With more than 30 years of experience spanning financial services, corporate training, marketing, and business development, Kim M. Braud is a serial entrepreneur and strategic leader whose work is grounded in building durable systems for economic access, growth, and legacy. Her career has been defined by the ability to move fluidly between strategy and execution, translating complex ideas into scalable ventures that create measurable impact, particularly for underserved communities.

Braud is the founder of The Couvent Collective PBC, a global ecosystem designed to provide funding resources, growth strategies, and expert guidance to underserved small businesses through a membership-based model. The Collective was built as an integrated platform rather than a single service offering, recognizing that sustainable success requires access to capital, strategic direction, and operational support working in tandem. Its portfolio includes Larkspur Wealth Management, Evans Cutchmore, a marketing-first publishing and strategic communications firm, and Frigatebird Inc., a logistics and operations company. Collectively, these ventures have empowered hundreds of founders with the tools, frameworks, and strategic insight needed to build businesses capable of long-term viability rather than short-term survival.

As a six-time published author, Braud founded Evans Cutchmore to address a gap she observed firsthand: talented independent authors and thought leaders lacked the strategic infrastructure needed to grow beyond a single book or moment of visibility. Drawing on more than two decades of marketing and brand strategy experience, she helps authors and founders develop disciplined launch strategies, distribution pathways, and visibility platforms that extend influence across industries and audiences. Her approach treats content as leverage, an asset that, when properly structured, can build authority, preserve legacy, and create sustained economic opportunity.

Braud’s entrepreneurial impact extends beyond building her own ventures to developing the next generation of founders. In 2017, she launched Fleurty Wick, which grew into one of the largest African American female-founded candle manufacturing companies in the United States. The company specialized in home and commercial scented products, including large-scale candle production, commercial scent marketing, hotel and hospitality amenities, and custom fragrance solutions designed for brand environments. Through this work, Braud developed expertise in large-batch manufacturing, private labeling, supply-chain coordination, and scalable production systems.

Building on that foundation, she has coached more than 680 women on how to start, grow, and scale profitable candle and fragrance-based businesses, translating manufacturing expertise, pricing strategy, regulatory considerations, and operational discipline into sustainable enterprises capable of serving both consumer and commercial markets.

Her professional foundation was built in the financial services industry, where she spent years at Nationwide Insurance, progressing through multiple roles before serving as an Affinity Sales Management Consultant. In that role, Braud spearheaded initiatives that generated more than $300 million in revenue for the Southwest Regional Operation. She executed over 700 events, delivered more than 40,000 new business leads, and played a key role in market share acquisition and strategic partnership development. This experience shaped her data-driven approach to growth and her ability to navigate complex regulatory and institutional environments.

Braud’s commitment to community leadership is not symbolic; it is operational. In 2022, she offered $1.9 million to the Archdiocese of New Orleans in an effort to save Holy Redeemer School, her elementary school, from being sold to compensate child abuse victims. While the effort was ultimately unsuccessful, it reflected a broader commitment to preserving community institutions and confronting the systems that govern legacy, land, and accountability.

Her civic and nonprofit leadership includes serving as Board Chair of the Minority Recruitment Board for the American Red Cross, membership on the organization’s National Diversity Advisory Council, and service with SafeKids Georgia, the Atlanta Fire Foundation, the Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA), the Gwinnett County Habitat for Humanity Think Tank, the SafeAmerica Foundation Mentor Committee, Army Explorers, and United Way of Greater Atlanta. Through these roles, she has influenced funding decisions, mentorship initiatives, and program development for underserved populations. She also founded Fabulous Friends in Philanthropy, an organization that provided grants and resources to homeless girls ages 16–21, helping three young women earn postgraduate degrees.

Braud’s work has received national recognition. She has been featured in Who’s Who in Black Atlanta (2010–2020), Strayer University Scholar Magazine, and The Atlantan as a Woman of Power and Influence (2014, 2018), and has been profiled by The DeKalb Champion and Voyage ATL. Her honors include the 2017 American Red Cross Special Citation for Exceptional Volunteer Service, the 2012 Presidential Drum Major for Service Award, and multiple community leadership awards. She was one of only 40 women selected nationwide for the 2021 NAWBO Established and Ready to Grow Cohort sponsored by AARP. She is also a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Program, the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s Milestone Circles Program, and a Luminary Fellow.

Braud holds a Life Agent License, an FAA Part 107 Commercial Pilot License, and maintains active involvement with NAIFA, Women in Financial Services (WIFS), Women in Trucking, and NAWBO. These credentials reflect both the breadth of her professional interests and her commitment to remaining operationally fluent across industries.

A native of New Orleans, Kim’s work is rooted in a belief that innovation, accountability, and access must coexist. Through her ventures, writing, and leadership, she continues to build pathways that enable the next generation of founders, creators, and leaders to operate with clarity, strategy, and purpose.