Roy Broderick, Jr.

This story originally published on June 5, 2019 We all dream of creating something like Facebook and blowing up in record speed, but the reality is that it’s just that, a dream. Not to say it’s impossible, but creators of color tend to have our intellectual property used without consent when we make our ideas public and are not granted access to resources to get to the finish line quicker than our white counterparts. Think about it, have you ever had an idea and seen someone else take credit for it or present it as their own? Creators should make silent moves when working through an idea, even though popular culture tells us differently.  With the spotlight on social media and consumers feeling like its natural to put their entire life on their IG story, many creators are taken advantage of for their ideas. Here are four steps creators can use to protect ourselves and our ideas: 1. Lawyer Up I believe that some aspects of the law are a world of side eyes and reputation management...

This article was originally published on 05/23/2019 African Americans have always had to be resilient and find multiple ways to provide for our families. We hustle, period. Whether it’s picking up additional trades, shifts, or inventing products — our people always deliver. This grit and innovation is part of why we’ve have seen an uptick in Black business in the past decade. Thanks to social media, the millennial mindset of being the boss and not getting bossed around, and just Black people’s natural inclination to build something new —  the number of companies owned by Black millennials is growing at record speed. However, startup founders — like any business owners — have a set of mistakes they should avoid when trying to build their empire. As an entrepreneur that works with small to midsize businesses regardless of their growth phase, I have witnessed several missteps startups make. The first one is branding and research. When starting a business, the name matters most, as you...