Exploring Life & Business with Rashad Russell of Beyond Light Creations

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rashad Russell.

Rashad, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, and evacuated to Nashville, Tennessee with my family in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. I was in 7th grade at the time, and we’ve been settled here ever since. I graduated from LaVergne High School in 2011, attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to major in Computer Science, and then moved back to Nashville to start my career as a software engineer.

I attribute where I am today in my career as a software engineer and entrepreneur back to my middle school days. As a result of having gone through a stressful situation like Hurricane Katrina, I vividly remember thinking at 12 years old, “When I grow up I will make something of myself so my family and I will never go through an experience like this again.” Since then, I’ve been motivated and seeking a path to success.

When I entered high school as a freshman, I immediately started thinking about college. I started researching careers, majors, and scholarships. I thought to myself, when I grow up, I want a career that not only pays well but also is enjoyable and fits my personality. I was creative, artistic, loved video games, didn’t like to be told what to do, and loved to travel. Running my own company sounded like the perfect career choice.

My first company idea was to start a video game company. When I told my parents that that was what I wanted to do, my dad replied, “You should be a CEO.” The rest was history. I Google’d the word “CEO”, which eventually led to the word “entrepreneur”. I searched “how to start a video game company”, which led me to terms like “tech industry”, ”software engineer”, “programmer”, “Silicon Valley”, etc. I knew I wanted to start a tech company at some point in my life. I joined the DECA and FBLA business-related clubs in high school. I started to teach myself how to build websites and even landed my first freelance client before graduating high school.

By my senior year of high school, I decided I would major in Computer Science, and chose the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as my top choice because they were a top 5 Computer Science school in the country. It is an expensive school, so I was already planning how to attend college without being in tons of debt. I learned a lot about personal finance from listening to Dave Ramsey, so I knew I could not attend UIUC without a scholarship.

As I mentioned before, I had already started scholarship research as a freshman, and at that time had discovered The Gates Scholarship by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I remember that, and applied when I was a senior the night before the application was due and won. It was close to a full-ride scholarship, and given the starting salary of software engineers, I would quickly pay off any remaining debt in less than 2 years post-college graduation.

During college, I interned three summers in a row in Silicon Valley; most notably at Yahoo Inc. I toured the Google Campus, Apple campus, and Facebook campus, and even saw Mark Zuckerberg walking around. As both a Computer Science student and intern in Silicon Valley, I was exposed to the cutting edge of technology long before they made waves in the public. I learned about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, OpenAI (ChatGPT), and modern-day VR long before they became mainstream.

I eventually graduated in May 2016 and moved back to Nashville rather than stay in San Francisco because I knew I wanted to start my own tech company, but I first wanted to accomplish a few things. I wanted to pay off my student loan debt, grow my savings, improve as a professional software engineer, and learn enough lessons about corporate life that I could apply whenever I start a company of my own.

Three and a half years later, I quit my full-time job as a software engineer and set off to start my entrepreneurial journey. Nowadays, I run a web design and app development agency called Beyond Light Creations. I am also the founder of  AcmeBuilder.xyz, a website-building software.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

Not at all. When I first arrived in Nashville and attended my first school there, I went from being an honor-roll student to being in danger of failing due to the difference in academic standards between where I grew up in New Orleans and Nashville schools. That struggle can also be attributed to having missed a lot of school due to evacuating from Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately, I eventually got back on track to being an honor roll student here in Nashville.

I also struggled greatly at my university. Computer Science alone is a tough degree and UIUC is an academically rigorous university. I grew a few gray hairs during that time. However, I never gave up and finished my degree.

Likewise, being an entrepreneur is by no means an easy career path. It has been one of the most stressful and frustrating journeys, but I’ve never given up. Running and growing a business is hard. There is no overnight success nor any amount of luck that will make this endeavor easy. But, it’s something that I love, so it is worth it. I believe if the successful entrepreneurs who came before me found a way to overcome adversity, then I could too.

We’ve been impressed with Beyond Light Creations, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

My business is Beyond Light Creations, a web design and app development agency. We build websites, mobile apps, and custom software for other businesses.

I love advising non-technical business owners on how to leverage technology to grow their businesses. Technology helps a business scale, be more productive, and could potentially help a business reach a customer base of millions at a low cost. I think every business should invest in technology. You’d be leaving money on the table if not. I love advising businesses on how to leverage the power of the internet and software no matter if they are big or small they are.

Apart from Beyond Light Creations, I also launched a new app called AcmeBuilder. AcmeBuilder is a website-building software similar to WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. I want to make building a website as easy as updating your social media page. You can visit AcmeBuilder at AcmeBuilder.xyz.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?

I love the entrepreneurial spirit of Nashville.

Ever since I decided I wanted to start my own business someday, I immediately began to discover the energized culture of support for small businesses in Nashville. It’s easy to network in this city, people love to help you make connections, and I’ve felt welcome everywhere I’ve been.

I am not a fan of tornados and winters here. I prefer the tropical climate of New Orleans.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beyondlightcreations.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamrashadrussell
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/iamrashadrussell
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/rashadrussell
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RashadJRussell
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@technicallyautonomous
• Other: https://acmebuilder.xyz

Image Credits
Rashad Russell ([email protected] https://beyondlightcreations.com)