Empowering Black DadPreneuers matters and If we are going to close the 8X wealth inequality gap between Black and white families, Black dads who are entrepreneurs must be part of the solution. There aren't a lot of resources for Black male entrepreneurs right now, so we are doing our part to change that this Father's Day, plus change the narrative about Black dads.
Today I am thrilled to announce the next group of ten Black ParentPreneurs to receive a $1,000 grant from the ParentPreneur Foundation.
First, I'd like to acknowledge our sponsor, without whom this grant would not be possible. Thank you, Frost Brown Todd, for your commitment to providing the foundational services that venture-backed companies need to succeed, and special thanks to you for your commitment to Black entrepreneurs.
It's been almost one year since, in the middle of a pandemic, we launched the ParentPreneur Foundation to empower Black ParentPreneurs, so they can leave a legacy for their beautiful Black children. We started with a $50,000 seed grant from renowned venture capitalist, Brad Feld, and quickly turned that into hundreds of thousands of dollars of value for our community.
This is now our fourth round of grants, or $40,000! We have had a positive impact on the lives of our members and the thing I am most proud of, other than our thriving community, which has grown 24X, is that we paid for mental therapy for fifty people so far, shattering mental health stereotypes in the Black community, and we will pay for fifty more people next month!
Our exciting 2021 programs, which are already underway include: 1. Paying for mental therapy.
2. Paying for virtual assistants.
3. Paying for virtual tutors for our members' children.
4. Paying for business legal services.
5. Paying for LinkedIn consulting to help members increase their social capital; and
6. A partnership with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center and their Mentor Makers program, which helps our members take their businesses to the next level.
For Black entrepreneurs, lack of social capital is as big of a problem as lack of financial capital, because it keeps us from executing our good ideas and, even worse, keeps us from imagining what's possible; this is unacceptable and our kids and grandkids deserve better.
In addition to the $1K grant, each winner will get a LinkedIn profile makeover from LinkedIn expert, Bianca Jackson, plus a lifetime subscription to copy.ai to help them quickly create compelling copy.
Finally, I'm super-excited about our new initiative with Justice Reskill to raise $125K to pay for prototype apps for 25 Black ParentPreneurs. The program will use justice-involved software engineers who are apprentices, which will help them transform their lives, and build a dope app MVP for our members to get user feedback and show the app to potential investors.
We just kicked off the program and already have a $25K donation from Brad Feld's Anchor Point Foundation to sponsor five app prototypes.
The impetus for the program is our frustration with people telling Black founders to ask friends and family for investment capital; they don't have it, so please knock it off.
Announcing the ParentPreneur Foundation's next ten recipients of the Sugar Plum Grant
Our grant is called the Sugar Plum Grant, named after my dog, Sugar, that I recently had to put down after ten beautiful years of companionship. Sugar was the most loving, loyal, and consistent being I ever met. With these $1,000 grants, I pray for love, loyalty, and consistency for these ten DadPreneurs.
Marion Caffey - ShowBiz Stories LLC
Showbiz Stories LLC is the new, unique home for online personal and true video stories told by entertainment industry celebrities, professionals, and fans alike. We feature amazing, funny, inspiring, sad, fascinating, crazy, tea spillin’, and passionate personal behind-the-curtain stories. SBS is where the world can come to experience intriguing stories. ShowBiz Stories: The Truth Behind the Curtain! Lights, Camera, Action!
I'm a single father of two, and there is no position higher or more important to me. My son, Christopher, is many years out of the nest and an Executive Producer with Peloton. My baby girl, Mari, just graduated from high school this week and is heading to the University of Chicago in the fall. I love being a dad!
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me
The ParentPreneur Foundation has been inspiring, nurturing, and a place of understanding that I am not alone. I love this community! Reinventing myself has been just a bit easier thanks to this organization.
Chuck Bush - Investment Banking Institute I am President and CEO of the Investment Banking Institute, an EdTech firm that provides white-label education and finance certificate programs. IBI designs the curriculum, courseware, examination, and certificates customized to its clients' needs. It also offers asynchronous online courses to people interested in corporate finance.
I have been married for 13 years and I have two children.
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me
The ParentPreneur Foundation addresses the needs of ParentPreneurs at every level by providing a community and network for collaboration, support, and the pooled resources of its membership. Any entrepreneur should be focused on two activities: 1) how to best serve their clients and customers and 2) how to ensure their business creates wealth for its owners and employees. By creating and curating the ParentPreneur Foundation, James has laid fertile ground for the cultivation of multi-generational wealth.
Oye Akintan - Kids Plenty, Inc. Kids Plenty is a children's book publishing company whose mission is to educate, empower, and entertain children in a way that ignites their love for learning! We use technology to make learning a fun and transformative experience for children and their families.
Family is everything and the ones that learn to move in one accord are successful. It's been an amazing experience for us because we do everything together, from launching the business with my wife, having our kids as the main story in our book, to our daughter writing our first professional children’s song.
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me The ParentPreneur foundation has been an amazing lifeline for us at Kids Plenty Inc. As a husband and wife team, it has been great to see other entrepreneur parents support each other in this community. We all understand what it takes to balance both family and business life, but we don’t have to go it alone. The founder, James, has done an incredible job in bringing much-needed resources that don’t exist anywhere else to entrepreneurs like us and we are forever grateful.
Jarvis Sulcer - Sonjarzo Sonjarzo is an innovation consulting firm focused on helping small businesses and corporations develop and launch new products and services. We also offer a dynamic and engaging workshop called, Think Like A Team, which helps couples use their creative thinking to work better together in problem-solving as a family or in business.
I am married to my beautiful Guyanese Queen, Sonja Sulcer, and we are blessed with a precious daughter, Zofia. We enjoy going on vacation, running, and playing tennis.
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me The ParentPreneur foundation matters to me because it provides an opportunity to network and support other black families on the entrepreneurial journey. I also appreciate being part of a group of Black fathers and mothers diligently working to build a successful business while making a difference in the community. In addition, it matters to have a courageous and committed leader like James Oliver who is consistently offering a variety of resources that can help us propel ourselves both personally and professionally.
David Poku - Luma Cart
For Shoppers needing their items on the same day and who are dissatisfied with the hustle of shopping in-store, Lumacart is a new shopping platform that provides the off-line shopping experience without any inconvenience. Unlike Amazon, Lumacart does not carry inventory or do 2-day standard shipping, but uses inventory from partner stores and leverages their proximity to the shopper to deliver their items ultrafast.
I am the proud father of two teenagers, Danielle and David, who are very excited about my business and the prospect of working with me in the future.
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me
The ParentPreneur foundation is just not a bunch of Black founders, but founders with a shared purpose of leaving something concrete financially for our children. The support we receive from each other is incomparable and the camaraderie is incredible. We share, we care, and we dare.
Shaun St. Hill – Tech & Main
Tech and Main is focused on helping firms do cybersecurity better with a heavy emphasis on a NIST-based framework. Our focus is on firms in the multifamily housing and nonprofit sectors.
My wife, Donna, and I have been married for 20+ years. We reside in Atlanta with our daughter, Danae, a rising 9th grader, and harp player.
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me The ParentPreneur Foundation matters for 3 reasons: 1) There is no other foundation committed to elevating the excellence of Black parents who are entrepreneurs 2) The resources like paying for mental wellness and bringing in world-class speakers are amazing, and 3) The stated goal of leaving a legacy for our beautiful Black children.
Aaron Clark - Justice Reskill
Justice Reskill is a social enterprise that equips justice-involved individuals with the skills, resources, and connections needed to achieve lasting career success in tech and related high-wage industries. Our aim is to help reform the American criminal justice system through workforce development, using tech careers as our vehicle.
I am the proud father of three wonderful children. My daughter is 18 and just finished her fresh-woman year in college. She is into art, music, traveling, and all things animals. My oldest son is 15 and enjoys skiing, gaming, sneakers, and culture, and he recently took up mountain biking, and is really looking forward to driving! My youngest son is 13 and is into skiing, mountain biking, gaming of course, and is the foodie of our family.
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me I am a firm believer in intentional communities. When you are on some sort of path in your life, walking alongside other folks like you creates a synergy that is impossible to quantify. I am shocked that The ParentPreneur Foundation didn't exist before. The unique challenges, obstacles, and roadblocks that Black parent entrepreneurs face on a daily basis need a place where we can find connections and resources. The ParentPreneur foundation is that place for us and I am proud to be a member and supporter.
Hans Marshalleck - Bndwgn & YesIya Bndwgn is a group travel app that allows anyone to book a group trip using video. YesIya provides Caribbean fusion cuisine direct-to-consumer via food delivery from a cloud kitchen. Both are pre-seed, pre-revenue startups.
I would be nowhere without my amazing wife, Stacy, and daughter, Zoe who is a living miracle - from one pound at birth to an amazing nine years later. I am a foodie and animation and sports buff. I love to travel and meet new people.
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me This community has genuine and transparent founders. Everyone is trying to build companies while juggling family responsibilities, and having a community helps. It also provides great resources. We succeed because of the caring leadership of James and his team. I am committed to helping everyone in this community succeed.
Jesse Taylor - Kid Link Technology Kid Link is making sure that every parent is a part of their child’s learning experience regardless of location. From reading to helping with homework, Kid Link is the new virtual learning table.
I'm a husband and father of 3 beautiful kids. And I'm raising the next generation of leaders. Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me The ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me because I get to connect with like-minded ParentPreneurs. The wealth of knowledge and resources that ParentPreneur provides is crucial. I don’t have to go searching all over the internet for information. I could post something in the feed or reach out to James and he will be able to point me in the right direction.
Damon Brown - Damon Brown, Inc.
I help side-hustlers, solopreneurs, and other non-traditional creatives bloom. I co-founded the popular platonic connection app, Cuddlr, and led it to acquisition within a year, all while being the primary caregiver of my first infant son.
I am married to my wife, Parul, a pediatrician, and I am the primary caregiver of our two sons, Alec and Abhi. They are healthy, passionate, and strong-willed, just like their parents.
Why the ParentPreneur Foundation matters to me
Representation matters, not just in what we see in the media, but in who we have in our social circles. When I led my startup Cuddlr to success, I didn’t see anyone who looked like me making moves like me.
The power of community is our key to true diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the ParentPreneur community’s incredible resources and support are proof of concept. I'm excited to use the grant to grow my one-on-one coaching practice and help build the greater community!
There you have it! Please join me in congratulating our Black DadPreneur winners of the Sugar Plum grant!
If our mission to empower Black ParentPreneurs, so they can leave a legacy for their children resonates with you, please make a tax-deductible donation; as little as $25 makes a big difference and every penny counts. If you are a Black ParentPreneur, please join our online community.
Ad astra. 🚀 Abrazos (hugs),
James
CEO