cutthroat tech industry and decided that we would study as much information necessary to make a change and difference for the next generation to come. I personally say everyday that no man is smarter than another but it’s the access to information that the man or woman receives. If you take away time out of your day, you’ll see that your life is only made up of your reality by how you project every moment you encounter. I’m beyond excited to introduce Waffle to the world of sports fans and athletes.

Michael Fletcher: I was introduced to graphic design in high school. Previous to that, I started painting on clothes and sketching ideas for fashion in the 8th grade. Through high school and college, I worked on my fashion ideas as well as moving into the social media and sports marketing space. I Interned for ODU sports during the day and I interned at RP55 distribution in the afternoon as a designer for Akoo and Playcloths. After graduation, I moved to LA and began working for USC sports marketing where I got introduction to entertainment space. Douglas told me there was an opportunity in technology and my creative skills could be of use. We both knew there was an opportunity to take back some of the culture that was lost and capitalized on. Although we don’t live on the same coast, we made a commitment to speak everyday about our company until it was ready to launch. It has been 2.5 years and the time has finally come. We are now on a new mission to break into the cutthroat tech industry. We believe that “You can’t win the race if you’re not in the space”. More of us need to be in position to make change. You can be anything you want in life. Waffle is the next evolution for us as creatives and we look forward to sharing it.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Obstacles give you a good chance to learn and find more solutions. I think for some, people would have probably looked at some of the things we faced while preparing as a hardship while the only thing we did to overcome were to simply join like minds and converse. As a note, you shouldn’t ever be afraid to simply ask individuals who may have an answer. I have a tattoo on my arm that says “I’m still learning.” This is a quote I learned while studying about Michelangelo at ODU which just lets me know, I should always be a student of the game, like Kobe to MJ.

L’s are not losses they give you a good chance to learn and do it again with better insight. We try so we can learn. We learn so we can try. Everything in this world is created from an internal source and projected outward. My favorite quote to use is “Life is put into two categories…What you do with your time when you are alive and how you remember it when you die”. Circumstances don’t make the man. Some may look at where we can from and see that it isn’t possible but our job is to except the challenge and show that “I’m possible” and I can do this.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Waffle – what should we know?
Douglas and Michael are Co-founders with titles of CEO and CMO of Waffle a new digital sports platform for athletes and fans. We are focused on reshaping how the world plays. Athletes will have new ways to take back the control of their futures. Waffle is the discovery engine to show athletes as the new influencers. Douglas participated in sports when he was younger and always asked why can’t us athletes be multi-hyphenated? His experience led from starting as a graphic artist, into photography, and video, and now ux design. Michael has experience working in graphic design, merchandise, sports marketing and working with major athletes. If we could say, one thing we are most proud of with our company is just the ability to understand and work together as a team so that we can continue to push forward and make Waffle the next unicorn.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We both would like to thank family members, mentors, coaches, teachers. We were both fortunate to have the same technology teacher. Mrs Wanack helped mold us and get us ready to enter this space in high school. We want to thank our friends for investing in the vision and helping start this company and others by investing in something they also believe in. We are always grateful for the many people we come across who give us great knowledge and feedback. Portsmouth, VA raised us and we wouldn’t be here with the people or the place. Home is where the heart is.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Watchwaffle.TV
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: Watchwaffle.TV
• Twitter: Watchwaffle.TV

Image Credit:
Image of team is owned by Kendra Gregg @itskennii #ShotByKennii

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