A year ago today (Mar. 31), Crenshaw-bred rapper Nipsey Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, was gunned down in the parking lot of his Marathon Clothing retail store. The Los Angeles shopping plaza, owned by Hussle, was not only a symbol for the Grammy award-nominated emcee’s rise, but it was also an emblem of his love for his neighborhood and motivation toward increased economic growth in the Black community. By age 33, the prolific artist and businessman made historic and unprecedented strides toward success. In 2013, the All Money In record label founder launched the Proud 2 Pay campaign to promote his $100 mixtape, “Crenshaw.” In 2017, he collaborated with tech innovator Iddris Sandu to establish The Marathon Clothing flagship as an app-driven “smart store” to offer his fans exclusive content and products. By February 2018, Hussle co-founded Vector90 , a co-working space and STEM education incubator to promote intellectual discovery and diversity in tech. In addition, Nipsey Hussle...

Roughly one in four businesses are unable to receive the funding they need.  According to the SBA, business loans and credit cards account for about three-fourths of financing for startups. However, these methods of funding can be difficult to acquire due to business age, revenue criteria, or credit considerations. Some businesses can benefit more by securing funding from an investor. Here’s how. 1. CREATE A PLAN It’s very important to have a plan before presenting your proposal to investors. If you don’t, they won’t take you seriously. So make sure you have a growth plan in place, which will show investors that you have a long-term, detailed plan for development. Also, you’ll need a budget to acquire your first customers. Calculate your reliable revenue and expenses for the year. Investors want to have confidence that you know what you’re going and that you have clear goals about the direction you want your company to go. 2. NETWORK Finding the right investor for your startup is...