Latest / Earn Your Leisure / EYL #306 Lawyer Quits Law to Build a Multi-Million Dollar Empire: Doing Business in Africa & The White House

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EYL #306 Lawyer Quits Law to Build a Multi-Million Dollar Empire: Doing Business in Africa & The White House · Earn Your Leisure

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  Speaker 1: An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child
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  Speaker 4: See you there, right, So John heard a lot about you,
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  Speaker 4: my brother.
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  Speaker 9: You've heard a lot about you guys too, obvious ladies,
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  Speaker 9: so appreciate the conversation.
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  Speaker 6: First of all, congratulations on everything that you've been able
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  Speaker 6: to accomplish. An extremely impressive resume for sure. Thank you, brother,
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  Speaker 6: really really appreciate that. So I want to start out
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  Speaker 6: just on the inspiration what inspired you and your brother
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  Speaker 6: to start to Burr's Brothers Incorporated during Social arrest twenty.
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  Speaker 9: Twenty Yeah, no, great question, And just to kind of
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  Speaker 9: give you guys the background, my brother and I have
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  Speaker 9: a company called the Burns Brothers, which is more of
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  Speaker 9: a holding company. Now we have seven businesses. We have
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  Speaker 9: an e vent production company. We produce concerts, awards shows.
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  Speaker 9: We produce the first ever Juneteenth concert at the White
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  Speaker 9: House for President Biden for the last two years. We've
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  Speaker 9: a marketing company. We do multicultural marketing across the country.
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  Speaker 9: We have a diversity company. My brother used to be
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  Speaker 9: the chief diversity officer at City Group for a number
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  Speaker 9: of years, so we do diversity work for Fortune tens
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  Speaker 9: and Fortune one hundreds. As you guys saw from the video.
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  Speaker 9: We have a private membership club called HQD Sea House,
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  Speaker 9: which is really focused on bringing people of color together
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  Speaker 9: to network, to collaborate, but to make an impact. And
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  Speaker 9: we're opening our second location in Nairobi, Kenya in October,
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  Speaker 9: so super excited about that. We have a performance and
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  Speaker 9: wellness and company, and then we're also opening a restaurant
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  Speaker 9: in DC next month. And I also want to bring
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  Speaker 9: into the fact that we're doing tons of work in Africa.
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  Speaker 9: So my brother and I partnered in a large call
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  Speaker 9: center BPO company, which is a business outsourced processing company
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  Speaker 9: about ten years ago. That was based in South Africa
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  Speaker 9: at the time, and now we're in six countries and
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  Speaker 9: we're the largest private employer in the kind of Africa
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  Speaker 9: with twenty one thousand employees in Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria, Rwanda,
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  Speaker 9: Kenya and South Africa. And so I wanted to give
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  Speaker 9: you that overview before I kind of talked to you
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  Speaker 9: about the genesis of the Burns Brothers, because the Genesis
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  Speaker 9: of Burns Brothers was framed and impact and framing a
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  Speaker 9: moment in time where I think we all can remember
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  Speaker 9: what we were feeling in June of twenty twenty, the
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  Speaker 9: height of COVID, the height of social unrest. I was
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  Speaker 9: a partner in a law firm in DC. My brother
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  Speaker 9: was a COO of a fortune five hundred company, and
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  Speaker 9: we looked at ourselves. Our brother called me one day
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  Speaker 9: in May. I'll never forget that. He said, hey, bro,
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  Speaker 9: we got to change the narrative.
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  Speaker 10: For people that looked like us.
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  Speaker 9: And I don't think the jobs that we're doing right
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  Speaker 9: now are really are really moving the needle. I said,
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  Speaker 9: what are you talking about? He said, I think we
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  Speaker 9: can make a difference. Let's do something for ourselves and
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  Speaker 9: for our people and our communities. And so June of
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  Speaker 9: twenty twenty, in the height of COVID, the height of
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  Speaker 9: social unrest, I dropped my nose in my low room
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  Speaker 9: and quit my job to launch a company called the
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  Speaker 9: Burns Brothers because we believed in the difference that we
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  Speaker 9: could make. And so everything we do across this country,
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  Speaker 9: across Africa is how can we mobilize, support, uplift and
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  Speaker 9: empower people of color, specifically black people.
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  Speaker 4: Bad.
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  Speaker 5: I mean, we always talk about in our space as entrepreneurs,
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  Speaker 5: taking that imperfect action. Before you made that decision, one
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  Speaker 5: of the things you contemplating is that if do I
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  Speaker 5: have to hit this financial globe before I do it,
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  Speaker 5: or I've done enough to put myself in a position
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  Speaker 5: where if I want to take this leap and say
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  Speaker 5: this is where my values is, this is where my
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  Speaker 5: purpose is, I can go.
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  Speaker 7: What was that moment like for you as you're processing it?
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  Speaker 10: No, really good question.
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  Speaker 9: I think that moment was, you know, obviously a very
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  Speaker 9: difficult decision, right. I think everybody's telling you, man, it's
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  Speaker 9: the unknowns. There are tons of unknowns the world's and chaos.
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  Speaker 9: But I had a mentor told me one time. If
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  Speaker 9: you have a fallback, you fall back. And I think
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  Speaker 9: at that moment in time, we were so purposeful and
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  Speaker 9: we were so passionate about the work that we were
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  Speaker 9: going to do, and we really felt we could change circumstances,
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  Speaker 9: we could change the world, and so the challenge from
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  Speaker 9: a decision making standpoint wasn't as overwhelming because we believed
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  Speaker 9: it was divine, it was our God's calling, and so
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  Speaker 9: from a decision making standpoint, it wasn't that hard, and
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  Speaker 9: we always knew I always could go back to law right,
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  Speaker 9: I could always be a lawyer. I could always go
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  Speaker 9: back to that law from environment. But I said, there's
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  Speaker 9: a few moments in your life that you can really
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  Speaker 9: take a leap and believe in yourself.
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  Speaker 10: And that was that moment.
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  Speaker 4: So let's talk about Africa.
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  Speaker 6: And you said, you've done a lot of work in Africa,
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  Speaker 6: and that's something that you know, I think a lot
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  Speaker 6: of people are interested in. We went to Africa, we
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  Speaker 6: went to Egypt, went to Nigeria, but specifically Ghana. We
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  Speaker 6: went to gone on two times this year and we
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  Speaker 6: are working on business out there. So the opportunities is endless.
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  Speaker 6: But a lot of people don't know when where to start?
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  Speaker 6: So talk about can you walk us through your journey
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  Speaker 6: on the continent, like where did you start, how were
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  Speaker 6: you able to scale, what challenges did you have, and
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  Speaker 6: what do you see the future of entrepreneurship?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah?
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  Speaker 10: No, So number one the power of partnership.
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  Speaker 9: Right, you can't do anything from a business entrepreneur standpoint
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  Speaker 9: without partnerships. And so I mentioned my brother was the
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  Speaker 9: CEO of a Fortune five hundred company prior to launching.
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  Speaker 10: The Burns Brothers.
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  Speaker 9: That company happen to be a company called Conduit, and
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  Speaker 9: Conduit's the largest call center company in the world. So
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  Speaker 9: my brother had thirty eight thousand employees across sixteen countries,
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  Speaker 9: but number were in Africa, and so vis his relationships.
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  Speaker 9: We got into Africa through a partner he had known
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  Speaker 9: and took us to South Africa about ten years ago
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  Speaker 9: and said, Hey, I want you to meet these guys
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  Speaker 9: are doing great work. And the work wasn't necessarily call
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  Speaker 9: center per se. It was call center, but the work
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  Speaker 9: was providing opportunities for black people. I don't know if
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  Speaker 9: you all know, and those general v gentlemen probably know
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  Speaker 9: the unemployment across the kind of Africa for skilled Africans
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  Speaker 9: is outrageous. And these are young, talented, hard working people
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  Speaker 9: that just have done all the right things. They've gone
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  Speaker 9: to school, they got the degrees, but no opportunity comes
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  Speaker 9: to them. And so we thought, what could we do,
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  Speaker 9: not thinking of it from like a business standpoint, but
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  Speaker 9: from a human being standpoint, What can we do could
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  Speaker 9: change those circumstances. And so we became partners in that
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  Speaker 9: organization with the premise that we had American company relationships
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  Speaker 9: that we could drive business that would create jobs and opportunity.
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  Speaker 9: And so look at a lens of advocacy, a lens
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  Speaker 9: of like cultural change and impact was ultimately was the
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  Speaker 9: driving force. But then obviously from a business standpoint, through
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  Speaker 9: that we were able to build more business relationships. And
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  Speaker 9: then through that we built more business relationships and grew
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  Speaker 9: the company across the continent.
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  Speaker 10: And visa that company, we're able to.
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  Speaker 9: Now open our membership club HQ in Nairobi, Kenya in
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  Speaker 9: four months. And so God is great, the blessings are abundant.
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  Speaker 9: But I think it's always leading with the lens of
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  Speaker 9: advocacy first and impact and then the entrepreneurship kind of second.
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  Speaker 4: What are some of the challenges that you face out there.
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  Speaker 6: Because we were out there, we saw a tremendous opportunity,
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  Speaker 6: but there are challenges, like even in Ghana they lost
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  Speaker 6: power for two weeks and that's something that we can't
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  Speaker 6: even imagine something like that happening in America. But what
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  Speaker 6: are some of the challenges that you've been facing as
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  Speaker 6: an entrepreneur in Africa?
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  Speaker 10: Yeah, I think technologies one. Infrastructure is one for sure.
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  Speaker 9: I think I don't know, cans up how many people
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  Speaker 9: in the room avent of the continent, Okay, so a
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  Speaker 9: few people.
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  Speaker 10: I think that's one.
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  Speaker 9: I think sometimes just the level of liaising across the
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  Speaker 9: whole New side of the world from like an employee
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  Speaker 9: standpoint can be challenging too. One thing that's often times
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  Speaker 9: I thought was going to be a challenge but it's
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  Speaker 9: really not is the level of understanding of American culture
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  Speaker 9: across kind of Africa.
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  Speaker 10: It's unbelievable.
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  Speaker 9: And so that was a pleasant surprise how much they
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  Speaker 9: embrace American culture.
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  Speaker 10: There's so knowledgeable American culture.
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  Speaker 9: I think too in some parts of Africa there are
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  Speaker 9: specific things that change, just like the United States, with
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  Speaker 9: whatever administration is in office and right so I think
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  Speaker 9: that can be a challenge to making sure you navigate
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  Speaker 9: the political landscape. But I think those are evolving and
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  Speaker 9: I think those are changing for the better. And well,
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  Speaker 9: I'll say, and I've said that for years now, Africa
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  Speaker 9: is not the future Africa as the president, and I
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  Speaker 9: think from an entrepreneurship standpoint, you think about black people
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  Speaker 9: in this country, if you're not focused on what that
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  Speaker 9: connectivity looks like from an entrepreneurship standpoint, from the outreach standpoint,
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  Speaker 9: with the kind of Africa, you're doing yourself a disservice
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  Speaker 9: and you're doing the business of the disservice.
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  Speaker 5: It's interesting, you know, you got the HQGC house and
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  Speaker 5: most of us, you know, who travel and been to places,
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  Speaker 5: we've seen these type of houses.
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  Speaker 7: We've seen solo house.
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  Speaker 5: So I think it's brilliant that we have one that's
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  Speaker 5: ours that we can call our own. From a membership side,
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  Speaker 5: But I want to talk about the intentionality and maybe
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  Speaker 5: it was done very intentional, right, you you had it
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  Speaker 5: in DC. You could have done it in New York,
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  Speaker 5: maybe Miami, Houston, Chicago, but you chose not. Roby talk
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  Speaker 5: about that because when we think Nairobi and most people
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  Speaker 5: if they've watched like The Avengers, they've seen Nairobi in
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  Speaker 5: a film. But the tech center that has become the
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  Speaker 5: hub that it's become for East Africa. What was the
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  Speaker 5: intentionality in choosing specifically that place.
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  Speaker 9: Yeah, a number of different factors went into that. So
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  Speaker 9: number one, as our brother mentioned, it's an economic hub
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  Speaker 9: brief East Africa, and it's actually the only African country
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  Speaker 9: that has a.
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  Speaker 10: Strategic partnership with the US.
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  Speaker 9: So from like a connectivity standpoint with the US, that
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  Speaker 9: was important, right, And we knew the trajectory of Kenya
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  Speaker 9: specifically and specifically Nairobi. I'm based upon just being there
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  Speaker 9: so much, knowing the government, knowing their focus, and I
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  Speaker 9: understand the vision of the US partnership too, and just
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  Speaker 9: the way that it's being kind of placed as a
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  Speaker 9: Singapore of Africa. So from like a trade and economic hub,
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  Speaker 9: all that made perfect sense. And then me and my brother,
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  Speaker 9: we've always been focused on Africa and like we wanted
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  Speaker 9: to be those conveners those conduits connecting African Americans in
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  Speaker 9: this country to Africans on the continent because we believe
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  Speaker 9: that we can never really realize our true potential if
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  Speaker 9: we're not connected with all the amazing people across the continent.
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  Speaker 9: So those were two things, and then the third thing
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  Speaker 9: was we wanted to think outside the box.
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  Speaker 10: It's easy to go to US.
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  Speaker 9: Space like you know Detroit, or go to New York
• 11:30
  Speaker 9: or go to Atlanta. It's not easy, but it's easier,
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  Speaker 9: and I don't think the impact would have been as large.
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  Speaker 9: And I think for us, we're all about impact, and
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  Speaker 9: I think doing something and now creating what you brothers
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  Speaker 9: are doing too. You're creating opportunity and you're facilitating communities
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  Speaker 9: that people could never be a part of unless you
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  Speaker 9: were all we're providing that facilitation. And so now us
• 11:53
  Speaker 9: opening the membership club in Nairobi, not only can our
• 11:55
  Speaker 9: members probably experience something that could never have dreamed of experiencing,
• 11:58
  Speaker 9: but now we can introduce Nairobians to our members. And
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  Speaker 9: it's just a beautiful thing to be able to create
• 12:05
  Speaker 9: a space and facility community that you're actually not only
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  Speaker 9: driving change, you're driving pure impact.
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  Speaker 6: So you also you put together the jew and teen
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  Speaker 6: concert at the White House, right yep, last two years, Yeah,
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  Speaker 6: we got invited to that. This ship we couldn't make it,
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  Speaker 6: but all the pictures I saw on Instagram looked amazing.
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  Speaker 4: So congratulations, thank you.
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  Speaker 6: What is the in the workings of putting something together
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  Speaker 6: like that and how were you able to make that
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  Speaker 6: connection with the government.
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  Speaker 10: Yeah.
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  Speaker 9: So we have an event production company at the Burns
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  Speaker 9: Brothers called Style by the Burns Brothers that we do,
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  Speaker 9: you know, events across the country. But we've always been
• 12:42
  Speaker 9: very politically active. We did a lot within the Obama Foundation.
• 12:46
  Speaker 9: I think just being in Washington for twenty plus years
• 12:48
  Speaker 9: built friendships and built relationships and built network. So I
• 12:51
  Speaker 9: think number one, never overestimate the power of network, right,
• 12:55
  Speaker 9: and to make sure that you're building core relationships that
• 12:57
  Speaker 9: are genuine and based upon an equal goal kind of
• 13:01
  Speaker 9: give and take. And so when President Biden first did
• 13:05
  Speaker 9: his first Black History event at the White House right
• 13:10
  Speaker 9: at the kind of the middle of COVID, it was
• 13:11
  Speaker 9: actually the president's first event, and they wanted to do
• 13:14
  Speaker 9: something special, and so I pitched them on a club
• 13:17
  Speaker 9: quarantine from the East wing. This is when d Nice
• 13:19
  Speaker 9: was like killing it. Still he's still killing it. And
• 13:21
  Speaker 9: D and I are very very close, and so I
• 13:23
  Speaker 9: pitched the White House. I pitched D and they're like, Yo,
• 13:25
  Speaker 9: this is dope, and so we did a whole club
• 13:28
  Speaker 9: quarantine from the east wing of the White House in
• 13:31
  Speaker 9: February of twenty two, and the first lady came in
• 13:34
  Speaker 9: the club quarantine, the Vice President came the president. So
• 13:38
  Speaker 9: it was just like this massive success, and it really
• 13:41
  Speaker 9: introduced a White House to whole new audience and obviously
• 13:43
  Speaker 9: propelled d to even do even greater stuff.
• 13:45
  Speaker 10: And so that first touch point open opportunities.
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  Speaker 9: And so last I guess this is last April, one
• 13:54
  Speaker 9: of the senior advisors at the White House came up
• 13:56
  Speaker 9: to me at my membership club and she's like, Hey,
• 13:59
  Speaker 9: we're throwing out idea of doing a Juneteenth concert at
• 14:01
  Speaker 9: the White House. Would you be interested to help us
• 14:04
  Speaker 9: curate that experience? And so this is last year. Juneteenth
• 14:07
  Speaker 9: had just become a founder a federal holiday. This had
• 14:10
  Speaker 9: never been done before this year the White House, and
• 14:12
  Speaker 9: so I had a call with them on Monday. We
• 14:14
  Speaker 9: started talking concepts and I said, hey, it could be this,
• 14:16
  Speaker 9: it could be that. And then a month and a
• 14:18
  Speaker 9: half later, through teamanship, through a lot of hard work,
• 14:21
  Speaker 9: we produced the first.
• 14:22
  Speaker 10: Ever June teenth.
• 14:23
  Speaker 9: To get the White House June teen concert the White House,
• 14:25
  Speaker 9: President Biden spoke d. P. Harris and there was a
• 14:27
  Speaker 9: magical moment, and so that led to us doing it
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  Speaker 9: again this year and really creating something special. My brother
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  Speaker 9: and I grew up in Texas and June teenth was
• 14:35
  Speaker 9: really a Texas holiday for the longest because that's when
• 14:38
  Speaker 9: slaves in Texas found out that they were free, a
• 14:40
  Speaker 9: year and a half after the Emancipacial Proclamation. And so
• 14:44
  Speaker 9: to do something that was so special to us for
• 14:46
  Speaker 9: so long and really bring it to such a national
• 14:49
  Speaker 9: and global scale, you can't help but be so thankful.
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  Speaker 7: Yeah, that's incredible.
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  Speaker 5: We spoke, you know, a little bit upstairs about growing
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  Speaker 5: up in Texas, but I want to talk about brotherhood then.
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  Speaker 5: Obviously we've experienced when creating Earn a Lisia and the
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: benefits of it. When most people tell you you shouldn't
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: work with family, talk about the relationship that you and
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  Speaker 5: your brother have, how it's worked to your benefit and
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: maybe some challenges that you face right as may not
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  Speaker 5: see go out on all your ideals, but you've created
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  Speaker 5: something very special.
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  Speaker 7: Talk about that.
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  Speaker 10: Yeah.
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  Speaker 9: Yeah, And my brother always says it so eloquently too.
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  Speaker 9: You know, he's an older brother, right, So he's four
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  Speaker 9: years older and so Nanni is our general manager at
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  Speaker 9: HQDC House, so she knows how he can still be
• 15:30
  Speaker 9: a big brother. So he still bigs brothers me sometimes.
• 15:32
  Speaker 9: So I think that's one of the challenges. But I
• 15:34
  Speaker 9: think what he always says and speaks about, which is
• 15:37
  Speaker 9: so brilliant, is he's known me all my life and
• 15:41
  Speaker 9: I've known him all my life. And so it's like
• 15:43
  Speaker 9: a great team, like you know, you know, to pass
• 15:47
  Speaker 9: the ball based upon their skill set, or to play
• 15:49
  Speaker 9: defense when they are kind of lacking in defense, because
• 15:52
  Speaker 9: I think you know each other's kind of motions and
• 15:55
  Speaker 9: how you move so well, and you know the level
• 15:58
  Speaker 9: of expertise one person brings and how they can ultimately
• 16:01
  Speaker 9: support the whole. And so as us as we've grown business,
• 16:05
  Speaker 9: we've really been focused on being accountable to one another,
• 16:09
  Speaker 9: being honest with one another, sometimes being brutally honest with
• 16:13
  Speaker 9: one another, because I think as long as you place
• 16:16
  Speaker 9: the focus on the whole and not the individual, then
• 16:18
  Speaker 9: everything's going to work out in your favor. And my
• 16:21
  Speaker 9: brother comes from a military background. He went to West Point,
• 16:23
  Speaker 9: served the military for thirteen years, and we always talked
• 16:25
  Speaker 9: about in the military, there's like this pyramid of priorities, right,
• 16:30
  Speaker 9: the pyramid priorities is number one, your country, number one,
• 16:35
  Speaker 9: the president, number two, your country number three, your unit
• 16:38
  Speaker 9: number two, your squad, number three, your platoon.
• 16:41
  Speaker 10: Whatever it is.
• 16:42
  Speaker 9: But in corporate America, there's a pivot of that priority,
• 16:45
  Speaker 9: right because oftentimes the commitment is to the individual as
• 16:48
  Speaker 9: opposed to the organization. And we've really framed everything we've
• 16:51
  Speaker 9: done from a cultural standpoint across all of our organizations,
• 16:54
  Speaker 9: putting the organization the priority and the individual not. And
• 16:57
  Speaker 9: so I think using that from a cultural approach is too.
• 17:00
  Speaker 9: Change like our dynamic, can change our brotherhood, and change
• 17:02
  Speaker 9: like the business as well.
• 17:04
  Speaker 6: So to have a social club we have one in
• 17:07
  Speaker 6: DC and your opening one in Kenya. What is the
• 17:10
  Speaker 6: business model that actually did a thriving business? Because I
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: know soul House, I think is struggling a few other
• 17:18
  Speaker 6: businesses similar have kind of struggled post COVID. So what
• 17:24
  Speaker 6: makes your situation unique and what what are some things
• 17:27
  Speaker 6: that you've implemented to kind of beat that curve of
• 17:30
  Speaker 6: other similar type of businesses that have helped fold on
• 17:34
  Speaker 6: hard times.
• 17:35
  Speaker 9: Yeah, So, I mean we're very specific about our demographic
• 17:38
  Speaker 9: and who we're focused on engaging, and it's definitely you know,
• 17:42
  Speaker 9: black professionals who are really built around impacting community and
• 17:44
  Speaker 9: so knowing your market and being very specific to your market,
• 17:48
  Speaker 9: that's been helpful for us. I think the diversity of
• 17:50
  Speaker 9: like offerings. Obviously, at our core, we're a membership club,
• 17:54
  Speaker 9: so it's membership monthly or annual dues. But because of
• 17:57
  Speaker 9: our location in Washington, we've been very very for I
• 18:00
  Speaker 9: don't know folks who are familiar with DC, but we
• 18:02
  Speaker 9: have the building that's six hundred f Street right across
• 18:05
  Speaker 9: from the Capitol One Arena, and so from a private
• 18:08
  Speaker 9: event standpoint, we do up sort of like fifteen to
• 18:12
  Speaker 9: twenty private events a month, and so from a revenue standpoint,
• 18:15
  Speaker 9: that's been substantially helpful to supplement the membership revenue too.
• 18:20
  Speaker 10: And we were.
• 18:21
  Speaker 9: Somewhat intentional around the building that we took over its
• 18:25
  Speaker 9: multi level right, so you can have a member event,
• 18:29
  Speaker 9: member kind of activation, but do private events on different
• 18:31
  Speaker 9: levels as well, so it provides a lot of different
• 18:34
  Speaker 9: use cases for the space. And we're taken over the
• 18:37
  Speaker 9: bottom level of that building to open our restaurant because
• 18:40
  Speaker 9: we were learning that as members left, as private events left,
• 18:44
  Speaker 9: they were going to other bars and restaurants to eat,
• 18:47
  Speaker 9: and we're like, we want to control the attendee experience.
• 18:50
  Speaker 9: And so just learning what gaps exist and basically pivoting
• 18:53
  Speaker 9: to kind of fill those gaps. It's kind of led
• 18:55
  Speaker 9: to the success of the organization and we're still learning,
• 18:58
  Speaker 9: so it's definitely out the perfect process.
• 19:00
  Speaker 7: So you have a social house. It seems very intentional
• 19:03
  Speaker 7: and probably makes a lot of sense to have a
• 19:05
  Speaker 7: social network talk to us about HQ Global something that
• 19:10
  Speaker 7: they should be looking forward to coming at the end
• 19:12
  Speaker 7: of this year.
• 19:13
  Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, yeah, So this is and I didn't even
• 19:15
  Speaker 9: share that in my opening, but this is probably one
• 19:16
  Speaker 9: of the most exciting things that we have coming online.
• 19:19
  Speaker 9: So we've been building for the last seven months basically
• 19:22
  Speaker 9: our own IP. Think of it as like a Facebook
• 19:26
  Speaker 9: for black professionals around the world. And so we're launching
• 19:30
  Speaker 9: this concept called the HQ Global Network this fall, where
• 19:33
  Speaker 9: we have a goal of connecting one million black professionals
• 19:36
  Speaker 9: in an online virtual community across the world by twenty
• 19:39
  Speaker 9: twenty six.
• 19:41
  Speaker 10: I think as this.
• 19:42
  Speaker 7: Hold on, hold on, we should be clapping for that.
• 19:45
  Speaker 7: That's like six flaps, Hi, John, Yeah, I ap.
• 19:48
  Speaker 9: Proceed, Yeah, because I think to your point, Bro, I
• 19:51
  Speaker 9: think there's power in the house concept, but there's really
• 19:54
  Speaker 9: power in the global community concepts. I think as the
• 19:56
  Speaker 9: world becomes more flat, people travel more, people become more connected.
• 20:00
  Speaker 9: I think we need global community, specifically for black people.
• 20:02
  Speaker 9: I think what we find most troublesome is when we travel,
• 20:06
  Speaker 9: it's hard to like find your tribe right, and so
• 20:09
  Speaker 9: how can we create a space where you know where
• 20:10
  Speaker 9: your tribe is? And so we are launching this fall
• 20:15
  Speaker 9: and one hundred cities around the world, from Singapore.
• 20:19
  Speaker 10: To Metaying to.
• 20:23
  Speaker 9: Add Us in Ethiopia to Detroit, Michigan, And we are
• 20:26
  Speaker 9: having ambassadors in all these cities around the world, and
• 20:29
  Speaker 9: we will have communities that will actually be in person,
• 20:32
  Speaker 9: but through this virtual platform, we'll be able to convene,
• 20:36
  Speaker 9: we'll be able to network, we'll be able to collaborate.
• 20:38
  Speaker 9: Because I think, again, as I mentioned earlier, the reason
• 20:41
  Speaker 9: we're successful, I'm sure the bros can attest to the
• 20:44
  Speaker 9: reason they're successful is the power of their network and
• 20:47
  Speaker 9: the ability to reach people. So if you're able to
• 20:50
  Speaker 9: create a space and facilitate community around the world, I
• 20:53
  Speaker 9: think it's endless opportunity.
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: So you have to start stax tartups clubing.
• 20:58
  Speaker 6: As far as a technology component that's related to the
• 21:02
  Speaker 6: physical component, right, kind of similar, but in a way
• 21:05
  Speaker 6: a little different. Is the idea to have a physical
• 21:10
  Speaker 6: location in every one of the major cities that you
• 21:13
  Speaker 6: have with the app.
• 21:15
  Speaker 9: No, I think the physical location model, to your point earlier,
• 21:18
  Speaker 9: is a challenging model because real estate's expensive, right. I
• 21:20
  Speaker 9: think it's hard to maintain that level of real estate,
• 21:23
  Speaker 9: and I know soul houses having challenges of that too.
• 21:25
  Speaker 9: I think you create space for people to ultimately build
• 21:29
  Speaker 9: communities communities themselves, and so we're just facilitating communities and
• 21:33
  Speaker 9: the people themselves or building communities, and so I don't
• 21:36
  Speaker 9: think you need a physical house to do that. I mean,
• 21:38
  Speaker 9: while we might open some additional physical houses based upon
• 21:41
  Speaker 9: kind of the.
• 21:41
  Speaker 10: Model we're working through, there's no intention.
• 21:43
  Speaker 9: To open physical houses and all those locations, but really
• 21:46
  Speaker 9: create a medium for people to come together and build
• 21:48
  Speaker 9: community around the world.
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: It's essentially like link LinkedIn kind of but.
• 21:51
  Speaker 10: Even even bigger than LinkedIn.
• 21:53
  Speaker 9: Not saying bigger than LinkedIn that's a bold statement, but
• 21:55
  Speaker 9: even different than LinkedIn in the sense that like you
• 21:58
  Speaker 9: will be able to if you're we're coming to Baltimore
• 22:02
  Speaker 9: from Again, I say, coming from attis the theopia.
• 22:06
  Speaker 10: You already have that.
• 22:08
  Speaker 9: HQ community in Baltimore that you're already talking with, But
• 22:11
  Speaker 9: it's not framed in a professional network, our work network
• 22:16
  Speaker 9: like LinkedIn. It's kind of framed in like building core
• 22:19
  Speaker 9: genuine relationships, whether it be social, whether it be professional,
• 22:22
  Speaker 9: whether it be philanthropic, whether it be social impact driven.
• 22:25
  Speaker 9: It's really building genuine relationships with people who are like mine,
• 22:28
  Speaker 9: that share the same values and really are your tribe.
• 22:31
  Speaker 9: Because I think as I travel and I'm sure you
• 22:32
  Speaker 9: guys can attest to it too, there's so many people
• 22:35
  Speaker 9: around the world that share the same values who are
• 22:37
  Speaker 9: just not connected, and so what if there was a
• 22:39
  Speaker 9: way to connect all of us. And I think as
• 22:42
  Speaker 9: we think this through the political climate that's taking place
• 22:45
  Speaker 9: in the United States right now, I think we're going
• 22:47
  Speaker 9: to need a global community for black.
• 22:48
  Speaker 10: People to really be able to find refuge.
• 22:50
  Speaker 9: And so I think we weren't even building this based
• 22:53
  Speaker 9: upon kind of the chaos that's happening now, but I
• 22:55
  Speaker 9: think it will definitely fill a need based upon some
• 22:58
  Speaker 9: of these outcomes that we're seeing right now. One more
• 23:01
  Speaker 9: question so did you raise money for that? So this
• 23:05
  Speaker 9: is what I really want to get into. And this
• 23:06
  Speaker 9: is my brother said, you got to make sure you
• 23:07
  Speaker 9: talk about this point. And so even the challenge of
• 23:12
  Speaker 9: being a successful black entrepreneur, you still face a capital challenge, right,
• 23:17
  Speaker 9: It was so shocking to us. My brother was the
• 23:20
  Speaker 9: CEO of a fortune five hundred company. I was a
• 23:23
  Speaker 9: partner at a law firm. It was the first black
• 23:25
  Speaker 9: partner my law firm. But we still face challenges getting
• 23:28
  Speaker 9: access to capital. And so to answer your question, my
• 23:31
  Speaker 9: brother and I funded all of our businesses by ourselves.
• 23:35
  Speaker 9: We've never taken money, which is I think is.
• 23:37
  Speaker 7: A thing to thanks bro.
• 23:39
  Speaker 6: Yeah yeah, yeah, but no, that that is commendable, but
• 23:47
  Speaker 6: it's also troubles troublesome.
• 23:49
  Speaker 9: Yeah yeah, I think it's commendable, but it's not. I'm
• 23:51
  Speaker 9: not saying it to be a pat on the back.
• 23:53
  Speaker 9: I'm saying it to be that's an inherent problem, right
• 23:59
  Speaker 9: because these issues don't happen to the majority, they don't
• 24:03
  Speaker 9: happen to other communities, right, So I think it's specific
• 24:05
  Speaker 9: to communities of color that face these challenges. And so
• 24:08
  Speaker 9: I'm like, damn, I'm like doing everything I can to
• 24:13
  Speaker 9: really show that we have done everything from a business perspective,
• 24:16
  Speaker 9: but we still have challenges. And so to answer your question, no,
• 24:19
  Speaker 9: we've not taken any real debt. We've never taken like
• 24:22
  Speaker 9: any investors. We really leverage money from one business to
• 24:25
  Speaker 9: go the other. But that's not scalable. You can't scale
• 24:28
  Speaker 9: a business globally like that, right, And so I think
• 24:31
  Speaker 9: it's conversations like this, networks like these brothers are established
• 24:34
  Speaker 9: and that really provide access to resources that you need
• 24:37
  Speaker 9: to grow and scale a business, because I think it's
• 24:40
  Speaker 9: one thing that's talked about starting the business and there's
• 24:42
  Speaker 9: a completely different thing talking about scaling the business. And
• 24:45
  Speaker 9: as we think globally, we need to think how can
• 24:48
  Speaker 9: we get more resource to support the mission and the
• 24:51
  Speaker 9: impact we're trying to make.
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: Yeah, one of the things they told us early on
• 24:54
  Speaker 5: through the journey, same thing everything we've done, we've self funded.
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: It was you don't get money or try to get
• 25:02
  Speaker 5: loan money out or get money loan to you because
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: you needed, You get it because you want to scale.
• 25:07
  Speaker 5: Another thing we were taught was like, hey, maybe it's
• 25:10
  Speaker 5: the approach. And so I wonder as you go through
• 25:13
  Speaker 5: these things when after you evaluate, then you obviously want
• 25:17
  Speaker 5: to scale.
• 25:17
  Speaker 7: What is the approach does it change now for you?
• 25:20
  Speaker 5: Or what are some of the tips for somebody who's
• 25:23
  Speaker 5: actually thinking, I want to start a business. I need
• 25:26
  Speaker 5: to get fun in if you're facing challenges, What am
• 25:28
  Speaker 5: I going to look like? What are some tips that
• 25:30
  Speaker 5: I can use when I approach to go about money
• 25:33
  Speaker 5: being loan to my business?
• 25:35
  Speaker 10: Yeah? I mean, definitely do your diligence, do your research.
• 25:39
  Speaker 9: I think there's definitely different types of funds and grants
• 25:42
  Speaker 9: and different programs out there that can be supportive, for sure,
• 25:45
  Speaker 9: And so I'm not saying things don't exist. I think
• 25:48
  Speaker 9: ultimately what it really comes down to is your network.
• 25:54
  Speaker 9: Some of these cats who don't always look like us,
• 25:57
  Speaker 9: they're good opportunities just because they're Bob's son, right, And
• 26:02
  Speaker 9: I think we need to be better about supporting each
• 26:06
  Speaker 9: other to ultimately create community and spaces that we can
• 26:11
  Speaker 9: ultimately have global success from a business perspective. And so
• 26:15
  Speaker 9: I think being in spaces like this where you're meeting people,
• 26:19
  Speaker 9: opportunities can be afforded to you. I think that's where
• 26:21
  Speaker 9: the magic happens. In addition to the other resources that
• 26:24
  Speaker 9: exist online, you know, traditional financing, venture financing, things like
• 26:28
  Speaker 9: that that are specific to people that look like us
• 26:31
  Speaker 9: as well. But I think being in spaces where you're
• 26:33
  Speaker 9: aultually cultivated relationships that can lead to those type of resources,
• 26:37
  Speaker 9: and just being in spaces that you have the information
• 26:41
  Speaker 9: knowledge is a power, right, So I think it's continuing
• 26:44
  Speaker 9: to be in spaces that you can elevate your thought process,
• 26:47
  Speaker 9: elevate your relationships, and continue to kind of like drive
• 26:51
  Speaker 9: for whatever type of adventure you're looking to do.
• 26:53
  Speaker 6: So, I know you work with the government on a
• 26:56
  Speaker 6: certain level, and I'm sure you have relationships with the
• 26:58
  Speaker 6: government and can you and probably other places in Africa
• 27:02
  Speaker 6: this problem as far as access to capital. We spoke
• 27:04
  Speaker 6: with the Vice president about and it's a heated election season, right,
• 27:09
  Speaker 6: So what role do you think the government should play
• 27:12
  Speaker 6: in this or have some level of accountability so people
• 27:16
  Speaker 6: can actually hold their elected officials accountable.
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: At at least the very least.
• 27:20
  Speaker 6: Ask questions because I think that the government doesn't solve
• 27:24
  Speaker 6: the problem, but it can help the problem in a
• 27:27
  Speaker 6: certain way. So how do you think the government plays
• 27:30
  Speaker 6: a role in access to capital?
• 27:32
  Speaker 4: Conversation?
• 27:33
  Speaker 9: Yeah, I mean a lot of funds are public funds
• 27:35
  Speaker 9: right for some of the things that we're talking about,
• 27:37
  Speaker 9: And so I think your state, your local, your federal
• 27:41
  Speaker 9: kind of government officials are critical because they're allocating the
• 27:44
  Speaker 9: dollars that go to support small businesses, they're allocating the
• 27:47
  Speaker 9: dollars that support community run businesses, and so I think
• 27:51
  Speaker 9: they're incritically important because they ultimately make the decisions. And
• 27:54
  Speaker 9: so I think it's right to hold your public and
• 27:57
  Speaker 9: elected officials accountable, but I think aten times we don't.
• 28:02
  Speaker 5: This episode is brought to you by P and C Bank.
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  Speaker 1: An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Salvador accused
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with filming
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just some
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President Donald J.
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: Trump's leadership.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: I'm Christy Noman, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security.
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: lowest levels ever recorded, and over one hundred thousand illegal aliens.
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: Have been arrested.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: If you are here illegally, your next you will be
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: fine nearly one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned and.
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: Deported, you will never return.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: But if you register using our CBP home app and
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: leave now, you could be allowed to return legally.
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: Do what's right. Leave now.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Under President Trump, America's laws, border and families will.
• 30:50
  Speaker 3: Be protected sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
• 30:53
  Speaker 9: Always know who they are, right, I think we know
• 30:55
  Speaker 9: the President, we know the Vice president. We know maybe
• 30:58
  Speaker 9: our governor, maybe our mayor. But those folks are obviously
• 31:01
  Speaker 9: vitally important. But the folks are actually making the decisions
• 31:03
  Speaker 9: of the city councilors, you're ian A and c REP.
• 31:07
  Speaker 9: They're folks within your district of operation and ultimately have
• 31:11
  Speaker 9: grant funding, have access to capital that you might not
• 31:14
  Speaker 9: know of. And so I think the diligence is on
• 31:18
  Speaker 9: you as an entrepreneur as well to make sure you're
• 31:21
  Speaker 9: understanding who those people are. You have knowledge of who
• 31:23
  Speaker 9: they are, and you're doing your own outreach. I don't
• 31:26
  Speaker 9: think I don't think there's an expectation they're going to
• 31:28
  Speaker 9: come to you and just give you a windfall, right,
• 31:31
  Speaker 9: And I think sometimes there's a misnomer that there's some
• 31:35
  Speaker 9: innate obligation they have to you, and they do as
• 31:37
  Speaker 9: you're their constituents. But I think as a business owner,
• 31:40
  Speaker 9: you have to be driving your business forward and do
• 31:42
  Speaker 9: whatever you can to build those relationships.
• 31:44
  Speaker 6: But then also is very important because does everybody know
• 31:47
  Speaker 6: who Don Peebles is. Yes, Yeah, he's from right up
• 31:50
  Speaker 6: the road in DC, and he's almost a billionaire. I
• 31:54
  Speaker 6: think he's worth for like seven hundred eight hundred million dollars.
• 31:56
  Speaker 6: He's most successful black real estate developed in American history.
• 32:00
  Speaker 6: If you talk to him, he always credits his success
• 32:03
  Speaker 6: to one person, because anybody know who that one person
• 32:05
  Speaker 6: is Mayor Marion Barry, and when he was in office,
• 32:10
  Speaker 6: he had an initiative that I think it was like
• 32:13
  Speaker 6: thirty percent of all contract and had to go to
• 32:15
  Speaker 6: black developers. So he was a young developer, he ain't
• 32:17
  Speaker 6: have any money. Long story short, the mayor gave him
• 32:20
  Speaker 6: his start, and most major cities in America have black mayors, right,
• 32:24
  Speaker 6: So when we was having a conversation, he was like,
• 32:27
  Speaker 6: everybody's focused on Trump Biden, but mayors have a lot
• 32:31
  Speaker 6: of responsibility as far as economic empowerment and different things
• 32:35
  Speaker 6: of that nature as well. So you're right, you have
• 32:38
  Speaker 6: to be focused on the local officials. But I think
• 32:42
  Speaker 6: the private public partnership is something that's not talked about
• 32:46
  Speaker 6: enough because if a mayor essentially created a black billionaire,
• 32:50
  Speaker 6: there's only like ten of them in America, then more
• 32:55
  Speaker 6: wealth can be generated with the help from elected officials,
• 32:58
  Speaker 6: I think.
• 33:00
  Speaker 10: One hundred percent.
• 33:00
  Speaker 9: But I think that was based upon the relationship too, right,
• 33:03
  Speaker 9: And so I think the public private partnership is critically important.
• 33:06
  Speaker 9: But I think mister Peoples was very genuine intentional about
• 33:10
  Speaker 9: really building relationship with the mayor.
• 33:12
  Speaker 4: Was in charity, like yeah, he exactly, Yeah, put in position.
• 33:15
  Speaker 10: Put your wealth in position.
• 33:16
  Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, yeah, And actually I have a real quick
• 33:18
  Speaker 9: down people story too, and I think he's and he
• 33:21
  Speaker 9: doesn't know me, and we met just one time. I'll
• 33:23
  Speaker 9: never forget. We met about fifteen years ago at his house.
• 33:26
  Speaker 9: He was doing some event and I met him. I said, you,
• 33:28
  Speaker 9: mister Peoples. You know I'm a lawyer. I'm a young lawyer.
• 33:31
  Speaker 9: But I you know, ultimately when they get into real
• 33:33
  Speaker 9: estate one day, and maybe even entrepreneurship one day, and
• 33:36
  Speaker 9: he's like, give me your give me your card, I'll
• 33:39
  Speaker 9: never forget it.
• 33:39
  Speaker 10: That following week, I got.
• 33:41
  Speaker 9: His book sent to my office in a whole page
• 33:43
  Speaker 9: inscription telling me about to continue the dream, continue the work,
• 33:48
  Speaker 9: and you'll continue to be successful, and some other things too.
• 33:51
  Speaker 10: But I think that level of care still stays in
• 33:54
  Speaker 10: my head.
• 33:55
  Speaker 9: And I'm glad you mentioned him because he's such a
• 33:56
  Speaker 9: solid brother and he's doing amazing things. But I think
• 33:59
  Speaker 9: those moments, I always say there's few moments in life
• 34:02
  Speaker 9: that really matter, and that was a moment it really
• 34:04
  Speaker 9: mattered that helped me change the trajectory of how I thought,
• 34:08
  Speaker 9: from like a business standpoint, I could be achieved.
• 34:11
  Speaker 7: When you went over your portfolio as you came out.
• 34:14
  Speaker 5: I'm looking seven different businesses and industries and obviously we
• 34:18
  Speaker 5: talked about HQ and we talked about the social network,
• 34:21
  Speaker 5: but you also mentioned a global call center where twenty
• 34:24
  Speaker 5: one thousand Africans are employed. In the age of automation,
• 34:29
  Speaker 5: we always talk about AI. I wonder how does it
• 34:32
  Speaker 5: affect the business. Is this something that you look at
• 34:34
  Speaker 5: in terms of business or are you looking to employ
• 34:37
  Speaker 5: more people and go against the grain of technology.
• 34:40
  Speaker 7: How do you view that for the call center business.
• 34:43
  Speaker 10: Yeah, that's a great question. That's something we talk about
• 34:44
  Speaker 10: all the time.
• 34:45
  Speaker 9: So obviously AI is super important, so we incorporate technology
• 34:48
  Speaker 9: and all of our operations, but I think what's unique
• 34:52
  Speaker 9: to an African is empathy, compassion, understanding, and sometimes you
• 35:01
  Speaker 9: cannot replace that with the robot, right are with technology
• 35:05
  Speaker 9: with AI. And so we talk to clients, especially American companies,
• 35:08
  Speaker 9: even some companies in Europe and across.
• 35:10
  Speaker 10: Other kind of geos as well.
• 35:14
  Speaker 9: These are people that have been served such a raw deal,
• 35:19
  Speaker 9: but they have such an empathetic, opportunistic personality that they
• 35:23
  Speaker 9: believed in, like every opportunity is something that should be
• 35:26
  Speaker 9: really grateful for and so calls that are very challenging
• 35:30
  Speaker 9: that need a level of empathy understanding, those are the
• 35:33
  Speaker 9: type of clients we take. And so AI is not
• 35:35
  Speaker 9: going to kind of take over our business because I
• 35:37
  Speaker 9: think at the end of the day, you still need
• 35:39
  Speaker 9: empathetic people. When you're playing gets delayed, your playing gets canceled,
• 35:42
  Speaker 9: you're stranding the airport, you need someone to empathize with you.
• 35:45
  Speaker 9: And so that's really what we train. We need people
• 35:47
  Speaker 9: to be compassionate, understanding, but also proactive and smart and
• 35:51
  Speaker 9: intelligent as well. And so I think that's unique to
• 35:54
  Speaker 9: Africa a lot, right, and I think that's what is
• 35:57
  Speaker 9: kind of our driving force, and I think that's how
• 35:59
  Speaker 9: we've been able to go across the continent.
• 36:02
  Speaker 5: That's incredible. Now I'm looking at the businesses again. We
• 36:04
  Speaker 5: got the call center, we got that hospitality. Let's talk
• 36:08
  Speaker 5: about the restaurant business. That's something that obviously a lot
• 36:11
  Speaker 5: of people in our community either try to thrive they
• 36:13
  Speaker 5: don't have aspirations to thrive inside that a challenging business. Nonetheless,
• 36:18
  Speaker 5: talk about some of the things that you face and
• 36:20
  Speaker 5: the goals for the restaurant.
• 36:22
  Speaker 7: Is it kata would that say it's.
• 36:23
  Speaker 10: Called Kata Kata.
• 36:24
  Speaker 9: So it's an Asian fusion top us and kind of
• 36:27
  Speaker 9: cocktail restaurant. And so the interesting genesis of the restaurant.
• 36:31
  Speaker 10: Was my brother. Well, with all of our.
• 36:34
  Speaker 9: Businesses, we saw gaps and we filled gaps right, so
• 36:38
  Speaker 9: they just weren't like some random businesses we started. We
• 36:40
  Speaker 9: wanted to ultimately control the supply chain, and so why
• 36:43
  Speaker 9: would we have a marketing company And then when a
• 36:48
  Speaker 9: client needed events, weird outsourceding the event company.
• 36:51
  Speaker 10: So we started an event company.
• 36:52
  Speaker 9: Why would we have a diversity company that didn't also
• 36:54
  Speaker 9: have like a wellness component, because a clients needed wellness,
• 36:57
  Speaker 9: and so we grew organically based on identifying needs. And
• 37:01
  Speaker 9: the story of Tata was the first floor of our
• 37:05
  Speaker 9: building became available about nine months ago, and I remember
• 37:10
  Speaker 9: one of the local bars told me.
• 37:12
  Speaker 10: He's like, yo JB.
• 37:14
  Speaker 9: Every guy, time you guys have events, we do crazy numbers.
• 37:19
  Speaker 10: I'm like, well, why are we.
• 37:21
  Speaker 9: Pushing all this business to all these other places where
• 37:25
  Speaker 9: we are actually convening people and then ultimately, right or wrong,
• 37:29
  Speaker 9: we want everybody in the community to do well. But
• 37:31
  Speaker 9: I was like, we need to actually continue to control
• 37:33
  Speaker 9: that member, that guest experience and so it was like
• 37:37
  Speaker 9: a no brainer with that opportunity to open the restaurant
• 37:40
  Speaker 9: because now we can really guide the guest across the
• 37:44
  Speaker 9: whole experience and they don't.
• 37:46
  Speaker 10: Have to go anywhere else.
• 37:47
  Speaker 7: One stop shop, one stop shop.
• 37:50
  Speaker 6: The call center thing is interesting though, because so somebody
• 37:54
  Speaker 6: just sent me I just got educated on this artificial
• 37:57
  Speaker 6: intelligence that responds to people like cold calling, right, And
• 38:02
  Speaker 6: I was just testing it out, and it's kind of
• 38:05
  Speaker 6: scary because I feel like it's really good in answering questions.
• 38:09
  Speaker 6: And the thing about the AI is that it gets
• 38:12
  Speaker 6: more intelligent by the day. So even what you're saying
• 38:15
  Speaker 6: as far as it not having emotional intelligence, but that's
• 38:18
  Speaker 6: like the next level of AI, right, the programming to
• 38:21
  Speaker 6: have like a high level of emotional intelligence, just like
• 38:23
  Speaker 6: it has general intelligence.
• 38:25
  Speaker 4: So at some point in time, the AI is going
• 38:28
  Speaker 4: to be able to do that. Right.
• 38:30
  Speaker 6: So for you as a business owner, that's beneficial because
• 38:34
  Speaker 6: you save money, But it's also scary because it's like,
• 38:37
  Speaker 6: that's twenty one thousand people just in your company that's unemployed, right,
• 38:41
  Speaker 6: So how do you see the future of like just
• 38:47
  Speaker 6: business in general, with so many jobs eventually will be
• 38:52
  Speaker 6: replaced by AI. There's no way around it, right, Like,
• 38:55
  Speaker 6: what is your thought process on that kind of looking
• 38:59
  Speaker 6: in the future.
• 39:01
  Speaker 9: Yeah, well, I think it's something we've seen for the
• 39:04
  Speaker 9: last multiple decades, right with the expansion of technology. I
• 39:07
  Speaker 9: don't think this is going to be any different. I
• 39:08
  Speaker 9: think technology ultimately, why it might take away jobs, it
• 39:11
  Speaker 9: also creates jobs, and it creates opportunities. I think as
• 39:15
  Speaker 9: business owners and we think about talking about wealth and
• 39:18
  Speaker 9: even specific to call center, I think you always have
• 39:21
  Speaker 9: to pivot, You always have to adapt, You always have
• 39:24
  Speaker 9: to come up with new ways to support your business
• 39:27
  Speaker 9: based upon technology and how it evolves. But I think
• 39:30
  Speaker 9: we've been good about understanding things and getting ahead of things,
• 39:34
  Speaker 9: and so yes, clearly it's going to affect kind of
• 39:37
  Speaker 9: some needs and we'll just have to pift and adjust.
• 39:39
  Speaker 9: But it also might create more opportunities for employment too, right,
• 39:43
  Speaker 9: And so we just never know. But we also want
• 39:45
  Speaker 9: to stay ahead of things and really focused on not
• 39:49
  Speaker 9: how is technology going to take things away, but how
• 39:52
  Speaker 9: is technology going to provide more opportunities.
• 39:55
  Speaker 5: Before we get out of I definitely want to talk
• 39:57
  Speaker 5: about we talk about the businesses, but I know something
• 39:59
  Speaker 5: that's near and dear to you is giving back. So
• 40:02
  Speaker 5: philanthropy is something that's obviously part of the portfolio. I
• 40:06
  Speaker 5: saw the foundation and correct me if I'm wrong. Icon to,
• 40:09
  Speaker 5: I can, icon to, I can.
• 40:10
  Speaker 4: Yep.
• 40:11
  Speaker 7: The title is fire.
• 40:13
  Speaker 10: Thank you, Thank you.
• 40:14
  Speaker 5: Talk about the work that you're doing there and the
• 40:16
  Speaker 5: origin of it.
• 40:18
  Speaker 10: Yeah, no, thank you. See, these brothers came relper well,
• 40:20
  Speaker 10: well well prepared.
• 40:21
  Speaker 8: Man.
• 40:21
  Speaker 9: I forgot to even mention that. So I mean we've
• 40:24
  Speaker 9: done this a few times. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I believe that, man, y'all,
• 40:28
  Speaker 9: your reputation precedes you. So we grew up in a
• 40:33
  Speaker 9: house with a mother that was a successful pediatrician, but
• 40:37
  Speaker 9: at her core she was a community activist and community advocate,
• 40:41
  Speaker 9: and so we learned early on, while entrepreneurship and wealth
• 40:47
  Speaker 9: is all important, but if you're not giving back to
• 40:49
  Speaker 9: your community, then what are you really leaving behind? And
• 40:51
  Speaker 9: so we've always moved even before launching our businesses, through
• 40:55
  Speaker 9: a lens of advocacy. And so the genesis of our
• 40:58
  Speaker 9: foundation was about ten years ago. We had launched some
• 41:02
  Speaker 9: mentorship programs back home in San Antonio because we just
• 41:06
  Speaker 9: saw the need and so we just believed in giving back,
• 41:11
  Speaker 9: and so Visa through another platform, which is a celebrity
• 41:14
  Speaker 9: speaker series platform called icon Talks. We were able to
• 41:16
  Speaker 9: like mobilize community, get celebrities involved to support the foundation work.
• 41:20
  Speaker 9: But at its core, we wanted to suprive provide mentorship programs,
• 41:24
  Speaker 9: empowerment program for kids that looked like us, because oftentimes
• 41:28
  Speaker 9: those kids don't have exposure. And so the genesis was
• 41:30
  Speaker 9: just innate to who we were as people, just to
• 41:33
  Speaker 9: understand that too much is given, much is required, and
• 41:35
  Speaker 9: we believed in the importance to give him back. And
• 41:37
  Speaker 9: so now our mentorship programs across schools in Texas were
• 41:40
  Speaker 9: across six schools across the state of Texas, and we
• 41:44
  Speaker 9: wanted to stay in Texas because that's where we're from
• 41:46
  Speaker 9: and that's where we saw the need and that's where
• 41:48
  Speaker 9: we were exposed to the need throughout our whole upbringing.
• 41:51
  Speaker 9: And so we're super proud of that work. And I'm
• 41:53
  Speaker 9: sorry I didn't mention that before, but see brother reminded me,
• 41:57
  Speaker 9: so I appreciate you.
• 41:58
  Speaker 6: So how are you able to multi to Y know,
• 42:00
  Speaker 6: as far as having so many different verticals, so many
• 42:03
  Speaker 6: different businesses, A lot of people burn themselves out or
• 42:08
  Speaker 6: they spread themselves too thin. So how are you able
• 42:11
  Speaker 6: to stay on top and make sure that every business
• 42:14
  Speaker 6: is running optimal?
• 42:16
  Speaker 9: No, that's a great question. Every day isn't easy. But
• 42:18
  Speaker 9: I think team, I think team is everything. I think
• 42:22
  Speaker 9: you can never grow a successful business by yourself. I
• 42:25
  Speaker 9: think you have to rely on people. You have to
• 42:27
  Speaker 9: invest in people, and you have to allow people to
• 42:29
  Speaker 9: do what they do best. And so again I keep
• 42:32
  Speaker 9: pointing out edge, you're no manager Nanny from HQDC House,
• 42:35
  Speaker 9: she's the best at what she does and right, so
• 42:37
  Speaker 9: I think it's a testament to people. I think it's
• 42:39
  Speaker 9: also a testament to understanding who you are and how
• 42:41
  Speaker 9: you operate as a business owner. Right, I know what
• 42:43
  Speaker 9: I do well and I know what I don't do well,
• 42:45
  Speaker 9: and so staying out the mess of things that you
• 42:48
  Speaker 9: don't do well, So I think that can ultimate lead
• 42:49
  Speaker 9: to chaos. And I think again, for us, our journey
• 42:53
  Speaker 9: has been very pragmatic, very practical, very intentional, based upon needs,
• 43:00
  Speaker 9: and so I think that's allowed us to grow strategically
• 43:04
  Speaker 9: without growing in like an elogical way. But again it's
• 43:09
  Speaker 9: not easy. I mean I always say, man, the level
• 43:13
  Speaker 9: of decision fatigue guy on a daily basis is freaking massive. Right,
• 43:18
  Speaker 9: You're making two hundred, three hundred decisions in one day.
• 43:21
  Speaker 9: You're on calls in Nairobi, then you're at a call
• 43:23
  Speaker 9: for HQ, then you're doing an event at the White House.
• 43:26
  Speaker 9: And so the level of kind of multitasking, I'm not
• 43:29
  Speaker 9: gonna lie, it can be. It can be over taxing
• 43:32
  Speaker 9: at time. But I think that's when you have to
• 43:34
  Speaker 9: take a step back, really really focus on your mental health,
• 43:37
  Speaker 9: really focus on taking time to really reflect, be appreciative,
• 43:42
  Speaker 9: and then sometimes just say hey, I can't do it today, Bro,
• 43:46
  Speaker 9: you gotta just take You got to step in for me.
• 43:48
  Speaker 10: Man, I gotta take a I gotta take a day.
• 43:50
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 43:50
  Speaker 10: I think that's okay.
• 43:51
  Speaker 9: And one of the panelists in the conversation upstairs said
• 43:55
  Speaker 9: earlier a former football player, Ray Rice from the Baltimore Ravens.
• 43:59
  Speaker 9: He said he wants his legacy to be that black
• 44:03
  Speaker 9: men specifically can be vulnerable and say they need help.
• 44:08
  Speaker 9: And so I think that is what I've taken from
• 44:13
  Speaker 9: kind of a critical piece for today and the time
• 44:15
  Speaker 9: moving in my life is just sometimes when it becomes overtaxing,
• 44:18
  Speaker 9: sometimes when it looks like the world is ending and
• 44:21
  Speaker 9: you're so overcome with anxiety and so much going on
• 44:24
  Speaker 9: in so many pieces, take a step back and that
• 44:27
  Speaker 9: those moments just ask for help.
• 44:29
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I want to.
• 44:29
  Speaker 5: As I'm listening to you talk, you know, we always
• 44:32
  Speaker 5: tend to ask people what's the five to ten year
• 44:34
  Speaker 5: vision or the goal? Is that your approach or is
• 44:38
  Speaker 5: it because you're feeling needs?
• 44:40
  Speaker 7: Is it a day to day thing? Right?
• 44:41
  Speaker 5: There could be a need that comes up next month.
• 44:44
  Speaker 5: We have to fulfill that. So in terms of like
• 44:46
  Speaker 5: people always ask you, have you earned your leisure? Like, nah,
• 44:49
  Speaker 5: there's still so much to go. How do you approach this?
• 44:52
  Speaker 5: Is it long term goals or it's need based? As
• 44:56
  Speaker 5: it comes, we'll approach it and see if we can
• 44:57
  Speaker 5: take it on.
• 44:58
  Speaker 10: Yeah, So I think it's a little bit of both.
• 45:00
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 45:00
  Speaker 9: So at the micro level, it's we identify gaps and
• 45:04
  Speaker 9: try to fill them, right, but not be reckless and
• 45:07
  Speaker 9: kind of not intentional about or strategic about it. But
• 45:11
  Speaker 9: we pivot daily, which you have to pivot, right, But
• 45:14
  Speaker 9: we are identifying gaps that need to be filled. But
• 45:17
  Speaker 9: at the macro level, I think we're truly stepping into
• 45:20
  Speaker 9: our purpose now, and our purpose from like a business
• 45:23
  Speaker 9: standpoint is really to change the circumstances, the narrative.
• 45:27
  Speaker 10: And the opportunities for black people around the world.
• 45:30
  Speaker 9: And so I'm so, so so focused on that purpose
• 45:33
  Speaker 9: now and that's core to who we are. And so
• 45:37
  Speaker 9: while a gap might exist that we need to fill,
• 45:39
  Speaker 9: but if it's not innate to that purpose, we won't
• 45:41
  Speaker 9: work on that right And so now as we do
• 45:43
  Speaker 9: work in Africa, we're launching this global network, we see
• 45:45
  Speaker 9: our vision even clearer, we see our goals even clearer,
• 45:48
  Speaker 9: but they're so macro. But the micro kind of things
• 45:52
  Speaker 9: we do on the daily basis, they have to be
• 45:53
  Speaker 9: moorking towards to micro. But when you say five year,
• 45:56
  Speaker 9: ten year, fifteen year plan, we've done those exercises, we've
• 46:00
  Speaker 9: been successful because if we've been able to identify things,
• 46:05
  Speaker 9: pivot and modify our businesses to support the times that
• 46:10
  Speaker 9: we're in. I think sometimes, don't get me wrong, KPIs objectives,
• 46:14
  Speaker 9: all those things are super important goals, but I think
• 46:17
  Speaker 9: sometimes when you're not looking at the present and too
• 46:19
  Speaker 9: focused on the future, you can miss things. And so
• 46:22
  Speaker 9: we want to maintain focus on the future, but also
• 46:24
  Speaker 9: be actively actively changing things in the president to support
• 46:30
  Speaker 9: the business.
• 46:31
  Speaker 4: So my last question is leadership.
• 46:35
  Speaker 6: How what lessons have you learned and what advice could
• 46:37
  Speaker 6: you give the entrepreneurs as far as being a leader
• 46:41
  Speaker 6: and managing people?
• 46:44
  Speaker 10: Yeah?
• 46:44
  Speaker 4: Yeah, So.
• 46:47
  Speaker 9: Generally speaking, the most important not even generally speaking, transparently speaking,
• 46:52
  Speaker 9: the most important thing about a business are your people.
• 46:57
  Speaker 9: Without your people, there is no business, right. And so,
• 47:01
  Speaker 9: how do you create a culture that encourages innovation, that
• 47:06
  Speaker 9: encourages proactivity, that encourages accountability, that encourages teammanship, that encourages
• 47:13
  Speaker 9: people working towards kind of one common goal. And I
• 47:18
  Speaker 9: think a lot of that leadership has come from my brother.
• 47:20
  Speaker 9: My brother again served the military for thirteen years, and
• 47:23
  Speaker 9: I think using that framework, those leadership principles from West
• 47:26
  Speaker 9: Point really have been invaluable. And then also just so
• 47:30
  Speaker 9: you all know, I come from a military background to
• 47:32
  Speaker 9: go to military college, but I went to military school
• 47:34
  Speaker 9: from second to twelfth grade. Ask my mom why she
• 47:37
  Speaker 9: sent me the military school at second grade. I know
• 47:39
  Speaker 9: you even do that, but that taught me those principles too,
• 47:42
  Speaker 9: of like teammanship, of like core value. And so I
• 47:44
  Speaker 9: think for us, it's investing in people, understanding that culture
• 47:49
  Speaker 9: is important, and ultimately allowing people to be people.
• 47:52
  Speaker 10: People make mistakes, right, And then.
• 47:54
  Speaker 9: Also I think not everybody is the right fit for
• 47:57
  Speaker 9: your organization, and so I always leave with.
• 48:00
  Speaker 10: The heart of compassion.
• 48:01
  Speaker 9: My brother leads with like an iron fist sometimes, and
• 48:03
  Speaker 9: so I think it's important to have that level of
• 48:05
  Speaker 9: combination across like the owners, because you can't always be
• 48:09
  Speaker 9: the heart.
• 48:10
  Speaker 10: Sometimes you need to be kind of the harder feature
• 48:13
  Speaker 10: as well.
• 48:14
  Speaker 5: I'm glad you said the word mistake because on my mind,
• 48:17
  Speaker 5: I'm thinking to myself, think about your biggest financial mistake.
• 48:21
  Speaker 5: Right then, I also want you to think about the
• 48:25
  Speaker 5: biggest lesson you learned from that mistake.
• 48:29
  Speaker 9: Yeah, that's a great question. Our biggest financial mistake?
• 48:36
  Speaker 10: Wow?
• 48:36
  Speaker 9: Okay, so I think our biggest financial mistake and this
• 48:39
  Speaker 9: is something recent. I'm not going to obviously mention the
• 48:42
  Speaker 9: names specifically, but it was entering into and this sounds
• 48:47
  Speaker 9: crazy coming from a lawyer right now, entering into a
• 48:51
  Speaker 9: partnership with someone that you believed in the nobility of
• 48:56
  Speaker 9: the mission and of the purpose, but you didn't necessarily
• 48:59
  Speaker 9: paper it right because you believed it was a bigger
• 49:02
  Speaker 9: calling and you believe that they were on the same page,
• 49:05
  Speaker 9: and you believe that it was a common mission that
• 49:07
  Speaker 9: you all want to do the same thing and make
• 49:08
  Speaker 9: it work, but you didn't paper the transaction appropriately, so
• 49:11
  Speaker 9: you put money into it without having the legal eaese
• 49:15
  Speaker 9: in place, and so that was a horrible decision coming
• 49:19
  Speaker 9: from a lawyer, but there was guided by who we
• 49:22
  Speaker 9: thought we were working with and we were doing something
• 49:24
  Speaker 9: that was noble. But the lesson from that is, even
• 49:29
  Speaker 9: in the most noble of endeavors, you think this person
• 49:33
  Speaker 9: was ordained by Jesus Christ himself, you need to paper
• 49:38
  Speaker 9: these transactions and believe in framing a business like a
• 49:42
  Speaker 9: business should be framed, and not taking risks of or
• 49:44
  Speaker 9: unnecessary because ultimately, even in the best of situations, it
• 49:48
  Speaker 9: can sometimes be the worst.
• 49:51
  Speaker 4: So no handshake agreements, well no, not a fan of that.
• 49:56
  Speaker 7: No paper bag ones either.
• 49:58
  Speaker 9: No man a teen year practitioner to make that mistake
• 50:03
  Speaker 9: like six months ago.
• 50:04
  Speaker 10: It's just it's bananas have us to the best of us.
• 50:07
  Speaker 6: So, okay, you're a trained lawyer, right, that doesn't always
• 50:12
  Speaker 6: relate to entrepreneurship. A lot of times that's like being
• 50:15
  Speaker 6: a doctor. Like you, you're skilled in something, but a
• 50:19
  Speaker 6: lot of times that doesn't mean that you're going to
• 50:20
  Speaker 6: be a great business owner. So how did you make
• 50:23
  Speaker 6: that transition in your mind to be an entrepreneur when
• 50:28
  Speaker 6: you went to school and you were on the pathway
• 50:31
  Speaker 6: and just working law.
• 50:33
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 50:34
  Speaker 10: No, it's a completely different shift in mindset.
• 50:36
  Speaker 9: But I think it's also a lot of compromary skill
• 50:38
  Speaker 9: sets that are applicable to both industries. I think it's
• 50:40
  Speaker 9: attention of detail. I think it's accountability. I think it's
• 50:43
  Speaker 9: people skills. I think it's a lot of showmanship. I mean,
• 50:47
  Speaker 9: to be an entrepreneur, you got to be charismatic, you
• 50:49
  Speaker 9: got to talk to people, you got to ask people
• 50:51
  Speaker 9: for things, you got to be genuine, you got to
• 50:53
  Speaker 9: be connected. And so I think I was a litigator
• 50:55
  Speaker 9: for the first five years of my practice, and the
• 50:57
  Speaker 9: theatrics of being in the courtroom teach you that you
• 51:00
  Speaker 9: have to connect with people on different levels and connect
• 51:03
  Speaker 9: with different types of people. And so I think a
• 51:05
  Speaker 9: lot of those skills are very applicable to the entrepreneurship space.
• 51:09
  Speaker 9: But again, I leaned on my brother from his kind
• 51:15
  Speaker 9: of corporate experience to bring those corporate chops. I'd never
• 51:18
  Speaker 9: been in the boardroom. I've been like in a courtroom.
• 51:21
  Speaker 9: That's different than the boardroom. Right, I had never been
• 51:25
  Speaker 9: in spaces where big money deals are talked about. But
• 51:28
  Speaker 9: my brother was the CEO of City Bank, and so
• 51:30
  Speaker 9: he worked in finance. He knew those spaces and so
• 51:33
  Speaker 9: and the level of detail he kind of moves with,
• 51:36
  Speaker 9: and the pragmatism that he moves with. The two kind
• 51:38
  Speaker 9: of provided that that structure that we needed. And again
• 51:42
  Speaker 9: talking about complimentary skill sets like I'm the people guy, right,
• 51:46
  Speaker 9: I knew why I was the people guy.
• 51:48
  Speaker 7: Right.
• 51:48
  Speaker 9: I know I can help with BD, I can drive engagement,
• 51:51
  Speaker 9: I have relationships, and so again, understanding my skills kill
• 51:56
  Speaker 9: sket understanding Hillski's skill set and making sure that we're
• 51:59
  Speaker 9: complimenting not only our partnership, but the business was critically important.
• 52:04
  Speaker 10: And that didn't happen overnight. That didn't help it overnight.
• 52:06
  Speaker 10: It took time.
• 52:07
  Speaker 9: It took honest conversations. My mam always says, I talked
• 52:12
  Speaker 9: to my brother maybe and not even to test this,
• 52:14
  Speaker 9: maybe nobs twenty five times and not like twenty five minutes,
• 52:19
  Speaker 9: like twenty five times throughout the day because we're constantly strategizing.
• 52:22
  Speaker 10: I'm sure you guys are the same, and.
• 52:23
  Speaker 9: So I think understanding your partner and understanding the business
• 52:27
  Speaker 9: and ultimately trying to leverage each other's skill sets to
• 52:30
  Speaker 9: grow the business is important. But it's being accountable and
• 52:33
  Speaker 9: understanding where gaps exist and continuing to.
• 52:35
  Speaker 7: Grow absolutely strap it up for that that's really I
• 52:41
  Speaker 7: want to call.
• 52:42
  Speaker 5: I want to Raven and Anthony's stand up really quickly.
• 52:45
  Speaker 5: Could y'all stand up? Can y'all stand up?
• 52:48
  Speaker 7: Let's grab it up for them?
• 52:51
  Speaker 5: And John, I want to talk to you about the
• 52:52
  Speaker 5: time when obviously when we see a well somebody, are
• 52:56
  Speaker 5: they standing up?
• 52:57
  Speaker 4: I not.
• 52:57
  Speaker 5: I want to acknowledge them because well, what we're seeing
• 53:00
  Speaker 5: here had to sit back down and not yet, and
• 53:03
  Speaker 5: that's awkward if you give somebody instructions. Oh no, no,
• 53:05
  Speaker 5: I just want them to stand up because I want
• 53:06
  Speaker 5: them to be acknowledged in this moment, because what we're
• 53:09
  Speaker 5: in the midst of is a financial revolution, and we're
• 53:12
  Speaker 5: seeing it happen at this level. Right, We're seeing a
• 53:16
  Speaker 5: couple work together, We're seeing them call on black men
• 53:19
  Speaker 5: to work together.
• 53:20
  Speaker 7: We're seeing it. But we've also seen been in spaces
• 53:23
  Speaker 7: where at the highest level we.
• 53:24
  Speaker 5: Don't see people working together. Right, are wealthiest, orry elite
• 53:28
  Speaker 5: don't work together as much. I want you to take
• 53:31
  Speaker 5: a moment. What do you think about the time way
• 53:32
  Speaker 5: in terms of this financial movement as you see it
• 53:36
  Speaker 5: as an entrepreneur now in this space? Is this something
• 53:39
  Speaker 5: and what are the characteristics that we need to keep
• 53:41
  Speaker 5: to have this going? Thank out the standing.
• 53:44
  Speaker 10: Yes, definitely around the applause. Thank you guys so much.
• 53:49
  Speaker 9: I mean, to be honest, we need more people like you,
• 53:52
  Speaker 9: and you need corporate you and you who are actually
• 53:55
  Speaker 9: creating spaces for us to come together. I'm so excited
• 53:59
  Speaker 9: what you guys have done because you created something that's
• 54:02
  Speaker 9: never been done before.
• 54:03
  Speaker 10: I think you're creating.
• 54:05
  Speaker 9: Genuine conversations for people to learn, to gather insights, to
• 54:08
  Speaker 9: build relationships, to share resources that had never been done
• 54:12
  Speaker 9: at the scale you guys are doing in our communities.
• 54:14
  Speaker 9: And so I applaud you all for all the work
• 54:17
  Speaker 9: that you all are doing. Yeah, I think it's I mean,
• 54:22
  Speaker 9: it's unbelievable and I know you all probably get the
• 54:25
  Speaker 9: accolades and people say thank you so much, but I
• 54:27
  Speaker 9: don't know if you truly realize the impact that you
• 54:31
  Speaker 9: guys are making around the globe right in providing inspiration
• 54:35
  Speaker 9: in providing exposure and opportunity for people. That's a reward
• 54:40
  Speaker 9: that cannot be overstated. So I just want to say
• 54:42
  Speaker 9: thank you guys, and then likewise to you all. I
• 54:47
  Speaker 9: think I think about wealth and two different approaches. I think,
• 54:50
  Speaker 9: obviously you think about wealth and the traditional monetary aspects
• 54:54
  Speaker 9: of wealth, but I think what you all are doing
• 54:57
  Speaker 9: is bigger than that. I think you all are approaching
• 55:00
  Speaker 9: from a mindset, and I think wealth really is a mindset,
• 55:04
  Speaker 9: and I think the words have been used all day around,
• 55:07
  Speaker 9: leading from an abundance mindset, leading from a community mindset,
• 55:12
  Speaker 9: leading from a collective action mindset. But I think ultimately
• 55:15
  Speaker 9: that all is encompass and leading from like a wealth mindset,
• 55:19
  Speaker 9: and the wealth mindset is working together, building together, building partnerships.
• 55:24
  Speaker 10: What I've felt the most joy from.
• 55:26
  Speaker 9: Today is is the genuine excitement to build together. And
• 55:32
  Speaker 9: that's something you don't feel very often. And so I
• 55:35
  Speaker 9: think to be in spaces that we can be in
• 55:39
  Speaker 9: where we're fostering relationships and growing together, I think that's
• 55:42
  Speaker 9: going to ultimately rectify some of the situations where folks
• 55:46
  Speaker 9: are not doing that. I think as we continue to
• 55:48
  Speaker 9: facilitate community, we continue to hold more events like this
• 55:52
  Speaker 9: and build relationships. I think that's going to change an
• 55:55
  Speaker 9: aerative for our people. And so again I applaud both
• 55:58
  Speaker 9: of you all for doing all the great work you're doing.
• 56:03
  Speaker 6: What's one last word you can leave, you know, any entrepreneur,
• 56:06
  Speaker 6: aspiring entrepreneur.
• 56:08
  Speaker 9: With one last word, And it's a word in kind
• 56:12
  Speaker 9: of an approach I've always mentioned in every conversation I give.
• 56:16
  Speaker 10: I say, never stop dreaming.
• 56:19
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 56:20
  Speaker 9: As an entrepreneur, you have to be a dreamer. And
• 56:23
  Speaker 9: I dream a new dream every single day, right, And
• 56:27
  Speaker 9: I think those dreams can ultimately become goals, they can
• 56:30
  Speaker 9: become objective, they become things that you ultimately put into motion.
• 56:34
  Speaker 9: But being a dreamer is critically important to entrepreneurship. And
• 56:37
  Speaker 9: say never let anybody distinguish or extinguish your dream.
• 56:42
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 56:43
  Speaker 9: And so but I think a dream without action will
• 56:46
  Speaker 9: come without any type of actual come into fruition. So
• 56:50
  Speaker 9: I think, continue to dream, put action behind it, put
• 56:53
  Speaker 9: team behind it.
• 56:54
  Speaker 10: It will all work out.
• 56:55
  Speaker 4: Make some noise, ladies and gentlemen.
• 56:57
  Speaker 7: Ladies and gentlemen appreciate it.
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: Tom Byrne, an illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: a child in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: Al Salvador accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: charged with filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: are just some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: of President Donald J.
• 57:20
  Speaker 2: Trump's leadership.
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: I'm Christy Noman, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security.
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: lowest levels ever recorded, and over one hundred thousand illegal aliens.
• 57:34
  Speaker 2: Have been arrested.
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: If you are here illegally, your next you will be
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: fined nearly one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, and deported.
• 57:43
  Speaker 2: You will never return.
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: But if you register using our CBP home app and
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: leave now, you could be allowed to return legally.
• 57:50
  Speaker 2: Do what's right. Leave now.
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: Under President Trump, America's laws, border and families will be protected.
• 57:58
  Speaker 3: Sponsored by the United States Department of Home Insecurity,