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September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

How I Managed the Disappointment of Not Getting on ‘Shark Tank’

Disappointment is a part of life. This may be a biased comment, but disappointment feels more acute for people like entrepreneurs, who risk everything to make their dreams a reality.

Entrepreneurs quit their jobs, sacrifice relationships with friends and family, cash out their 401(k)s and run head-first into the unknown — that place in the universe filled with possibilities, tremendous joy and fulfillment. But also with lots of disappointment.

I’d like to share how I overcame the disappointment of not making it to the final round of auditions to get my company, WeMontage, on the incredibly popular TV show Shark Tank.

Why I Wanted to Get on Shark Tank

I recently listened to a great audio book by Ben Horowitz called, The Hard Thing About Hard Things. I had one really great takeaway from the book:

When things get hard in your business and you’re not sure if there is anything you can do to make a difference, you ALWAYS have a move.

Let me repeat that. You ALWAYS have a move.

Things have been extremely challenging at WeMontage since we ran out of funding back in the spring. I have a great product with hundreds of happy customers, but the biggest issue for the business is lack of consistent national exposure.

Shark Tank has 20 million viewers. So, while it was a complete long-shot, getting on the show was my move. And doing so obviously would have addressed what I’ve identified as the major issue for the business.

I made it to the next-to-last round of auditions, but did not get the call to go to LA to pitch to the Sharks. Cause for disappointment? Perhaps…

How I Handled the Disappointment of Not Getting on Shark Tank

I initially thought I didn’t make it to the second round of auditions because people in line around me at the audition got their call back and I hadn’t; I was really upset about this because the producer said my pitch was great. I eventually did get the call a few days later and was super-pumped about it.

After I prepared my nine-minute pitch video for the producers and submitted my lengthy application, a funny thing occurred. I made a conscious decision that it didn’t matter what happened next, as I knew I had put forth my absolute best effort. I think that choice was inspired by something Ariana Huffington said in an interview about her new book, Thrive.

Ariana, a super-Type A personality, said she realized she can only control 10 percent of what happens in life, so she does her 10 percent at 100 percent of her ability and trusts the Universe to handle the other 90 percent. So, maybe that’s what I did, too. Or maybe I just released the whole thing because I’ve learned that my greatest disappointments in life have been when I expected a certain outcome and it didn’t come to pass. Or maybe it was some subconscious effort to protect my mental health. I actually think it was a combination of all three of these things.

Surprisingly though, I wasn’t disappointed to learn I didn’t make it to Shark Tank.

Disappointment of Others Who Support You

My wife has been incredibly supportive throughout this entrepreneurial journey. When I didn’t hear back about making it to LA, she was still optimistic it was going to happen. Once the trailers for the new season of Shark Tank started airing, the reality set in that I wasn’t going to be on the show and I could tell she was disappointed. And for the first time in the last three years, she began to question the feasibility of me accomplishing my dream of making WeMontage a household name.

She asked me, “Do you think WeMontage is going to happen.” My answer surprised even me. I didn’t hesitate in my response, “Yes, I do. I don’t know exactly how at this point, but I’m OK with that. I have a few tangible things coming up soon, that should make a huge difference.”

I was grateful she accepted that answer without hesitation. I was even more impressed that I still had the resilience in me to respond so affirmatively and so quickly in that way.

Suggestions for Managing Disappointment

I looked around the Internet to see what others recommend for handling disappointment. I found a few practical, platitude-free suggestions in an article over at PsychCentral.com. Here are six recommendations in the article for how to effectively cope with disappointment.

1. Manage emotion
2. Don’t take it personally
3. Review expectations
4. Take a big picture perspective
5. Try again — or try another tack

I think I’ve used all of these tips during the last three years of chasing my dream. The thing I think I’m best at on this list though is number “6”, which is being resilient.

Resilience Matters

In my experience, the one thing that has consistently kept me moving forward, other than the support of my amazing wife, loving family and friends, is resilience.

There have been plenty of times I’ve wanted to quit, but I haven’t.

I still might quit…

But not today.

How have you dealt with disappointment as it relates to being an entrepreneur? Are there things you can share that might help others? Please do so in the comments.

James Oliver, Jr. is a husband to an amazing wife, Ayana, and co-founder of the world’s cutest twins, Thaddeus and Zoe. James is a tech entrepreneur who successfully raised private investment capital for his startup, WeMontage, the world’s only website that lets you turn your photos into large collages on removable wallpaper. James graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Morehouse Collage and has an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill. Follow @jamesoliverjr on twitter and via treplifedad on Facebook and G+. You can connect with James via his lifestyle blog for parent entrepreneurs:www.treplifedad.com.

September 29, 2014September 29, 2014

12 Black Scientists You Should Know Who Are Making an Impact Today

Aprille Ericsson

Aerospace Engineer,  NASA

Aprille Ericsson was the first female to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University. She was the first African-American female to receive a Ph.D. in engineering at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She was born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, and earned her bachelor’s in aeronautical/astronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lisa Stevens

Giant Panda Curator, National Zoo

Lisa Stevens became a familiar face, manning the giant panda program in 2005 when panda cub Tai Shan was born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Before joining the zoo’s staff, she held positions as a field research assistant, in pet and aquarium retail, veterinary clinic operations and insect zoo husbandry and interpretation. She has a bachelor’s degree in zoology and pre-veterinary medicine from Michigan State University and attended the AZA School for Professional Management Development for Zoo and Aquarium Personnel.

James West

Acoustician and Inventor

James West was born in 1931 in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and studied physics at Temple University. After graduating, West worked in tech, specializing in microphones, and went on to author 200 patents. In 1962, with Gerhard Sessler, West developed the foil electret microphone. West was a research professor at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. West also founded the Association of Black Laboratory Employees.

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September 29, 2014September 29, 2014

From Rapper to Superhero: Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels Launches Comic Book Line

From Beats to the Rhyme to beating up crime, Run-DMC rapper Darryl McDaniels is gearing up to take down bad guys in his new line of comics.

The new comic will hit stores Oct. 29 and will feature McDaniels himself as a crime-fighting superhero, complete with DMC brass knuckles, his classic Fedora and a pair of Adidas sneakers.

The new comic company, Darryl Makes Comics, hopes to create an entire ’80s universe of superheroes over time.

“It’s not going to be 2,000 issues of my boring ass,” McDaniels joked with the Daily News. “We wanted to build a foundation for a whole universe from [this first book.]”

He also explained that the comic will tackle some serious issues that don’t usually make debuts in the comic world.

“We’ll be introducing other superheroes and supervillains and deal with a lot of issues: racism, homophobia, AIDS – subjects other comics really don’t talk about,” he added.

One panel of the comic that’s already been released revealed that fans can also expect some clever Run-DMC references as well.

The panels show the masked superhero asking what durable material his suit is made out of.

When he asks if it’s leather, another man cleverly responds, “Nah man. Tougher than leather.”

Tougher Than Leather is the name of Run-DMC’s 1988 album.

It’s only natural that McDaniels would incorporate his hip-hop history in the comic considering his love of comics is part of what fueled many of his legendary lyrics.

“I was a shy kid, so when DJ Run (aka Joseph Simmons) was first putting me on these records, I went back to my comic books for confidence,” he told the Daily News. “I would hear a beat and go ‘OK, what would the Hulk do to this?’ It was all imagination to me.”

Another look at some of the hip-hop icon’s verses confirms that superheroes inspired many of his lyrics.

“That’s why, if you hear my delivery, ‘Crash through walls/Come through floors/ Bust through ceilings’ – all the dominant punching lines came from [channeling] the Hulk,” he added.

Now McDaniels can continue smashing through walls, floors and ceilings in the name of justice.

As he prepares to embark on a new business endeavor, McDaniels admitted that it will be challenging to really enter a market that is being dominated by DC and Marvel.

“We’ve been hitting the Comic Cons for a year and a half, and there are times when we’ve been swarmed by fans, and there are other times we’re sitting at a table and there are crickets,” said Darryl Makes Comics editor in chief Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. “But one of the things we have that other small publications don’t have is that we’re literally walking around the floor with the actual superhero, the actual icon.”

DMC will make its official debut next month during the New York Comic Con.

September 26, 2014September 26, 2014

Nigerian Government Invests N1.5 Billion in African Tech Startups

Nigeria’s minister of communication technology, Omobola Johnson, revealed Thursday that the federal government will be investing N1.5 billion on software development and African startups.

The staggering amount is equivalent to roughly U.S.$9 million and will give Nigerian startups the backing they need to grow their businesses and fuel economic growth in the country.

According to Johnson’s address at the third edition of Demo Africa, the government will be conducting the first case of the Information and Technology Innovation Fund in a few days.

This means the first large investment into the African technology startups could be just a few short weeks away.

Johnson said that in the next few days, 40 startups will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas and solutions in order to secure the funding they need to move forward with their businesses.

“I understand that in the two years of Demo Africa, alumni has generated over $8 million worth of investments, businesses and partnership,” Johnson said according to Sun News Online. “This is how you create jobs, new business opportunities, expand economics, improve social well-being of citizens.”

She also said that it’s key that those types of results “speak directly” to the country’s “ ‘companies and not code’ philosophy in the Ministry of Community Technology.”

Johnson believes that fueling new Internet opportunities can create vast economic expansion and create wealth and jobs for many of the country’s citizens.

“It is good to show prowess in software development, but it is even better to develop business and companies that are powered by that software,” she said. “The recent IPOs of Twitter and Ali Baba are testimonies of what is possible. I can’t imagine that it is too often that you get this level of government participation in Demos around the world…But governments, indeed, African governments, have an important role to play in catalyzing the startup industry as evidenced in the U.S. and, of course, Israel.”

If the startups are successful and other African governments follow in these footsteps, the growth of the entire continent’s gross domestic product could be exponential.

“One report highlights this potential and predicts that the Internet can contribute up to $300 billion to Africa’s GDP by 2025 and this is from an estimated $18 billion in 2013,” Johnson added. “While mobile subscriptions in sub-Sahara Africa are forecasted to exceed 635 million by the end of this year and predicted to rise around 930 million by the end of 2019.”

Johnson said Africa is in the “cusp of a mobile Internet revolution” and that itself has the potential to permanently change the playing field for all African startups.

Predictions have already surfaced suggesting that Africa’s mobile Internet use could increase 30-fold in the next five years – roughly double the estimated growth rate for other countries across the globe.

September 26, 2014September 26, 2014

Interview With Digital Lifestyle Expert Mario Armstrong: ‘You Are In Control Of Your Destiny’

This is an interview with Mario Armstrong, a digital lifestyle expert, a TV personality, a parent, and an entrepreneur. Armstrong has been featured on The TODAY Show and a few other places. Mario is a committed husband and dad, and recognizes his commitment to his family first and foremost. Mario talks about why, in business, it’s important to build a community BEFORE you need it, and the challenges of getting his own TV show.

Video credit: James Oliver, Jr. is a husband to an amazing wife, Ayana, and co-founder of the world’s cutest twins, Thaddeus and Zoe. James is a tech entrepreneur who successfully raised private investment capital for his startup, WeMontage, the world’s only website that lets you turn your photos into large collages on removable wallpaper. James graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Morehouse College and has an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill. Follow @jamesoliverjr on twitter and via treplifedad on Facebook and G+. You can connect with James via his lifestyle blog for parent entrepreneurs:www.treplifedad.com.<

September 25, 2014September 25, 2014

8 Blerds From the Past Who Deserve Recognition

Ralph J. Bunche

Detroit native Ralph J. Bunche was born Aug. 7, 1903, to Fred Bunche, a barber, and Olivia Agnes, an amateur musician. Bunche was a very intellectual student and brilliant debater, graduating valedictorian from his high school and going on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating summa cum laude. He also received his doctorate in political science from Harvard University. After graduation, he taught at Howard University and went on to do postdoctoral research at the London School of Economics and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He worked abroad during World War II with the CIA and United Nations. Bunche and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt were considered instrumental in the creation and adoption of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. After his involvement in an attempt at resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. He was the first African-American to receive the prize.

Jack Johnson

John Arthur “Jack” Johnson was born March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion in 1908, continuing his reign through 1915. Johnson was arrested in 1912 for violating the Mann Act, a law used to prevent Black men from traveling with white women. According to David Pilgrim, curator of the Jim Crow Museum, while in prison, Johnson conceptualized and diagrammed a tool to help tighten loosening fastening devices. On April 18, 1922, he patented improvements to the wrench.

Elmer Simms Campbell

St. Louis native Elmer Simms Campbell was born on Jan. 2, 1906. Campbell saw success early when he won a nationwide cartoon contest in high school. After graduation, he attended the University of Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago to further his studies. During his stint as a railroad dining-car waiter, he drew caricatures of the train riders. One passenger took notice and gave him a job in a St. Louis art studio. Campbell went on to contribute artwork to Esquire, The Chicagoan, Cosmopolitan, Ebony, The New Yorker, Playboy and Redbook. He was the first African-American cartoonist and paved the way for Blacks in the field.

Rebecca Lee Crumpler

Born Rebecca Davis Lee in Delaware on Feb. 8, 1831, she was raised by her aunt in Pennsylvania and eventually moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, to accept a position as a nurse. She worked as a nurse until she was accepted into the New England Female Medical College in 1860. Crumpler graduated in 1864 and was the first African-American woman in the United States to earn an M.D. and the only African-American woman to graduate from the New England Female Medical College.

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September 25, 2014October 1, 2014

Mentors Believe Medical Professions Can Help Save ‘Endangered’ Black Men

A recent analysis of Cincinnati homicide data painted a portrait of a grim future for African-American men in the city, but concerned mentors are emerging who believe the key to rescuing “endangered” Black men is to introduce them to a new career path.

According to the analysis published by the Enquirer, young Black men still comprise the highest percentage of homicide victims each year.

Many Black men, especially in urban communities, have dreams of becoming star athletes or hip-hop artists.

If those dreams do not come to fruition, many get involved with selling drugs or other illegal activities.

According to Wesley Gallaher, who grew up in Cincinnati, he would have followed that same path if it weren’t for the help of great mentors in the community.

Gallaher has traded in dreams of wearing a jersey for the reality of wearing a lab coat.

He has successfully entered the medical field and works in a cancer lab at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center – a goal he says he would have never accomplished without the Hearts and Minds Pipeline Program.

The program provided Gallaher and other minority youths in the area with mentors and other resources to help keep them out of prison.

Part of the way they do this is to expose the young men to professions in the medical field.

“A medical career was never in our scope growing up,” Gallaher said. “It was never about being a doctor or engineer. It was all about being the next LeBron (James).

Hearts and Minds puts a strong focus on building math, science and writing skills to help prepare Black males for a medical career.

In 2011, only about 2 percent of all medical school applications were from Black students, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The group predicts that by the time 2025 hits, the U.S. will have a shortage of roughly 130,000 doctors of all races and backgrounds.

According to Gary Favors, the 46-year-old founder of Hearts and Minds, young Black men need to be encouraged to think beyond a recording studio or a basketball court.

“Our Black boys can do more than play athletics,” Favors said. “We have to stop pigeonholing them and start exposing them to other areas of interest.”

Favors says that young Black men will continue to be an “endangered species” if education is not made a higher priority.

According to The Urgency of Now report released by the Schott Foundation for Public Education, only 10 percent of Black males in the eighth grade can read at a proficient level and only a little more than 50 percent of Black males graduate high school in four years.

In Cincinnati, the graduation rates for Black males fell well below their white counterparts.

Donna Herrmann-Vogel, vice president of programs at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati, says those numbers are proof that communities need to act swiftly to reduce the staggering risk factor that these urban youths face.

“There has always been a huge need, but it is more urgent now,” Herrmann-Vogel said as she stressed the need for positive mentors. “It has to do with gun violence in the city and the risk factor these kids face.”

September 24, 2014September 25, 2014

5 Things Black Nerds May Have to Deal With Growing Up

Finding a Group of Friends Who Can Relate to You

Oftentimes, as a Black nerd, it’s hard to find a group of people you totally relate to. This is especially true for Black kids in school. Far too often, you were never fully accepted by any social group because the Black kids mislabeled you as “acting white” and the other kids couldn’t relate to your cultural background. This all made for a very lonely experience.

Being Different From Everyone Else in Your Family

Although family is always supposed to be a sanctuary, that wasn’t always the case if you were a Blerd. Your family members may have always meant well, but they didn’t quite relate to all your “nerd” interests when they were busy concerning themselves with sports and music. However, in the end, your family still loved you, and this became particularly true when your “nerdiness” subsequently led you to be one of the most successful people in family history.

Being the Only Black Kid in the Classroom

Many Blerd kids who worked their way into gifted programs find themselves in a dilemma when they end up being the only Black kid in the class. It’s another time that Blerds end up being lonely and not having anyone to relate to fully, especially when they have to deal with the fact that their teachers are white as well.

Having Your Exceptional Work Be Insulted by Being Called a ‘Quota’

Anyone who understands the way systems work understands that there’s no truth to this accusation. However, the truth isn’t always enough to ease the sting of this perception. While the stereotype is definitely something that needs to go away, all most Blerds can do in the meantime is continue being exceptional and continue to set more examples for future Blerds so that they feel less ostracized down the road.

Having to Code-Switch Between Your White and Black Friends

When being a minority in the classroom but still being in a Black family and neighborhood, the way to possibly fit in is to toe the line between both very distinct cultures. Code-switching can be defined as alternating between different language styles to fit the particular social setting that you’re faced with. Most Blerds had to learn how to do this to some degree in order to have any semblance of a social life in each different environment.

September 24, 2014September 24, 2014

E-commerce Site for Black Businesses Wins National Black MBA Innovation Challenge

The creators of an e-commerce site dedicated specifically to African-American-focused businesses and products took home the grand prize of $10,000 at the 2014 National Black MBA Innovation Whiteboard Challenge.

PurchaseBlack.com gives consumers an online source of products and businesses that are geared toward African-American consumers or created by Black business owners.

The innovative new platform was enough to wow judges and allow the e-commerce site to soar above the other nine national semifinalists in a preliminary round.

After three finalists were selected, the business owners presented their company ideas and goals in front of a group of executives, directors and other well-established African-American professionals.

With an outstanding presentation and a groundbreaking concept, PurchaseBlack.com was deemed the winner.

“It’s hard to express my gratitude and joy at the support I received at the National Black MBA conference,” said Brian Williams, the founder and CEO of PurchaseBlack.com according to BlackNews.com. “It’s easy to get nervous before an audience like that, yet, I tried to channel it into enthusiasm for my business.”

The victory in this competition means more to Williams than just a monetary grand prize.

According to BlackNews.com, Williams hopes to use this success to boost the number of products and businesses that consumers have access to via PurchaseBlack.com.

“We have already gone from a few web stores to over 50 businesses and about 1,000 Black-owned or Black-focused products on PurchaseBlack.com today,” he said. “With the connections from the conference, we may be able to get thousands more products soon. We are going in the right direction, and we want to accelerate our growth.”

Due to Williams’ background, expanding the business won’t be too great of a challenge.

The innovative entrepreneur studied African-American business while earning his Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Texas.

Since then he has been on many panels to serve as a voice for African-Americans in the technology industry – an industry where Blacks are still severely underrepresented.

As PurchaseBlack.com continues to grow, Williams is hoping to use crowdsourcing to fund that growth.

He has already launched a GoFundMe Campaign for the company so that financial woes won’t serve as a problem for the e-commerce platform.

Fortunately, there have been pushes made all across the country for Blacks to focus their spending efforts on Black-owned businesses, which has helped garner a lot of support for a platform like PurchaseBlack.com.

“A lot of people believe in what we are trying to do, which is to become the home for African-American online shopping, and create a simple way to support Black-owned or Black-servicing businesses,” he said. “We hope that people will support our campaign to strengthen our cause and community. We are in this together.”