Milwaukee · Atlanta · First-Generation Everything

EconomicInfrastructurefor the first-generation.

I build the economic systems that first-generation communities were never supposed to have access to. For the organizations that need those systems built. For the women who need to own a piece of them.

“I build the economic infrastructure that first-generation communities were never supposed to have access to. That is what the SCALE Framework is. That is what this firm is. That is what I am becoming a transactional attorney to protect.”

— Dr. Shakkiah M. Curtis

Strategic AdvisorySCALE Cohorts
The Philosophy

She builds the
economic systems
they said weren't for her.

I am first-generation everything. The first in my family to earn a doctorate. The first to build businesses. The first to understand that economic power is not given — it is architected. Income is temporary. Ownership is structural. Infrastructure is what outlasts you.

Madam C.J. Walker didn't just build products. She built an empire — training academies, agent networks, community infrastructure — that elevated thousands of Black women. She understood that your business model is your legacy model. The Pink Hustle Firm is built on that same principle — but for first-generation women building in 2026.

“I am not merely satisfied in making money for myself, for I am endeavoring to provide employment for hundreds of women of my race.”

Madam C.J. Walker — America's First Female Self-Made Millionaire

S
Support Systems
Build the network of mentors, sponsors, and strategic partners who amplify your capacity.
C
Capital Management
Understand your financial position and leverage assets for long-term wealth.
A
Assets & Advancement
Build career and real estate assets that create compounding returns.
L
Leadership Development
Emotional intelligence, executive presence, and strategic identity.
E
Enabling Technology
PropTech, AI, and platforms as force multipliers.
One Positioning. Three Expressions.

Choose your
entry point.

One positioning sentence. Three expressions. The Pink Hustle Firm delivers strategic economic advisory to the organizations building community wealth, SCALE cohorts for first-generation women building ownership, and keynote & facilitation for rooms that need to understand what first-generation economic infrastructure actually looks like.

Strategic Advisory

Strategic Economic
Advisory
for organizations.

Municipalities, CDFIs, construction firms, foundations, and economic development organizations retain me to architect the infrastructure their community wealth strategies actually require — not workshops, not coaching, strategy.

  • →Strategic Economic Advisory & Program Architecture
  • →Fractional Economic Development Strategist
  • →PropTech Strategy & Real Estate Infrastructure
  • →Community Wealth-Building Program Design
  • →Executive Advisory for Emerging Women Leaders
Engagements from$15K → $500K
Start a Conversation
SCALE Cohorts

SCALE Wealth
& Business
Cohorts.

A structured consulting methodology for first-generation women building ownership, consulting practices, and real estate infrastructure from scratch — not a course, not a coaching program, a build.

  • ✦6-pillar SCALE Framework™ methodology — real estate, leadership, tech, capital
  • ✦Cohort community of first-gen women building simultaneously
  • ✦Access to Dr. Curtis's Milwaukee + Atlanta ecosystem
  • ✦Real estate infrastructure anchored in real market data
  • ✦BRRRR strategy, homeownership pathways, investment fundamentals
Women on waitlist347+
Cohort investment$997 — $1,497
Learn More & Join the Movement
Proprietary Methodology

The SCALE Framework™
A consulting methodology.

Developed through doctoral research. Deployed across organizational leadership engagements and women's cohorts. Not a coaching program — a consulting methodology. Not a workshop — a permanent infrastructure build.

S
Support Systems
Build the network of mentors, sponsors, and strategic partners who amplify your capacity.
C
Capital Management
Understand your financial position and leverage assets for long-term wealth.
A
Assets & Advancement
Build career and real estate assets that create compounding returns.
L
Leadership Development
Emotional intelligence, executive presence, and strategic identity.
E
Enabling Technology
PropTech, AI, and platforms as force multipliers.
+
Curtis Method™
The emotional intelligence framework underlying all SCALE delivery — developed through doctoral research.
0%of women in construction want career growth
0%increase in project efficiency with female leadership
0%more likely to outperform with 30%+ women leaders
$0Bin GDP left on the table in Wisconsin
The Story

Economic architect.
First-generation.
Becoming a transactional attorney.

“I am not a consultant who became a coach. I am an economic infrastructure architect. Everything I build — the firm, the framework, the law degree — exists to protect what first-generation communities are finally building.”

I grew up first-generation in every sense of the word. No family wealth. No one who had built a business before me. No blueprint for what a first-generation woman architecting economic infrastructure was supposed to look like. So I built the blueprint — and I am now becoming a transactional attorney to formalize and protect what I am building.

I earned a Doctor of Business Administration researching exactly why women succeed or don't — a doctorate in entrepreneurship and emotional intelligence that became the foundation of the SCALE Framework™.

I spent years building Milwaukee's tech ecosystem — working with the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, directing 1915 Studios at gener8tor, and serving as Milwaukee Public Library Entrepreneur-in-Residence.

2019Founded The Pink Hustle Firm
2020–24Director, MKE Tech Hub Coalition
2022–24Director, 1915 Studios at gener8tor
2025Entrepreneur-in-Residence, MPL Foundation
2026Milwaukee + Atlanta expansion — SCALE Cohort launch · retained advisory engagements
2027→JD in Transactional Law — protecting economic infrastructure for first-generation communities
The SCALE Your Life Ecosystem

SCALE Your Life

Three tracks. One ecosystem. One woman at the center — moving from where she is to where she always knew she was supposed to be.

Track 01 · 90 Days

Own Your
Expertise

The Consulting Launch Track for Corporate Women

  • Package your expertise into a consulting offer
  • Position yourself as the expert clients seek
  • Land first clients in 90 days
  • AI tools to amplify your practice
  • Cohort community of women building together
$997
Track 02 · Build Your Assets

SCALE Real Estate
Wealth Cohort

First-gen women building real estate wealth

  • 6-pillar SCALE Framework™ curriculum
  • Real estate: BRRRR, homeownership, investing
  • Capital management & credit strategy
  • Access to Dr. Curtis's ecosystem
  • Cohort community of first-gen women
Women waiting347+
$997
Track 03 · Premium

Full Lifestyle
Architect

Direct 1:1 strategic advisory — wealth, consulting, and legacy architecture

  • 3-6 month 1:1 strategic advisory with Dr. Curtis
  • Custom wealth + lifestyle plan
  • Real estate strategy + consulting launch
  • Access to Dr. Curtis's full network
  • VIP access to SCALE Your Life events
$5,000

The SCALE Your Life Tour

City-to-city live events · Coaching · Cohort sessions · Starting Atlanta 2026

Atlanta, GA ✦ First StopMilwaukee, WIComing Soon
What They Say

The work speaks.

“

Before working with Dr. Curtis and the SCALE Framework, I knew I wanted to build wealth — I just didn't know where to start. She gave me the framework, the community, and the confidence to take my first real steps into real estate. I went from overwhelmed to owning my first investment property.

TT
Tiffany Taylor
SCALE Framework™ Graduate · First-Generation Investor
“

The SCALE Framework is the curriculum that first-generation women have been waiting for. Dr. Curtis doesn't teach theory — she teaches from lived experience and doctoral research simultaneously.

EL
Economic Development Leader
Wisconsin CDFI Partner
“

Shakkiah brings something rare — deep community relationships, institutional credentials, and a personal story that moves rooms. She is the bridge our organization has been looking for.

CD
Community Development Director
Milwaukee Institutional Partner
Signature Events

Building the ecosystem
one stage at a time.

Annual · Growing National
InnovationHer Tech Summit

The women's technology summit anchored in Milwaukee and expanding nationally — connecting women leaders, ecosystem builders, and institutional partners.

Milwaukee, WIAnnual · September
Annual · Milwaukee
Black Women in Tech Awards Breakfast

Milwaukee's premier celebration of women advancing technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Annual flagship event recognizing trailblazers across Wisconsin's tech ecosystem.

Milwaukee, WIAnnual · February
Speaking & Keynotes

Keynote & Strategic
Facilitation.
Not inspiration. Intelligence.

Dr. Curtis delivers keynotes and strategic facilitation grounded in a decade of ecosystem building, doctoral research, and the lived economics of first-generation community wealth. She is not a motivational speaker. She is an infrastructure strategist your audience can actually retain after she leaves the stage.

Building Wealth Infrastructure for First-Generation Women

The intersection of real estate, technology, and leadership development — and how first-gen women can use the SCALE Framework to build generational wealth from scratch.

When Women Lead, Organizations Win

The data-backed business case for women's leadership pipeline development — grounded in construction industry research, McKinsey data, and Dr. Curtis's doctoral research.

PropTech & Economic Development: The Infrastructure Play

How cities, CDFIs, and economic development organizations can use technology and real estate infrastructure to build lasting community wealth — not just activity.

First-Generation Everything: Building Without a Blueprint

A personal keynote on what it means to be first-generation in every room — building a firm, a framework, a legacy, and a movement with no map and no one who had done it before.

Book Dr. Curtis for your next event.

Keynotes · Corporate workshops · University addresses · Conference sessions · Half-day facilitation · Milwaukee + National · Rate card available on request

Inquire About Speaking
Let's Build Together

Ready to build
economic
infrastructure?

Whether you are an organization retaining strategic economic advisory, a first-generation woman joining a SCALE cohort, or a conference booking keynote & facilitation — this is where the conversation starts.

We'll respond within 24 hours. Your information stays private.

[email protected]