Street2Ivy's ELEVATE Magazine, Issue 1 (May 2021) by Street2Ivy

May 2021 Issue 1

“ You will meet challenges, but you learn how to power through them – that is what’s required in the entrepreneurial space.

Venture Noire founder Keenan Beasley on helping Black business founders thrive

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Street2Ivy EleVate Publisher Founder

Tavares Brewington

This year, COVID-19 added economic strain and personal tragedy to an already challenging environment. Many established businesses made tough decisions to reduce staff or shutter their doors permanently, and many entrepreneurs postponed their dreams of launching a business. On top of the hardships of the past year, entrepreneurs from historically underserved communities, as always, face even more significant challenges than most entrepreneurs in their attempts to access capital and funding, mentors and support networks. And yet, despite overwhelming odds, we endure. We persevere. Now, as COVID restrictions lift, I hope this inaugural issue of EleVate will help you overcome obstacles on your journey to entrepreneurship. First and foremost, we offer you resources, from “How to Make a Fundraising Video That is LIT” (page6) to real-world advice from founder-turned-investor Miles Lasater (page 8) and CEO and Founder Pam Bunes (page 22). We offer you inspiration. As I watched videos made by Jean Chatman of Chatman J. Cakes in The Bronx, New York; Tiffany Biddle of Sweet Mae’s Cookie Company in Cincinnati; and Taylor Moore of Grey Bird Baking Company in New Orleans about how and why they started their baking businesses, I admired their grit and determination, while their cookies, cakes and pies made my mouth water! (See “Baking From Scratch: Three Female Entrepreneurs Explain What it Takes to Start and Build Your Own Business,” on page 12.) Our cover story on Venture Noire founder Keenan Beasley not only celebrates Black business founders, but it also stresses the importance of perseverance in an entrepreneur’s journey (“Community, Collaboration and Confidence,” page 18). Some features you’ll see in every issue: Brooklyn-based Nathalie Anglès, director and founder of Residency Unlimited, will introduce us to international contemporary artists (“Fresh Art,” page 14). Support our Street2Ivy retail community and do some shopping by checking out “Retail Fire” (page 10). On the last page of EleVate, the Word column will feature a guest opinion writer in every issue. This month, we welcome my Street2Ivy collaborator Rich Appiah Jr. Finally, I’d like to leave you with a selection from seventh grader Alexander Mather’s winning entry in a contest to name the Mars 2020 rover. I believe Mather’s words are relevant to this journey we are all on as entrepreneurs. “The human race will always persevere into the future,” Alexander wrote. “We as humans evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation, no matter how harsh. We are a species of explorers, and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere. We, not as a nation but as humans, will not give up.”

Tavares Brewington

Publisher, Founder of Street2Ivy Jocelyn Ruggiero Executive Editor

Sarah Protzman Howlett

Irma Serafini

Copy Editor

Art Director

Nathalie Anglès

Curator, Featured Artists

Davina van Buren, Pam Bunes, Bri Castellini Contributing Writers

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The Tea

Mad Bank: Make A Fundraising Video That Is LIT by Bri Castellini

Purpose Driven: Advice for Startups from Founder-Turned-Investor Miles Lasater by Davina van Buren

Retail Fire: Check Out the Hottest Items from Street2Ivy’s Newest Retailers

Baking from Scratch: Three Female

Entrepreneurs Explain What It Takes to Start and Build Your Own Business by Jocelyn Ruggerio

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Fresh Art: Residency Unlimited Director and Founder Nathalie Anglès introduces artists Peter Erik Lopez, Daniella Krajkova and Nazanin Noroozi

Community, Collaboration and Confidence: How Venture Noire

Founder Keenan Beasley helps Black business founders thrive by Davina van Buren

Straight Talk For New Entrepreneurs:

EpiEP CEO and Founder Pam Bunes

Word: by Rich Appiah Jr.

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In February, Street2Ivy founder

Tavares Brewington

was featured in Forbes as part of the Next Generation of Upstart Entrepreneurs Redefining the American Dream.

EleVate Magazine

May 2021, Issue 1

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PODCASTS

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Avery Janosky recently interviewed Tavares Brewington on her podcast The Choice is Yours, where he discussed his journey as an undergrad at Holy Cross, a law student at Boston College, a business graduate at Cornell University and finally, an entrepreneur and founder of Street2Ivy. Janosky, 15, is an entrepreneur, podcaster and sophomore at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif. She says she created The Choice Is Yours “to let young adults explore career options and show them that the journey people take to success is not the same for everyone.”

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May 2021, Issue 1

EleVate Magazine

estimated read time: 2 minutes

Make A

VIDEO

Fundraising Video That Is LIT by Bri Castellini

If you do it right, you won’t just earn $, you’ll earn loyal customers

Start With The Problem You Are Solving

The first 15 to 20 seconds of your video should show your audience the stuff they’re excited about. What problem are you solving and how is your brand different from ones that already exist? How can you illustrate this with video footage, archival materials (news reports/features), photos, or graphics? If you are selling a product, SHOW it to us as a close-up. If it’s a service, show us what that service looks like. One note: Think twice before starting your video with you speaking to the camera. Your friends and family will be delighted to see you talking about your new business, but they are not your main audience.

Bri Castellini is a screenwriter, director and podcaster. As Seed&Spark’s film community manager, she teaches, writes about and consults on crowdfunding, and has helped artists raise over $2 million since beginning in this role late in 2019. Bri co-hosts the podcast Breaking Out of Breaking In, a practical filmmaking podcast for making great work without playing the Hollywood game.

EleVate Magazine

May 2021, Issue 1

PERSERVERANCE MAD BANK FUNDRAISING VIDEO

Know Your Audience

Know your audience well enough to start with a bang and connect to what they’re looking for. What’s in it for them? Your pitch video should be as much about the people you’re pitching to as it is about the project you’re pitching. There are two ways to answer what’s in it for them: TANGIBLY and INTANGIBLY. • The TANGIBLE pitch is pretty simple: Highlight an incentive or two they’ll get as a result of contributing to your campaign. (These are the incentives you list on the main fundraising page.) • The INTANGIBLE is less simple but arguably more powerful: What are they looking for, and how are you delivering it? Put yourself in their shoes. Pretend you are a person who wishes your business existed. If you came across this video, what would convince you this is the right way to solve the problem? What would encourage you to keep watching and contribute to the campaign? The answers to these questions should guide the design and script of your pitch video (and yes, you need a design and a script).

3 @brisownworld

Keep It Short

Statistically, your audience will only watch 90 to 120 seconds of your video, so the important aspects of your pitch need to happen during those first two minutes. And your total runtime shouldn’t be much longer than that. It’s hard enough to get someone to contribute to a stranger’s crowdfunding campaign; you don’t want to make the barrier for entry harder by asking them to watch an eight-minute video! When you end your video, lay out your calls to action – contribute to your campaign, share your video, follow you on social media. Include a campaign URL in case they discover your video outside of the campaign page, and use some final video footage to stick with your audience as they get their wallets out. The final beat is just as important as the first, so leave them ready to commit to funding your campaign but still wanting more – and ready to follow your brand as you launch and beyond.

PERSERVERANCE MAD BANK FUNDRAISING VIDEO

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EleVate Magazine

estimated read time: 3½ minutes

Purpose Driven by Davina van Buren

Unlike many American kids, Miles Lasater’s parents taught him about money at a young age. Hooked, the self-proclaimed bookworm sought out personal finance books on his own. At Yale University, he co-founded the Yale Entrepreneurial Society and the institution’s first business plan competition, which included a special category for social entrepreneurship. While still an undergraduate, in 2000 he co-founded Higher One, a disbursement and payment solutions company that offers student banking services, growing the company to over $200 milion in revenue, 750-plus employees, an initial public offering (IPO) and multiple acquisitions. He went on to launch two other venture-backed startups. More than 20 years after Higher One’s founding, Lasater funds tech startups with a social mission as the founding partner of Purpose Built Ventures and advises startups in their earliest stages. We caught up with Lasater to learn how aspiring entrepreneurs can access capital and precisely what investors are looking for in a business plan.

@mileslasater

venturepatterns.com

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Start. You can only steer once you are in motion. If you start doing something, you will already be setting yourself apart from so many ventures that cease to go beyond the idea stage.

EleVate Magazine

May 2021, Issue 1

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ADVICE FOR STARTUPS FOUNDER-TURNED-INVESTOR MILES LASATER

How do you define social entrepreneurship?

You’ll hear social entrepreneurship used in two contexts: One, using the process and tools of capitalism to achieve ends broader than making money. In other words, starting up in order to create positive externalities. And two, using the startup founder mindset to start a nonprofit organization.

What do investors initially want to see from a startup?

The fundraising materials an investor expects will depend on the type of fundraising, investor, and your relationship with them. Banks generally like written business plans. Friends and family may only require you to talk to them. Angels generally want a pitch deck. Venture capitalists usually want a pitch deck and, for later stages, some financial projections. Consider your business’s capital needs and goals carefully before assuming that a bank loan or a venture capitalist is the best route.

What do you look for in a business plan? What sets a strong business plan apart from an average one?

At the early stage, most investors are looking for: 1. A team that works well together and has relevant skills, knowledge and contacts. 2. A large and/or growing market. 3. A product or service customers want. I like to see that the company has built and/or sold something already. And for me, I’m looking for a mission-driven thrust to business that is helping customers be healthier or wealthier. A stellar plan will have all that, plus a convincing answer to how the company will build a long-term competitive advantage.

How can entrepreneurs—particularly those from historically underserved demographics—increase access to capital?

Building relationships with other entrepreneurs in similar situations can help you get practical information about fundraising and emotional support to keep going. I recommend forming an informal or formal group of founders and talking regularly. Alternatively, there are an increasing number of organizations for founders from different demographic groups. If you don’t want to start a small group, you may be able to join a larger, existing one.

@davinavanburen

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs trying to overcome institutional barriers and/or socioeconomic disadvantages?

When I have felt dismissed for my age or other demographic reason, it has been so upsetting. I can only imagine the feeling of experiencing these types of barriers regularly. First, a bit of encouragement that demographics and attitudes are shifting, so I’m hopeful things are changing for the better. Perhaps not fast enough. Second, a bit of practical advice: When fundraising, research shows that potential investors ask female founders more often about downside risks. Avoid that trap by proactively talking about the upside.

Any last, unexpected piece of advice?

I recommend every startup have a vision of failure. Everyone knows about having a vision of success, but do you know when you would stop working on your venture? If you are clear on when you would stop, then you know if you haven’t met that criteria, you should still keep going.

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May 2021, Issue 1

EleVate Magazine

ADVICE FOR STARTUPS FOUNDER-TURNED-INVESTOR MILES LASATER

BECOME A STREET2IVY VENDOR AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT Why Street2 2Ivy

At Street2Ivy, our goal is to enable economic empowerment in underserved communities. Through our Youth Programs and Online Academy, we provide aspiring change-makers with access to information, mentorship and tools to create and market innovative solutions to the problems they see in their communities and beyond. In addition to inspiring the next generation of business leaders, we partner with entrepreneurs who want their businesses to play an integral role in making communities better. Our partners understand it is possible for their business to be both proﬁtable and have a positive impact on the communities in which they operate. We also give you access to key resources to help your business grow. Now more than ever, consumers want to do business that are committed to social and economic justice. Street2Ivy has been recognized by top business minds and entrepreneurial superstars for our innovative approach to these values. By partnering with Street2Ivy, you can focus on running your business as we arrange and execute the giving-back portion of your brand.

What Street2Ivy Vendors Get Two FREE one-hour sessions with a marketing consultant Your content incorporated in paid social ads on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and our digital magazine to maximize your reach to new audiences

Get a 10% discount to our Online Academy where they get access to strategies used by Fortune 500 companies to grow their business.

90 % of shoppers choose a cause–branded product over a non cause–branded product SOURCE: Cone Communications/Equity Global CSR Study

3.8

BILLION SOCIAL MEDIA USERS

Market to thousands who follow our brand SOURCE: Hootsuite 2020

Let’s change the world together. Email info@street2ivy.com to get started.

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May 2021, Issue 1

PERSERVERANCE RETAIL FIRE STREET2IVY VENDORS

RetailFire

Check out these hot items from the newest members of Street2Ivy’s retail community Photo: Adrian Octavious Walker

Avenue Studios (Est. 2017)

Avenue Studios is an intersection where creatives of all lanes merge. We provide a platform for musicians, artists, business owners, community ambassadors and overall interesting people to showcase their work by partnering with us to produce zines, photography, videos, events, merchandise and – through our Avenue Sounds label – music. Our mission is to build a creative community and provide marketing exposure for that community. Free shipping for EleVate readers Use our exclusive code: IVYSHIP postedontheave.com/shop @postedontheave

Beloved. From Now On Beloved. From Now On is a ready-to-wear fashion label based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2018 by Christopher Mikhail, Beloved. From Now On has served as an art form to personify the most powerful force humans can experience: love. Utilizing quality garments and simplistic designs, we place intentionality at the forefront of our artistic process, and we hope you wear our products with intention. Get $10 off your first purchase

belovedfromnowon.com @belovedfromnowon

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May 2021, Issue 1

EleVate Magazine

Baking from

Scratch by Jocelyn Ruggiero

Three Female Entrepreneurs Explain What It Takes To Start and Build Your Own Business

Grey Bird Baking Company New Orleans

Taylor Moore was headed toward a career in medicine when she realized it wasn’t the life she wanted. She decided instead to launch Grey Bird Baking Company in 2019, combining her beloved childhood hobby of baking with a strong desire to make a lasting social impact. Moore’s desserts are made with love, and she is best known for her French macarons and lavish cakes. In April of this year she fulfilled her original mission by creating a special teal macaron; a portion of its proceeds will be donated to New Orleans’ Camp HOPE, the first camping and mentoring initiative in the United States to focus on children and teens exposed to domestic violence.

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Chatman J. Cakes The Bronx, New York

Harlem native Jean Chatman turned her passion for baking into a business, founding Chatman J. Cakes in 2013 when she was “64 years young.” Chatman’s hand-crafted, award-winning cakes and pies are “healthful” and made with locally sourced organic ingredients. She is best known for her zucchini bread, pecan pie, red velvet cake, sweet potato pie, and coconut cake.

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ChatmanJCakes.com

Sweet Mae’s Cookie Company Cincinnati

Founder Tiffany Biddle grew up in Kentucky watching her mother and grandmother cook and bake together and hearing stories in the kitchen about women in her family all the way back five generations to Clara, who made “the best biscuits in the South.” Biddle founded Sweet Mae’s Cookie Co. as a way of celebrating and preserving this precious legacy, one of family, and love. Biddle offers stuffed cookie flavors such as caramel apple crumble, sweet potato pie and bourbon caramel pecan.

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SweetMaesCookies.com

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May 2021, Issue 1

EleVate Magazine

Residency

Unlimited “

Peter, Daniela and Nazanin are artists of immense talent whose work exposes viewers to new ways of thinking and seeing through practices that incorporate their own lived experiences. – Nathalie Anglès

NATHALIE ANGLÈS, DIRECTOR & FOUNDER

Residency Unlimited is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit art organization that fosters customized residencies for local and international artists and curators, as well as yearlong programs and exhibitions. Partnership lies at the heart of its mission.

EleVate Magazine

May 2021, Issue 1

PERSERVERANCE FRESH ART RESIDENCY UNLIMITED

Peter Erik Lopez ...is half-German and half-Mexican, and explores the complexities of his mixed-race identity in his work. His paintings have examined his mother’s German heritage as the daughter of (and apologist for) a Nazi soldier using her photo albums, and his father’s history as a dark-skinned Mexican, estranged from his light-skinned family. Lopez is currently studying the history and status of Afro-Mexicans in Mexico.

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The art world is a crazy place. You just never know what is going to be hot and what is not. Figurative art – that is art that includes realistic depictions of people – is always up and down in terms of popularity among curators and art dealers. But whether figurative art is en vogue right now or not...it is what I do. My main body of work is portraiture. I just love having family, friends and oftentimes strangers (who become new friends) over for some wine and cheese and great conversation while I paint their portraits. The sittings take anywhere from five to six hours, and the conversations tend to be very therapeutic for both my sitters and myself. Lately, I have been a bit more all over the place with my art, making pieces that deal with my own memories and traumas. But wherever my art takes me, I will always return to portraits. That is where my art seems to live...art that involves meeting new people, deep conversation (and wine).

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May 2021, Issue 1

EleVate Magazine

Daniela Krajčová ...is a visual artist from Slovakia who explores the experiences of minority groups in society, and their experiences of otherness and social exclusion. In her work, Krajčová often makes the emotional and unseen work of women in the household visible, using their own voices to describe their experiences. Krajčová visualizes these stories through drawings, animations and installations, using household fabrics, sand, charcoal and transparent foil as material for her drawings, encouraging viewers to reflect on topics such as the division of society into certain groups, minorities, coexistence and tolerance of diversity, as well as different cultures and other ways of life.

FAR TACTION (2021)

ANIMATION, 13MIN 10S, DRAWING WITH INK ON TEXTILE

This animation is based on the story of a Somalian woman who lives in Slovakia alone with her son and compares her situation with that of her own mother, who raised five children in Somalia without her husband. Although the refugee woman faces loneliness, she also meets new people thanks to her child. The image of a hand symbolizes her relationships with her child, family and friends.

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PERSONA GRATA (2018)

ANIMATION, 15’16” PAINTING ON TRANSPARENT FOLIA

This is the story of an Afghan boy, Faisal, from his childhood in Afghanistan, journey to Europe and arrival in Slovakia. There, we follow his stay at a refugee camp, and his attempts to find a job and normal life in Bratislava. Despite many obstacles, he never loses his optimism and sense of humor. And despite his loneliness, he always imagines his parents near to him. Thanks to his openness and extroverted nature, he finds friends and people who help him.

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Nazanin Noroozi ...is an Iranian-American multimedia artist whose work explores the ways we try to capture and store our memories, and how ordinary moments of life are filled with a sense of loss and disconnection. By reorganizing, manipulating and recreating various image sources such as her personal family albums, friends’ old photos, found footage and public collections, she creates a broken story that invites the viewers to add their own interpretation. Noroozi’s works often use paintings and drawings, printmaking and handmade stop-motion films to create a hybrid back and forth between physical works of art and transient moments of film, collective memory and the sense of longing.

THE RIDGE, 2020. CYANOTYPE, COLOR PENCIL AND INK ON PAPER. 22 X 30 INCHES.

Noroozi uses images of environmental catastrophes and forces of nature, such as floods or an erupting volcano, and borrows graphic elements of early arcade computer games to ask questions about the meaning of home, uncertainty of life, trauma and displacement.

To view PURI video please click here STUDY FOR PURI 2019. CYANOTYPE AND SILKSCREEN ON PAPER. 22 X 30 INCHES, EDITION OF 3.

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May 2021, Issue 1

EleVate Magazine

estimated read time: 6½ minutes

Venture Noire founder

Keenan Beasley helps Black business founders thrive by Davina van Buren

Photo: Lonny G a

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My goal was never to be an entrepreneur. It was to fulfill my passion and purpose.

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Although Keenan Beasley grew up in a family of nine to fivers, he has always had the heart of an entrepreneur. As a kid in Los Angeles, he collected recyclable cans for the deposits and mowed yards during summer so he could buy Christmas presents for his sister and parents. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in law and systems engineering, Beasley embarked on a corporate journey as a marketing executive, managing and leading such multibillion-dollar brands as Tide, Gillette and Garnier at Fortune 100 companies like Procter and Gamble and L’Oréal USA. As a senior executive in these powerful ecosystems, Beasley not only mastered business fundamentals, but he also discovered why mission-focused organizations value a team-player mentality: “What makes a great company is that everyone works toward a shared vision, which eliminates the ego,” Beasley says.“You don’t work for people; you work for the company. Ideally, everyone has the same clear vision for the organization – then you can create a roadmap to achieve that.” These lessons served Beasley well in 2014 when he started BLKBOX, an integrated marketing firm in New York City. His team of young, hungry entrepreneurs delivered everything from brand development and creative solutions to a unique custom insights and analytics platform. They soon garnered an impressive portfolio of clients including Facebook, Beachbody, Western Union and Taco Bell, earning industry recognition and media accolades.

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COMMUNITY, COLLABORATION AND CONFIDENCE VENTURE NOIRE FOUNDER KEENAN BEASLEY

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We need to shift the conversation from raising venture capital and getting money from outside sources to simply building great businesses, and allow the rest to take care of itself.

And yet for Beasley, something was missing: “I lacked a sense of community within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially in New York – it just wasn’t as tightly knit as places like Silicon Valley,” he says. “Particularly as a Black founder, I felt isolated.” Around that time, Beasley started to notice an increasing number of news stories about entrepreneurs acquiring venture capital funding. Though his company was profitable, he wondered if he was missing an opportunity. After an exploratory conversation with a friend who’d recently raised millions in venture capital, Beasley realized that outside funding has its place – but comes with downsides. Beasley knew there must be other founders who shared his feelings of isolation and desire for self-sufficiency, so he posted on an invite on Instagram for fellow entrepreneurs to meet at his Brooklyn apartment. He’d cook; they’d bring their favorite drink. “Seventy-five people showed up, and I realized there was a Black entrepreneurial community in New York City – we just hadn’t come together yet,” he says. “We were all fighting in our individual corners instead of coming into the ring together.” That night and during subsequent meetings, Beasley began to recognize a theme amongst his diverse colleagues: They were intelligent, driven and hard working, but many lacked the confidence to be an entrepreneur. “That is a critical skill set for a business owner,” Beasley says. “You need to be unbelievably confident. Then you need to think very big and believe in possibilities, especially when the thing you want to create doesn’t exist. Because of...systemic racism and institutional barriers. We have to bring back that sense of imagination and confidence and instill that in the community.” Beasley saw an opportunity to create an ecosystem for Black entrepreneurs, focusing on building great businesses – regardless of how they are funded. “Whether founders raise venture capital, take out loans, use credit cards or savings....it doesn’t matter,” he says. It’s about coming together, building amazing businesses and tackling the wealth gap in this country. That’s my passion.” In 2019, Beasley founded Venture Noire, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Black and minority entrepreneurs, out of the same Brooklyn apartment where those 75 people first came together in search of comradery. Venture Noire’s mission: connect corporations with communities to improve Black business health.

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EleVate Magazine

COMMUNITY, COLLABORATION AND CONFIDENCE VENTURE NOIRE FOUNDER KEENAN BEASLEY

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Venture Noire helps entrepreneurs through curriculum, mentorship and access to capital. The organization identifies global and regional problems, researches potential solutions, then executes those solutions in partnership with entrepreneurs in their network. Venture Noire’s ecosystem includes dozens of minority-owned startups on the cutting edge of technology, innovation and creativity. “A lot of entrepreneurs lose confidence when they’re not able to pull in millions of dollars in venture capital investment,” Beasley says. “This pains me because too many entrepreneurs believe venture capital is the only way to be successful or to prove your business is successful. It’s my goal to teach aspiring entrepreneurs there are other, often more attainable ways to scale a business, and I hope that by doing so, we will create healthier and longer-lasting Black-owned businesses.” In 2020, Venture Noire received a multiyear grant from the Walton Family Foundation. This grant allowed Beasley and his team to research and understand the journey of entrepreneurship for people of color. “There isn’t much data on that,” he says. “We talk about how difficult it is to fundraise, but that’s only a small part of being a business owner.”

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It’s hard to have that sense of fearlessness when you are constantly overwhelmed with stories of failure.

@davinavanburen

In March of this year, Venture Noire received a second grant from the Walton Family Foundation, bringing its total funding to $1.3 million. Through support from this second grant, Beasley and his team launched In The Black, a new program that facilitates eight-week courses dedicated to advancing the overall health of Black-owned businesses in key fields like consumer technology, healthcare and fintech. These cohorts of motivated minority entrepreneurs culminate with a showcase in Northwest Arkansas – Venture Noire’s home base – for industry leaders and investors.

“There are lots of founders, but sometimes what we need is founding teams,” says Beasley. “It’s OK for us to come together and collaborate. If we both want to launch a skincare brand, maybe I’m good at marketing, and you’re brilliant at finance. As co-founders, we might make a very dangerous team. So maybe we come together and build something even bigger, faster by doing it together. I want to make sure we’re open to those opportunities.” Instead of focusing solely on acquiring venture capital, In the Black courses will educate entrepreneurs on identifying and achieving other key impact metrics such as increased revenue and payroll per employee. Beasley believes that improving the health of Black-owned businesses creates opportunities for those within the community to build generational wealth, closing the gap over time.

EleVate Magazine

May 2021, Issue 1

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COMMUNITY, COLLABORATION AND CONFIDENCE VENTURE NOIRE FOUNDER KEENAN BEASLEY

@_keenanbeasley

@keenanbeasley

Photo: USC Undergrad Chloe Johnson

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We can work in teams and be unstoppable. Venture Noire is also launching educational networking events and a podcast through its Cafe Noire program. When it’s safe for everyone to travel, they plan to create an Entrepreneur Village summit series where current and future business leaders will participate in immersive experiences while strengthening their network and business skills. When Beasley talks about his nonprofit’s plans beyond this second year, it’s impossible to conceal his excitement: “I’m extremely energized and passionate about this space because I’ve had a chance to interact with so many incredible entrepreneurs,” he says. “And the excitement isn’t coming from an idea in my head – it’s coming from the energy I feel in the community and what I’ve seen in their desire. That grit – it’s special.” For Beasley, it all comes back to confidence. Diverse entrepreneurs face unique challenges in the business world; it’s essential to share knowledge and resources so everyone can advance together, faster. Being part of a diverse entrepreneurial community can be profound for those who have never experienced it. “You will meet challenges, but you learn how to power through them – that is what’s required in the entrepreneurial space,” he says. “Perseverance is a relentless pursuit of your passion and your goals. When you believe in something so strongly that you are intensely focused on going after it, that purpose fulfills you. As entrepreneurs, we must tap into that.”

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EleVate Magazine

COMMUNITY, COLLABORATION AND CONFIDENCE VENTURE NOIRE FOUNDER KEENAN BEASLEY

estimated read time: 3 minutes

Straight Talk for New Entrepreneurs EpiEP CEO and Founder Pam Bunes’

When starting a business, look for something you not only enjoy doing but that can also make money even in your absence.

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Your primary goal should always be getting to profitability or getting a product on the market as soon as possible. Pamela Bunes is CEO and Founder of EpiEP, Inc., a medical device company dedicated to epicardial EP interventions. She has 34 years of medical device history with Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Endo– Surgery, Biosense Webster and two startup companies, including a public entity. In 2013, Bunes was a member of the FDA’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence team, and recently served on the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board at Yale Entrepreneurial Institute.

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estimated read time: 3 minutes

May 2021, Issue 1

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NEW ENTREPRENEURS EpiEP CEO and FOUNDER PAM BUNES

I have always sought to have a business where revenue is coming in to cover the overhead, regardless of whether I am physically generating revenues everyday.

Many jobs, on the other hand, only pay when you are directly engaged with the customer. If you take a vacation, your overhead remains the same but you may be losing considerable money because no one is generating income. In medical device sales, I want my products to be used by doctors globally. I cannot always be there, but presumably, my revenue continues because our products are being used.

Choose a market that is significant and large enough to achieve your economic goals.

Consider how quickly you can monetize your idea. How fast can you get your product on the market and get some return for it? In the health care industry, it takes years to get a product on the market, and it frequently requires investor money. I love cutting-edge technology, and I’m willing to pursue new technology that impacts patients and improves their health care. But for entrepreneurs who are starting without much of a safety net, the first question I would ask is, How quickly can you monetize your business?

Figure out how you can reduce your overhead and living expenses so you

can work on your new business for a while without drawing a salary. Project how long it takes to generate meaningful income, and press ahead as quickly as possible.

Understand there are going to be a lot of costs.

There are going to be tough times, and you need to put savings aside for yourself. You need a way to survive while your business is getting off the ground.

To a certain degree, it doesn’t hurt to have your back up against the wall.

Some degree of pressure to succeed can provide necessary incentive. Pressure to perform is a part of entrepreneurship, and you have to embrace it or choose another direction. Decide what you’re willing to sacrifice. Keep your costs low and be ready to pivot — because even if your best idea is a great idea, if something’s not working out and there’s another option that looks promising, you can make that transition without totally abandoning your original idea.

One last thing: Turn to who have your best interest at heart. Experienced advisors are critical

for both planning for success and turning to for advice when challenges inevitably come your way. Guideance from a trusted advisor may be the difference between success and failure, so choose your advisors carefully.

PERSERVERANCE

– As told to Jocelyn Ruggiero

May 2021, Issue 1

NEW ENTREPRENEURS EpiEP CEO and FOUNDER PAM BUNES

EleVate Magazine

Word

by Richmond Appiah Jr.

My father grew up in great wealth, the first son of 16 children, in the West African nation of Ghana. But when his father remarried, he was outcast from the family. At 18, he went to France, Germany and the Netherlands to live and work while attending university. Later, he moved to Munich to pursue graduate studies in electrical engineering. Although he thrived in these educational settings, he struggled on the inside. He once told me a story about a winter night in the 1970s. He had just finished working. He walked the streets of Munich before dawn, cold and alone, toward the hostel where he lived. He wondered, Who am I? What’s my purpose? What is my life going to be? He felt far from home – not just physically but mentally and spiritually. He said, “I can’t do this. I have to change.” He had cousins in The Bronx, New York, so he decided to start a new life there. He went and rented a room. There he is, perceiving himself as a Black man in a community of Black people, but they don’t see him as African-American. They said to him, “You’re the other Black, not Black like us.” Keep in mind: Ghana was a former British colony, so he grew up in British culture. He dressed differently than his cousins in NYC; he wore fine British suits and platform shoes. Even here in New York, with his cousins, he felt like an outsider. He met my mother through mutual friends. She was church-going, very wholesome and family oriented. She grew up and lived in Worcester, Massachusetts, as one of 20 kids; she had a very rough life. When my mom was 6, her mother died when she fell asleep smoking and caught the house on fire. My mother went into foster care and was in the system until she was 18. My father wasn’t like the other young men she knew. Despite their differences, they shared the same values. They married and settled in Worcester. This was how my father began to rediscover his home. When doctors told my mother she wouldn’t have children, she began to foster children in need. Then they tried an experimental procedure, and that’s how my sister was born. My mother ended up having four children, but she never stopped fostering. Over 30 years, she cared for 450 children, and my parents adopted three more. When I asked her why, she said, “Someone took me in when I didn’t have a place to go. I wanted to give back.” This was important to my father, too, and an example of how they lived their values.

EleVate Magazine

May 2021, Issue 1

PERSERVERANCE WORD RICHMOND APPIAH JR.

My father trained as a mechanical engineer but worked wherever he could: in a paper factory, a steel manufacturing plant, even as a handyman. He faced tremendous racism and xenophobia as he wasn’t just a Black man but a foreigner. People put a hammer through his windshield and slashed his tires. When I asked him how he dealt with that, he said, “I didn’t focus on it. I was spiritually strong. I knew what I had to do for my family.” There were financial struggles we kids were not aware of. We didn’t have everything, but we had what we needed. My dad worked 70 to 100 hours a week. But every Sunday, he took the day off, and the family went to church and spent the day together. Perseverance, to me, is exemplified by my father’s journey from that night in Munich until the life he found with my mother and with his family. Despite struggles and hardships, it was a life in which he was clear about who he was and what mattered to him. He understood the gratification that waits for you when you struggle on your path to finding meaning. Your name, he said – knowing what you stand for and what you believe in – is worth more than your riches.

Richmond Appiah Jr. is a Street2Ivy Inc. co-founder, and co-founder and managing principal of Street2Ivy’s commercial initiative, Street Two Realty. He is responsible for all property management operations, and its New England portfolio of residential and commercial properties.

PERSERVERANCE WORD RICHMOND APPIAH JR.

May 2021, Issue 1

EleVate Magazine