For Tishawn Thomas, entrepreneurship is not just business — it is transformation.
A Baltimore native and current student at the University of Baltimore studying Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship (Class of 2028), Thomas is the founder of Bmore Black Butterfly, a fashion-based social enterprise that trains and mentors Baltimore youth in design, entrepreneurship, and creative workforce skills.
Though not an HBCU alumna, Thomas is a participant in the Start a Business, Change Your Life (Cohort 4) program at Morgan State University, where she has sharpened her entrepreneurial strategy while deepening her commitment to community wealth-building.
Founded in 2024, Bmore Black Butterfly was born from lived experience.
“I grew up like many youth in Baltimore — starting out in the mud, surrounded by talent but not always seeing opportunity,” Thomas shares. “I created this business so my children and other young people wouldn’t have to struggle to find a path.”
As a mother of six, designer, and entrepreneur, Thomas understands firsthand what it means to have vision without access. Bmore Black Butterfly addresses a critical gap in Baltimore: talented youth often possess creativity and ambition but lack mentorship, professional training, and economic pathways to turn that talent into income.
The organization provides hands-on training in fashion design, entrepreneurship, and creative workforce development. Youth participants gain real-world exposure, business education, and paid opportunities — bridging the gap between artistic potential and sustainable employment.
“We’re not just teaching fashion,” Thomas explains. “We’re teaching ownership, confidence, and economic empowerment.”
Bmore Black Butterfly collaborates with universities and local partners to transform creative energy into tangible outcomes. By combining fashion with workforce development, the enterprise contributes to a more vibrant and economically empowered creative ecosystem in Baltimore.
Thomas credits her educational journey — including participation in programs connected to Morgan State — with reinforcing the power of community and ownership.
“My experience showed me that business isn’t just about profit — it’s about legacy, impact, and lifting others as you climb,” she says.
Her greatest challenge as an entrepreneur has been balancing motherhood, financial pressure, and limited resources while building something meaningful. There were moments, she says, when she had more vision than funding and more responsibility than rest.
But those challenges strengthened her resilience and sharpened her strategy.
“It taught me that sustainable impact isn’t built alone,” Thomas says. “Discipline, faith, and community matter just as much as talent.”
Ownership, for Thomas, represents freedom — the ability to shape systems rather than simply participate in them. Through Bmore Black Butterfly, she is modeling independence and generational wealth not only for her children, but for the young people she mentors.
Over the next three to five years, she envisions Bmore Black Butterfly operating as a fully established fashion house and creative workforce hub with a permanent studio space in Baltimore. The organization will run multiple youth cohorts annually, employ program graduates, host signature fashion showcases, and generate sustainable revenue through product sales, sponsorships, and strategic partnerships.
Most importantly, she sees Baltimore becoming recognized as a leader in youth-driven creative innovation — with Bmore Black Butterfly as a model for how fashion and entrepreneurship can build community wealth.
Her advice to students and aspiring entrepreneurs is direct:
“Start before you feel fully ready. Use the resources around you. Build something rooted in purpose, not just profit.”
For Thomas, Bmore Black Butterfly is more than a brand — it’s a movement grounded in lived experience, resilience, and community transformation.
“Our youth don’t just have to survive,” she says. “They can lead, build, and thrive right here in Baltimore.”
Website: Instagram.com/blackbutterflybyaaicha
Harold Booker Jr.
Harold Booker Jr. is the founder and principal of DrewJenk Consulting, a boutique firm that specializes in project management, technology, and community engagement. He is also a frequent contributor to the Baltimore Times, writing about arts, culture, and social issues that connect personal history with community impact.