Calling Umindi Francis a jack of all trades would be an easy way out. It would be vastly understating her 20-plus years of expertise in fashion, entertainment, finance, public relations, and technology. The Trinidadian born, Brooklyn native’s start, had zero to do with any of the previously mentioned. Before she even reached a decade in her life span, she aspired to become a surgeon. Life as a surgeon was the goal well into her tenure as a student at Temple University. However, her time in Philadelphia transformed once she moved off campus. She began planning events that gained so much notoriety that even the team from Def Jam Records asked to attend one of her penthouse secret password events while in Philadelphia for a concert. That chance meeting later led to an invitation to their offices and mentorship by their Vice President of Marketing who invited her to join NABFEME, The National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment. It was their international conference in Toronto Canada gave Umindi the opportunity to meet and be inspired by some of the world’s powerful executives.

At Temple, Umindi switched her major from Biology to Neurobehavioral Psychology with a minor in Business Administration and Marketing. She phoned her mother back in New York to let he know her new professional passion was business. After graduating from Temple University she worked in finance at what is now Wachovia securities – managing investment portfolios. After two successful years in finance, she decided to immerse herself in a more creative field and moved back to New York to pursue a career in Marketing. She later joined Louis Vuitton in Marketing and Communications and then Bottega Veneta in the same capacity. And she held even more positions in between. At the start of the 2010 decade she founded her own consulting firm UFCG which started solely with fashion clients, including CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominees.

Today, Umindi talks to us about her rise in the fashion industry, UFCG, the craze of NFTs and what the fashion industry can expect in the Metaverse.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into fashion PR?

I was a bright kid. I knew before I even turned 10 that I wanted to be a scientist. By the time I turned 13, I had been accepted and was attending a special program at the City University of New York studying microbiology. I continued my interest all the way through my high school years at Brooklyn Technical. When I entered undergrad at Temple University in Philly, I chose biology as my major and received an opportunity to study neuroscience research with one of the foremost scientist in the country which I really enjoyed. But by the time I concluded my junior year I realized my interests had expanded. All my extracurricular activities were business  related so I switched my major and simultaneously began to pursue more creative interest in marketing.

My roommates and I began organizing events off campus. The events were so successful that our friends from New York and other college towns would travel to attend. Word started getting out about our events and the crowd it attracted. The local radio station reached out asking us to produce a weekly event with one of their top DJs.  In retrospect we were building a community pre-social media. Our reputation was so well received that we were asked to organize in-store events for DKNY, Versace, and for Interscope Records in Philadelphia. The team expanded and we even produced events for the Philadelphia 76ers and Eagles. Philadelphia also had a thriving neo-soul music scene so we produced events for artist such as Jill Scott, which is how I got into the music space.

Upon graduation I was honored to receive a position in Finance and simultaneously continued building my events company. Eventually the desire to learn and work in a creative space led me to return home to New York. At the suggestion of my mentors, I applied for internships in the fashion industry and was able to garner internships at Elle, and Nicole Miller. After several months at Nicole Miller they offered me a position as Public Relations Director, where I managed PR, events, advertising, celebrity relations and e-commerce. The rest is history.

Take us through your rise in the industry. What were some of your favorite experiences?

After Nicole Miller, I freelanced at KCD and worked on the most incredible fashion shows and events, i.e. Marc Jacobs, Anna Sui, Zac Posen, and the Alexander McQueen store opening to name a few. It was an explosive immersion into the heart of fashion week. While there, I received a call from C&M Media asking me to bring my talents to their Fendi, Roberto Cavalli, and Missoni accounts led by Angela Mariani. Louis Vuitton later reached out and offered me an opportunity to interview for their marketing and communications team.  I was offered and accepted the position and had the opportunity to work with the collections and with numerous A list celebrities for events and activations.

Then, Bottega Veneta offered me an opportunity to join their team. As hard as it was to leave such a wonderful team at Louis Vuitton, I was fortunate to be a part of another incredible team at Bottega Veneta. The position allowed me to work closely with Tomas Maier, the brilliant former creative director. After my time in-house, I went to Karla Otto and had the opportunity to work with countless brands as they opened their New York office. I later became Global Vice President at BPCM. Finally, in 2010 I started my consulting firm, UFCG.

Specifically regarding UFCG, tell me about some of the projects you’ve worked on.

The range of things that we’ve done goes on and on. We have supported so many emerging designers, heritage brands, and celebrity talent with strategy and partnerships over the years. Bumble, the dating app, came to us to manage their go-to-market strategy when they were launching. I helped Gianvito Rossi become a leading luxury shoe brand globally. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with Studio 189, the sustainable brand co-founded by Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah. We have been their agency of record since the beginning. It’s been wonderful to witness the impact of the brand. We have worked with so many brands from all around the world as well as thought leaders across many continents. Ninety-nine percent of our business for the last 12 years has really been on a referral basis. We received referrals as a result of the expertise and reputation I built in the industry.

What were some of your biggest learnings?

I mentioned that I started off working solely with fashion clients, but I quickly realized that founders needed overall direction and counsel. That was a massive inflection point for UFCG. Within our first year we expanded our offering to management consulting and brand development. Considering my business acumen, I’ve been able to counsel and advise brands on much more than their marketing and communications campaigns. Honestly, the transition came from our clients. They would say, “Umindi, we know you know these investors, stores, and can connect the dots for us.” It started becoming the first thing people would say in a meeting with us. They would say, “we need strategy, we need direction, and that’s hard to find. It’s hard to find someone who can connect the promotion dot, and sales dot, and know how to structure a profit and loss statement.”

One of the best pieces of advice that I was given early on was from my Aunt Debra. When I began working at LV, she said to me, “Always remember that no matter where you work or what you do, you are in business for yourself. You’re doing this for yourself, and sure you’re grateful for the opportunity, but you also have a brand, and you have to consider your brand.” That idea and concept has informed many of the decisions I’ve made. I also share this advice with my team. I want to support their growth.

Describe your job in today’s world.

I develop brands. I advise executive management on how to move their brands forward. Because of my deep and tenured relationships in the consumer space, whether it be fashion or entertainment, I connect the dots and utilize my relationships and expertise to lead companies to profitability. I am doing that now for the Metaverse. I am helping brands and creators understand and seamlessly enter the space in a way that is organic for their consumers.

Speaking of technology, you are now working in tech and dealing with Metaverse and with NFTs? Talk to me about how you got into this.

Moving into technology happened organically. Brands would come to us and say “We need this woman and her company. If they’ve been able to garner this success for this kind of company, that’s the kind of thing I want for my brand.” I even said, “we’re not in that category,” and brands would say, “oh, but I think you can do it,” and so we did. Our tech capabilities all grew from there the last ten years. Web 3 is indeed a new way to engage your community. In the same way social media created an opportunity for brands to directly build and engage communities. People don’t know how to get into the space, brands don’t know how to get into the space, especially luxury brands. There’s a way you want to talk to your consumer, and you don’t want to jump into areas because of FOMO. You want to be intentional and compliment the core of your retail business.

Lastly, what do you see for the future of NFT in fashion?

It’s going to be evolution. Education is key for early adoption. At the end of the day, brands will absolutely figure out ways to align with new innovation and provide value and impact to their consumers. It’s all about the consumer and the value that can be provided via NFTs. The future of fashion and NFTs creates a bevy of exciting ways for consumers to experience fashion and a new way for fashion brands to authenticate their products. NFTs also present a new way for consumers to collect, experience, and archive fashion. In the next eighteen months, we will begin to see what that looks like. Everything we do should provide value and purpose. But also there’s nothing wrong with doing something for enjoyment!

IG (personal): @umindi360

IG (business): @ufcgworldwide