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Emmanuel Eribo made several pivots before settling on a luxury vegan sneaker and apparel brand. Business Insider reports Eribo, a self-taught coder, had studied psychology in college but saw finance as an opportunity for growth. He was able to land a finance job after learning enough about coding and did the programming for the trading floor at HSBC. He spent eight years in the sector but wanted to pivot into entrepreneurship, although it was unclear what specific route. “At first, I was very afraid to quit my job, but being an entrepreneur, that fear is constant, and you get comfortable with it,” he told the outlet. Eribo considered different ideas with the help of his brother and peers. He ultimately created a ballerina shoe brand named Butterfly Twists, which prompted his official exit from finance. It paid off as the brand eventually scaled to 32 stores across 67 countries, with 1 million pairs sold annually. However, Eribo still was not satisfied. “On the surface, we were doing...
Nick Minaj’s latest tour is breaking records! According to Billboard, the Queens, NY, native’s “Pink Friday 2 World Tour” is the highest-grossing and bestselling rap tour by a woman in Billboard Boxscore history after reports revealed that it grossed $67 million and sold 439,000 tickets. Kicking off on March 1 in Oakland, CA, the tour’s first stop brought Minaj $2.3 million thanks to 14,000 tickets sold. The show concluded on May 13 in Oklahoma City, OK. She now joins the likes of her former label mate Drake, as well as Kendrick Lamar, Future, and a host of other rappers with high-grossing tours. Not to mention, she bumped out Doja Cat, who just five months prior had set the record with $37.3 million for “The Scarlet Tour.” With four double-headers, the “Pink Friday 2 World Tour” brought in more than $3 million for each stop in Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; Chicago, IL; and Toronto, Canada. Minaj’s biggest moneymaking nights were both in New York, at the Brooklyn Barclays...
You can’t place Anifa Mvuemba’s creativity in a box. Back in 2020, the Hanifa founder and fashion designer shook up the fashion world with a virtual 3D show on Instagram for her collection, Pink Label Congo, inspired by her home country of the Congo. From then on, Mvuemba continued to implement her self-taught tech skills into her work, as previously reported by AFROTECH™. Now, Mvuemba has taken her fashion expertise into new territory — the spirits industry. In February 2024, it was announced that she and Sergio Hudson are partnering with premium bourbon brand Woodford Reserve. During a New York Fashion Week (NYFW) dinner, Mvuemba spoke about previously feeling like she was approached by brands for their own gain and image, per WWD. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anifa M (@anifam) In an email interview with AFROTECH™, Mvuemba shared , “As a Black designer, navigating the barriers that come with being shortlisted for collaborations merely to fulfill a diversity...
Brothers Rodney Jr. and Brandon Carter had two distinctive life journeys that later merged to form the first Black-owned dispensary in the Queens, NY, neighborhood of Long Island City. The siblings grew up in a rough area of Queens. Their father struggled with substance addiction since he was 8 years old and was later arrested and charged for a marijuana offense , while their mother battled cancer during their formative years. “Experiencing a childhood like that can either send you two ways. It sent me down the path towards the streets and sent my brother to school,” Rodney told AFROTECH™. Before heading to college, Rodney recalls selling marijuana. However, a conversation with his mother inspired him to make better life choices. His mother succumbed to cancer when he was 22 years old, sending him “spiraling even further out of control.” But he will never forget one moment they shared in her final days. “She begged me to stop selling drugs while she was on her deathbed,” Rodney...
Nowadays, content creation on digital platforms is our main source of news and entertainment. If you’re not navigating the YouTube wave in 2024, you may find yourself behind the current. In the ever-changing digital landscape, YouTube has proven to be a dominant force. From its continuous feature expansion and rapidly growing global audiences, not only are content creators achieving success, but businesses are as well. Years ago, many may have foreseen YouTube blasting off the way in which it has, becoming a lucrative platform. But there may be some who question, why? YouTube makes it effortlessly efficient for content creators to share their content with massive audiences across the globe. In addition, to there being a wide range of content to choose from. YouTube allows content creators the bandwidth and opportunity to entertain audiences, showcase their talents all while building lucrative careers and brand partnerships . There are countless YouTube users (YouTubers) who have...