Published on January 5th, 2021 | by Dr. Jerry Doby

Who Is the Dynamic Teleah Wardlaw?

Teleah Wardlaw is a 28 year old cancer surviving Buffalo native who splits her time between Buffalo and Atlanta. Teleah is also a widow of 2.5 years with no children.

Teleah is the owner of Etnovad LLC, a virtual call center. Etnovad, named after her late husband launched September of 2018.

Part of Teleah’s growing empire is Saturday Night Buffalo which is a music platform that spans from social media, to their website, to the streets. The platform covers upcoming, influential artists, entrepreneurs, and public figures. Saturday Night Buffalo’s programming includes, interviews, documentaries, album reviews, in person and virtual listening parties, digital campaigns and EPK designs.

According to the official line, Saturday Night Buffalo was originally a talent show, designed for fundraising for Rich In Nature. Rich In Nature is a nonprofit Farmer’s Market that was set to launch spring of 2020 in the inner city of Buffalo, NY, however, during the George Floyd protests, Buffalo became a hot spot for the national guard and it did not launch. Saturday Night Buffalo however grew IMMENSE popularity in the city, and continued to run but due to COVID and the shut downs in NYS, live in-person events were put on hold. From its initial launch in June 2020, to September the brand was in such high demand that the interview sector grew very fast and became notable for covering the hottest in Buffalo, and expanding to other cities. SNB is now the only music platform outside of mainstream platforms that covers up and coming artist in the western NY, & upstate NY regions.

Prevailing despite horrendous odds Teleah tells a story of epic proportions check it out:

I got married Christmas of 2017, in NYC in the Rockefeller Plaza under the tree. I was a financier prior to getting married, and left my career to focus on my marriage. I then went into tech support for Spectrum Business Class. My husband left me for another woman the day after Valentine’s Day of 2018. The marriage didn’t even last 2 full months. My husband and his mistress fought tooth and nail to destroy everything I touched. I decided to leave and move to Atlanta to escape my broken life June of 2018. My husband was murdered 30 days after I left to the exact date. My family in Atlanta left me to the wolves, and I sat thriving with little to nothing for months, alone. I didn’t return to Buffalo, in fear of my safety because of the rumors about why my husband was murdered. I received $50k in life insurance in September of 2018. The only thing I ever got to do with the money was purchase my EIN and register my business. I was robbed for the money by a very high profile person in a hotel room we shared in Buckhead Atlanta. A month after I was diagnosed with cancer. After many many struggles, January of 2020 I went for surgery to remove the tumor. I launched SNB during my cancer recovery period. I was diagnosed cancer free July 2, 2020.

From the outside looking in, who is Teleah Wardlaw?

From the outside looking in, I’m sure I’m ingested in different ways by different people. Very few get to experience a full spectrum of who I am. So I can imagine various people having various perspectives. I’m a multi faceted person, I wear many hats.

Was there a defining moment that brought you to the entertainment industry?

Actually, I’ve been in entertainment since I was 16 years old. I was a rapper myself, one of the first and the best females in my city. This was even before Nicki Minaj got big. My support system was men. The man who I was coached under and who invested in my career was Dwayne Gray, who is currently serving a federal sentence (google him). I tried to pursue my career after but I was in an abusive relationship that I didn’t escape for almost 5 years. I gave up on being an entertainer and focused on my business career which ultimately lead me back to entertainment.

You have a growing platform called Saturday Night Buffalo, tell us a bit about that endeavor!

SNB was originally a fundraiser for Rich In Nature Farmer’s Market, a nonprofit company I was supposed to launch spring of 2020. It was a talent show. I worked at a very highly noted tobacco store in prior years, which was the headquarters for music in Buffalo… that’s how I met Benny The Butcher, and anyone I didn’t already know that did music. So with that and the network I already had, I was able to pull it off. Because of COVID I wasn’t able to continue to live in person events. I then went to interviews. I first interviewed Cariol Holloman-Horne, which I marketed, but never released. Shortly after I fired my whole team and continued SNB alone. I picked up the interviews a few months later and it just literally took off! I’ve since added many other events and sectors to the brand, and have expanded to a national coverage platform rather than local.

What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned about the business aspect of having a platform of this nature?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned about the business is to hire and contract based off of resume and not affiliation.

Tell us about some of the challenges you’ve turned into opportunities as you continued to grow your enterprise!

Honestly the only challenge I have is handling everything alone. I design the graphics, the campaigns, the websites, the events. Everything. I’m so serious about my work and my name I won’t let anyone do anything, and I absolutely have to move past that. I’m growing to fast.

How is it working unsigned artist into the fabric of the music community?

I scale people before I deal with them. I don’t deal with talent that doesn’t have matching effort. I’m a business woman first. Either you have what it takes and you’re willing to listen or you don’t and you won’t. I’ll never make my job hard trying to highlight someone else. So my experiences are ALWAYS amazing and very rich. I guarantee that with anything I provide an artist, the experience. I just choose the right people.

Personally, what have been some of the distractions which made it difficult to focus on your end game?

Nothing. I’ve experienced a lot and overcame a lot. I’m a businesswoman by nature, and I love music. It’s not hard to focus on something you’re truly passionate about. What saddens me is that I don’t believe you can have a family or a love life or a personal life while pursing what I am, so I sacrifice all of that. My entire life is business. It can get lonely.

What pulled you through and what have you used to bolster your strength as an individual and as a business person?

What always keeps me going is the belief and support that my city has for me. My goals aren’t selfish, they include everyone. I would love to say everything I’ve been through, but it’s really the people who are counting on me to show the world who Buffalo is. And anytime I felt as if I didn’t have what I needed to make what I needed happen, God provided it. My affiliate Saint Soprano is also a very big source of inspiration and guidance. Not only is he from my city, he’s a very honorable, and selfless person. So I have an example of someone who comes where I come from…. who’s shown that it is possible to maintain integrity, be from Buffalo, and build successfully in this industry. I want my city and everyone in it to win. We’ve all been through a lot, we’ve seen so much loss. We all truly deserve it.

You run a successful room on Clubhouse, the new networking app, your room is amazing and quite well populated regularly. Any tips for those looking to use that platform as part of their toolbox?

I’m on Clubhouse to network and do business. When you’re serious, and you have a solid brand, you will attract people. There’s really nothing more to it. It’s no different than holding open interviews or throwing a large party. Purpose, organization, and inclusion of the right people.

What’s coming up for Saturday Night Buffalo in 2021 as we continue to fight through the COVID-19?

SNB was designed during COVID- and is COVID proof. Everything I do can be done during COVID, so we’re just gonna keep doing what we’re doing… and just expanding. You can expect to see a broadened spectrum of artist, music, and locations. I am launching a talent development and management firm for the WNY & Upsate NY region that is going to expand to the entire east coast, but that’s very much more behind the scenes. I do have other BIG endeavors that are in the works, but you’ll have to wait for that.

As a combination media mogul and entertainment biz exec what is your projection for the industry in the new year and beyond?

Sheesh, where do I start? There are going to be many power struggles. Several shifts of power. But for my community, this is like the roaring 20’s all over again. We already know what happened, we would all be foolish to not know what’s to come.

Where can we find you online?

I can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Clubhouse… same name across the board “Thee Teleah”. I don’t feature myself on my website really. https://linkfly.to/21211GZ0O5v

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About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.