Sri Lanka, 2019.
Biography
EXTENDED
Zim Flores (née Ugochukwu) is a believer, traveler, speaker & entrepreneur.
In 2013, she started Travel Noire, an award-winning boutique travel company. By the time the brand was acquired in 2017, it reached 2MM travelers each month and sold out of every product it brought to market, building a legion of loyal followers and customers along the way.
At 19 years old, she cloned a gene with similarities to a genetic disorder and became the youngest precinct judge for the state of North Carolina. Her love for solving tough problems and her knack for building communities on and offline has led her to critical acclaim.
This Forbes 30 under 30 awardee has been featured in the New York Times, TIME, CBS This Morning, ELLE, The Nation, Essence, NPR, among others and was awarded by Glamour Magazine as one of 25 Young Women Changing the World. Before it’s third year in business, Travel Noire was named one of the Most Innovative Companies in the World by Fast Company. The following year, she was hand selected by Oprah for SuperSoul 100, a collection of inspired leaders using their voices and talents to elevate humanity.
Zim is a Kingdom entrepreneur, investor, author, and teacher. She is the founder of Morning Assembly, a platform for Christian entrepreneurs and creatives. She is also the author of Dare to Bloom: Trusting God Through Painful Endings and New Beginnings, and the host of The Bloom Podcast, a column style podcast defining what it means to live passionately for God in a lukewarm world.
With a vision almost as grand as the world we live in, Zim is committed to inspiring today’s generation to live out their Kingdom purpose.
SHORTENED
Named a leader using her voice and talent to elevate humanity by Oprah Winfrey, Zim Flores (née Ugochukwu) is the founder of Italicist, an online styling service that helps women discover modest clothing they love, without the time commitment. Previously she was the CEO of Travel Noire, a boutique travel company reaching millions of travelers each month. In 2017 she sold the company to pursue Christ. A serial entrepreneur, Zim is a Forbes 30 Under 30 awardee who has been featured in the New York Times, TIME, ELLE, Glamour, The Nation, Essence, and NPR, among others. She often writes in faraway places and lives with her husband in Illinois. Connect with her at www.zimism.com and @zimism.
