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Founders of Black-owned brands adapt their hopes and business plans for a post-DEI era
NEW YORK (AP) — The co-founders of a company that makes lip products for darker skin tones no longer hope to get their line into Target. A brother and sister who make jigsaw puzzles celebrating Black subjects wonder if they need to offer “neutral” images like landscapes to keep growing. Pound Cake and Puzzles of Color […]
Norfolk State raises profile with STEM investments
At Norfolk State University, President Javaune Adams-Gaston sees the school’s profile rising as surely as the new $118 million science building expected to open in fall 2027. The four-story, 131,000-square-foot facility will replace one of the school’s oldest buildings, and it heralds a big STEM push at the school that includes new master’s degree programs […]
SEC, Hampton managing partner of BFM Fund settle charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges in early October against a Hampton-based managing partner of The BFM Fund and a limited liability company for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duties and misleading investors. Himalaya Rao-Potlapally of Hampton is a managing partner of Portland, Oregon-based BFM Fund, a seed-stage private venture capital fund focused on founders […]
A fair share
Virginia’s first Black governor says it’s past time for the state’s historically Black colleges and universities to receive their fair share of the pie. Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, a Virginia Union University alumnus, jokes that he has been advocating for increased state funding for Virginia HBCUs “for about a hundred years.” The Biden administration […]
The 2024 Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards
This February, during Black History Month, Virginia Business is pleased to honor 17 distinguished leaders from across the commonwealth in our second annual Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards. This year’s cohort of honorees represent industries ranging from advertising, architecture, defense contracting, finance and health care to higher education and nonprofits. Our editors chose this [...]
Head of the class
Donald Alexander Jr. considered multiple schools, as well as the Air Force, before he landed at Norfolk State University in 2019. The Chesapeake native grew up with strong ties to the university, one of Virginia’s two public historically Black colleges and universities. As an elementary schooler, Alexander went to summer camp on Norfolk State’s campus, […]
FRED THOMPSON JR.
Thompson is partially retired as Thompson Hospitality’s CAO, but he’s stayed busy by starting two nonprofits: Opportunity Scholars, a Winchester-based organization that provides mentorship opportunities to underserved middle and high school students; and The Global Good Fund, which supports young adults from around the world in entrepreneurial endeavors that have social focuses. The Ha[...]
FLOYD E. MILLER II
Before taking over the leadership of Metropolitan Business League, a nonprofit association that supports small, women- and minority-owned businesses in Richmond, Miller worked in human services, education and criminal justice and spent 17 years as director of urban programs for Special Olympics Virginia. Those seemingly diverse jobs shared one commonality: They all gave him the […]
After the crisis
During summer 2020, racial inequities took center stage in the United States as protesters took to the streets after the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, by a Minneapolis police officer was captured on video and widely disseminated via social media and news outlets. Corporate America also responded, primarily through public statements vowing […]
Innovation was at center of Mighty Dream Day 3
On the third and final day of Pharrell Williams‘ Mighty Dream Forum in Norfolk, the theme was innovation. The first day‘s focus was diversity and equity, while Wednesday was largely dedicated to inspiring entrepreneurs to find and create opportunities. Panelists throughout the day Thursday encouraged attendees to innovate, seek out resources and do their homework […]
Mighty Dream Day 2: Finding and seizing opportunities
The second day of Pharrell Williams‘ Mighty Dream Forum in Norfolk included poetry, news about Williams’ Something in the Water music festival and advice for entrepreneurs. Just as Mighty Dream’s first day was focused around a central theme of diversity and equity, the second day was largely dedicated to inspiring entrepreneurs to find and create […]
Mighty Dream Day 1 focuses on diversity, equity
Grammy winning music superstar Pharrell Williams put on his business hat Tuesday in Norfolk, welcoming attendees to his Mighty Dream forum, which he likened to an event like the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “but for marginalized communities.” The three-day forum kicked off with spoken-word poetry and a mighty boom of drums and crash […]
