Episode
How to Practice Authentic, Multicultural Research with Kai Fuentes
- Published
- Mar 12, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1745
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Summary
“The first mistake people make is not hiring the people who look like who you’re trying to talk to.” In this episode, Kai Fuentes, President & CEO, Ebony Marketing Systems, joins host Zontziry “Z” Johnson, Founder, MRXplorer, to unpack what culturally aligned research really requires. They discuss why moderator–respondent alignment can unlock deeper insights, when it matters most (like hair, food, and lifestyle), and how nuance shows up as early as recruiting and screening across subgroups within broad demographics. Kai shares how Ebony builds cultural nuance into analysis, why speed expectations are changing, and how relationship-building and sharing findings back can strengthen trust with communities. They also explore training teams for diverse learning styles and lessons from Kai’s journey as a founder. 00:00 Biggest Cultural Mistake 00:22 Meet The Host And Guest 01:28 Haircare Case Study 05:57 Recruiting And Segments 10:34 Cultural Nuance In Analysis 12:35 Building Community Trust 15:19 Training For Learning Styles 20:11 Founder Lessons And Pivoting 26:28 Wrap Up And Thanks Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/