Meet Gino Webster & Tahirah Banks-Webster Webster & Banks-Webster | Co-Founders Thoughtful Agency Inc.

Hi Gino & Tahirah, where are you from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
We are from one of the smallest islands in the British Caribbean. Anguilla. It is literally, 12K people on a good day. While we grew up in a small community we had opportunities that exposed us to the wider World.

Even before getting into business together, because of our life experiences, our imaginations were stretched. We believed that people like us should have access to greater opportunities that positively accelerate their lives and that technology was the perfect catalyst to make that a reality

I’d say our upbringing has given us a very human perspective on the lives and challenges of people in developing spaces. And that perspective has shaped our focus as an organization.

Our mission at Thoughtful is to transform developing communities through strategic storytelling, people-focused technology development, and community-centric people development.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We have been in business together for just under 10 years. We founded Thoughtful in 2017, right after a category 5 hurricane destroyed our island Anguilla. Literally on our back porch, with no electricity, no running water, and using our cell phone for data.

We knew that we didn’t want to be in that type of situation again, where everything we worked for was just gone, overnight. And we also knew that so many people were in the same type of situation. Starting from 0.

So we locked in on building a brand, a movement with the core purpose to make it such that people like us, who come from communities similar to those we come from, have opportunities to accelerate their lives and protect themselves against life’s variabilities.

Our mission at Thoughtful is to transform developing communities through strategic storytelling, people-focused technology development, and community-centric people development.

We believe that when we succeed in telling people positive stories about themselves, it gives them the level of belief necessary to embark on their own development, and from that, we see improvements in technology, creativity, arts, business, health, all of it.

It starts with the message we send to people. That you are an important part of your story. That you matter.
And then equipping them with the technology and tools they need to make that an actual reality.

What sets us apart as an organization is that our focus is on improving the lives of people in communities that are not always seen as super profitable. Budgets are low, margins are low. But the work is important because the people are important. We lock in on that consideration, it drives all of our actions. Everything we do we ask ourselves again and again – how does this work improve the lives of the people? That’s definitely what we are most proud of. Running a business with that level of consideration and integrity.

The road has certainly not been easy. That wouldn’t be fun. 🙂 What has really propelled us forward has been a solid community of family, friends, and business associates who genuinely want to see us Win. That definitely keeps us going. Building really positive relationships, regardless of how difficult that sometimes can be, has been our success hack.

One of the most valuable lessons has been to secure mentors with a proven track record of success in business who will hold us accountable and provide sound advice. It’s easy to put yourself in spaces where you are being told what you want to hear. The hard conversations that force us to re-evaluate our approach and our model. Those have been transformative for our business and our lives.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So, we are very new to LA. We literally moved here 6 months ago. Ironically, one of our best friends is coming to visit soon.

We are going to take them down to the Santa Monica Promenade, the shopping, food, and vibes are just amazing.
When we first visited there we were like…yo!! this is everything we dreamed Los Angeles would be. Such a vibe.

Basketball is our thing and playing a pick-up game down at Venice Beach is definitely an awesome experience.

If the Lakers are in town you have to go to Crypto and experience a game.
It’s truly magical to be in a space with all that history, all that greatness.

Walking Fairfax is always fun, there are some really nice stores —
and of course, you’ve gotta grab lunch at Sweet Chick.

Hiking Runyon Canyon – Excellent workout. Amazing views. It’s definitely a vibe.

If we are feeling super fancy for dinner then Merois at the Pendry West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard.

And it would be Wild of us to share spots to visit in Los Angeles without mentioning Joey’s Downtown LA. We live in Downtown and it’s our restaurant of choice for date night or a quick lunch. Joey’s will never disappoint.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Love it! Thanks for the opportunity to share. 🙂

We would have to dedicate our shoutout to all of the people coming from Caribbean Communities like we are.
The ones who have a dream and relentlessly pursue it and the ones who paved the way; expecting nothing less than the best of us.

Website: www.whythoughtful.com

Instagram: instagram.com/tahirahbanks

Linkedin: https://ai.linkedin.com/in/tahirah-banks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thoughtfuldigitalagency