Dream Teams: The Yin and Yang of Quinnton Harris and Joy Ekuta

There was always an underlying feeling that Quinnton Harris and Joy Ekuta would work together in some capacity. 

The pair met during their undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Still, it took them until 10 years later - during the summer of 2020 - to truly test that partnership out. 

It was the summer of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s murders, and considerable grief and race-based trauma. To mark Juneteenth, the now federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the US, Quinnton and Joy worked together on ‘#hellajuneteenth’, a campaign centred around Black joy and liberation that launched on June 6th. Two weeks later, more than 655 companies - from small shops to giants like Twitter, Netflix, Ogilvy, Target, and Mastercard - had publicly committed to giving their employees the day off, many tagging their announcement ‘#hellajuneteenth’ and submitting their logos to be displayed on the website. It was a catalyst for Juneteenth becoming a nationally and federally recognised holiday, and it sparked poignant conversations about how brands can show genuine solidarity.

Quinnton and Joy have been partners ever since, and are now co-founder & CEO, and co-founder & chief strategy & operations officer, respectively, at Retrospect, which is now backed by Publicis Groupe. They founded Retrospect on the premise of empowering BIPOC, women, queer and other historically underrepresented voices to use their lived experience, and creative and technical expertise to build better brand experiences for markets at large. 

“Joy and I are yin and yang,” says Quinnton. “We complement the best parts of each while holding similar values for respect, trust, rigour and psychological safety. We are both very creative in our own rights. I come to the table with a strong eye for design, strategy and storytelling, as well as high emotional intelligence and community development. Joy brings her unique prowess for strategic process, research, data, people operations and storytelling. We often pair on projects in the same way an art director and copywriter would on a creative campaign, giving ourselves the ability to be experts in our crafts while also being open to learning from each other.”

They are also both products of non-traditional pathways to what they’re succeeding in now. Quinnton is a trained mechanical engineer and architect who landed a junior art director role at DigitasLBi straight out of school. “[I] worked my way up to be a senior creative within a few years, took the leap to tech and led design for a CPG startup that was eventually acquired by Procter & Gamble, and then came back to consulting to lead experience design along with my design hero Dr John Maeda,” he says. 

Joy is a trained brain and cognitive scientist who has lived and practised in four different countries, and worked as a recruiter and programme manager for big tech companies, as well as starting numerous businesses of her own.

“We are definitely very complementary,” says Joy. “It’s funny, MIT’s motto is ‘Mens et Manus’ or ‘Mind and Hand’, and that is very much Quinnton and I (I will let you all guess who is which). Quinnton is very much a verbal communicator, while I’m very much a written communicator. Quinnton can be more about the big picture and the story around the work, while I am more focused on how we strategically get there, who needs to be involved, and what we want to see as a result. Quinnton loves to be the face and ‘in front of the camera’ per se, while that hasn’t been an area I’ve personally loved… but I’m actively working on it!”

Quinnton’s knack for being ‘the face’ may stem from his MIT days, where Joy remembers his nickname, ‘Papa Q’, given to him for his dedication to mentoring and teaching the ‘art of connection’ to students in lower years. But, as with any relationship, differences in styles of communication can lead to friction and potential disagreements. Quinnton and Joy are no different. They have learned to adapt to each other’s needs when it comes to communication, while also standing firm on their own requirements. 

“We’re both empaths,” says Joy, “but I do believe the way that shows up is slightly different between us both. In short, when we’re on the same page we're very in sync, but when we disagree, there’s always a personal layer (present and past) that has to be taken into consideration. Being aware of that helps ensure that when we are in conflict, we try to see where the other person may be coming from, understand all factors at play… and ultimately land on a solution we can both align to.”

“I’m an ‘in-the-moment’ communicator,” adds Quinnton, “and tend to have non-linear, passionate ideation on the spot, whereas Joy tends to want time and space to process and prepare thoughtful and strategic ideas. I’d say more often than not that breakdowns in communications or unexpressed expectations are the root cause of any frustration or friction we experience.

“Make no mistake though,” he continues, “we deeply value each other’s unique perspective, and we are getting better at giving each other space to disagree. I believe there is nothing wrong with disagreement. I also believe, though, that forcing someone else to accept your beliefs or mistreating someone because they believe differently is wrong. We continue to grow in our ability to see each other’s perspective, give each the necessary space and respect our differences.”

They have simple rules of engagement when it comes to conversations about work. These are: 

○ Come prepared to the conversation, and be open if you are not.

○ Practise ‘collaboration over compromise’.

○ Don’t talk over each other. 

○ Do your best.

○ Own your mistakes.

What’s more, the pair practise what they call ‘Retrospect.ivs’, which are sort of post mortems on the health of their personal and professional relationship. “We do this practice internally (with our team),” says Joy, “and externally (with our clients and partners), so it only made sense to also do them with each other. We like to take time outside of the day-to-day grind to reflect (ahead of time and during) on what’s going well, what’s not going well, and what the commitments are that we’ll make to each other to improve them.”

And, they’re eternally grateful to have a partner, to learn from and lean on. “It’s extremely important,” says Joy. “As entrepreneurs, we’re constantly faced with rapid decisions to make - around our clients, team, and business direction - and doing that alone can be overwhelming. Add on some of the historical and social capital that is necessary for this industry - it’s helpful to have a partner with a joint, shared vision who can collaborate on how best to tackle anything that comes our way.”

“[I have learned] so much [from Joy!],” says Quinnton. “I don’t even know where to start. I’ve become a more patient, organised and thoughtful communicator. I’ve also developed more empathy and understanding for how to support Joy as she navigates the marketing, advertising and tech world as a brilliant and proud Black, Nigerian woman. I’ve learned to take a beat and listen - even when it’s uncomfortable - and to trust people when they show you who they really are. I’ve learned so much about myself and how I show up in the world with Joy as the ultimate mirror, and I’m excited to have only just gotten started.”

“I’ve learned a lot about this industry,” adds Joy, “creative, marketing, advertising, design - so much about the different pieces and how to navigate it from Quinnton. That’s more of the knowledge that I couldn’t get from just reading and reviewing information. But more than that, I’ve learned the importance of what it means to bring my whole self - personal and professional - to the work we’re doing. Before starting this business I believed in a clean separation, but in working together, I’ve learned the value that adding a personal layer can bring into the integrity and overall quality of the professional work.”

When quizzed on the collaboration they’re most proud of, a piece of work that crops up is for the Marin Community Foundation, an organisation that runs MOMentum, a Bay Area universal basic income programme that supports more than 125 local low-income mothers of colour. “We couldn’t use the women’s faces or video,” says Joy, “so we had to be creative in how we could bring their stories to life. Listening to their stories was the heart work - and a big part of our why. We came up with an idea for coupling their voices with custom illustrations to bring the story together. Words won’t do it justice, but we encourage you to check out the work.”

Unsurprisingly, the creation of their own company also crops up. “Retrospect has changed so much from our first year of working together, to our second up to the present state,” says Joy. “But, I’m proud of the ways that we have constantly been able to build and challenge: 

○ How we have grown the team, but also managed changes to adjusting where necessary 

○ How we’ve tried to remain true to our values - both in principle and in practice 

○ How we’ve continued to develop personally as leaders individually, but also in leading collectively.”

“It’s really hard for me to pick just one,” adds Quinnton. “I’m so proud of the work we do together, particularly when it comes to building our company. The small things feel so sweet because I have a partner by my side that I know is in it to win gold. It’s rare to find someone that understands you and that is as deeply invested in a shared journey.”