Founders, Leaders, Musicians
Current City:
BRAXTON: Atlanta, GA.
ECLEAMUS: Pflugerville, TX.
M-T: Atlanta, GA.
Current Job and Entrepreneurial Focus:
BRAXTON: Associate General Counsel for Patents at Meta (formerly Facebook) - Entrepreneurial focus is Metric Mate.
ECLEAMUS: Co-Founder, Director of Software at Metric Mate.
M-T: Co-Founder - Metric Mate.
Notable Prior Jobs:
BRAXTON: Partner at Amin, Turocy & Watson, Senior Associate at AT&T Intellectual Property.
ECLEAMUS: President at Imani Software, Principal Consultant at Headspring, Senior Software Engineer at NI.
M-T: Intern at GM, Turner Broadcasting, Nucor Steel; The Clorox company - Supply Chain Leadership Development Program; Murata Electronics - largest electronic component manufacturer in the world.
When I Started Performing:
BRAXTON: 6th grade band.
ECLEAMUS: Kindergarten.
M-T: Youth chorus at Bob Mathis elementary school.
Performing Arts Background:
BRAXTON: I played alto saxophone in the band from 6th-12th grade, was section leader, co-band captain, and substitute drum major in high school. We also won the State Championship for Marching Band competition in South Carolina my sophomore year.
ECLEAMUS: I started piano lessons at age 5 then joined band in 6th grade. I started on trumpet, moved to baritone in 7th grade, then to tuba in 8th grade. I stopped in 9th grade to focus on sports but the love for music never left. As an adult, I produce music using software instruments but also enjoy dabbling on my bass guitar.
M-T: DeKalb County Honors Choir - Morehouse College House of Funk Marching Band Drum-line (Bass Drum) - truly changed the way I view leadership, performance, and the world.
How did your performing arts background supercharge your entrepreneurship?
BRAXTON: I believe that much like music, entrepreneurship is a harmony full of crescendos and decrescendos as there are inherently a lot of ups and downs. Being able to navigate the various pathways that entrepreneurship provides is akin to navigating a piece of sheet music for the very first time. You don't necessarily know where you're going, but you have enough confidence in your skill set to get you there. My background in performing arts has afforded me the ability to trust in my skill set and also rely on others. Metric Mate is composed of 3 Founders and we all play our part. I focus on the legal aspects, MT focuses on the hardware and logistics, and Ecleamus focuses on software development, allowing us to play to our strengths and orchestrating a well-balanced harmony. We trust and rely on each other and know when each of us needs to take a backseat to the other, akin to a solo section of a musical composition.
ECLEAMUS: I believe my love for music and entrepreneurship have always gone hand-in-hand because they both require creativity. Whether code or composition, it allows for me to produce something that's unique and expressive of who I am.
M-T: The complexity of learning music is a task in and of itself. Playing in an ensemble brings in dynamics and skills that rarely get exercised in everyday life but make everyday easier. I have always been a technical person, so the mechanics of music came at minimal cost. It wasn’t until I began playing with a group of musicians that the ability to listen and fit into existing melodies, exercise patience and perfect timing, understanding moments for structure and times for improvisation really came to the forefront. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without music.
Favorite Performer:
BRAXTON: Kendrick Lamar.
ECLEAMUS: Earth, Wind, & Fire.
M-T: Jay-Z.
Follow Braxton Davis, Ecleamus Ricks, Jr. & M-T Strickland:
All:
Instagram - @metricmate
BRAXTON:
Facebook - braxton.k.davis
LinkedIn - braxton-k-davis-esq
ECLEAMUS:
Twitter - @ecleamus
Instagram - @ecleamus
M-T:
Twitter - @Brotha_MT
Instagram - @Brotha_MT
Facebook - M-T Strickland
LinkedIn - 🚀M-T Strickland🚀
