Young Entreprenuer Talks Educational Clothing Line and Kickstarter Success

Published October 9, 2014October 9, 2014 by Black Enterprise

Recognizing the influence that great mentors and teachers had on his life, Orane Barrett, a former engineer at Intel, turned his passion for learning and helping the community into a business.

Launching the apparel brand Kool Nerd Clothing (KNC) in 2013, KNC is more than just a clothing line that helps individuals celebrate their intelligence. With proceeds from the sell of its items going towards its partnership to help get inner-city kids involved in STEAM, with the ‘A’ standing for arts, Barrett is determined to use KNC as a movement that exposes children to learning opportunities beyond what they see in their neighborhood.

BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Barrett to get insights on what prompted him to start KNC, how he’s using his clothing line as a platform to impact the youth and how his Kickstarter campaign will take KNC to newer heights.

BlackEnterprise.com: Can you briefly describe how Kool Nerd got started?

Orane Barrett: From the beginning it was a team of people looking at where the market was in terms of how people were embracing intelligence. We started to discuss how right now there’s no particular brand for that individual that wants to say they’re intelligent or they’re a nerd and I wanted to basically promote that. In addition, it also grew from basically creating a number of products that would just say “Kool Nerd” and make a statement. We said, “Okay, how do we use this to compliment and motivate and inspire?”

Now you used to work as an investment manager, correct?

Yes, I‘ve been in investment banking and previous to that I was an engineer at Intel.

How was it making a transition from those fields to starting Kool Nerd clothing? What skills did you take from your old job to start your own business?

The skill sets I’ve gained working at Intel were the stronger ones in the sense of really being an engineer and managing a production line management and a team of people. Then working in finance allowed me to really focus on the finances and operations. [It also] put me deep into developing a business plan, which makes you look at the venture from different angles, such as the pros and cons, and the competition. So, all of those skill sets along with my graduate education from MIT [Sloan School of Management] played a part in helping us to hone the message and marketing strategy.

How long has Kool Nerd Clothing been in business?

We started the concept in 2012. Then, in 2013 we did a proof of concept and launched with one graphic t-shirt. We ran that for about 3-4 months and got a good amount of sales during that period of time through either word of mouth or individuals just coming to the site. The site was originally an e-commerce site and I pulled the string on it and said “Ok, we need to pull the team together and really start to flush out the idea of what it is that we’re really trying to do here. What is it that we aim to do with this venture because we didn’t want to be another ‘t-shirt company.’ How could we really motivate and inspire and do the things that we all stand for?” So I would say the last 6 months was really spent flushing out the venture.

The mission of Kool Nerd goes beyond just a clothing line. Can you talk about your Kool Nerd passion summer camp?

Our goal is to launch [the summer camp] in 2015. So of course there is the apparel venture side but there’s also the movement in which we are really aiming to create with the apparel. With the Kool Nerd movement we have a 4.0 program where $4 from every apparel sale will go to our STEAM- based program, which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Of course we hope to go nationwide, but it’s a New York based program that we’re in talks with right now that works with a school in Mt. Vernon.

You have the support of a few pro-athletes. How did that type of support come about at such an early stage?

A friend of mine was working with the [Seattle Seahawks] community program and was meeting with 25 of the players. She had one of my shirts on and they started to ask questions. She explained what it was about and Greg Scruggs, the defensive lineman on the team, reached out to me and was like “Dude I love what this is about. I’m a cool nerd and I would love to know how I can help you.” So then I flew out to Seattle and met with a number of them and a few got behind it in the sense of our video campaign that we [launched].

What we’re hoping to do is galvanize public figures who are cool nerds doing great things. We’re also featuring young entrepreneurs behind our brand. Part of the brand is to use individuals we call modern day heroes or cool nerd inspirators, to tell their story of how they found their passion.

Now, 10% of your revenue goes towards STEAM educational programs. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that this next generation is well versed in those fields of study?

These programs that expose children to the beauty of science, the beauty of math, the beauty of technology and things like that will expand them and prepare them for things they never considered. We’re now part of the big brothers program and my little brother didn’t know about these things. That’s why it’s important to me because I had the experience of seeing this child want to be a rapper or a basketball player or a fireman. I always told people the fireman part threw me off until I realized down the street from him was a fire station, so he basically wanted to go after things that he was exposed to.

Why did you decide to launch a Kickstarter campaign to support your business?

Kickstarter is a crowd funding platform that allows young companies to get financial support for a project. The added benefit is that for successful campaigns, Kickstarter will promote those campaigns to their 6-million user base, which is amazing marketing for a young company.

How does it feel to have reached your goal within the first week and do you have an ideal deadline for when you want to reach your stretch goals?

I am ecstatic that we reached our Kickstarter goal in such a short time. However, with 2-weeks left to our campaign, we really need the support of a broader audience to reach our stretched goal of $45,000. Reaching our stretched goal of $45,000 will provide Kool Nerd Clothing the capital to develop a full line of products with a broader product offering for the 2015 season.

Click here to find out more on how you can support Kool Nerd Clothing’s Kickstarter campaign.

Selling Your Most Valuable Product: You

Published June 28, 2014June 28, 2014 by Black Enterprise

Regardless of the profession, everyone must sell himself or herself in some capacity. Think elevator pitch. For entrepreneurs, the ability to sell themselves is the single most important skill, reports WiseBread.com, a community of bloggers helping people live large on a small budget.

In fact, selling yourself no matter what product or service you are offering is what selling is all about. And at no point do entrepreneurs stop selling. Whether it is an investor meeting, small business loan request, or customer acquisition, business owners need to know how to pitch their most valuable product—that is themselves. Also, one of the best ways to find out how to sell a product is to first learn how to sell you.

So, what does it look like to “sell” you like a product? According to WiseBread, here’s how you can influence people to buy into you:

1. Identify Your Value Proposition

Your “value proposition” is a fancy way of describing your selling point. What makes you uniquely valuable? What specifically do you have to offer? What makes you irreplaceable? If you think you don’t have a value proposition, you’re wrong! No one else on Earth has the exact same combination of experiences and talents as you. You might need to spend some time investing in yourself (acquiring education, skills, and experience), but you have something to offer. Identify it and then offer it.

2. Fall in Love With Yourself

The best sales people truly believe in their product. They know it inside and out and can’t stop talking about it. Once you’ve identified your unique selling point, it’s time to fall in love with yourself. It’s time to get excited about who you are and what you have to offer.

3. Don’s Sell Yourself Short

If you don’t believe in yourself, there’s a better than average chance no one else will, either. Don’t limit this idea to the positive thinking routine. You need to exude confidence (not cockiness). By doing so the people around you will get a sense that you have what it takes. Confidence and passion are infectious.

Entrepreneurs Love Being the Boss But Face Financial Challenges

Published June 28, 2014June 28, 2014 by Black Enterprise

Small business owners obviously like their choice of career, with 84% indicating that if they had it to do over again, they would still opt to start their own business, according to a recent Wells Fargo/Gallup poll. These attitudes have changed little over the past 11 years, which suggests that the difficulties many small businesses experienced during the Great Recession did not cause owners to regret their decision to start a business, according to the report.

When asked to name the most rewarding thing about starting and running their own business, over four in 10 respondents talked about being their own boss and being the decision-maker. Other responses mentioned by more than 10% of respondents include having a sense of job satisfaction, having family time and schedule flexibility, and interacting with customers.

At the same time, small business owners recognize that it’s a tough job. When asked about their biggest challenges, the majority of responses focus on the nuts and bolts of keeping a business running, such as generating revenue and a customer base, securing cash flow, obtaining credit and funds, and marketing and getting the word out about their business. Other responses that smaller percentages of owners mention include frustration with government regulations, employee issues, and dealing with uncertainty.

Small business owners’ sense of freedom appears to outweigh the challenges of finding and keeping customers and maintaining enough cash flow to keep the business afloat.

Five Biggest Challenges Small Businesses Face Starting Out

Securing accounts/Generating revenue/Customer Base
Cash Flow
Credit Financing/Availability of Funds
Bureaucracy/Licensing Requirements/Government Regulations
Advertising/Marketing/Getting The Word Out
Unknown Factors/Learning Curve

So, how can small business owners increase revenue? First off, what are the company’s various streams of revenue and how can you improve each variable and increase the throughput of deals? If you don’t have more than one then that could be the first problem you should address.

Of course, you can increase the price of your product or service. But that is going to be tricky if you haven’t improved the quality of your product or service. What are things that you can do to optimize your website or enhance your sales pitch to get more business, for instance?

Increasing the number of leads is a way to boost revenue. Make sure that you are using a variety of marketing tactics—trade shows, advertising, SEO, social media and digital marketing, and old fashioned word-of-mouth—to generate leads.

You might even consider working with consultants to assist you. In any case, you need a plan that breaks down revenue generation into specific, quantifiable action items.

For more tips see: How To Boost Your Cash Flow

Entrepreneurial Myth or Real Talk- Is Entrepreneurship Best When Young?

Published June 28, 2014June 28, 2014 by Black Enterprise

Entrepreneurship is a young man’s hustle. This is a notion that’s been held by many for years. We’ve all heard the stories about the 20-something year-old tech geniuses who built multi-million dollar corporations from their garages before they turned thirty.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page were each about 25 when they launched Google. Steve Jobs had just turned 21 and Steve Wozniak was 26 when they created Apple. Bill Gates and Paul Allen were shy of 23 when they created Microsoft. Mark Zuckerberg was 20 when he gave us Facebook. Sam Walton was just 26 when Wal-Mart first appeared on the scene, and Sean Parker was in his 20s when he first launched Napster.

Forbes annually publishes a list of “Youngest Billionaires on the Forbes 400.” Google searches for young billionaires yield a virtual treasure trove of articles like, “30 under 30″ or “Youngest Billionaires, 31-40.”

It’s undeniable, there is a plethora of young, financial trailblazers who’ll never again have to worry about slaving away inside a cubicle, getting ordered around an office, getting fired or polishing up a résumé.

Striking out while young has its advantages. Most of the young have nothing to lose, haven’t learned to respect failure, are loaded with energy and enthusiasm and don’t have to worry about mortgages, car payments or children to feed.

According to a recent Forbes article, “Without having been in the workplace, the young entrepreneur has a fresh perspective untainted from the way-it-is-supposed-to-be mindset that is so prevalent in most boardrooms. Consequently, their solutions are new, innovative, and groundbreaking.”

But a closer look at the data suggests creative thinkers and innovators can be found from all backgrounds and all ages.

A survey conducted last year by the Kaufmann Foundation showed “nominal shifts in age composition of the sample between 2012 and 2013, with slightly fewer entrepreneurs aged 18-29 and 50-59, and slightly more aged 30-39 and 60-plus.”

In fact, entrepreneurs aged between 50-59 started 20% of all new businesses. About 15% were started by people aged 60 and above.

In his book The Illusions of Entrepreneurship, Scott Shane, professor of economics and entrepreneurial studies at Cape Western Reserve University says, “Most studies show that people aged between 25-34 are either less likely or no more likely than people between the ages of 35 and 44 to start a business.”

After extensive research, Shane agrees that the highest rate of self-employment and business ownership is usually among those between the ages of 45 and 64.

There is only one Tech industry and just one silicon valley. It’s expected to have young innovative minds at the helm.

What about business owners that deal in construction, agriculture, medicine, dentistry, jewelry, architecture, psychology, sailing, and all the other industries in the country that haven’t gone completely digital? Someone has to create and run these too and chances are it’s not a 20-something sitting in the driver’s seat.

The advantages of established professional networks and experience also cannot be underestimated. Potential entrepreneurs need some sort of support structure during the early stages and periods of uncertainty when launching a business.

Things like credit scores and personal savings must also be taken into account, areas where the majority of our youth are sorely lacking. Having finances in order can be a deal clincher when trying to secure bank loans to fund a startup.

There is also the military factor. Returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan, usually in their 30s or early 40s constitute a large pool of entrepreneurs and business owners. Consider this quote from an Iraqi War veteran to the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Mark Rockefeller writes, “Veterans are natural business owners. Surveys show that military service is one of the strongest predictors of business ownership. Military veterans make up only 6% of the population but nearly 15% of business owners.”

They also provide jobs for more than eight million Americans.

Young millionaire success stories are all over Google, but we rarely ever hear about the ones who struck out and there are millions of failed entrepreneurs and failed business ideas littered across the country.

While young, savvy, budding entrepreneurs can afford to swing for the fences and bring a different creative mindset to the table, without a slam-dunk winning business idea, most angels, venture capitalists, banks and credit unions are more likely to bet on the middle-aged, wiser, more patient and experienced figure standing across from them making the pitch.

In February 2014, during her opening statement at the Special Committee on Aging and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Senator Susan Collins summed it up this way, “The role played by America’s small businesses in creating jobs and opportunities is well-known, but the role played by America’s seniors may come as a surprise: Individuals between the ages of 55-64 make up the largest percentage of new business owners in the US. This has been true for decades, even at the height of the dot com boom.”

Twitter Now Supports GIFs

Published June 19, 2014 by Black Enterprise

Twitter now officially supports animated GIFs in addition to pictures, videos, and texts.

The announcement came June 18 from Twitter. “Starting today, you can share and view animated GIFs on http://Twitter.com on Android and iPhone.

It quickly became a trending topic with thousands of tweets and GIFs hitting the Web.

A short text and animated GIFs can go a long way in helping small businesses market their brands. They’re a fun and innovative way for brands to connect with their audiences in the era of social media platforms.

Take a look at how companies including Netflix, Wendy’s, and Nickleodeon wasted no time in jumping in on the action using the new GIFs ability to market their products and brands.

While GIFs have been supported on the service, it required users to go through a third-party platform. With the update, you can bypass that completely and upload GIFs directly from all of your devices.

Brianhonigman.com offers ways to effectively market your small business using GIFs. Some of them include:

1. Help incorporate your brand offerings effectively: Look to create GIFs that sync with your campaigns, as well as your consistent product or service offerings.

2. Work with influencers to help create content and increase reach: Reach out to influencers that are actively creating their own GIFs and appear to have a loyal following. You can collaborate with them to create content for your brand that’s in line with their style and they’ll feel comfortable reblogging to their own audiences.

3. Repurposing your best content: Turning content from past events or commercials into GIFs can give the content a second life for another interested audience.

4. Creating educational content about your brand: Your GIFs should be both fun and educational to ensure there is an added incentive for your audiences to share them with their networks.

5. Curating the content of others: One way of encouraging users to create GIFs about your brand is to hold a contest.

You can also check out examples of how other companies are using the new GIFs functions at Entrepreneur.com.