Before founding his growing businesses and organizations, Jay Morrison was busy trafficking drugs through the upper east coast and battling a dangerous lifestyle. That is until he found a way to turn his life around and break into the real estate market.
From there, he went on to co-found the first Black-owned real estate crowdfund and a wealth education institution designed to inspire and provide the Black community with the tools they need to succeed.
To understand the depth of Morrison’s journey, you must first know his origin story.
The proud entrepreneur, co-founder, husband, and father shared his inspiring story of challenges and triumphs that have developed him into the business mogul he is today. His life tells a cautionary tale of turning your obstacles into stepping stones for success.
His start from humble beginnings to a now successful businessman is unlike the typical rags-to-riches tale. He encountered many bumps in the road before finding his way.
Raised by a single teenage mother, Morrison grew up in a tumultuous environment surrounded by poverty, domestic violence, substance, and emotional abuse. Despite his rough upbringing, he was committed to escaping the life he was all too familiar with and looked toward a brighter future.
He avoided household drama by adopting the life of a drug dealer at 15-years-old and dropped out of high school at 16-years-old. He eventually went back to school to get his high school diploma at age 17, but he still couldn’t shake his life in the streets.
For years, Morrison found himself trapped in a life he couldn’t seem to escape — being in and out of jail and steadily drug trafficking — until he joined a mentorship group. It introduced him to a mortgage company that taught him financing, credit, real estate evaluation, and purchasing.
“I made my first legal money and saw that there was a different way out and a different way to be an entrepreneur,” said Morrison.
Still struggling to turn over his life from the streets, Morrison had to self-reflect to realize where he was headed.
“Are you a hustler or a drug dealer?,” he asked himself. “A drug dealer can only sell drugs, but a true hustler can hustle anything.”
Morrison realized he didn’t have much of a future in the drug game and quit cold turkey. He then started to channel his “charisma, swag, and energy” into real estate and never looked back.
He began his career in real estate, going full throttle earning his license, doing loans, mortgages, and flipping properties. By age 27, he owned six houses and made his first million in the business.
However, Morrison’s story doesn’t end there. Since he learned how to make smart money legally, he had to also learn the true value of his money as well. Upon losing his fortune and essentially starting over again, Morrison finally found his true purpose — helping his community.
In 2012, he started his Hip-Hop to Homeowners initiative, inspired by his first book, where he visited over 30 high schools to teach students about real estate and credit.
He then founded his wealth institution — the Jay Morrison Academy — in 2014 to help individuals achieve “economic mobility and intergenerational wealth.” The academy is one of America’s fastest-growing companies and has taught over 100,000 students to date.
Morrison continued to build off of his entrepreneurial ventures, and started the historic, Tulsa Real Estate Fund, the first-ever Black-owned crowdfund in history.
The company is close to surpassing Marcus Garvey and the Black Star Line’s 100-year long-standing capital raising record by raising over $10.3 million.
Morrison also released two best-selling books in 2016 titled “Lord of My Land: 5 Steps to Homeownership” and “The Solution: How Africans in America Achieve Unity, Justice and Repair,” continuing his rise as one of the industry’s biggest influencers.
Last year, he launched the Corner Class, a traveling tour where he went back to inner-city street corners to teach people about real estate for free. He’s visited 65 corners in 32 different cities — including Chicago, Detroit, Bankhead, Little Haiti, Brooklyn, and the Bronx — reaching thousands of people.
His commitment to his community also stretched to social activism as he played a critical part in the protests and uprisings for Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Alfred Wright and others dong what he calls “standing up for the rights of Africans in America.”
Morrison has gone viral several times in numerous wealth education and social activist-related content, and continues to be a pillar in his community.
“I believe in living a life of works over words,” said Morrison. “I’m a guy that is actually about unifying, healing and repairing my community in real life.”
His remarkable story motivates him to both educate and instill values in his community, influencing others to adopt a smart hustler’s mindset.
The Tulsa Real Estate Fund is currently accepting co-owning partners and encourages those interested to join them up until April 29.
For more information, visit their website.
