Influencing the Influencers With Travis Weekes

“Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life; it’s about what you inspire others to do.”

Travis Weekes’ propensity for being a self-motivated and entrepreneurial has been guiding him for quite some time now. He developed early client relations, marketing and business development skills through his first roles at companies including Wells Fargo and Bleu Magazine, among others. He’s become adept at analyzing situations where improvements were needed and implementing strategies to solve them. During this time, Travis also found himself most successful negotiating the financial nuances of real estate deals, so he moved out of real estate and into the finance industry. He did well in both industries but was never inspired by the work he was doing.

Travis is devoted to his passion for business development, marketing and events. He also has a deep need to inspire others to follow their passions, which led to me founding Driven Society in 2015. Since it’s inception, Driven Society is steadily growing as we connect with brands and develop our own projects.

While Driven Society develops, he is currently seeking opportunities that will allow him to utilize his passions, lead engaged teams and grow businesses/brands that inspire him and others.

Listen: Without access to role models and professional development, the youth in our community risk not going to college, remaining underemployed, and completely unaware of empowering entrepreneurial opportunities. Our programs provide platforms for today’s leaders to educate and inspire the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs in Washington D.C. and beyond.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD AND HOW IT WAS GROWING UP?

Travis: I’m from Brooklyn and lived there until I was seven or eight. Then I moved to Barbados and was raised at that point with my grandparents. My grandfather to this day has the most influence in my life. He was a carpenter, a preacher, a musician, a plumber – my grandfather was ill man. Complete renaissance man. He drove my grandma crazy but I couldn’t deny how great of a man he was. A man of the people with a generous heart. Watching and being around him instilled the same characteristics in me.

WAS CHURCH A BIG PART OF YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP?

Travis: When I was in Barbados my grandfather made sure we were in church every Sunday and Wednesday. You had to wake up every morning and pray so it shaped my moral compass. When I moved back to New York and then New Jersey, which I spent the latter teenage years of my life, I started getting more into business. wanted to make money. I really wanted to be a businessman, I wanted to be in real estate. I aspired to be in the entertainment space. I thought that was cool but I wanted to come at it from another direction. I wanted to create wealth through real estate but shortly after that, that changed as well.

DID YOU FIGURE OUT WHICH PATH YOU WANTED TO TAKE WHILE IN SCHOOL?

Travis: Yes! After high school I figured I’d go back to New York and be a real estate agent. That’s where all the money was. I was doing real estate in New York around 2007-2008 and that’s when the bubble burst, it was bad. 

It wasn’t cool when I found out through that process. I wasn’t enjoying myself. I just wasn’t having fun making money was good but I bought the car and wanted this apartment in Jersey that was super fly with a golf course in the back. Then I realized I’m going be working just to maintain these things. I figured if this was the life I was going to live and if work is such a major part of my life then I have to settle myself and find a space where I could enjoy my life.