Not Yet Interesting. Now Absolutely Necessary
By: Steven Philpott
Tags: Retail, Civictech, Opportunity Zones, Entrepreneurship

First, I believe the notion of the innovative Black Entrepreneur has been socialized out of the consciousness of modern society. It isn’t maliciously driven by any movement or individual, but over time and systemically financial vehicles, Cities and would be business owners have emotionally shrugged their shoulders at the thought. Since it is more of a problem when startups don’t start due to the internal voices…

Perception Therapy Guide for Entrepreneurs

Far too often when we begin the journey of starting a business, we get sidetracked by fitting the templates, and requirements to pitch our vision. We end up forgetting how to state the simple message of who we are and who we want to be across the paths to our vision. We used this approach to develop a concise brand message for fundraising, networking and to keep you and your growing team on the path. It takes some effort but if you have an innovative “new or next thing” give it a try

The Reason for the Season

So, for folks that know me, I am a fairly normal guy — with what would seem to most, an unreasonable obsession with regaining economic civility in distressed communities — specifically Black ones on the south and west sides of Chicago, I want it back and have an abnormal request. I need your help creating new business concepts for those areas — like a contest. Not in a Wakanda-kinda-way, but yeah, kinda like in a Wakanda-kinda-way kinda. It’s a really long story and there’s a ton of follow-on info to come, but…….

Almost 20 years ago it seemed unreasonable to suggest technology, when placed at the controls of ‘the people’, would in no uncertain terms lift the pressure of the pot that locks parts of citizenry away from our economic system controls. It’d be a good thing for Black people and er’one. In 2001, me and a bunch of good people stated our case, did the groundwork following templates and introductions. Our message, people-good if we do it — people-bad if we didn’t and would fair even worse over time.

To prove our point some of the good folks on this feed and many others helped me create software, an entertainment network (thank you and tres’ cool DjInc Soulselector​,Steven Johnson​, OnJaLee LaShay​,Ida Ella Maya​, TJ Crawford​, Paul Hubbard Jr.​, Gene Avery Hogsett​, Miranda Bell​, Keli Bailey-Fields​, Eric Thompson​, Brian Vaxter​, Demetrius Brown​, Ricochet Coleman​, Stephanie StephStaa McNair​ and a ton of other good people), a youth creative expression campaign, deployed civic tech training, public sensors, and drones. But it has never been about the industry or enjoyment of it all, it demonstrated tech in our hands = people-good.

Ultimately, when I saw the City’s systemic reluctance to support economic mobility of these areas, even with the blueprint, I knew things would ultimately end up business-bad for the entire city.- maybe not all in one year, but systemically locking out more than a third of the City would to take its toll eventually. Maybe not all in one year.

Here we are decades later, everything we recommended for innovative economic inclusivity in the City, from e-learning, to distance working, to the legalization and commercialization of cannabis, things that have said impossible, recommended by these communities to improve these communities have come to be. Yet Blacks, to a considerable degree continue to have no reciprocal cogs in those systems — no platform from which to service nor build commerce. Now with new and improved programs and marketing and more social programming resulting only in the need for more programs and blocks on the South and West side so vacant, wind patterns have changed. Imagine a blueprint for a retail block that features some parts of what has already worked and non of the other stuff (maybe a little Vegas IJS) I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Now, having traversed decades of the slowing neighborhood economy to decades of almost no economy in many more neighborhoods, you get to see the social fissures that come with the human side of living in a pressure cooker.

These neighborhoods are of that very same world I grew up in during the before times — roller rinks and video games. Sure, we need jobs, but we need businesses to create to jobs — roller rinks and video games. So, to me, the devolution of humanity for the sake of whatever policy that deems it ok; the miles of unused property, thousands of people living in very near and real economic fear and all that comes with it, AND the hundreds that die year because of those antiquated policies, that Chicago continues down this path is inhumanely unfucking unreasonable (input on whether I should have used the UN version appreciated) .

VERY SPECIFIC THINGS CAN BE DONE. It’s not that nothing is being done, it is just taking an unreasonable amount of time, with an unreasonable loss of life, livelihood, and social sensitivity. It is unreasonable, with all the digital tools like online workshops and crowdfunding apps, we can’t come together to build a few cities — where there once were. From baker to astronaut, what would cool thing would, within reason of $2 million for developing the business and building, would you build on that block? What you want your business next to? In our hands, what could we do?



The Catch: There is not much time. But you have my brain and the brains in my network at your disposal. PEOPLE-GOOD!

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