The ups and downs of entrepreneurship are without a doubt the most challenging thing I have to deal with on the daily. On average, I have about 12 ups and 13 downs that I need to manage without showing how extremely insane, insecure, and uncertain all of this is, and that’s all before the business day begins. Then the calls and emails start and thank goodness because they act as a temporary pause on my roller-coaster.

This past weekend, I met with the female Alberto Marzan and boy did I need to. She’s been on a four-year-long startup journey which has taken some of the same turns and pivots as mine has (never a dull moment). We spoke about the wannabe investors and the lies they say to us as entrepreneurs, the facade of Venture Capital, the inability for Angel Investment Groups to think individually (which is why they need to be in a group of peers that are also hampered by individuality), and how through all of the hustlers, liars, and thieves we are strong enough to continue to march forward. Then we laughed and both said that we loved our lives. It’s true, I often tell people that I would rather be doing this than getting a real job (I hope you get the humor in that).

In my professional body of work, I’ve done some really interesting things. I have run global organizations, I’ve been in Lybia before and after Ghadaffi, and I’ve worked for different administrations around the world but this journey is a different one. Different in the fact I am a man of color launching a company that requires sophisticated investors who can think individually, are strategically aligned, and accept that it’s going to be a long road ahead. You might ask why I do what I do and it’s an easy answer for me. Because it needs to be done, and if the black producers and content creators like the owner of a company called Hidden Film Group in Los Angeles can preach about uplifting our community by coming together and not act on it, imagine what others emulate. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see my industry colleagues win and yes, maybe I am a little frustrated about why it’s taken me so long but that is just the hidden blessing as I see it. It also helps the market correct itself given that it’s been such a hard mergers and acquisitions space.

Between having a streaming company out of Paris (they are no longer in business due to the founder’s poor decisions) steal from us and over 20 major investors to a Miami investment group that lies and cheats to advance their business while tearing other entrepreneurs down, we’ve endured some interesting challenges. Challenges that frankly would have put 99.9% of us out there down, but we still continue to power forward. As if it wasn’t hard enough for us just trying to build a global corporation, raise funds, and elevate our community, we also need to be aware of who the takers are.

It is a well-known fact that Silicon Valley is certainly not welcoming to entrepreneurs of color, women, or the LGBT community, yet they have to say they are. Think about this: Arlan Hamilton who is admired, respected, and a true driver in the Venture Capital space was dragged through the mud recently when Axios published an article that basically made it sound like she was over when she could not reach her fundraising goals and timeline (you can read that article here and please be sure to follow Arlan on her journey on Twitter–trust me it is worth it). We fall into that same space in not meeting our funding timeline goal. I absolutely hate it but that’s what drives me to push harder because it’s how you finish that matters not how you start. After my meeting with Angel Adams, Founder and CEO of CatchWind Pediatrics. she said, “You were not ready back then”. And the fact was that I was not ready and if we would have had that money we would have spent it on what I know now were mistakes. Angel and I were able to connect as entrepreneurs and provide real-life useable value to where we are in our journeys. We were able to launch and take a look at all of our wins and growth through the last few years. which I guarantee you is substantial, and for that I’m thankful. I need to have more of these conversations with other entrepreneurs because it’s a lonely place to be, even though I am always surrounded by people.

All I can say is thank you to all of you who thought you would be able to kill us. We’re not dead and we’re better, more resilient, and smarter than I ever expected to be. The investors who come into my company today can rest assured that we’ve run into all of the potholes in our path and we’re now better equipped to swerve to not hit them next time we see them. We are stronger, better, and more human which I personally never expected but if I can encourage and show educated others who are thinking about going down this road, I will because some of you may not be as strong as I am. Not bragging–it’s harder up here. Thinking about how different our journey is compared to other entrepreneurs who are trying to drive innovation, I see that my journey is not that different. Maybe a little more intense at times due to the sheer fact that we are doing something so public, but my journey is not any harder than Angel’s or others. I have to tell myself that and maybe there is a little bit of truth in that but I have to tell myself that.

Hello, spring 2019.

Roller-Coaster