My Butler AL Founder and CEO Summer Grays is shaking the social media industry with her new social media app My Butler AL. As an entrepreneur, healthcare advocate, and esteemed businesswoman, she is showing the world how to garner generational wealth on your own terms. I had the pleasure of speaking to Grays about entering the tech business, advocating for black and brown people in healthcare spaces and the creation of her social media app My Butler AL.
Check out the interview below.
How did you get your start as an entrepreneur?
I was a flight attendant first and then I wanted to do sales and ended up taking jobs as a sales rep for credit card terminals. Then I started doing credit card processing in Indianapolis and acquired 80 percent of the processing business clientele. Then I expanded to Ohio, and Kentucky and captured a larger portion of Midwest processing. I then opened up my own processing company and then decided to move to Los Angeles.
I then got into atm sales which allowed me to garner business loans for people. I did a business for a lady who had a home healthcare business and she needed someone to purchase it. At the time she had one of the biggest contracts with a major medical company peaking my interest. So I decided to invest in home health and then opened up a hospice care center in Los Angeles. Things just kept evolving after that.
I entered the tech business during Black Lives Matter and COVID, after several people I know lost their lives during COVID and several black men were killed. As a result I posted a lot of content on social media combatting the violence and my social media account got taken. This led to me creating my own social media company.
Where did the My Butler AL name come from?
So I am actually a huge Batman fan so that is what it is inspired by. However I had to change the name due to copyright issues. My Butler AL was born. Who doesn’t love a butler? It is multifaceted.
How do you ensure that black women have a good experience in the space of healthcare?
My mother was killed during a medical mishap in Indianapolis which opened my eyes to the treatment black women experience in the healthcare crisis and daily in general. We are not seen or heard in these spaces. As a result, we have social workers make calls, and educational outreach to make sure folks know to get second opinions if necessary. We are all about advocacy and education.
Why are Black and brown voices needed in the space of hospice?
We are needed in this space for patients of color to make sure they feel represented. It is a very specialized field so you always have to remember that you are servicing the family and the patient. I was working with this family and the matriarch passed away. Two years later we were still in contact with them, still offering emotional support, chapeling, and social work services.
Our community doesn’t always feel comfortable receiving counseling or mental health services nor do we take advantage of those services when recovering from grief. I want our community to get the mental health they need and start healing. The impact grief has on those who have lost a loved one can be detrimental to the future of one’s life if they do not seek outside help.
It is amazing the phone calls we get for gratitude after sending cards, flowers etc when everyone else stops. I still send edible arrangements to families so that they know that they are thoughts of.
How are you gaining the attention of high profile influencers and celebrities?
I sponsor a lot of events and set up several social media promotions, which garners me access to influencers. However, everything is trial and error. I also throw many events to directly connect with high profile celebrities and influencers. Currently I am working on an influencer package to get them compensated and build around them.
Who is the ideal person for the app?
Any and everybody who has something to say. You have an array of people on there from food creators, to business owners, and models.There is a very diverse group on the app and we are always looking for more creatives to join.
What do you want to achieve in the next 5 years?
I want MY Butler AL to be on the level of Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok. I want to give social media what it should have been before politics. I want it to represent freedom of speech.
Is there any advice you would give a rising entrepreneur?
Whatever your dream is, do it. Cut off all those fake friends and family. Leave the people where they are and their level of understanding. Your path is not theirs. When you dream big they will put you in a box. My advice is just do it. Do you know how many no’s I have heard doing my processing business? Go find strangers, they will help you, not your family and friends. They don’t want to see you get ahead.
As My Butler AL continues to take over the social media space, be sure to follow the app on socials at @mybutleralapp.
