Founder & CEO
Nice Crowd
Jeff Friday is the founder and CEO of Nice Crowd, a leading entertainment company in the event tourism arena. Formerly known as ABFF Ventures, Nice Crowd specializes in the development and marketing of festivals and other live experiences that showcase BIPOC culture and achievement while promoting travel to leading destinations around the world. Friday and Nice Crowd are best known for the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), a prominent annual event that celebrates and promotes Black cinema and the diverse voices within the industry.
A highly accomplished media executive, investor, entrepreneur, and film advocate, Friday developed a deep passion for film and storytelling early in his career. Recognizing the underrepresentation of Black talent and stories in mainstream media, he set out to create a platform that would provide opportunities for Black filmmakers and showcase their work. In 1997, he founded the ABFF, which has become a cornerstone for diversity and inclusion in Hollywood. Under Friday’s leadership, the ABFF has grown exponentially. It has premiered the work and supported the careers of many of today’s most successful filmmakers, actors, writers and stand-up comedians and is recognized as a standard-bearer of excellence for Black creativity.
Beyond Nice Crowd and the ABFF, Jeff Friday has invested in other ventures aimed at fostering talent and promoting inclusion in Hollywood. In 2019 he and his wife Nicole – President of Nice Crowd – formed Jeff Friday Media (JFM), a Los Angeles-based television and film production. JFM secured a motion picture development deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment and a first-look deal for unscripted film and television with Warner Media. In 2020, the Fridays launched ABFF PLAY, a live and on-demand streaming service. Under his JFM banner, Friday served as an executive producer of HBO Documentary Film’s Donyale Luna: Supermodel, which explores the revolutionary life of the pioneering Black supermodel Donyale Luna and premiered at the 2023 ABFF.
Friday has received numerous accolades and honors for his contributions to the business community. New York University, his alma mater, presented Friday with the Global Trailblazer Award for Entrepreneurial Innovation. He was also named one of “Top 50 Hollywood Power Brokers” by Black Enterprise magazine and one of the “150 Most Influential Blacks” by Ebony magazine. He has received keys to the cities of Miami, Miami Beach, and Newark, which also proclaimed his birthday “Jeff Friday Day.”
Friday continues to dedicate his efforts to advancing the representation of people of color in media and paving the way for a more inclusive and diverse future. He and Nicole are leading Nice Crowd’s expansion of annual event offerings to include comedy, health & wellness, food, and fine art events. Friday is a graduate of Howard University with a degree in finance and received his MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He currently resides in Los Angeles with Nicole and their two sons.
Founder & CEO
Nice Crowd
Nicole Friday is the President of Nice Crowd, a leading entertainment company in the event tourism arena. Formerly known as ABFF Ventures, Nice Crowd specializes in the development and marketing of festivals and other live experiences that showcase BIPOC culture and achievement while promoting travel to leading destinations around the world. In partnership with her husband Jeff Friday – founder and CEO of Nice Crowd – Nicole is leading Nice Crowd’s expansion of annual event offerings to include comedy, health & wellness, food, and fine art events.
Nicole serves as a producer of Nice Crowd’s American Black Film Festival (ABFF), a prominent annual event that celebrates and promotes Black cinema and the diverse voices within the industry. Nicole is the visionary behind the About Women Leadership Breakfast (AWLB) at the ABFF. This extraordinary event serves as a platform for women to unite, share valuable resources, and foster connections. The AWLB has rapidly gained recognition as one of the most esteemed and carefully curated events within the ABFF, which has become a cornerstone for diversity and inclusion in Hollywood.
Nicole’s journey in the entertainment world began at the legendary Ford Modeling agency, where she worked as an agent on the team that represented renowned supermodel Christy Turlington. Building on her experience, she ventured into producing morning radio under Emmis Communications, where she launched various programs, including “Get Hitched on Kiss” the TLC Network.
Not confined to a single domain, Nicole has also made her mark as a culinary influencer. Collaborating with Whole Foods Market, she created a captivating cooking series titled “Around the World from Home,” which embodied the concept of travel through various dishes. Nicole’s expertise in the culinary realm earned her regular appearances as a food expert on popular shows such as Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” and “The Kitchen.”
A proud alumna of the prestigious Howard University, Nicole’s educational background has undoubtedly contributed to her success. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband Jeff Friday and their two children. Through her unwavering dedication and commitment, Nicole continues to leave an indelible impact on the entertainment industry, paving the way for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs.
Born and raised between Sudan and the U.K., Sharee served as director of the American Black Film Festival (the youngest and first woman of color to helm a major film festival in the U.S.) for over a decade. She is also an award-winning writer (WGA) and producer, who strongly believes in the transformative power of storytelling as a vehicle for social change. Sharee’s most recent film is the documentary, “Donyale Luna: Supermodel,” which premiered on HBO September 2023, and is now streaming on MAX.
