Meet Paris and Avril, teenage twin entrepreneurs who have coded their way into creating positive change through their platform Fearless Identities – a unique social space where users can share achievements and uplifting thoughts without the pressure of likes or followers.
With a passion for mental health advocacy and firsthand experience navigating social media’s challenges as young Black girls, these inspiring sisters have built a community where comparison is replaced with celebration.
In our latest interview, Paris and Avril share their journey of overcoming self-doubt, balancing schoolwork with their tech venture, and their experiences as young Black girls in STEM who are determined to increase representation.
They discuss the heartwarming connections formed on their platform, their strategies for managing time between coding and studies, and their vision of expanding Fearless Identities into a multilingual platform that gives voice to achievements from communities worldwide.
Read the full interview below and discover how these remarkable twins are redefining social media while inspiring the next generation of Black girls in tech.
Social media can often feel like a competition. What inspired you to create Fearless Identities, and why was it important for you to remove likes and followers from the platform?
Paris – I think saying a kind word to someone could honestly make your own day a lot better, at least from my experience. Social media can be a very challenging place to navigate, especially as teenagers, and it’s hard to not let that affect your mental health. As someone who has been there myself, I wish I knew about a website like ours when I was much younger. It’s hard to not compare yourself to other people who seem to be living a perfect life, and likes and followers makes it much harder. It can feel like nobody cares about what you have to offer. Fearless Identities is a place where everyone is supportive of everyone, it’s a great community to be in and I’m really grateful we were able to create such a place.
Avril – Also, social media tends to weigh your values and achievements by the number of likes or followers you have. People who get a small number of likes after sharing something they worked hard on might see others who get a large number of likes and they might believe that what they achieved is not good enough. They might overwork themselves to be seen or heard and that can cause a negative cycle.
Fearless Identities allows people to share their achievements without judgment. What has been the most inspiring or unexpected response you’ve received from users?
Paris – Personally, I think the most inspiring aspect would be how connected everyone is. Although the posts are anonymous, it feels like we’re all friends who have known each other for years, it’s like our online home. There’s also a huge creative aspect. A lot of the users have asked for community artwork on the site, because it really is the community that makes the website. It’s something we’re working on implementing as that was a feature we tried a few years back. I don’t think anything would have prepared me for the amazing community we’ve built on this website. We really do love and appreciate it.
Avril – I think the positive messages people share to others is really inspiring and heartwarming to see. It feels really good to have a community that not only wants to share their achievements but also encourage and uplift others.
As young founders, what has been the biggest challenge in building and growing Fearless Identities, and how have you overcome it?
Paris – I originally designed the website when we were both thirteen, and it was complete a year later at fourteen. A huge issue was doubt and fear, I think we were both so nervous about being on social media and posting ourselves and our website. I was genuinely terrified of putting myself out there because I was scared people would judge me for it. I remember any time a post would get traction I would delete it, because I was so anxious. I didn’t want people I knew teasing me for it. Although we’re twins, we’re very different in terms of personality, so this caused a lot of disagreements about the type of things we should post.
Avril – Yeah, I think a big thing was the fear of what other people would think. Our website aims to help people become fearless identities and I think the fact that we were self-conscious before is a bigger motivator to help others who also feel that way.
Running a platform while being students must be a lot. How do you manage your time between coding, volunteering, and schoolwork?
Paris – Our parents are very particular about school and education, which was why we were hesitant to tell them about our website in the first place, but they ended up being very supportive. It really is difficult to juggle school and our website because both require a lot of attention. In the past I would definitely say school won the battle most of the time, just because we really wanted to do well in our studies. Once any examination periods were finished, we just dedicated most of our time to the website. I think we have a better way of managing it now, if we’re not busy volunteering or studying for the day, we’ll work on the website.
Avril – And when we were first starting out, we had to stop a lot because of school. But over time we’ve come up with a better way to manage the site and that means that we can be more efficient with it.
What has your journey been like as young Black girls in STEM, and how do you hope to inspire others to follow a similar path?
Avril – For me it has definitely been a journey. When I was learning how to code, all the tutorials and videos online were targeted at adult men, and I couldn’t find any Black girls online and I quit many times because I thought I had to be good at Science and Math and numbers and data to be good at coding but I’m a creative person and coding for me is a creative hobby, I believe anyone who likes to create things might like to code – and you should also remember that if you enjoy it, keep going and if you don’t enjoy it, then that’s okay, you shouldn’t force yourself to.
Paris – As long as you have an interest, you’re already halfway there. I think with the way technology is evolving, we’ll see a number of opportunities open up for the next generation. I don’t think there should be any pressure to try to pursue something if you don’t enjoy it, because if it feels like a chore, it will always be a chore to you. I love art, drama, sports, writing, and many other hobbies, and no single interest of mine is more important than another.
Many young girls are discouraged from entering tech because they don’t see enough representation. What advice would you give to girls who are interested in coding but feel intimidated?
Paris – If you have a passion for technology, pursue it, even if you end up being the only girl in the room. Find local coding clubs and try a few classes and see how you feel. It may be daunting at first, especially if you feel like people will judge you or others know more than you, but it’s important to stay true to yourself and think about what you want to achieve because it’s your goals and not anybody else’s. Coding is for everyone, and nobody should be able to make you feel otherwise.
Avril – We’re hoping that with Fearless Identities we can solve this problem so that Black girls who are looking for inspiration can see that Black girls code and hopefully encourage people who want to pursue it to feel seen.
What do you think needs to change in the tech industry to make it a more inclusive space for women, especially Black women?
Avril – I think showing more representation will make people more willing to join the industry. Seeing Black girls hosting tutorials and seeing ourselves in entertainment where a Black girl who codes is seen as normal. We’ve had a few comments from people who have said that we’ve inspired them to code and that is really great. I hope with time as we grow we will be able to entertain, relate and to show other girls that they can code too.
Paris – I think the technology industry has really come a long way over the years, I’ve been seeing more and more Black women and girls online who are in the industry and it’s been a great thing to witness. I think mostly education is important, a coder doesn’t have a certain look. Anyone can code, and anyone should be able to enter the industry if they meet the criteria. I think representation really matters, and I will say social media has been great for that. If people see that this is something that is possible, more people will be willing to join and accept others.
Women are often told that they need to compete with each other to succeed. How do you think we can create a culture where women and girls uplift and support one another instead?
Paris – Celebrate the achievements of other girls! We should all be there for each other and we should all be willing to applaud our fellow women when they have achieved something. We can really do so much if we support each other, there are so many industries where women exist in such a small number and competition between us can really drive these numbers down. Support is always a source of strength.
Avril – Honestly, I couldn’t have said it better.
Who are some women in tech, business, or activism that inspire you, and why?
Avril – From a twin standpoint Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry are both great inspirations for me. I feel like they’ve proven that twins can build a career for themselves and be independent individuals as well. I think we could also both agree on Kheris Rogers in terms of teenagers like ourselves. Other people who inspire me include Raven Symoné, Adriana Gascoigne and Kerry Washington.
Paris – Oh, there are so many. Jennifer Hudson. Her music is incredible, and I really, really admire the way she uses her platform to tell so many incredible stories. Reese Witherspoon has also accomplished so much in her career in terms of activism. I love that she speaks up for what she believes in no matter what others think, that’s something I have struggled with in the past and she seems to do it so effortlessly so it really is inspiring. Another would be Lisa Nichols, she really has taught me to not be afraid to try. She’s an amazing motivational speaker and I have many of her quotes ingrained in my head. Kheris Rogers is a huge inspiration, she’s a business owner and activist who has achieved so much. I remember seeing her on the news and I really resonated with her story. Her and her brand have definitely helped improve my confidence.
If you could take Fearless Identities to the next level with unlimited resources, what would your ultimate vision for the platform be?
Avril – I would love Fearless Identities to be more than a website, because it really is more than that. It’s a community, and I would love to expand the website to an area where so many different interests can be found there, like art, drama, books or sports. I would love to inspire girls to code in a way that’s interesting to them.
When I was younger I think I would have loved a cartoon that taught girls to code, with cute little characters and a soundtrack and games! Something relatable to young people, because I remember watching coding tutorials that were mostly aimed at adults and I didn’t understand any of it. Coding itself really isn’t monotonous and boring, I think it’s just the way the content can be delivered sometimes that makes it seem that way because it’s targeted at people with experience rather than children.
Paris – My vision for the perfect platform would be a place where everyone is able to access our website regardless of their language. If we had unlimited resources, I think giving users the option to pick their language would be great since everything currently is in English at the moment. We currently have a positive news section, and I think good news stories from all over the world would be a lovely way to connect with others. I think interviews from local communities and other countries would be great so we can see what type of things they are achieving. We would love to give a voice to people who may otherwise not have one, because so many people are achieving things that I think would be awesome to hear about.
