Stay ConnectedGreat entrepreneurs are great storytellers. Heart of the city spotlights the dopest investors and entrepreneurs around the country, and gives them the opportunity to tell the stories that get missed in most interviews.
Host Vince Harris draws on his background as a Wall Streeter and serial entrepreneur to take guests beyond the numbers; to share the ways their work is benefitting the communities where they operate. Every week a different city. A different story.
Copyright: © 2020 Vincent Harris
Dr. Kathy Powers is a professor of political science. Respected around the globe. Twenty years ago, she had an encounter with a student that left her speechless. Then it completely altered the course of her career...
Her student, who was bi-racial (Jewish and Black), asked a simple question:"Why did my Jewish grandmother get reparations, but my black grandmother didn't?"
The professor did not have a good answer for him. But the disparity in treatment led her on a quest to understand the mechanics of reparations. Who gets them? Who decides? And who decides WHO decides??
She has traveled extensively in Europe for her work and her scholarship has covered reparations cases from Bosnia to the Caribbean.
Dr Powers work can be found
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03050620490884065?journalCode=gini20
Trailer for the interview with Joy Hollingsworth of the The Hollingsworth Company.
In October 2013, Raft Hollingsworth called a family meeting at his parents' home. Not crazy. They did this from time to time. But this time Raft (the baby of the family) had a Power Point deck. This was serious. He had a business proposition for them. With recreational cannabis newly legal in the state of Washington, he saw an opportunity for him and his family to get in on the ground floor. Mom was impressed by the presentation. So was his dad. Dad ended up investing his entire retirement fund to bankroll the startup. Today they have a 30,000 square foot farm, outfitted with eight greenhouses. Joy and Raft run day to day operations of The Hollingsworth Company (THC) [<-- See what they did there?], and count their ability to work with family as the most valuable asset in their growing company.
Don Baker is a Grammy nominated music producer turned CPA, turned real estate investor and entrepreneur. His portfolio now encompasses more than 500 units across three markets. Over the course of his evolution out of the music business and into entrepreneurship, he noticed that there were certain key principles at work in the lives of the everyday millionaires he was serving in his CPA practice. He quickly began to implement those principles in his own life. Don tells a story of being able to spin up $1M of business credit for himself... in one week once he cracked the code on leverage. 🤯 He will share that story (and many others) and give the blueprint for how you and your family can begin to implement these strategies in your life.
Preview of the topics discussed with Rafiq Kalam Id-Din, Managing Partner, Ember Charter School
To inquire about being a guest or to recommend an amazing entrepreneur visit www.hocpodcast.com. And to keep up with Heart of the city on social media follow us on IG @hoc_podcast. You can watch our Live streams as they happen on our Facebook page.
For more info about our episode sponsor go to www.reirail.com
In 2013 Chris Senegal received a tip that a slumlord in his hometown of Houston was looking to sell off his portfolio of properties. The houses, which sat in what used to be a prominent African American neighborhood, made up an entire city block. Chris had flipped a couple of houses, but was ready to do something bigger. He decided to buy the entire portfolio. He didn't have the cash so he worked out a creative financing structure to get the deal done. He was 30. Fast forward to today. Chris' vision has expanded a great deal, as he is now doing ground-up development, creating 'complete communities', with housing for low income families as well as more upscale homes to draw black professionals back from the suburbs. Rick Ross rapped about buying up blocks. Chris did that. Jay Z freestyled about gentrifyng your own hood. Chris did that too. He shares how. he did it--step by step. Join us
For more info about Chris and to purchase BFF products go to www.ballfamilyfarms.com
To learn more about the War on Drugs and disproportionate sentencing:
https://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/brief-history-drug-war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aPx7RCott0&t=136s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8TGLLQlD9M
For more on Los Angels' social equity program: https://cannabis.lacity.org/licensing/social-equity-program
Key time stamps:
(05:40) - Why cannabis is a Civil Rights issue
(08:05) - Richard Nixon's campaign adviser admits war on drugs was designed to hurt black people
(11:35) - Social equity programs defined
(23:56) - Chris gets introduced to the (illegal) dope game
(28:25) - Chris makes it to the NFL
(30:09) - Chris visits a "grow". First exposure to marijuana farming
(33:21) - Chris is approached by the Canadian mafia with a business proposition
(37:45) - Chris gets a new connect...in Mexico
(40:55) - Chris gets caught up in a DEA sting
(46:45) - Chris discovers the art and craft of growing good cannabis
(52:20) - A friend tells Chris about the social equity program
(54:50) -The good the bad and the ugly of social equity programs
(1:00:16) - A crash course in cultivating high end cannabis
To keep up with Heart of the city on social media follow us on IG @hoc_podcast. You can watch our Live streams as they happen on our Facebook page.
For more info about our episode sponsor go to www.reiskip.com
OUR CONTACT INFO:
IG: @hoc_podcast, @investorvince
Facebook Page
More about James Scrugg's businesses:
-Unlimited Possibilities Senior Care Homes
- JS and Sons Construction
To contact James directly email James@upfch.com
More on the organization James supports with his philanthropy
YBLA
KEY TIME STAMPS:
(06:10) James' first hustle saves him from having to drop out of college
(08:45) The power of a decision
(13:10) James risks all his savings in the stock market. Loses it all.
(15:30) The book that changed James life
(21:05) James decides to level up. Buys first apt building
(27:01) He goes full time as an investor...at the start of Great Recession
(31:50) Stress of entrepreneurship begins to weigh on James' marriage
(40:30) Breakdown of real estate's enormous tax benefits
(42:50) -Interlude- "Capital vs Labor"
(48:00) James breaks down 'building' vs 'development'
(50:07) James gives away a house to YBLA
SONG PLAYLIST:
Paid In Full - Eric B. and Rakim
Breakadawn - De La Soul
Lord Intended - De La Soul
Drawn - De La Soul
What U Got - Prince Paul
**The excerpt about entrepreneur burnout and the strain that entrepreneurship can place on families is courtesy of The Kaufman Foundation, the leading research and grant making organization dedicated to studying and supporting entrepreneurs. The speaker is Steve Blank, serial tech entrepreneur and the creator of the 'Lean Startup' framework. You can view his full remarks on this topic by clicking here.
About our sponsors:
www.reirail.com
www.reiskip.com (Text HEART to 81257 to take advantage of the promo mentioned in this episode. Offer good through March 6th)
Preview of Episode 5 with James Scruggs
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
