Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™.

Being the CEO means you are the face of the company. Not only when talking to prospective clients, partners, investors or employees, but to the public as well. This is especially the case today, where consumers want to trust decision-makers for the brands they interact with.

As a result, founders and CEOs often must maintain a public-facing presence on social media. That visibility can sometimes become a distraction from the business they are building. The recent controversy with Fawn Weaver and Nearest Green Distillery highlights just that. 

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, on Aug. 14, a Tennessee federal judge ordered Uncle Nearest to be placed into receivership. This means that a third party is given the power to manage the business’s finances to ensure that creditors are paid.

In the case of Fawn and Nearest Green Distillery, the creditor is Farm-Credit Mid America, which has filed a lawsuit against the company for defaulting on $108 million in loans. The court appointed Phillip G. Young, Jr. as the receiver, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.

It’s unfortunate to see Fawn and the brand going through this, given that the story of the brand has resonated so strongly with the Black community. The brand is named after Nathan “Nearest” Green, who was the first Black master distiller, according to the Nearest Green Distillery website. Uncle Nearest became known for the “Lincoln County Process,” which involves filtering the whiskey through sugar maple charcoal before letting it age in charred oak barrels. Nearest Green became so successful that he went on to train Jack Daniel in the art of Tennessee Whiskey, according to Forbes. This story was largely forgotten until Weaver stumbled upon an article about the history in The New York Times, as reported in an interview by Bristol Farms.

The story gave her the spark for Uncle Nearest, Weaver told Bristol Farms. Prior to Uncle Nearest Whiskey, Forbes reported that Weaver was a “serial entrepreneur” for 25 years. She is currently navigating being both a personality and a business professional, but sometimes those worlds do not mix well. In a recent Instagram post she referred to herself as the “People’s CEO,” and I worry that she may be too invested in her public persona. 

Kimberly Bryant, the founder of Black Girls Code, found herself in a similar public-facing situation in 2022, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. An electrical engineer by training, Bryant created Black Girls Code in 2011. Bryant came under fire after allegations surfaced that her leadership style created a culture of fear, per AFROTECH™. Bryant was removed from her position by the board of directors in 2022. Immediately following her removal, Bryant took to X, sharing, “Press release: so it’s 3 days before Christmas and you wake up to discover the organization YOU created and built from the ground up has been taken away by a rogue board with no notification.” 

The board cited multiple complaints against Bryant from current and former employees and opted to form a special committee to investigate. Not too long after she left the organization, the board and Bryant were able to come to an amicable agreement, as reported by AFROTECH™.

Both Weaver and Bryant’s experiences demonstrate that it takes a certain type of personality to be a successful CEO. With increased visibility, Black founders can sometimes focus more on being a public personality than a professional, and that is when business mishaps tend to happen. 

I’d like to see founders of color, like Weaver and Bryant, not get so focused on being the face that they forget to focus on the financials. Without a financial security there is no business to be the face of.