Podcasts about city startup labs

For most of his adult life, Henry Rock working in advertising sales. He represented a wide range of black media including Ebony, Jet and Black Enterprise magazine. His work brought him in direct contact with a number of inspiring, African-American entrepreneurs and that gave him an idea: what if we could inspire young black males in inner cities to explore entreprenurial opportunites? After relocating to North Carolina, Henry began pursuing this idea with the help of National Urban League and it's local chapter in Charlotte. His TEDx Talk, Creating A New Class of Entrepreneurs, put the wind in his sails to launch City Startup Labs. Over the past decade, the organization has trained over 220 young men and women to get into the startup game. Recently, City Startup Labs has focused on helping formerly incarcerated individuals pursue their business dreams. Now 72 years old, Henry reports he's the happiest he's ever been. "And I owe it to not taking my hands off the steering wheel but not gripping the steering wheel and trying to steer my life but rather allowing my life to unfold...And it has unfolded in a very beautiful way."   

For a lot of people who serve time in prison, getting a job or launching a career afterward is a challenge. City Startup Labs is opening the doors for new opportunities through its ReEntry Entrepreneurship Program. It's partnering with major employers, like Atrium Health, to transition justice-involved people into careers in healthcare. And it's also creating pathways to become entrepreneurs. Host Pamela Escobar is joined by Travis Williams, the Director of the ReEntry Entrepreneurship Program, and Renea Wells, a member of the program.

City Startup Labs conducts a Center of Excellence, where African American Millennials and Returning Citizens (the formerly incarcerated) learn how to research, plan, launch and operate startup enterprises. While they learn about what it takes to start a successful venture, they also learn a lot about themselves along the way. Learn how founder, Henry Rock, turned his vision into this entrepreneurial venture. Thanks to Henry Rock of City Startup Labs for sharing his entrepreneurship story – learn more about his business here: https://citystartuplabs.com/

Henry Rock, founder of City Startup Labs, works to help build young men into entrepreneurs, so it makes sense that he knows a thing or two about the value of a mentor in building social capital. It's no surprise then, that he himself had several influential figures in his life that helped shaped him into the leader he is today. In today's episode of Who Built Me, we talk to Henry about the lessons he learned from his great grandmother Ella, a suffragist and historian, his father and uncles who were pilots and engineers, and a professional influence who helped Henry built his foundation in Black-owned media. Find out more about City Startup Labs here.

The United States recently celebrated the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. In the midst of a resurgent call for racial equity and justice it’s time to renew our understanding of – and commitment to – “The Dream” through Educational Equity, Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Economic Access. In this week’s CLT Alliance Talks podcast Rod Garvin SVP of Talent Insights for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance Speaks with Dr. Shante’ Williams, Founder and CEO, Black Pearl Global Investments; Henry Rock, Executive Director, City Startup Labs and Don Thomas, Jr., Executive Director, My Brother’s Keeper Charlotte Mecklenburg.

Henry Rock II is the founder and director of City Startup Labs, an entrepreneur's academy for African American millennials that develops human, social and economic capital within inner-city America.  In partnership with Ventureprise, Inc., a non-profit venture development organization, CSL operates a Center of Excellence for Entrepreneurial Competency, Innovation and Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Henry has over two decades of experience in media sales, advertising and marketing. His career includes business development and strategic planning for small black-owned and operated ventures. He has given a TEDxCharlotte Talk on creating a new class of African American entrepreneurs. Henry does more than inspire young men and women to live powerful and rewarding lives.  He gives them the tools and shares the mindsets to make it happen. This episode is perfect for anyone interested in the education of entrepreneurs, a discussion on black cultural nationalism, and a basis for hope in our lives. IN THIS EPISODE Henry shares what City Startup Labs is and what it is designed to do. He explains the four modules that make up CSL that guide young entrepreneurs from acceleration to incubation to market.   He discusses the development of his curriculum and how he makes use of lean startup principles and Barry Gordy's autobiography to reach his students.   Henry talks about the mindset of young black men and how perceptions of them affect them psychologically and physically. He shares what has surprised him leading CSL.  He reports where CSL is now and what he wants for the program going forward. Henry explains the three classes of assets that CSL is seeking to build. He discusses how his family story parallels the arc of African American history. Henry talks about the influence of black activists Amiri Baraka and Ron Karenga in his thinking and development as a young man. He explains the difference he sees between black and white nationalism. Henry describes himself as a young man, why he chose to take courses in economics, and his transition into a career in media and advertising. He talks about an amazing period in black media and how it informs what he is doing now. He discusses guiding forces in his life and why he is hopeful about the future.    After the conversation, host Mark Peres adds a personal word that begins this way, "The discussion you heard was the second one I had with Henry.  The first one did not record. This is what you did not hear..." To learn more, visit On Life and Meaning.

Today, we are extremely fortunate to have Walter Frye join us. As you’ll hear in our conversation, I’ve known Walt since early 2016 and have really enjoyed getting to know him – and I think you will too.  He’s been a great advocate for all things startup and angel investing in Charlotte and has brought a high level of energy and passion to the scene. I wanted to talk with Walt as he’s the kind of ‘roll up your sleeves’ guy you always want to be around.  If he sees a problem or an opportunity, he’s right there to take action.  As such, he’s gotten very involved with the Charlotte Regional Fund for Entrepreneurship.  You will learn this today, but anything Walt gets involved with he does with 100% effort.  So as the Charlotte entrepreneurship efforts grow, we are extremely fortunate to have Walt help leading those efforts. Walt brings a wealth of experience to the Charlotte Regional Fund for Entrepreneurship.  In our discussion today, we discuss and hear from Walt on a ton of different items in the startup/angel community including: Why should people consider getting involved? What organizations are in Charlotte to support startups (QC Fintech, City Startup Labs, QC Forward, CLT Joules, Ventureprise and more). What's the benefit to having a thriving startup culture in Charlotte What is Charlotte Regional Fund for Entrepreneurship doing going forward? Promoting Charlotte Entrepreneurship Focus on Talent Strengthen the ecosystem and interconnectivity of the ecosystem Capital Can startups impact and improve the upward mobility issue in Charlotte? And much more. I hope you enjoy today's episode and be sure to tune into next week's episode of the Charlotte Angel Connection with Matt Potere of Sunlight Financial - a great startup secret right here in Charlotte.  

The wealth gap between white and black families has grown since the 1960s. But one man thinks he might have an entrepreneurial solution.

Today’s episode of the Charlotte Angel Connection features young entrepreneur, Aaron Galloway. To give you an idea of the type of go get ‘em mentality Aaron has he is the only entrepreneur to date who sought me out and asked to be on the podcast. He’s got a fire to create a successful business and is smart enough to do it. Keep your eyes on him as he develops InfiniGift over the coming quarters. In this episode, we learn Aaron has been writing business plans since the age of 8 – his first business plan was for a jean company. He was always waiting for the perfect business plan but while having beignets with his dad at Cajun Queen he was encouraged just to take the leap. One thing led to another and InfiniGift emerged as the winner of Charlotte’s City Startup Labs in the fall of 2016. He’s working through the development of the website and other necessary steps to launch the business soon. Listening to Aaron you quickly hear his confidence and wisdom that he has created by preparing to launch a startup for 20 years. It’s a great honor to introduce you to Aaron today. What is InfiniGift (www.infinigift.com)? Infinigift is a tool that allows you to turn your life events into the building blocks of a financial future and a financial legacy for future generations. It is a web-based platform turning gift registries from life events into the building blocks of a financial legacy. In essence, it allows people to register for gifts of stock in companies in addition to the physical gifts at major milestones (weddings, births, etc.). What has Aaron learned about writing business plans? “Sometimes you just have to jump.” What made Aaron ‘jump’? His first business was an organic athletic recovery product. It failed and that helped him get more ready for launching InfiniGift. City Startup Labs (http://citystartuplabs.com/) run by Henry Rock and Greg Brown with Charlotte Angel Fund (www.charlotteangelfund.com) have been tremendous resources for Aaron. With Dan Roselli and HQ Charlotte (http://packard.place/) and others, Aaron doesn’t feel there is a shortage of support for entrepreneurs in Charlotte. My favorite quote from Aaron about juggling the roles of entrepreneur, husband, employee, etc. “You make time for what you want to make time for.” Listen to Aaron and you’ll be as impressed as I am. Any recommendations or questions for Aaron can be directed to him (agalloway@infinigift.com).

Young adults and teens face significant challenges in finding quality employment in today's economy. The employment rate of teens is at its lowest point since World War II, and young adults have seen their employment rate drop by over 10 percentage points since 2000. For young workers, a lack of work experience can be a huge barrier to entering the labor market or finding a quality job. More businesses have shifted away from hiring entry-level workers and investing in their training and development, and instead prioritize job candidates with experience. For those who have found employment, low wages, part-time hours, and limited advancement opportunities are not uncommon. This conversation discusses the challenges young workers face in today's economy and ideas for expanding meaningful volunteer, on-the-job learning, and entrepreneurship opportunities to help our newest generation of workers gain the experiences and skills they need to be successful in the labor market. This event features John Bridgeland (President and CEO, Civic Enterprises), LaShauntaye Moore (Earth Conservation Corps), Henry Rock (Executive Director and Founder, City Startup Labs), Elizabeth Shuler (Secretary-Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer, AFL-CIO), and moderator Nona Willis Aronowitz (National Reporter, NBC News Digital). This event is part of the Working in America series, an ongoing discussion series hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program that highlights an array of critical issues affecting low- and moderate-income workers in the United States and ideas for improving and expanding economic opportunities for working people. For more information, visit as.pn/workinginamerica. The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. We recognize that race, gender, and place intersect with and intensify the challenge of economic inequality and we address these dynamics by advancing an inclusive vision of economic justice. For over 25 years, EOP has focused on expanding individuals' opportunities to connect to quality work, start businesses, and build economic stability that provides the freedom to pursue opportunity. Learn more at as.pn/eop.