Venita Cooper’s passion for sneaker culture has led her to become an entrepreneur -turned-tech-founder. In 2019, Cooper opened Silhouette Sneakers & Art in Tulsa, OK, after working as a K-12 educator in the Mississippi Delta through Teach for America. She was brought to Oklahoma because her parents decided to retire, Cooper told AFROTECH™ in an interview. With no entrepreneurial background, the thought of launching her own business never crossed her mind until 2018, when the idea of opening a sneaker store was presented to her. “At first I thought it was crazy ’cause I was like, ‘I’m not an entrepreneur. I’ve never done anything like that before,'” Cooper said. “One of the things that I’ve learned is that to start a business and to run a business, to me, the No. 1 skill is the ability to make good decisions consistently and quickly. I always ask investors and other founders who have successful companies, what is the characteristic that they can identify as that No. 1 characteristic...

Shaquille O’Neal’s Authentic Brands Group (ABG) deal continues to pay off. As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, O’Neal’s agreement with the brand management company in 2015 allowed the group to profit from his name and likeness in merchandise and endorsements. The Hall of Famer joins its roster of other prominent names such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, and Michael Jackson. “We’re thrilled to have a true business partner in Shaq,” Nick Woodhouse, ABG president and chief marketing officer, told ESPN at the time. “Through his bigger-than-life personality, he has turned himself into one of the strongest sports brands in the world.” In return for signing onto the deal, O’Neal became ABG’s second-largest shareholder, and to date he credits this as his turning point in business. “My Authentic Brands deal, I was able to ensure that hopefully I can stay around after I’m no longer on this earth,” O’Neal explained to AFROTECH™ . “And I was walking down the street one day and...