1
00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:04,200
Speaker 1: I'm gonna Lucas and this is black tech, green money.

2
00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,600
Speaker 1: Isaac Hayes, the third, is on the mission to change

3
00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:09,760
Speaker 1: social media forever.

4
00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:11,680
Speaker 2: With his fan Base app.

5
00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:15,760
Speaker 1: He's empowering content created to monetize and own their contributions

6
00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:20,239
Speaker 1: to the cultural conversation. His commitment to creating an equitable

7
00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,360
Speaker 1: landscape for the next generation of social media users has

8
00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,799
Speaker 1: grown fan base to a one hundred million dollar plus valuation,

9
00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,640
Speaker 1: and he's the first black man in history to raise

10
00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,360
Speaker 1: nine point two million dollars in ced funding on start

11
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,120
Speaker 1: Engine in a RECCF campaign, and he's currently in the

12
00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:41,400
Speaker 1: middle of a seventeen million dollar fundraising campaign. Traditional social

13
00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,120
Speaker 1: media means having to build leverage in order to monetize

14
00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:46,960
Speaker 1: your content fan base. Let you do it on your

15
00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:48,000
Speaker 1: first day on the app.

16
00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,800
Speaker 2: So Isaac speaks on this philosophy.

17
00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:52,960
Speaker 3: Well, I mean it's the DNA and fan base. And

18
00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,240
Speaker 3: what I mean by that is from the inception of

19
00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,720
Speaker 3: the company, I wanted to build something where that follows

20
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:05,360
Speaker 3: for free but also monetize for subscription or tipping, and

21
00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,520
Speaker 3: so it's kind of like the combination of what I

22
00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,840
Speaker 3: guess two different genres of social media are, which are

23
00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,119
Speaker 3: like fan communities and then social networks, and I wanted

24
00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,240
Speaker 3: to put those two together in a place that I

25
00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:21,039
Speaker 3: think would bring more people together. And so that's how

26
00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,320
Speaker 3: we that's how we build platforms, you know, to do that.

27
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,720
Speaker 3: And it's so hard for creators to either monetize on

28
00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,640
Speaker 3: these platforms because advertising is involved, so that suppresses your

29
00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,800
Speaker 3: content or you might be someone that never even knew

30
00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:36,959
Speaker 3: that you had the knack for content creation. And so

31
00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,520
Speaker 3: it's kind of like you can graduate from just a

32
00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,319
Speaker 3: social media user to a content creator while being on

33
00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:44,800
Speaker 3: fan base and you won't have to leave and go

34
00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,440
Speaker 3: start directing people to the place where you want to monetize.

35
00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:49,800
Speaker 3: It's already there for you. It's already you know, set

36
00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:51,120
Speaker 3: up for you to be able to do so. So

37
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,360
Speaker 3: that's that's one of the important things that that I

38
00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:55,000
Speaker 3: think separates us from everybody else.

39
00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,680
Speaker 1: You've got a big platform for creative ownership, and you

40
00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,200
Speaker 1: talk about that regarding music and social media, and I'm

41
00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,840
Speaker 1: interested in your thoughts on how you imagine your advocacy

42
00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,200
Speaker 1: and evangelism of ownership might impact how people deal with

43
00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:13,000
Speaker 1: other social media apps.

44
00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:20,480
Speaker 3: I mean, especially for the black community, it's just such

45
00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,440
Speaker 3: a it's such a huge gap between like what people

46
00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:29,920
Speaker 3: It's this huge gap between what people make and contribute

47
00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,359
Speaker 3: to the platform and then the actual ownership of the platform,

48
00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,280
Speaker 3: like like Instagram and Facebook. These are one hundred plus

49
00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,720
Speaker 3: billion dollar companies, and I think that you know, uh,

50
00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,160
Speaker 3: for for people that look like us and advocating an

51
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,760
Speaker 3: ownership of the actual infrastructure as opposed to just being

52
00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,360
Speaker 3: customers to the creations that we have, so like we

53
00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:54,400
Speaker 3: make the platforms cool, but then on the back end,

54
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,720
Speaker 3: who owns the actual you know, the stock, who owns

55
00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,840
Speaker 3: the equity And so this is a really good opportunity

56
00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:04,400
Speaker 3: for people to have equity and something moving forward as

57
00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,200
Speaker 3: social media apps evolve, if there'll be other apps to

58
00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,240
Speaker 3: come along, even other apps after between during fan base,

59
00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,080
Speaker 3: but this was going to be unique because ownership is

60
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,880
Speaker 3: part of the construct of the company and how people

61
00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:18,720
Speaker 3: are going to be able to actually see a return

62
00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,600
Speaker 3: on an exit on IPO as well as make money

63
00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,000
Speaker 3: on the front end and being you know, business owner.

64
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:26,120
Speaker 4: So I think that's important.

65
00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,600
Speaker 1: It's so interesting you talk about equity. I was watching

66
00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:33,320
Speaker 1: your live stream with Jermaine dupri and I had this

67
00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,960
Speaker 1: conversation years ago with b Cox on Brian Michael Cox

68
00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,400
Speaker 1: on equity and when you mentioned stuff like that, many,

69
00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,600
Speaker 1: particularly unfortunately black creators don't understand what equity is.

70
00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,120
Speaker 2: They want to see cash today.

71
00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,360
Speaker 1: And so you've got like this dual challenge of number one,

72
00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,120
Speaker 1: explaining that why equity is important and getting.

73
00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:53,880
Speaker 2: People to use the app. So getting people to use the.

74
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:55,920
Speaker 1: App is a challenge in and of itself, but now

75
00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:00,320
Speaker 1: you've got to explain why why it's important economically.

76
00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,320
Speaker 2: Can you talk about like what do you what do

77
00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:03,160
Speaker 2: you hear.

78
00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,360
Speaker 1: Isaac when you hear people say, you know, equity, Like,

79
00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,080
Speaker 1: I don't know what that is, you know, give me

80
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,120
Speaker 1: the bag, and like that's got to like make you

81
00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,560
Speaker 1: feel a way.

82
00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:16,200
Speaker 4: Well, like, so.

83
00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,159
Speaker 3: I think it's a learning curve, But I also understand

84
00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,200
Speaker 3: that when you're building businesses, and especially maybe like the

85
00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,359
Speaker 3: managers of people that represent these artists or these personalities themselves,

86
00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,479
Speaker 3: like ninety nine percent of businesses fail, Like you know,

87
00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 3: so saying you're gonna give somebody in equity, it's not

88
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,440
Speaker 3: gonna mean anything of the business fails. The uniqueness about

89
00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,320
Speaker 3: equity and ownership and social media is the very thing

90
00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,400
Speaker 3: that gives social media it's value is the ability for

91
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:45,600
Speaker 3: people to move people where you want them to go,

92
00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:50,000
Speaker 3: to increase users and grow the platform. So for something

93
00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,679
Speaker 3: like fan Base, you're in control of your own success.

94
00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:54,719
Speaker 4: You're in the driver's seat.

95
00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,520
Speaker 3: If you bring a million people to fan Base, fan

96
00:04:57,560 --> 00:04:59,520
Speaker 3: Base's value goes from what it is today, which is

97
00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,400
Speaker 3: one hundred sixty million dollars, to it could be five

98
00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,480
Speaker 3: hundred million dollars, it could be eight hundred million dollars.

99
00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,720
Speaker 3: And we could continue to do that and even bring

100
00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,680
Speaker 3: in more people and offer equity. So the understanding of

101
00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,960
Speaker 3: equity in our community is just a lack of financial

102
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,040
Speaker 3: literacy that we've always had. And so we know cash,

103
00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:19,600
Speaker 3: we know what that does, we know you know what

104
00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:25,240
Speaker 3: kind of opportunity it provides. It's an immediate influx of

105
00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:27,960
Speaker 3: capital that you can decide what you want to do

106
00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,680
Speaker 3: with in a leisurely way or a responsible way and investing.

107
00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,640
Speaker 3: So I understand why cash is important to young people

108
00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,800
Speaker 3: because you know, it's a very it's a very materialistic

109
00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:39,880
Speaker 3: society nowadays. I mean a lot of things that people

110
00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,360
Speaker 3: are into cars and clothes, and you know what I'm saying.

111
00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:44,960
Speaker 4: Lifestyle is a big part of that.

112
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,440
Speaker 3: But when you're thinking about what life is going to

113
00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,280
Speaker 3: be for yourself, five, ten, fifteen years from now. You've

114
00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,560
Speaker 3: got to start thinking about that because all of this

115
00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,880
Speaker 3: can change in an instant, but having ownership of something

116
00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:59,400
Speaker 3: that will continue to grow, it's something that I think

117
00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,039
Speaker 3: more people need to learn about. And I thought that

118
00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,920
Speaker 3: was striking that a lot of the white creators have equity,

119
00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,280
Speaker 3: have been offered equity in these companies, and a lot

120
00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:09,920
Speaker 3: of black creators have been offered cash and not equity.

121
00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,200
Speaker 3: That's a big that's a big thing. Like okay, like

122
00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:17,360
Speaker 3: like Academics doesn't have equity and Rumble cot not doesn't

123
00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,080
Speaker 3: have equity in Twitch, but Aiden Ross has equity and

124
00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,520
Speaker 3: kick Wow, you know what I'm saying, Charlie Amelia has

125
00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:24,640
Speaker 3: equity in the step cards. So I'm like, oh, okay,

126
00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,320
Speaker 3: so either you know, I'm gonna set that trend for us.

127
00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,440
Speaker 3: But I hope even with creators on other platforms like

128
00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,760
Speaker 3: Twitch and Rumble that are black, start asking for equity

129
00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:36,240
Speaker 3: ownership of these companies as well.

130
00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,359
Speaker 1: So it's one thing for Isaac to you know, evangelize this,

131
00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,560
Speaker 1: which I think is a worthy thing to do. How

132
00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,320
Speaker 1: how has the community responded? You know, what impact does

133
00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,120
Speaker 1: this have? On engagement when people start, when their mind

134
00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:53,440
Speaker 1: changes about you know, ownership, Well.

135
00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,200
Speaker 3: I think the fact that we have investors already we've

136
00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,680
Speaker 3: invested their equity owners in fan base. So we have

137
00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:05,120
Speaker 3: about fifteen thousand investors that have you know, invested through

138
00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,840
Speaker 3: fan base on start Engine. So that's awesome. So then

139
00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,640
Speaker 3: that's another level, right, And then there's other people. There's

140
00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:12,840
Speaker 3: celebrities that have invested in fan Base that we keep

141
00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,600
Speaker 3: quiet for you know, very very smart reasons. I think,

142
00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:19,400
Speaker 3: you know, I don't. I don't like people to really

143
00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,680
Speaker 3: know about that. I want people to I want all

144
00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,640
Speaker 3: of us to be able to benefit from this without

145
00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,240
Speaker 3: the bias of how we may feel about one another

146
00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,840
Speaker 3: in this space, because sometimes I feel like wealth is

147
00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:33,880
Speaker 3: a competitive thing in the black community, and I much

148
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,120
Speaker 3: rather a bunch of people have equity and something that

149
00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:37,680
Speaker 3: they don't know who else has equity, and then when

150
00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:39,320
Speaker 3: the time is done, everybody's rich and it's like, oh,

151
00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:40,400
Speaker 3: I didn't know you was in on that too.

152
00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:41,000
Speaker 4: Yeah. Cool.

153
00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,400
Speaker 3: But for the for the younger creators, it's been tough

154
00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,080
Speaker 3: for me because I feel like there are some gatekeepers

155
00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,760
Speaker 3: to those people, and sometimes those people are managers and

156
00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,400
Speaker 3: managers know that cash is better than equity for them

157
00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,160
Speaker 3: because they might not see a return on their percentage

158
00:07:58,160 --> 00:07:58,679
Speaker 3: of equity.

159
00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:00,480
Speaker 4: And that's even part of the deal.

160
00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,040
Speaker 3: So if someone says, hey, you're gonna get a two

161
00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,680
Speaker 3: million dollar deal, or you're gonna get two million dollars

162
00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,200
Speaker 3: worth of stock, they're gonna take the two million dollars

163
00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:11,640
Speaker 3: worth of money, so they get that cash in their

164
00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,400
Speaker 3: hand too, So I think sometimes that also plays a role.

165
00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,240
Speaker 3: So but all I can do is educate. All I

166
00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:19,640
Speaker 3: can do is is continue to do that. And there

167
00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:23,480
Speaker 3: are some different interested parties that understand the value of equity.

168
00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,120
Speaker 3: But again I'm running into like I'm running into those

169
00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,160
Speaker 3: roadblocks or the gatekeepers that are like yeah, and I'm like,

170
00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:32,720
Speaker 3: you know, it's just something that I'm gonna have to

171
00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,200
Speaker 3: continue to do. But but there are things in the

172
00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,840
Speaker 3: works that allow people to you know, have an equity opportunity,

173
00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:41,120
Speaker 3: a fan base, and continue to grow.

174
00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,400
Speaker 1: Before we talk about this seventeen million dollar round, I

175
00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:47,719
Speaker 1: want to talk about what crowdfunding is. I want to

176
00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,480
Speaker 1: make sure the audience is caught up on how this

177
00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,760
Speaker 1: works and so previous two number of years ago, during

178
00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,520
Speaker 1: Obama's here you and I couldn't get in on the

179
00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,800
Speaker 1: social media app investment opportunity, which is where the money's

180
00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,200
Speaker 1: made early. Can you talk about that era and what

181
00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:05,960
Speaker 1: it did for people like you and I?

182
00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,880
Speaker 3: Yeah, So from nineteen thirty three to twenty fifteen, I'm

183
00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,160
Speaker 3: the only way that anybody could invest in an early

184
00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:17,560
Speaker 3: stage company was being a credited investor. And your credited

185
00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,319
Speaker 3: investor rule was basically a rule that says only rich

186
00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:23,800
Speaker 3: people could have the best opportunity to invest in something.

187
00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,000
Speaker 3: So you had to have a networth of a million

188
00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:30,400
Speaker 3: dollars minus your house or make two hundred thousand dollars

189
00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,280
Speaker 3: a year for two consecutive years. And so think about that.

190
00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,200
Speaker 3: That's coming out of the Great Depression. So even I

191
00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:38,400
Speaker 3: don't care what color you were, there weren't accredited investors

192
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,160
Speaker 3: that were white in nineteen thirty three, so it doesn't matter.

193
00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:42,840
Speaker 3: So it's really just the rich trying to have the

194
00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:47,000
Speaker 3: best opportunity to have access to companies. So Obama and

195
00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,640
Speaker 3: Biden signing the Law of the Jobs Act, which wiped

196
00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,600
Speaker 3: out the accredited investor role. So anybody can invest in

197
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:57,520
Speaker 3: a company that's looking to raise capital regards to their networth,

198
00:09:57,559 --> 00:09:59,719
Speaker 3: their annual income so that opens up the door for

199
00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:02,800
Speaker 3: all these equity crowdfunding sites to pop up, one of

200
00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,160
Speaker 3: which is start Engine, which I was able to use

201
00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,040
Speaker 3: to raise capital. So I think, and especially in the

202
00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,200
Speaker 3: black community when access to capital is so limited, especially

203
00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,880
Speaker 3: in tech. I think in twenty twenty three less than

204
00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:16,000
Speaker 3: half of a percent of all VC dollars with the

205
00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:20,040
Speaker 3: black founders, which is crazy. And you know, banks aren't

206
00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,560
Speaker 3: necessarily giving loans and there can be a lot of

207
00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,440
Speaker 3: a bias and racial discrimination when it comes to that.

208
00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,040
Speaker 3: So the opportunity for you and I to fund each

209
00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,320
Speaker 3: other's businesses and have equity in them at the same

210
00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,520
Speaker 3: time raised capital changes the game. And so that's why

211
00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,520
Speaker 3: I've been such a big advocate of equity crowdfunding because

212
00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:42,440
Speaker 3: as much as I've money that I've raised a fan base,

213
00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,880
Speaker 3: I've also invested in other people's companies that I've introduced

214
00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,600
Speaker 3: the start Engine to do the same thing, and they're

215
00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,960
Speaker 3: in all different sectors. There's you know, a brewery, a

216
00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:57,920
Speaker 3: bread company, software companies, things like that. So another app.

217
00:10:58,000 --> 00:10:59,400
Speaker 3: So I want to be able to make sure that

218
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,240
Speaker 3: I can then s and d start ups the same way,

219
00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:03,160
Speaker 3: and then a point people in the direction that they

220
00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,280
Speaker 3: can actually raise capital because it's kind of the information

221
00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:10,760
Speaker 3: that's not known. Actually had a chance to run into

222
00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,720
Speaker 3: a woman that I met when I went to this

223
00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,160
Speaker 3: event where where Vice President Harris was the other day,

224
00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:17,400
Speaker 3: and she walked up me and she goes, I'm about

225
00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:19,560
Speaker 3: to raise five million dollars on Start Engine. And the

226
00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:21,560
Speaker 3: only reason I'm doing this because I saw what you did.

227
00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:23,800
Speaker 3: And I talked to the CEO, Howard Marks, and I said,

228
00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,480
Speaker 3: I'm here because Isaac Hayes came over here and raised money,

229
00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:27,720
Speaker 3: and I want to do it like that. And that's

230
00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:31,000
Speaker 3: the reason why, because this is a whole opportunity for

231
00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,880
Speaker 3: so many people that don't know how to raise capital

232
00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:35,720
Speaker 3: for their businesses. Now, what I will say is it's

233
00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:39,520
Speaker 3: not easy because you do have to have your business together.

234
00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:41,040
Speaker 3: It's not like you can just go to Start Engine

235
00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,280
Speaker 3: be like I'm gonna raise some money. I think for me,

236
00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,160
Speaker 3: even going through that process as a founder, it made

237
00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,080
Speaker 3: me a better founder because I had to learn fan

238
00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,960
Speaker 3: base from so many different directions, from the financial side

239
00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,520
Speaker 3: to the legal side and stock structure compliance and everything

240
00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,680
Speaker 3: about my business. And so it made me a better

241
00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:01,920
Speaker 3: founder and educated me in ways about my business that

242
00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:03,240
Speaker 3: I would not have known if I would have just

243
00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:05,559
Speaker 3: got VC dollars and trusted what these people were saying.

244
00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:08,440
Speaker 3: So that's what I encourage everybody to do, is to

245
00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:12,440
Speaker 3: force yourself to learn more about your business through equity crowdfunding.

246
00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:15,360
Speaker 3: Investigate ekor cloudfunding and learn about it, understand the Jobs

247
00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:17,839
Speaker 3: Act and what you're able to do, and then take

248
00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:18,560
Speaker 3: advantage of it.

249
00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,640
Speaker 1: So most of the people who will be investing are

250
00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,680
Speaker 1: not sophisticated investors. And I only not derogatory it. I

251
00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:28,000
Speaker 1: mean you're just not educated and have a history of

252
00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:31,400
Speaker 1: doing it. And so what happens? So I give you

253
00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:33,320
Speaker 1: you know or I shouldn't. I shouldn't I give you

254
00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:35,920
Speaker 1: I invest one hundred and fifty dollars two hundred three

255
00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,079
Speaker 1: hundred dollars into fan base. What happens next?

256
00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:44,319
Speaker 3: Well, let me let me dispel that, let me let

257
00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,960
Speaker 3: me combat that statement. But equity crowdfunding first came on

258
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,000
Speaker 3: the scene, DC's were very critical of it because they said, oh,

259
00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:54,880
Speaker 3: you know, these investors are not savvy investors.

260
00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:55,880
Speaker 4: They're not educated.

261
00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:58,840
Speaker 3: You know, they don't know, they're not making the right decisions,

262
00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,200
Speaker 3: and we don't want them to. They're hard earned dollars

263
00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,080
Speaker 3: into some sort of business that will never succeed. But

264
00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,600
Speaker 3: it is no problem for any of those same individuals

265
00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,800
Speaker 3: to go to Vegas and gamble five thousand dollars or

266
00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,120
Speaker 3: by five thousand dollars worth a lottery trickets to try

267
00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:17,120
Speaker 3: to win the Mega Millions or Powerball. That's one aspect. Secondly,

268
00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:20,800
Speaker 3: what's further disproving this is and the time that I've

269
00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,840
Speaker 3: raised capital for fan Base, there have been multiple startups

270
00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:29,240
Speaker 3: that have been founded and funded by venture capitalists, given

271
00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,360
Speaker 3: more money than fan Base to start their business and

272
00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,240
Speaker 3: failed in faster time. So you don't know anymore than

273
00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,760
Speaker 3: the public does. Because you put thirty five million dollars

274
00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:40,320
Speaker 3: into this startup and they went out of business in

275
00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:42,560
Speaker 3: eighteen months. I don't want to hear that from y'all.

276
00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:45,199
Speaker 3: You put eleven million dollars into this startup. The VCS,

277
00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,520
Speaker 3: you vetted the company, you saw the business planner, you

278
00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,839
Speaker 3: saw the business model, and you put eleven million, thirty

279
00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,080
Speaker 3: five million, twenty million, and they failed. And fan Base

280
00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:56,720
Speaker 3: is back by a community of people that have put

281
00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,840
Speaker 3: their hard earned money, but not two hundred and fifty

282
00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:02,640
Speaker 3: three in one thousand dollars, four hundred dollars five hundred

283
00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:04,720
Speaker 3: dollars into the community and they have equity on the

284
00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:05,200
Speaker 3: cap table.

285
00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:06,559
Speaker 4: So, first of all, I don't like.

286
00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,720
Speaker 3: The fact that vcs are saying that because that was

287
00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:11,600
Speaker 3: just a way for them to kind of make sure

288
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:13,920
Speaker 3: that they do not lose opportunities to be able to

289
00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,480
Speaker 3: invest in a company like fan Base and get a

290
00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,480
Speaker 3: better deal. And and sometimes even a predatory type situation

291
00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,240
Speaker 3: is what some of these these these vcs come in

292
00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,520
Speaker 3: and do when they invest in your company to do so.

293
00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:29,960
Speaker 3: So for me, I just wanted to dispell that when

294
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,680
Speaker 3: someone invest in fan Base, you get equity, you sit

295
00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,760
Speaker 3: on the cap table of a pre i p O company.

296
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,560
Speaker 4: So this is no different as if you were.

297
00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:44,920
Speaker 3: Investing into Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Uber Lift, like any of

298
00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,840
Speaker 3: these major you know, tech companies that you are the

299
00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,480
Speaker 3: difference the only the only difference is that you're allowed

300
00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,000
Speaker 3: to sit on the cap table pre i PO as

301
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,360
Speaker 3: opposed to typically retail investors are people that get access

302
00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,840
Speaker 3: to buy stock after the company's gone public, I mean

303
00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,320
Speaker 3: way after everybody else has made all the real money,

304
00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,080
Speaker 3: the real big you know multiples of capital that have

305
00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,800
Speaker 3: been raised, as opposed to like like Uber was Uber

306
00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,360
Speaker 3: raised half a million dollars in the seed round and

307
00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,320
Speaker 3: one of the one of the investors who was already

308
00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:16,720
Speaker 3: a multimillionaire, put five grand and then turned it into

309
00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:18,120
Speaker 3: twenty four million in nine years.

310
00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:20,400
Speaker 4: So you see that right there.

311
00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,880
Speaker 3: Those are the types of opportunities that happen where you

312
00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:24,000
Speaker 3: can say, oh, I'm on.

313
00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,520
Speaker 4: The cap table of a unicorn before it goes public.

314
00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,960
Speaker 3: And so that's a pre IPO equity position on the

315
00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:33,760
Speaker 3: cap table of a company that you're able to do.

316
00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:34,520
Speaker 4: So that's what it is.

317
00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:38,360
Speaker 3: And I think that that's significantly important, and that it's educational,

318
00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:43,360
Speaker 3: it's prideful, it's powerful, and especially for black culture. In

319
00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,280
Speaker 3: the space of social media again I talk I stay

320
00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:47,240
Speaker 3: in my lane. I'm talking about social media and tech.

321
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,240
Speaker 3: I think it's extremely phenomenal because as a user, you

322
00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:53,560
Speaker 3: have the ability to actually increase the value of assets you

323
00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:57,080
Speaker 3: own by simply using it. And even some investors in

324
00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,360
Speaker 3: fan Base have actually made the money that they've invested

325
00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:01,920
Speaker 3: in fan Base by using fan Base to monetize their content.

326
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:04,480
Speaker 3: So you can't you can't even have anything bad to

327
00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,440
Speaker 3: say about that, Like I put two in and fifty

328
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:08,040
Speaker 3: dollars in fan base. But I made two and fifty

329
00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,480
Speaker 3: dollars monetizing my content in fan base. And so that's

330
00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,160
Speaker 3: that's the significance of being able to sit on the

331
00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:15,920
Speaker 3: cap table of a pre IPO company.

332
00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:16,520
Speaker 2: Yeah.

333
00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,480
Speaker 1: So I like that statement you made in your position

334
00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,360
Speaker 1: on the sophisticated versus non sophisticated, and I want to

335
00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:24,080
Speaker 1: go a step further there and give you an opportunity

336
00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:27,000
Speaker 1: to speak on this because there is you know, there

337
00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,120
Speaker 1: was a study I believe it was by gold Mis Sackson,

338
00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:30,920
Speaker 1: but I can put in the show notes, I'll find

339
00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,760
Speaker 1: who did the study, but it was about how there

340
00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,600
Speaker 1: are more black investors today than there ever have been.

341
00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,280
Speaker 1: Young people are getting involved in investing. But the while

342
00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,000
Speaker 1: that's a good thing, the bad part was they were

343
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,080
Speaker 1: getting their education about what to invest in via social

344
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,760
Speaker 1: media and it was just by what trending topics were

345
00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,360
Speaker 1: and they were being taken advantage of putting money in

346
00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,920
Speaker 1: places that had no credibility in et cetera. And so

347
00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,120
Speaker 1: I think I see both sides of that argument or

348
00:16:56,160 --> 00:17:00,320
Speaker 1: that that that perspective on sophisticated versus versus unsophisticate, and

349
00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,560
Speaker 1: I think that's a valid point. So to that point

350
00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,680
Speaker 1: of education that you mentioned. How do I become more

351
00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,320
Speaker 1: experienced to be able to make good decision? Because when

352
00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:13,760
Speaker 1: I'm investing in fan Base now, I'm probably learning about

353
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:17,159
Speaker 1: crowdfunding via Isaac Hayes and his Instagram and his Twitter

354
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,400
Speaker 1: and his fan base account. So how do I become

355
00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,560
Speaker 1: not just an investor in fan Base, but a better

356
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:25,960
Speaker 1: investor to who I'm doing this in three or four

357
00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:28,680
Speaker 1: more other opportunities that could exist. How do I become

358
00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:30,800
Speaker 1: better in a better picker?

359
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:31,480
Speaker 2: I should say?

360
00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:35,199
Speaker 3: So I can give this from two sides, from the

361
00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,919
Speaker 3: person that wants to raise capital and the person that

362
00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,840
Speaker 3: wants to invest. I think the reason that fan Base

363
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,000
Speaker 3: was able to raise capital, we raised eleven million in

364
00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:49,000
Speaker 3: three rounds and now to our fourth is because there

365
00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,919
Speaker 3: is actually a tangible product. So I say, nothing speaks

366
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,639
Speaker 3: better than for fan Base and his Stelff than the

367
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:57,080
Speaker 3: ability for somebody to download the app, assess the quality.

368
00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:57,800
Speaker 4: And then make that decision.

369
00:17:58,000 --> 00:17:59,640
Speaker 3: I would have not been able to raise his money

370
00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,640
Speaker 3: was a bunch of PDFs, what I what I wanted,

371
00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:06,800
Speaker 3: what I thought I wanted to do. So I think

372
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,560
Speaker 3: I think when you're looking at a founder, you're investing

373
00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:10,760
Speaker 3: in the product and the founder.

374
00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,199
Speaker 4: So for me myself, I put my own money into this.

375
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:14,000
Speaker 4: I built that.

376
00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:17,480
Speaker 3: I built an m VP product before I ever took

377
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,640
Speaker 3: money from anybody else. So I put my money where

378
00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,600
Speaker 3: my mouth is. I delivered and people get a chance

379
00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,040
Speaker 3: to see how committed I am to the process. And

380
00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,119
Speaker 3: so I think when you're investing in any product, you

381
00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:29,560
Speaker 3: can just look at a product and say I think

382
00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:31,199
Speaker 3: it might work and throw some money at it, like

383
00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:34,040
Speaker 3: just like a lottery, or you can do what people

384
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:38,000
Speaker 3: say is due diligence. And especially when you're investing in

385
00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:41,240
Speaker 3: equity crowdfunding, we have to file what the sec our

386
00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:44,600
Speaker 3: financials are there, like you know, all the things that

387
00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:47,840
Speaker 3: that we have to go through compliance are available in

388
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,760
Speaker 3: a form online for people to see. So we've had

389
00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:54,000
Speaker 3: to be audited, you know, multiple times, and all these things.

390
00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:56,200
Speaker 3: And so I think you have to do your same

391
00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:58,960
Speaker 3: due diligence and investing in a startup the same way

392
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:00,760
Speaker 3: we have to do our due delis for being able

393
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,240
Speaker 3: to be allowed to raise money. And so for any

394
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,280
Speaker 3: founder out there that wants to raise capital and equity

395
00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:11,760
Speaker 3: core funding, I tell them that yourself have a product already,

396
00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,320
Speaker 3: try to like get something that people can look at

397
00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:16,200
Speaker 3: and touch and feel. I don't care if it's food,

398
00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:18,880
Speaker 3: have it ready, if it's if it's if it's a beverage,

399
00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,160
Speaker 3: if it's whatever it is. It's something that people can use.

400
00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,040
Speaker 3: A likelihood that they will invest in that product is

401
00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:26,920
Speaker 3: higher because then you get to assess for yourself whether

402
00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,640
Speaker 3: it's worth putting your money into or not. So there's

403
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:30,919
Speaker 3: a lot of work that needs to be done on

404
00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:35,440
Speaker 3: both sides of really securing that trust between the founder

405
00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:37,840
Speaker 3: and the investor. And so I had my part to do,

406
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:39,920
Speaker 3: and I think that people saw that once I did

407
00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,320
Speaker 3: my part, it was easy for them to do their

408
00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:44,200
Speaker 3: part because they could go to the app store, download it,

409
00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,639
Speaker 3: look at it. The app works, it does what Isaac

410
00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:48,720
Speaker 3: says it's going to do. So I believe in what

411
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,360
Speaker 3: he's doing and I and follow, you know, my passion.

412
00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:54,919
Speaker 3: And I always say this too about people is sometimes

413
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:57,600
Speaker 3: like I'm a very committed founder and I'm very open

414
00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,600
Speaker 3: about I've never taken a salary working for fan Base.

415
00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:04,880
Speaker 3: I'm not a person that I want people to understand

416
00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:07,120
Speaker 3: how hard I work. I wear the same thing every day.

417
00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:08,840
Speaker 3: So that's the thing about it, is like you're gonna

418
00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:10,159
Speaker 3: see me in a fan base T shirt and some

419
00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,399
Speaker 3: jeans somewhere. I'm either gonna be here or somewhere at

420
00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:17,159
Speaker 3: home working. I think also how you represent yourself as

421
00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,000
Speaker 3: a founder, because I know sometimes it's cool to be

422
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,159
Speaker 3: fabulous in a founder at the same time, but from

423
00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,680
Speaker 3: a marketing perspective, that doesn't look good to people that

424
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,720
Speaker 3: are investing, because people are like, wait, is your money

425
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:28,960
Speaker 3: going to this vacation you on or this new car

426
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,760
Speaker 3: you just bought, or you know these exit foods you

427
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,080
Speaker 3: eat And I'm like, no, man, you gotta you gotta

428
00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:36,120
Speaker 3: grind it out, like you know, you gotta you gotta

429
00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:38,480
Speaker 3: drink this water and eat these cookies like I am right.

430
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,000
Speaker 4: Now, Like that's what That's what you gotta do.

431
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,359
Speaker 3: So there's a lot that goes into your commitment and

432
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:45,760
Speaker 3: passion of being a founder, and that's how people trust

433
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,160
Speaker 3: you to invest in your in your in your business.

434
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,080
Speaker 1: You said so many things there. So if I am

435
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,960
Speaker 1: learning how to invest and be a better picker, what

436
00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:59,240
Speaker 1: what would you advise that person to strategically be doing.

437
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,560
Speaker 1: Because if I learned about crowdfunding via Isaac Hayes, I'm like, yo,

438
00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:05,520
Speaker 1: I like what this man is talking about. I see

439
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:07,879
Speaker 1: where he's going. I got four hundred dollars to spend.

440
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:08,880
Speaker 1: Let me go put it on.

441
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,720
Speaker 2: This What should I be doing regularly? Should I? Because

442
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:14,040
Speaker 2: what emails am I getting?

443
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:14,159
Speaker 4: Like?

444
00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:16,720
Speaker 1: What am I doing to find out how my investment

445
00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:19,120
Speaker 1: is doing? So that I'm just being educated on.

446
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:20,919
Speaker 4: This so well.

447
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,040
Speaker 3: I mean so on a platform like start Engine, you

448
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:25,840
Speaker 3: can actually go through the companies and look at everybody

449
00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,640
Speaker 3: that's currently raising capital. So there's multiple platforms. There's start Engine,

450
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:33,360
Speaker 3: we fund a Republic, So all these have businesses that are.

451
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:35,760
Speaker 4: That are trying to raise capital for what they're trying

452
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:36,080
Speaker 4: to do.

453
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,359
Speaker 3: And so in that process, the same they all of

454
00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:41,199
Speaker 3: these companies have to go through the same process that

455
00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:41,600
Speaker 3: I did.

456
00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:43,800
Speaker 4: Some of them are.

457
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,359
Speaker 3: Raising money to build an MVP, and some of them

458
00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:50,400
Speaker 3: are raising money to scale their business. So you might

459
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:52,800
Speaker 3: you might find a company that's raising two hundred and

460
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,520
Speaker 3: fifty thousand dollars to build their version of the product

461
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:57,280
Speaker 3: that they want. So it depends on where you want

462
00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:00,879
Speaker 3: to get in because that's a better position because that's

463
00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:04,679
Speaker 3: a lower evaluation. You can help them actually build the

464
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,360
Speaker 3: you know, the the prototype for something that may be

465
00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:09,320
Speaker 3: you know, phenomenal and it's.

466
00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,000
Speaker 4: High risk, but it's higher reward as well.

467
00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:13,160
Speaker 3: Or you can say, okay, they already have a product,

468
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,560
Speaker 3: I can check it out. So I would say, you know,

469
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:20,000
Speaker 3: research the companies that are on these platforms like start Engine.

470
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,920
Speaker 4: Take a look. You can go through and read their decks.

471
00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:24,520
Speaker 3: You can you know, they have videos, they have a

472
00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:26,720
Speaker 3: lot of things they can explain about their company and

473
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:29,960
Speaker 3: their business. You see the team, you see what everybody does.

474
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,640
Speaker 3: You can actually research those people. So it's called it's

475
00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,160
Speaker 3: called due diligence. And I think any like any corporation

476
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,159
Speaker 3: that's gonna do business with you, even for us as

477
00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:39,639
Speaker 3: as a tech startup.

478
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,000
Speaker 4: They're gonna go through all of They're gonna go through

479
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:41,320
Speaker 4: my team.

480
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:43,400
Speaker 3: They're gonna go through our financials, they're gonna go through

481
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:45,880
Speaker 3: all of our contracts. They're gonna go through everything like

482
00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:48,600
Speaker 3: how are you spending your money? You know, everything like that.

483
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 3: So you have to do the same thing. So but

484
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,080
Speaker 3: but I think getting on platforms like start Engine is

485
00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:54,880
Speaker 3: a way to kind of dip your toe in the water,

486
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:56,880
Speaker 3: you know, just to say all right, cool, I'm gonna

487
00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,280
Speaker 3: go look on start Engine, and I say, oh, I

488
00:22:58,280 --> 00:22:59,399
Speaker 3: see this nice company.

489
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,200
Speaker 4: Right here, like, let me take a look. I kind

490
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:01,639
Speaker 4: of like it.

491
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:03,479
Speaker 3: I believe in what they're doing, and let me see,

492
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,160
Speaker 3: you know, if I can help them out.

493
00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,200
Speaker 1: So you mentioned that eleven million dollars you've raised so far,

494
00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,000
Speaker 1: So talk about the evolution of these raises and the

495
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:13,600
Speaker 1: significance of this seventeen million dollar raise.

496
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,879
Speaker 3: So the first three rounds, we raised about ten million

497
00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:20,000
Speaker 3: dollars in three rounds.

498
00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:21,919
Speaker 4: The problem that we.

499
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:25,320
Speaker 3: Were coming into, we were running into is that I

500
00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:27,360
Speaker 3: think fan Base has gone past the point of being

501
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,080
Speaker 3: a startup and it's now a scale up company.

502
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:31,720
Speaker 4: And when you're doing.

503
00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:33,960
Speaker 3: Equity crowdfunding at the level that I was doing, it

504
00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 3: was called a REXCF level, and so at the REXCF level,

505
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 3: you're only able to raise five million dollars within a

506
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 3: calendar year and then you have to stop. So I

507
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:45,680
Speaker 3: would raise capital and have to wait until three hundred

508
00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:47,920
Speaker 3: and sixty five days went by to raise some more capital.

509
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:49,600
Speaker 4: And we had done well doing that.

510
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 3: We were like, man like, if we're going to be

511
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,639
Speaker 3: able to catch, you know, some of these products out here,

512
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:56,119
Speaker 3: or be able to scale or build the things that

513
00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,199
Speaker 3: we want to do, we need to raise more than that.

514
00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,879
Speaker 3: So there's another level of equity crowdfunding called a reggae.

515
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,920
Speaker 3: So when you go to a reggae you can raise

516
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,280
Speaker 3: up to seventy five million dollars in a year. It's

517
00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,560
Speaker 3: a lot more difficult, there's a lot more compliance, a

518
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,400
Speaker 3: lot more you know, due diligence that goes into the process.

519
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,720
Speaker 3: But for us, we picked seventeen million dollars as a

520
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,439
Speaker 3: really good spot with a good three year plan on

521
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,480
Speaker 3: how we're going to be able to do this, and

522
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,679
Speaker 3: so by doing so, it gave us that opportunity to

523
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:28,919
Speaker 3: really figure out, all right, this is how we're going

524
00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:30,920
Speaker 3: to raise his capital. We're going to be able to

525
00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,080
Speaker 3: make the money that we're going to make. We have

526
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:35,119
Speaker 3: a plan, and we're gonna be able to scale and

527
00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:37,160
Speaker 3: build the business, you know what I'm saying, in real

528
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,760
Speaker 3: time without having to stop and start and stop and start.

529
00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:43,120
Speaker 3: And so this is a scale up opportunity because there's

530
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:45,640
Speaker 3: so many things that people want out of fan base

531
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:48,600
Speaker 3: and I myself, I don't like to not be able

532
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:50,920
Speaker 3: to deliver on what I want to give to the community.

533
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,000
Speaker 3: So this raise is definitely giving us, putting us a

534
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,919
Speaker 3: position to not only catch the current apps that are

535
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:02,520
Speaker 3: out there but surpass them because of my understanding of

536
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,920
Speaker 3: what I've learned of just observing how these startups work, which,

537
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,560
Speaker 3: in my opinion, what happens with tech companies that are

538
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:13,239
Speaker 3: social media platforms is they have the privilege of being

539
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,760
Speaker 3: able to build a product, put it out in the marketplace,

540
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,439
Speaker 3: and then use the users as a focus group to

541
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,040
Speaker 3: ideate and take their ideas and build something better. Right,

542
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,679
Speaker 3: and typically those ideas come from young people and black people.

543
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:28,879
Speaker 3: So I'm a person that was a social media user

544
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,680
Speaker 3: before I was a founder. So some of the ideas

545
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:33,359
Speaker 3: that I have are the things that I was able

546
00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:36,200
Speaker 3: to put into fan base And what gave me like

547
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:39,600
Speaker 3: a real boost of energies when I saw the other

548
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:41,600
Speaker 3: platforms doing what I was.

549
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:43,960
Speaker 4: Doing, and they have way more money than I do.

550
00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:47,199
Speaker 3: So when I see everybody do subscriptions and build up

551
00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:49,440
Speaker 3: the way that I wanted to build it, that gives

552
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,320
Speaker 3: me like that makes me feel really good, as oh

553
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,000
Speaker 3: all you got okay, you got the money. So the

554
00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,119
Speaker 3: ideas are off on this side. So the only thing

555
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:58,480
Speaker 3: that I'm missing is the money. So let me raise

556
00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:02,000
Speaker 3: seventeen million dollars as opposed to five at a time,

557
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,000
Speaker 3: and really, you know, I can expand our team. You know,

558
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,720
Speaker 3: we can go from twenty five development team to a

559
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:12,920
Speaker 3: sixty five person development team and really take these verticals

560
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,320
Speaker 3: and focus on them in scale. So for me, it

561
00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:17,879
Speaker 3: gives me confidence every time somebody sends me something like,

562
00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:20,480
Speaker 3: you know, Instagram just started doing this, so you know,

563
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,159
Speaker 3: TikTok started doing this, so you know, Clubhouse started doing this,

564
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:25,879
Speaker 3: and I'm like, these are all the ideas that I

565
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,000
Speaker 3: came with. So you just have the money. So money

566
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 3: is the issues, and let me raise more capital and

567
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:33,520
Speaker 3: be able to you know, id eate and build because

568
00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,360
Speaker 3: there's things that we're doing that no other platform is doing,

569
00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 3: like content, like content migration. So the content migration tool

570
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:41,240
Speaker 3: that we built that you can migrate all of your

571
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,280
Speaker 3: Instagram content over the fan base, all your TikTok content

572
00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:45,040
Speaker 3: over the fan base.

573
00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:47,520
Speaker 4: Nobody has that. Nobody even thought to do that.

574
00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:49,679
Speaker 3: Nobody thought to make a giant repost app like and

575
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,280
Speaker 3: rather than post repost one picture with the caption, let

576
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:54,879
Speaker 3: me repost all the pictures, all the videos with the

577
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 3: captions and move them over to this platform. That's what

578
00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:59,720
Speaker 3: we did at fan Base And so these are original

579
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,720
Speaker 3: idea is that we've even filed patents on because again,

580
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:04,600
Speaker 3: I'm just trying to protect my own ideas because I

581
00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,560
Speaker 3: know how often we come up with great stuff as

582
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:09,879
Speaker 3: black people, and somebody else takes it and uses it

583
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:11,040
Speaker 3: and we don't get no credit for it.

584
00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:13,440
Speaker 1: So there's no way I can let you out of

585
00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,680
Speaker 1: here without talking about AI. And you know, with as

586
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:19,160
Speaker 1: fast as this is going, you know, and you've you've

587
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,879
Speaker 1: been very vocal about ownership, you know, especially you guys

588
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:25,399
Speaker 1: still have your father's you know, legacy, you know in

589
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:29,080
Speaker 1: the in the family. And when you think about what's

590
00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,720
Speaker 1: happening with voices and you know, being able.

591
00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:34,960
Speaker 2: Like I saw you your GZ posts like that, and.

592
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,440
Speaker 1: It sounds exactly like geez, and I wonder like, how

593
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,920
Speaker 1: how how do we monitor how do we think about

594
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:45,520
Speaker 1: monetizing and protecting and monetizing our voices and our likeness

595
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,960
Speaker 1: in the days that are to come, because they're honestly here.

596
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:54,119
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I think from the musical perspective, I think

597
00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:57,920
Speaker 3: it's going to be a fight because I didn't understand

598
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,840
Speaker 3: it first when it was photos, when when the photographers

599
00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 3: were saying all these AI images that are being created

600
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:08,359
Speaker 3: are getting trained off pre existing photos that people are

601
00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:11,199
Speaker 3: already taken. And I don't really think about that, but

602
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,680
Speaker 3: a lot of times those images and those photos are

603
00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:17,800
Speaker 3: sometimes free their fair use.

604
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:18,840
Speaker 4: You know, they're just out there.

605
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:20,800
Speaker 3: So anything that you post on Instagram, anything that you

606
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:22,840
Speaker 3: post on social media, you know what I'm saying, that

607
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,800
Speaker 3: you share those images can be taken or even sold

608
00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,880
Speaker 3: from the corporation to training AI model. So Facebook to say, here,

609
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:31,359
Speaker 3: take every photo we ever have on our platform and

610
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:33,960
Speaker 3: sell it to somebody to training AI model. When it

611
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,800
Speaker 3: comes to music, it's copywritten material. You understand what I'm saying.

612
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:39,440
Speaker 3: It's like it's it's so there's a so there's a

613
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,120
Speaker 3: there's already ownership tied to the master and the publishing

614
00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,760
Speaker 3: of those things. So now when you're training AI models

615
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,720
Speaker 3: on GZ who is an artist that has has had

616
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:54,160
Speaker 3: recording contracts at different labels and he owns publishing, and

617
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,880
Speaker 3: then as a celebrity, he owns his name, image and likeness,

618
00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:59,400
Speaker 3: Now we're going into something entirely different. So I know

619
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:03,040
Speaker 3: the images are one thing, and and and famous photographers

620
00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 3: photos are getting trained off AI too, So there's that

621
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:08,200
Speaker 3: component bo with music, there's really no way to really

622
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:10,800
Speaker 3: dive into the crux of being able to make something

623
00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:16,120
Speaker 3: comparable and comparable to like comparable to like what a

624
00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:21,200
Speaker 3: GZ or ron Eisley or Whitney Houston would do unless

625
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,080
Speaker 3: you have Ron Eisley, GZ and Whitney Houston. And so

626
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:28,200
Speaker 3: we're gonna have to protect you know, copywritten IP. And

627
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,560
Speaker 3: then for every person, you, everybody, I think on the planet,

628
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,360
Speaker 3: it's just going to in some way, shape or form,

629
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:36,400
Speaker 3: have to trademark their voice because these AI models are

630
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,160
Speaker 3: gonna get trained off of voices now monetizing it. There

631
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,320
Speaker 3: are I've seen sites pop up now where voiceover artists

632
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,320
Speaker 3: are cloning their voices to be used for voiceover, which

633
00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 3: is amazing because now I can make money while I sleep.

634
00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:50,480
Speaker 4: I don't clone my voice.

635
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:51,880
Speaker 3: And says, look, you can you can make you can

636
00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,520
Speaker 3: make commercials about this, this and this. You can't do politics,

637
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,040
Speaker 3: you can't do drugs, you can't do whatever whatever. But

638
00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,560
Speaker 3: if you want to make, you know, voiceover commercials about

639
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,680
Speaker 3: selling growth or renting cars or whatever it is, you

640
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:04,160
Speaker 3: can do that. And I make money while I sleep.

641
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:06,560
Speaker 3: I think that's going to be a game changer for people,

642
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 3: especially people with unique voices. And also celebrities that just

643
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,160
Speaker 3: want to make money. It's like, I don't even have

644
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:13,120
Speaker 3: to do that. They just use my voices the same

645
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,400
Speaker 3: way that they kind of did James Earl Jones with

646
00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:17,880
Speaker 3: Star Wars. Like James Earl Jones sold his voice to Disney,

647
00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:20,719
Speaker 3: so now they can make Darth Vader voices whenever they

648
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:23,360
Speaker 3: want to because they have James Earl Jones's voice. And

649
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:25,320
Speaker 3: so that's the kind of the kind of deals that

650
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:27,440
Speaker 3: I think are going to happen, especially with you know,

651
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 3: famous celebrities like people that have amazing voices like Morgan

652
00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,240
Speaker 3: Freeman and you know, Ving Raim's and stuff like that,

653
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,160
Speaker 3: that their voices will be able to live on in

654
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,560
Speaker 3: perpetuity and be able to monetize and make money for

655
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:41,160
Speaker 3: them and their families down the road.

656
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:42,520
Speaker 4: So I think that's really great.

657
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:47,400
Speaker 1: Make your pitch for this seventeen million dollar round for

658
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,240
Speaker 1: the people who are listening, and they they got a

659
00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,120
Speaker 1: little bit of change, and they're like, you know, how

660
00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,360
Speaker 1: can I put this money to good use? You know,

661
00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:56,200
Speaker 1: why should they be invested in fambase?

662
00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:59,400
Speaker 3: Well, I think we're at a at a you know,

663
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 3: an inflection point with social media being so uncertain. I

664
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:06,320
Speaker 3: know that subscriptions are the future. I see that. What's

665
00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,959
Speaker 3: happening with that, I think because of ai IRL in

666
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,680
Speaker 3: real life content is going to be some of the

667
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:13,560
Speaker 3: most valuable content out there, because I think you'll be

668
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:16,400
Speaker 3: able to render whatever photo you want, render whatever music

669
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,040
Speaker 3: you want. So platforms that allow people to monetize their

670
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,680
Speaker 3: real lives, the real content, are valuable, and that's what

671
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,960
Speaker 3: fan base is built on. When it comes to fan

672
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,120
Speaker 3: base in the Black community, I'm the only black founded

673
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,880
Speaker 3: startup social media app that's currently in existence that was

674
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,720
Speaker 3: founded for the entire planet, but it's black owned in.

675
00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:38,240
Speaker 4: Infrastructure and ownership.

676
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,160
Speaker 3: And what I mean by that is sometimes I think

677
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:43,200
Speaker 3: we narrow our laye when we try to make something

678
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,320
Speaker 3: just strictly for the Black community. And I don't want

679
00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:47,560
Speaker 3: to limit us because I understand the reach of our culture.

680
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,000
Speaker 3: Our culture goes beyond ourselves. So just making something for

681
00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:54,840
Speaker 3: Black culture to utilize Black culture is fine, but making

682
00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:58,160
Speaker 3: something for the entire world to have an opportunity to

683
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,760
Speaker 3: tap in and be a part of Black culture, but

684
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:03,160
Speaker 3: actually have equity and sit on the cap table. So

685
00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:06,240
Speaker 3: instead of being customers to our creations, we are turning

686
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:10,200
Speaker 3: our innovations into acquisitions. And therefore that is my pitch

687
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:12,960
Speaker 3: to tell people that look, Facebook and Instagram are not

688
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:14,640
Speaker 3: going to be in TikTok, are not going to be

689
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:17,240
Speaker 3: the kings of the hill. There's no business that has

690
00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:21,680
Speaker 3: existed that it's lasted and dominated in perpetuity. Everything goes down.

691
00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:25,000
Speaker 3: I remember looking at Rewinding and saying, oh, what was

692
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:27,320
Speaker 3: the biggest What was the biggest retailer forty years ago

693
00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:29,560
Speaker 3: with Sears? And then at one point it was it

694
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:31,680
Speaker 3: might have been targeted, and then it became Walmart, and

695
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,320
Speaker 3: now it's Amazon. So these things change, and so with

696
00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:36,400
Speaker 3: social media there'll be new players to enter the game.

697
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:40,719
Speaker 3: And so fan Base is your opportunity to own the

698
00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:43,360
Speaker 3: next generation of social media platforms. And it's not expensive.

699
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:45,840
Speaker 3: It's three hundred ninety nine dollars to invest. You can

700
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,960
Speaker 3: go to start engine dot com slash fan Base. To invest,

701
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 3: you get about sixty shares, sixty shares at six sixty

702
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:54,280
Speaker 3: five a share, and you sit on the cap table

703
00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:56,680
Speaker 3: of a social media platform that you have equity in.

704
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:58,920
Speaker 3: As we continue to scale, we're already passed six hundred

705
00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:01,800
Speaker 3: and fifty thousand users and we're only going up from there.

706
00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:04,520
Speaker 3: Once you start building community, it never stopped. You just

707
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:06,880
Speaker 3: have to continue to keep scaling it. So this is

708
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,160
Speaker 3: a business that will continue to grow. And I tell everybody,

709
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:11,000
Speaker 3: I don't want to be sitting here ten years from now.

710
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:12,280
Speaker 3: I'm be like, man, I should have got in on

711
00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:14,720
Speaker 3: that fan base. It's just four hundred dollars, but I

712
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,320
Speaker 3: went and spit it on a steak dinner or something

713
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:19,280
Speaker 3: like that. I'm like, Nah, hop on the cap table

714
00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,280
Speaker 3: and then join us over fan base.

715
00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,640
Speaker 1: Black Tech Green Money is a production to Blavity afro

716
00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:42,040
Speaker 1: Tech on the Black Effect podcast.

717
00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:42,920
Speaker 2: Network in Nighthearted Media.

718
00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,440
Speaker 1: It's produced by Morgan Devaun and me Well Lucas, with

719
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:50,920
Speaker 1: additional production support by Saya Ergan and Love Bees. Special

720
00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:53,960
Speaker 1: thank you to Michael Davison Kay McDonald learn more. But

721
00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:56,120
Speaker 1: my guess the other tech disrupt is an innovator's at

722
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:58,760
Speaker 1: afrotech dot com.

723
00:33:58,280 --> 00:33:59,560
Speaker 2: Enjoying Black Tech Green Money.

724
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:04,640
Speaker 1: Shoed this with somebody look, get your money, Peace and

725
00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 1: love