WEBVTT - THE BLACK EXCELLENCE BRUNCH w/ TRELL THOMAS 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.720 Enjoying Black Tech Green Money. It would mean a lot 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.200 if you rate us five stars on Apple Podcast or 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:08.039 Google Play. The way the algorithm works. The more you 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:10.799 rate and say nice things, they'll introduce black tech Green 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:13.920 Money to more people and more of us need this content. 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:17.800 So thank you for rating this podcast five stars. Today, 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:28.000 afro Tech seventeen, San Francisco, California, tech investor and Platinum's 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:31.720 last Grammy Award winning rapper Chamillionaires on the afro Tech 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.199 stage talking about how he found his way into the 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:37.920 world of investing in tech startups. A little known fact 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.199 is Mr Ride and Dirty wasn't investor early in his 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:45.080 tech career in a company called Makers Studio, which would 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:48.159 later be sold to Disney for reported six hundred seventy 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:52.400 five million dollars. On the afro Tech stage, these stresses 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:55.440 the hunger for knowledge and the power of relationships that's 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:59.400 required to be successful at scale. What I did was 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:03.040 I focused on the information and relationships Because if I 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:05.479 asked everybody in this room, thinking about the last person 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:07.840 that you bumped into that you know probably could have 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:10.200 helped you, Um, did you follow up with that person 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:13.119 on email? Did you did you reach out to that person. 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:14.959 Did you stay in touch with that person that? Think 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:16.600 about how many people in the room next to you 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:18.839 could possibly help you on your journey to be something great. 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:20.959 Right now sitting next to you have no idea. This 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:23.720 person sitting next to you. We take that for granted. 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:27.679 We do not value relationships and information like we should. 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:30.720 The whole time I was on a path to consume 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.800 information as much as possible. Somebody said, well, what about 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:35.760 these other people to have more advantages than us. Yeah, 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:37.920 that's true, they do have more advantages than us. But 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:40.959 information is right under your nose right you go. I 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:42.680 used to get frustrated in school only for you, of 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:45.160 h and you had this routine where you would go 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:47.120 in there and you would, you know, learn during this 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:48.880 period and then you have to come back the next day. 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:50.880 I was like, give it to me now, I need 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:53.680 it now, because they were here ten years in front 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.200 of us, and I'm showing up in this tech world 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:58.840 and seeing all these people already with all these advantages, 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:01.520 already with all the equity, and I'm late to the party, 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:03.240 and I'm like, I need that now. I need it 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:08.040 all right now for me. I'm Will Lucas and Mrs 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:11.560 Black Tech, Green Money. I'm gonna introduce you to some 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:13.800 of the biggest names, some of the brightest minds and 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:17.280 brilliant ideas. If you're black in building or simply using 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:19.920 tech to secure your bag, this podcast is for you. 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:28.000 Troll Thomas is the founder of Black Excellence Brunch and 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:30.639 Then You'll event that gives Black Excellence a seat at 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.800 the table. His work spans from career beginnings on the 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.640 historic Obama presidential campaign in two thousand eight to overseeing 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.840 talent relations and communication with some of the biggest brands 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:46.120 at Viacom to perfectly align socially good causes, corporations and celebrities. 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:49.640 Many people work to produce events, so I asked Troll, 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:52.160 how has he been able to get corporate buy into 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:55.959 authentic events for the culture. What is it he understands 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.920 about how to decipher corporate objectives to securing their participation. 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:04.120 My secret is actually no secret at all. It's just authenticity. 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.680 You know. I go in there as myself. Um, and 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:10.400 that's the biggest thing I think, or the biggest mistake 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:12.359 a lot of people making. They say, well, what does 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.200 the brand want? What do they what do they want? 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:16.960 Who do they want? Me? To be, you know. And 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:20.200 so they're shape shape shifting and colde switching and changing 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:23.919 all these things about themselves. But the thing about it 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:27.760 is an idea that's yours, something that's yours. It is 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:30.280 of you, you know what I mean is you've been 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:34.120 your author. Like the Black Excellence Brunch came from my 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:37.680 experience as a black person growing up in South Carolina 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:40.720 and my mom posting these Sunday dinners at my house 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:44.480 at well at her house, at our house, right, Um, 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:48.440 and I you know, and that's my truth, you know. 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:51.760 And I created that from the essence of who I am. 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:54.520 So at no point when I go to these brands, 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:58.200 am I trying to be something else or sell something else. 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:01.440 I'm going in I'm giving them that same essence. And 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:04.440 I feel like that's the thing that makes people buy 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.000 into it. I never forget, you know, the first uh 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:11.040 French that that I had a big corp response to 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:14.640 a corp responsor in general, which was Netflix. It happened 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:19.440 so organically, you know. I was sitting at um at 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:23.559 dinner with some friends of mine and I was gonna 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:26.680 do the brunch anyway, you know what I mean? Um, 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:28.840 And you know I was saying, hey, guys, I want 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:30.080 you to come to this thing. I want you to 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:33.120 do this thing with me, and and they were like, oh, 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:36.039 this seems really cool. I remember you did this in 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.800 New York and you did that when you came uh here, 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:40.120 so this is kind of the next step of that. 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:41.680 And I was like, yeah, yeah, that's the next step. 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:44.480 I'm growing it. And they said, well, what do you 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:46.480 you know, the general question, well, what do you want 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:48.400 to do? Where do you see it going? I said, 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:50.840 you know, what would be great? Um? And I had 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:54.000 been watching Netflix. They had just launched Strong Blackly and 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:57.680 I remember thinking this is so incredible, like what they're doing, 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.680 the intentionality behind it, at the offense tensity that I 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:02.520 felt from it. And I said, you know, it would 0:05:02.560 --> 0:05:05.800 be great to partner with Netflix and to do something 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:08.560 with strong Black Lead because I feel like they're highlighting 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:11.279 strong black leadings, strong black leads and TV and film 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:13.320 and I'm doing it in real life and so this 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:17.400 is a great collaboration. Do you know the divinity of 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:22.320 it all? The girl that was sitting right next to me, Um, Jasmine, 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:26.000 who was amazing and works at Netflix. She was sitting 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:30.000 there and she said, hey, I'm Jasmine and I run 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:33.560 strong Black lead at Netflix, and I'm just like wow. 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:36.440 But I said that to say that, for me, it 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.680 was just authentic. It wasn't me trying to like sell 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.960 a thing or do. It was just me authentically being 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:46.839 myself and speaking from that place and that I believe 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:51.200 attracts what you need. And so when I go to 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:54.200 these brands and I have these conversations, I'm strategic, right. 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:57.680 I think about who is the right person to contact 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:01.640 at the brand or um, you know that sort of thing. 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:06.080 So if there's any massaging, it's thinking about those things. 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:08.400 But when I get to have the conversation like we're 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:14.039 having now, I am a hundred percent myself and also, well, 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.400 I'm not afraid to walk away from something that doesn't align. 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:20.120 And that's another mistake I think that people make is 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:25.599 that they they give off this air of desperation, which 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:29.680 nobody really wants to be attached to something that's that's desperate. Right. 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:32.320 We all want to feel like, you know, you kind 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:35.719 of don't need us, you know, And I think but 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:38.800 for me, it ain't pretending like it it's it's it's 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:42.039 the truth of the matter is whether I had brands involved, 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:45.480 it's not I was gonna do it, you know. And 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:48.120 that's the same energy I take into those meetings. Keep 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:50.479 that same energy, right, and I keep that same energy 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:52.919 when I go into those meetings. It's just like, Okay, 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:54.839 this can happen with you, and I love that, but 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:59.279 guess what it's gonna happen with or without you? And 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:00.960 um and if it doesn't in line, then I walk 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:02.840 away and I say, hey, you know, guys, this is 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:06.400 this is why could why should uh people get so 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:09.840 used to brands or companies or corporations telling them this 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:12.120 isn't a good bit for us right now. Well, sometimes 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:14.320 it's not a good fit for me, Like this is 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:16.320 a good fit for me right now, and this you know. 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:19.320 And so I just know my work when I walk 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.880 into those meetings as well. So so let's back up 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:24.640 a little bit, because it sounds like if that, if 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:26.360 that was the extent I knew of your story, it 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:28.440 sounds like you just walk in and say, hey, I'm 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:31.400 trail like you are somebody to get the meeting, and 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:33.960 so let's talk about who you are, because I I 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:35.960 want to make sure you know it's black tech, green money. 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:37.680 I want to make sure people have the keys to 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:42.160 getting in that room in order to show their authenticity. 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:45.400 So how what what is it that you've done historically 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:47.880 that gets you the meeting in the first place, that 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:50.000 puts you in the room next to the lady who 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:54.920 runs strong black lead. Yeah, yeah, yeah, great question. And um, 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.480 and thank you for for that compliment. You are the 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:03.800 crown king of the flood compliment. Um no, man, I 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:12.200 you know, honestly, it is work ethic and uh and 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:14.680 and one thing that I'm really good at and I 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:19.440 acknowledge that I'm great ending and I'm great at seeing 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:24.400 something and then aligning the thing the pieces so that 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:28.200 it really comes to life. So you know, I've done 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:32.040 And I also I'm an advocate of knowing how everything runs. 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:33.920 You know, have you ever heard that when people tell 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:36.559 the story of like you know, um, if you want 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:38.439 to be the CEO of company, you need to know 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.600 everything from what the gender does to you know, the 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:46.080 hot But I am an advocate of understanding all of 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:49.080 the moving pieces. And so you know, I get to 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.679 a point where I can do events because I've done 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:58.120 pr I've done marketing, I've set up tables for events, 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:02.640 i helped launch a event series called Musically Master Menu, 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.560 which I think gave me the best insight. It was 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:11.520 at H one Stafe Music, which is a nonprofit that's 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:15.280 a part of viacom UM that gives music education to 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:18.240 schools all across the schools and kids all across the country. 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.080 And UM one thing that I was kind of in 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:26.800 charge of is UH is helping bring in funds for 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:31.280 the organization. And I love being created. So I said, well, 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:32.959 you know, we got together and we were like, well, 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:36.320 what if we do this UH, this dinner series, And 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:38.600 so we called the Musically Master Menu and what we 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:42.280 did was prepared a chef with a musician, and the 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:46.920 chef curated UH a menu based off a song or 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:49.680 an album, and then we would have the artists performed 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:51.760 at the event and it was this dinner and we 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.000 raised lots of money, et cetera. But you know, it 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:59.120 was moments like that, UH that I learned all of 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:03.440 these skills that were necessary to do what I do now, 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.680 you know. And so I think, to answer your question, 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:11.200 it's playing the different positions and playing them and and really, 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.440 you know, learning as much as I could and putting 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:17.480 all these tools. One of my mentors always tells me 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.800 about putting tools in your toolbox and then once you 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:22.320 get to a certain place, you can go back and 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:23.920 you're like, oh, I can use that hammer for this 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.960 wrench with this. And so I was constantly along my 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:32.800 career from you know, working at the news stations where 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:35.200 now I can interview people right, which I did with 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:38.920 these events, to you know, doing pr and publicity, which 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:42.400 now I know how to contact the publicists and what 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:45.000 to say to get you know, the time to my events, 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:49.120 to you know, actually putting on the events, setting the tables, 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:52.600 knowing how things go, to you know, having to pitch 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:57.559 different brands UM and bring in corporate responses to donate 0:10:57.600 --> 0:10:59.960 to the foundation UM that I was working for souls. 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.720 All those tools that now I could go back in 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.439 and pull out. But along with the tools came contact. 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:10.920 You know, your network. Work is your network, it really 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:14.320 really is. So you know, um, lots of people that 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:17.160 I've met along the way, you know, while I was 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:20.960 building along my journey. I can reach back out to 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:24.680 those people and if they're not the person, they can say, hey, 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:28.040 I'm not the person, but this is the person. Because 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:30.000 that's I'm so glad you said that, because you know 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:33.880 this business is about relationships, right, And I remember listening 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:36.760 to this Easter Rate quote where I'm gonna paraphrase it, 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.000 but she talked about, you know, people are always trying 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:41.200 to like get with the east Rays or get with 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:43.959 the Denzels, or get with the big dog, when it's 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:46.600 actually the people next to you that you should be 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:48.680 in the trenches with, and you build it together like 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:52.960 she did with her friends. To your point alongside that is, 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:58.560 how do you build purposeful relationships where yes, we're all homies, 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:04.040 were all good, but produced value for each other. Also yeah, yeah, 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:09.040 so I think the way to do that Again, it's 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:13.760 like I always talk to people about transact being transaction 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:18.720 versus versus being purposeful, And so for me, I don't 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:23.040 focus on what I can get for from somebody. I'm 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.640 always thinking about, Okay, what can I bring to the table, 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:30.760 what can I add? How can I add value? What 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:34.800 what am I leaving here? As opposed to like what 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:37.640 am I what am I getting? Or just saying hey 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:40.000 this is an A two B thing. It's like, well, 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:44.360 let's really connect, let's have a genuine connection, let's really 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.680 build with one another. And as a result, you know, 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:50.760 people will bring things to me. You know, I've gotten 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:53.680 to the point now. I was having this conversation the 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:59.320 other day where things, uh literally, I'm attracting opportunities, I'm 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:03.319 attracting things to me. I'm attracting people and attracting relationships. 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:07.160 And it's because I put out that energy of you 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.280 know what, like I want to get to know will 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.400 for will, right, Like I want to know about you 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.280 know where you're from, what what you what you like? 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:18.760 You know who you you know what music you listen to, 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:21.720 like that sort of thing. And I think that you 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:25.120 know when you when you enter the space with that 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:27.760 kind of authenticity, with that kind of genuine iss, people 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:32.200 let down there the guard of you know, being used 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:34.840 or trauma or whatever that they're They're like, you know what, 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:40.880 I can relax and as a result they you have 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:44.760 this more more genuine connection. Too. Many of us are 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:48.199 taught to not be boastful, you know about our successes, 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:51.360 you know, but the work you do like encourages us 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:54.400 to recognize our value and the rewards that they come with. 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.400 Right and um, so talk about that dichotomy. How do 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:01.520 you balance that? Brouh. That's wow, that's such a great question. 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:08.360 I For me, it is this idea of you know, 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:13.280 we we we over celebrate, this idea of being like humble, 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:17.960 and you gotta like, you know, be uh quiet about everything. 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.520 You can't you know what I'm saying, like, don't get 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:23.480 arrogant or what And and I think that there's a 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:26.280 fine line, right, there's a fine line between arrogance, and 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:31.360 but also you have to know your worth and if if, 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:34.240 if you're not speaking up for yourself, if you're not 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:36.800 letting people know who you are and what you bring 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.160 to the table, like, then how will they know? And 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:43.680 so I let go of this idea that you know, um, 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:46.160 I gotta you know, put my head down and do 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:48.520 all this hard work and never like I let go 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:50.240 of that, and I encourage other people to let go 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:54.160 of that as well. Live in your excellence, shine your life, right, 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:56.200 you know there was there were a lot of times 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:58.600 will where I used to dim my light so somebody 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:00.840 else could feel comfortable. And now I put on the shade, 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:03.600 put your shades, you know what I mean. I'm not 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.160 I'm not doing that anymore. And you don't have to. 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.000 And you can and guess what, you know, you can 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:10.360 be nice and you can be friendly, and you can 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:13.360 be great to be around, but you can still know 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:16.440 your worth and move like you know what you're worth. 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:18.480 You know what I mean, Because I don't think anybody 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:22.760 would tell you about me that I am a arrogant person, 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:26.040 or that you know, I am very boast for or 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:28.880 anything like that. What they will tell you is that 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:31.520 I understand who I am, and I understand what I 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:34.160 bring to the table. But I also understand who you 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:36.320 are and what you bring to the table, you know 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:41.800 what I'm saying. So it is I encourage people, you know, 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:46.280 I that they should talk about what they're doing because 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.360 you never know. You might say, Hey, true, I make 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:51.240 T shirts or whatever. You know what I'm saying. You 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:53.000 might be doing the side I think, and and I 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.240 might be able to put you in a place where 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:57.040 you can do more of that what you can do 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:59.880 on a larger scale. But how would I know if 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:03.240 you didn't say anything. So how important is it that 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:08.880 we don't compete with each other? Compete? Yeah? Man, I 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:12.520 think what I'm of the mind is that what's mine 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:18.320 you can't have, right, what's for me, it's for me, um, 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:22.320 and I think that it can it That mentality came 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:26.040 from not operating in this space of lack or scarcity. 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:30.080 I think we're taught so often to that there's not 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:36.680 enough and that life is hard and like all these things, right, Um, 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.400 But I'm of the mind of that that we live 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:43.000 in an abundant universe. We live in a in a 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.880 place where we can have we can think a thing 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:47.840 and then it can start to be. And as a 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:51.200 black person, I know that to be true because look 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:58.280 at where how we have overcome and risen time and 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:03.040 time again, even under the um of oppression. Right as 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:05.479 so as a black person that he is different because 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:09.239 not only do I believe that we live in an 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.640 abundant universe, I have my ancestors to look back and say, 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:15.959 look what we've been able to do with everything and 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:18.600 everybody that's been trying to hold us back every step 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:23.560 of the way. So you know, I think that it's 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:25.760 okay to want to be the best, and it's okay 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:29.480 to strive for higher and bigger and better. But I 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:33.439 don't think you have to I have to cut you 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:37.639 out of anything to get what's for me. Love it, 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:40.800 love that. Um. I want to talk about like the 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:45.920 economics of events, right, And because I when I used 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:50.639 to throw parties and stuff, and I remember learning the 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:54.800 lesson that if you're counting on the door to make 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.320 the money, then you've already got it back with the door. 0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:00.880 What you get in ticket sales should be a bonus 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.240 on top of what you already So, so can you 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:09.240 talk about how the economics of events actually works from 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:13.280 your perspective? Yeah, first of all, you know, I don't 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:16.359 even charge people. It's not a cost to come to 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:19.320 the Black Excess Brunch. You know. I'm of the mind 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:25.439 that uh that we that is an honor as a 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:27.960 brand to be a part of the Black Excellence Brunch, 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:31.960 because I feel like, especially you know, black people, we 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:36.879 give so much to the culture, to these brands, you know, 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:40.760 to uh we lend our voices, we lend our skills, 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:43.480 we lend our talents, we we we give our money. 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:45.600 We give so much these brands that they should want 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:49.439 to get back and pour into us, right, Um, but 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.919 with these events, Yeah, you're right, it's not it's not 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:56.160 about that. And so I had to think strategically about 0:18:56.200 --> 0:19:00.080 how to get to the level that I wanted to 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.080 get to. And so I usually start with my budget, right, like, 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:07.040 what are all the things I'd like to do. You know, 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:09.280 what are all the components that I'd like for this 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:12.800 event to have? And then I think about before you 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:14.800 know who you can get the money from? You already 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:17.359 you're just writing the list. I'm thinking about what I 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:19.879 wanted to look like, what I wanted to look like? What? 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:23.160 Because I think that, you know, that is a part 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:27.040 of I'm a big manifesto, and that's a part of manifestation, right, Like, 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:29.680 you can't start with okay, well what would I have? 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:31.800 You know, and then I can do what I want 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:33.000 to do? You guys, to start well what do I 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:35.360 want to do? You know what I mean? And think 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:38.080 about all the pieces and think as grand and as 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:40.040 big as you can think, and as cool and as 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:44.239 creative as you can think, and then attract the resources. Right. 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:46.240 So then after I do that, I'm like, I want 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:51.240 to do all these things. Okay, what is aligned with that? Right? 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:54.600 So I'll go back since we talked about Netflix already 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:56.439 in the shrunk like lead. When I first so I 0:19:56.560 --> 0:19:59.080 thought about how I want this event to look like. 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:01.840 I want all all these amazing you know, I wanted 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:05.760 to celebrate these young black people who I thought, you know, 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:08.719 We're excellent, you know, all the excellent people in my world, 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:11.360 and I wanted to celebrate them in this kind of way. 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:13.840 I wanted to bring a Sunday dinner to them. One 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:15.879 of the components of a Sunday dinner. Here's all the 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:18.879 things I wanted to Now, how can I make that excellent? Okay, 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:21.600 well I want to you know, deck it out with 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:22.879 the cord, and I want to do this, and I 0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:26.720 want to do that. And then after that, I said, okay, 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:29.760 well what aligns with that? And I thought about Strong 0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:33.840 Black Lead. I'm like, okay, that aligns um it just launched. 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:36.359 I know they've got a marketing budget. You know, from 0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:38.760 from having worked in these spaces, I know they've got 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:41.639 a marketing budget. The marketing budget isn't tapped because it 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:43.520 just started, you know what I mean. So I'm just 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:47.080 thinking about all those pieces. And then I'm like, okay, well, 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:51.159 what happens at brunch? There's drinks, right, so and I 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:55.800 know that also, uh, liquor brands have budgets, so let's 0:20:55.840 --> 0:20:57.960 let's talk to them about that. Butget and let's bring 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:02.480 all these pieces together. So it's just being for me. 0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:04.639 It's starting with what do I want it to have 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:09.440 and then who uh that has money that I can 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:37.280 find too a lot. It's one thing to know who 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:40.200 you want to partner with for your venture. It's another 0:21:40.280 --> 0:21:42.480 thing to sell them on the idea when they probably 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:46.080 aren't even thinking about you. So get incorporated buying the 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:49.919 projects you believe may benefit their brand. How exactly is 0:21:50.000 --> 0:21:53.320 that done? I mean tactically, what are the steps we 0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:57.480 should take? TRYL Thomas speaks on it. So usually I 0:21:57.560 --> 0:22:01.639 put together a debt, you know, a pitch deck, and 0:22:01.640 --> 0:22:04.520 I cater it to to each brand. Um, I mean 0:22:04.640 --> 0:22:06.760 it's I don't have to tweak. Sometimes I tweak a 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:08.639 page or two, you know what I mean. They're there 0:22:08.640 --> 0:22:12.200 are pieces that go with that can go in every deck, 0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:13.959 but then there are pieces that have to be cared too. 0:22:14.000 --> 0:22:16.720 And I think about to the point of alignment that 0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:20.240 I was talking about. Okay, what does that brand looking for? 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:25.680