Fearless Fund is claiming victory following a settlement that dissolved one of its grant programs. What Happened As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Fearless Fund had been in a legal battle with legal activist Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group over the firm’s Strivers Grant program — a Blum-led group had earlier challenged race-based affirmative action policies and won in the Supreme Court. The grant program, backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mastercard, supported Black-owned women businesses with $20,000 in funding, per information shared by “CBS Mornings.” The lawsuit, filed August 2023 in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, GA, argued it was in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to launch a grant program “open only to Black females,” labeling the move as “explicit racial exclusion.” As a result, several rulings and appeals have been issued. First, the grant program was permitted to continue operating under U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash on...

College student Layla Wallace has secured a grant for her bakery business. Wallace started her Michigan-based business, Layla’s Cool Pops, when she was just 10 years old after being inspired by her fourth grade economics project in 2015, MLive reports. At the time, she did not have any proper knowledge of what it would take to run a business and be successful, but she is only becoming wiser in light of her steps in higher learning as a business student at Western Michigan University. “When I started the business, I didn’t know anything,” Wallace told the outlet. “I’m taking courses that are helping me develop my business, teaching me the fundamentals of how to function, develop, and grow.” In the meantime, Wallace continues to run Layla’s Cool Pops in Kalamazoo, MI. She sells cupcakes in flavors such as confetti, pink lemonade, red velvet, and lemon, among others, as well as cookie pops, cake pops, brownies, and pies. Orders are currently being fulfilled from her home, and the...

The 2024 NFL is in full swing, but players are still finalizing deals and securing contracts. One of the most lucrative deals recently announced was that of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott entered the league in 2016 as the round four, 135th pick. In the 2023-2024 season, he completed 410 passes for 4,516 yards and 36 touchdowns. This level of play has made him a mainstay for the Cowboys organization, prompting high-level negotiations for his most recent contract. According to Spotrac data, Prescott inked a four-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys worth $240 million. The contract includes a $80 million signing bonus and guarantees totaling $231 million, with an average annual income of $60 million. For the 2024 season, Prescott is set to receive a base salary of $1.25 million, along with the $80 million signing bonus. The contract extension was completed after the season-opener vs. the Cleveland Browns. However, the 31-year-old athlete didn’t let the lingering deal...

Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman now holds a stake in the league where he once played. Bridgeman was drafted to the NBA in 1975 and selected by the Los Angeles Lakers as an eighth pick in the first round, Basketball Reference reports. Bridgeman continued his career in the league with nine seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks, followed by a two-year stint with the Los Angeles Clippers, before returning to the Bucks for his final season and retiring in 1987, Sports Illustrated mentions. At his highest, he earned $350,000 in a single season, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. However, his fortune greatly increased beyond the NBA, amassing a reported $600 million. His business portfolio has included Wendy’s and Chili’s restaurant franchises, although he later sold his stakes in 2016 and soon after became a Coca-Cola distributor. The basketball veteran is also the owner of Ebony and Jet Magazine as of 2020. He purchased the publications for $14 million after they filed for bankruptcy. In a...

Kevin Hart’s vegan restaurant chain has quickly closed. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the comedian launched Hart House in 2022 — with the promise of opening more — alongside what he called a premiere lineup of associates and industry pioneers. Its first location opened in Westchester, CA, near the Los Angeles International Airport, Eater reports. “I am THRILLED to announce that I have collaborated with an All-Star team of partners and industry leaders to create an industry-changing restaurant called ‘Hart House,’” Hart wrote on Instagram at the time. “This thing is going to be HUGE! We’re going to serve delicious, sustainable food, that delivers ‘Can’t-Believe-It’ Flavor in every bite!!! We’ll be opening our first few locations in the LA area, but we will be expanding quickly.” Hart House did deliver on its word to grow the business. By 2024, Hart House had extended its portfolio with three additional California locations: Monrovia, University Park, and Hollywood. The draw has...

Buying a home can be an overwhelming and expensive purchase. On Friday, August 30, 2024, the current national average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.38%. The interest rates have gotten so high that John Hope Bryant , the founder of Operation HOPE , is trying to convince people that a 40-year mortgage plan is more fair. But when first-time homeowners and first-time investors are listening to Realtors, real estate attorneys and mortgage lenders discuss percentage rates, it may not seem as clear. That is, until new homeowners see property and interest (P&Is) really affect their monthly budget. (Varying property taxes can make budgeting even more complicated.) Photo credit: ArtTower Using Chicago as an example, if you bought a home in the Windy City right now (with very good credit between 700-739) for the city’s average home value of $305K , you’d pay about $1,729 per month for P&I. If that sounds high, the average rent in Chicago is $1,836 per month for a...

Edy Lawson-Jackson has made history in the NFL alongside her daughter, Samira, according to The Baltimore Sun. Growing up in Baltimore, MD, Lawson-Jackson had many dreams, including wanting to pursue ballet, gymnastics, and acrobatics. These early aspirations fueled her activities in the band, track and field, as well as becoming homecoming queen. With discipline and creativity as part of her makeup, she developed a passion for writing, language, and history, which ultimately sparked her goal to become a sports and entertainment lawyer. After graduating from Baltimore City College in 1986, she attended Howard University, where she earned a juris doctor degree in 1993, per the outlet. The “Charm City” native also gained experience as an intern under a sports entertainment attorney at a law firm. That same year, despite being in the final stages of pregnancy and experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions with Samira, she took and passed the Pennsylvania bar exam on the first try. “Listen...

Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi’s new restaurant is honoring a Black mathematician. The Nigerian-American restaurateur, raised in New York City, NY, opened Dōgon on Sept. 9, 2024, inside luxury hotel Salamander Washington DC. The fine-dining establishment’s design honors Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician and astronomer who primarily taught himself by watching the stars and studying math textbooks while on his family’s 100-acre farm in Baltimore, MD, according to the Library of Congress. In 1752, Banneker gained recognition for reportedly creating the first all-wood clock in American history . Nearly four decades later, he was among the individuals responsible for designing and surveying Washington, DC, including choosing the sites of the U.S. Capitol building and the White House, among others. Not only was the new restaurant’s grand opening date chosen to commemorate when DC was officially named in 1791, Onwuachi also pays homage to Banneker’s West African Dogon tribe lineage...

As a business owner, bracing yourself for potential setbacks is a matter of survival. It’s necessary and a great business practice that allows you to plan for the future. In the meantime, you’re able to work towards that goal and stay abreast of everything else. Add in politics and you have some new possibilities to consider. You might be wondering what politics has to do with being a business owner. However, the ways in which certain taxes and tariffs waiver directly impacts business profit. No matter your party preference, politics have the power to impact how your business functions. And with steady success and growth being the ideal goal, there are steps that you can take now to ensure they come to fruition. Will the upcoming election shake up your business? Here’s how to get prepared now. Will The Upcoming Election Shake Up Your Business? The short answer is mostly likely, but educating yourself on policies is what will empower you to make the right decisions for your business....

Kevin Johnson’s food venture is rapidly growing. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the former NBA player who made headlines for becoming the first Black mayor of Sacramento, CA, is the founder of a restaurant venture named Fixins Soul Kitchen. He opened the first location in that very city, which is also his hometown, in 2019, notes Eater Detroit. “I grew up in Oak Park, so that was the poor part of the city of Sacramento, and like every city around the country, it was the underserved community,” Johnson told Eater. “I wanted to do our first Fixins in that neighborhood to prove that we could be successful in the neighborhood I grew up in.” Fixins Soul Kitchen has expanded and now has four locations in the following areas: Sacramento, CA (Oak Park) Los Angeles, CA (LA Live) Tulsa, OK (Black Wall Street) Detroit, MI (Paradise Valley) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fixins Soul Kitchen (@fixinssoulkitchen) The restaurant’s menu items were inspired by various soul food...

The lawsuit preventing Fearless Fund from allocating funding to Black women entrepreneurs has been settled. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Fearless Fund, currently led by founding partner Arian Simone, was sued by legal activist Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group. In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, GA, in August 2023, the investment firm had been accused of “explicit racial exclusion” for creating a grant program that was “open only to Black females,” with the lawsuit alleging that it went against the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Blum and the group flagged Fearless Fund’s efforts of providing $20,000 in grants and mentorship directed to Black women due to a violation of “race neutrality,” The Washington Post reports. Initially, U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash was in favor of the Fearless Fund, which at the time had been guided by Simone and COO Ayana Parsons, who later stepped down from her role in April 2024. View this post...

A hub geared towards Black business owners has opened in Madison, WI. The Black Business Hub is made possible through the efforts of The Urban League of Greater Madison (ULGM), which was established in 1968 to educate and empower the Black community both personally and professionally, per its website. Their programs have been geared towards the youth, families, job seekers, and employers. The enterprise center aims to reduce the disparities faced by Black entrepreneurs. In 2022, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $2.9 million to The Urban League of Greater Madison — bringing the project’s total raised to $22 million at time — and a portion of the proceeds was used to support its development. “We’re honored and grateful that Ms. Scott and her team have recognized the Urban League’s value and impact to the community,” Ruben L. Anthony, Jr., president and CEO of ULGM said in a statement, per Chanel 3000. “By placing racial equity and social justice at the forefront of her...

Beyoncé respects the legacy of those who came before her. Throughout her decades-long career as a musician and entrepreneur, she has made it her mission to uplift pioneers. Her heart posture has not wavered even in her most recent endeavors, which include “Cowboy Carter.” The country-inspired album placed a spotlight on The Beatles, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Linda Martell while also uplifting the newer generation that have been making their mark, including Shaboozey, who has currently been at the top spot on the Billboard 100 for his single “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” notes Billboard. SirDavis As a businesswoman, this is being reflected in the launch of her whiskey brand SirDavis, in partnership with Moët Hennessy. As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, the American whiskey made with a “bespoke recipe” inspired by Japanese and Scottish styles had been in the works for several years. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) “I’ll never forget the first day I had...

Vice President Kamala Harris proposed a substantial increase in the tax deduction for startup expenses, raising the allowable deduction for new small businesses from $5,000 to $50,000. The Democratic presidential nominee announced the proposal during a speech in New Hampshire on Sept. 4 as part of her broader economic plan to make tax filing “cheaper and easier” for businesses, Forbes reported . “As President, one of my highest priorities will be to strengthen America’s small businesses,” Harris said, according to CBS News . “We’re going to help more small businesses, and innovators get off the ground.” ​​New startups could either use the full $50,000 deduction in one year or spread it across multiple years as they become profitable. They also have the option to use the $5,000 deduction and spread the remaining startup costs over 15 years. The proposal aims to ease the financial burden of starting a business, covering costs such as advertising, employee training, consultant and...

The visibility from “Shark Tank” led to remarkable growth for The Transformation Factory founder Alexiou Gibson. Gibson is behind the sea moss brand, which was inspired by his personal health journey that resulted in a 300 pound weight loss from taking the algae in his daily lattes, CNBC reports. “Like most teens, I believed that I was invincible,” Gibson shared on “Shark Tank.” “I thought I would be fine and had time to get healthy later. It wasn’t until my doctor told me that I wouldn’t live to see my 30th birthday that I understood how serious I needed to be about living.” Recognizing the great power of sea moss through his 10-year health battle, the company website notes, The Transformation Factory now sells various sea moss gels in flavors dragon fruit, pineapple, mango, and strawberry banana. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Transformation Factory (@seamosstransformation) Gibson pitched his company while on “Shark Tank” in 2022 and scored a $600,000 deal from...