Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Murphy.

Hi Nicole, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My path to entrepreneurship was not something I had planned. After being fired from a job where the work environment had become toxic, I knew I did not want to work for someone else again. That experience pushed me to create something of my own.

In 2017, I launched HomeShare 365, a short-term property management company. Running that business gave me firsthand experience with the realities of entrepreneurship and the challenges that come with trying to grow a business with limited resources.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and I realized that businesses were struggling across the board, but Black-owned businesses were being hit especially hard. Already facing systemic barriers to growing and scaling, the pandemic added even more pressure at a time when many of us simply were already struggling.

So I asked myself a question: Why aren’t we helping each other more? We have so many skills, products, services and areas of expertise within our own community. Why aren’t we using those resources to build together and create more sustainable, scalable Black-owned businesses?

That is when the idea for Barter Black® was birthed.

Barter Black® originally launched in 2022 using traditional direct exchanges, but as we grew, it became clear that model had limitations. In 2024, we introduced Barter Bucks℠, our trade credit system, which allows members to sell a product or service to one entrepreneur, earn trade credits, and use those credits with another member in the marketplace. That evolution made it possible to build a more flexible and scalable barter economy.

Today, Barter Black® is an award-winning technology-driven bartering marketplace focused on helping Black entrepreneurs save, hire and build stronger business communities. In 2025, we were named Best of the DMV: Best Black Tech Company, an acknowledgment that meant a lot because it recognized both the innovation behind the platform and the community we are building.

What started as an idea to help entrepreneurs access the support they need has continued to grow into something much bigger. As we approach our fifth anniversary in 2027, we are also preparing for BarterCon™, our first conference and the next step in bringing the Barter Black® community, marketplace and mission together in person.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges has been building something that requires people to think differently about bartering and, in many ways, unlearn what they have always believed bartering to be.

When Barter Black® first launched, we used a traditional direct-exchange model. It made sense in theory, but in practice, we quickly saw the limitations. Two entrepreneurs had to need exactly what the other offered at the same time. That made it difficult to create the kind of scalable marketplace I envisioned. Instead of holding onto the original model simply because we had already built it, we evolved. In 2024, we introduced Barter Bucks℠, our trade credit system, allowing members to earn from one entrepreneur and spend with another.

Funding has also been a major challenge. We are building a technology platform, and technology requires resources. I have had to figure out how to continue developing and sustaining Barter Black® with far less funding than a platform like this ideally needs. Our membership fees do not cover the full cost of operating the platform, so there is a constant balance between keeping it accessible to entrepreneurs and making sure the business itself can continue to grow.

Being a Black woman building in tech has come with its own challenges, especially when you are creating something people have not seen before. There have been moments when people simply did not believe in the idea. During one entrepreneurial cohort, a mentor told me Barter Black® would never be investable unless we reached 5,000 members. We have never had more than 100 members at one time, so I would be lying if I said the possibility of this remaining small has never crossed my mind.

But then I look at the members who are here. I see entrepreneurs hiring people they may not have been able to hire otherwise, accessing services they need, making connections and using what they already have to keep building. That reminds me why the numbers cannot be the only measure of whether this is working.

There is also the challenge of believing in yourself and your vision long enough for other people to see what you see. I believe Barter Black® can one day become one of the leading resources for Black entrepreneurs, and that belief is what keeps me building. To me, this is bigger than what happens with this generation of business owners. If we can create a sustainable system where Black entrepreneurs use our collective skills, expertise and resources to help one another build stronger businesses, that is something the next generation can build on, and the generation after that.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Barter Black®?
Barter Black® is a technology-driven barter marketplace created to help Black entrepreneurs access the products, services, expertise and community they need to grow their businesses.

What makes Barter Black® different is that we do not operate through traditional direct exchanges. Members earn Barter Bucks℠, our trade credits, when they sell a product or service, and they can then use those credits to purchase from another member in the marketplace. That gives entrepreneurs more flexibility to hire, collaborate and grow without relying solely on cash.

Our work is centered around three pillars: saving, hiring and community. We want entrepreneurs to see the skills, services, products and expertise they already have as valuable business assets that can help them access what they need to keep moving forward.

I am especially proud of the impact we are beginning to see within the community. More than 60,000 Barter Bucks℠ have circulated through Barter Black®, with members using the marketplace for services such as branding, websites, marketing, bookkeeping, legal support, business strategy and more. In 2025, Barter Black® was also named Best of the DMV: Best Black Tech Company.

What sets us apart most is that we are not simply bringing back bartering. We are modernizing it and building a structured ecosystem around it. My goal is for Barter Black® to become a leading resource for Black entrepreneurs who are looking for new ways to build sustainable and scalable businesses.

As we continue to grow, we are also taking the community beyond the platform. In February 2027, we will host BarterCon™, our first conference, designed around implementation, collaboration and helping entrepreneurs make real progress on their businesses while they are in the room.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
I have so many favorite childhood memories with my siblings, Sam, Shawnetta and Davone, but one that always makes me laugh is the time we had a water balloon fight inside the house.

It was always my oldest brother, Sam, who came up with ideas like this. He was constantly finding something for us to do in the house when we couldn’t go outside because our dad wasn’t home. Somehow, one day we decided it made perfect sense to fill up a bunch of water balloons and have a full-blown water balloon fight inside the house.

It was all fun until the balloons were gone and we looked around at the mess we had created. We rushed to clean everything up and actually finished just in time before my dad got home.

Then, after we had cleaned everything, my brother Davone found one balloon we had missed. He dropped it, it burst, and water went everywhere just as my dad was walking through the door.

We definitely got in trouble! But as we got older, that became one of those stories we would laugh about whenever we reminisced about our childhood. I have so many memories like that with my siblings, and those times together are some of the memories I cherish most.

Pricing:

• Silver Membership: $47 activation fee + $20/month
• Gold Membership: $97 activation fee + $30/month

Contact Info: