Looking for tips on how to become a successful minority entrepreneur? A webinar Wednesday — featuring four successful New Jersey entrepreneurs — is intended to offer ideas and steps for success.
Marjorie Perry, CEO and president of MZM Construction Management Co.; Ramon Ray, the founder of Smart Hustle Media; Alfred Blake IV, the assistant director of entrepreneurship programs at Rutgers Business School; and Alex Hamilton, the former CEO of media startup Vipeline Inc., will offer their thoughts.
The program, “How to Support the Region’s Startup and Entrepreneurial Community,” is being sponsored by James Barrood, the former head of the New Jersey Tech Council.
The event, which will go from 12:30-1:30 p.m., is free. Click here to register.
“I am excited about this event, because it highlights the robust minority entrepreneurship community in the state and explores how we can make our ecosystem even stronger,” Barrood said. “The panelists are among the most experienced business leaders in the region, and they represent various industries, including technology, staffing, construction and academia.”
Barrood said the panel discussion will focus on proactive steps community stakeholders can take to better support a more diverse and robust entrepreneurial ecosystem. He hopes it will concentrate on four areas:
- Ways to help the community thrive;
- Best practices to borrow from other communities;
- Role of academia, government and nonprofit sectors;
- Answers to questions.
Here is a detailed look at the panelists:
Marjorie Perry: She is CEO and president of MZM Construction Management Co. She is widely recognized as an innovator, public speaker, writer and role model for women and minorities in business. Using 26 years of experience as fodder for inspiration, Perry finds her mission to be one who motivates nascent entrepreneurs to develop and pursue their dreams by sharing the lessons she has learned from her own success, which often meant taking life’s lemons and making lemonade. Trained as an educator, Perry’s path in teaching was diverted after she was caught in a series of layoffs. In a fortuitous career move, she decided to try her luck in sales and marketing — which turned out to be an unexpected perfect fit. She went on to work for corporations, ultimately cultivating a burgeoning vision for life as a passionate, self-made entrepreneur.
Ramon Ray: He is an entrepreneur, author and speaker who loves burnt pancakes and bacon on the weekends. He’s the founder of Smart Hustle Media, has started four companies and sold two. Ray has authored four books, and his latest book is “Celebrity CEO — How Entrepreneurs Can Thrive by Building a Strong Personal Brand.” Ray has been invited as an expert witness to Congress and invited to speak at the White House on personal branding. He interviewed President Barack Obama in the president’s first live video chat and was with Ivanka Trump at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India.
Alfred Blake IV: He is the assistant director of entrepreneurship programs at Rutgers Business School. He is excited about anything that deals with entrepreneurship and innovation. He is the author of “The Students Handbook to Breaking All the Rules,” a Huffington Post/Elite Daily contributor and the founder of Rule Breaker University — a company focused on helping students to break rules to break records in life.
Alex Hamilton: After more than 10 years in the restaurant business as both a manager and a senior buyer, as well as 12 years of success as a GM of marketing in the music industry, Hamilton chose to become an entrepreneur. Serving as the former CEO of media startup Vipeline Inc., Hamilton went on to become a patented inventor. He is currently an elected member of the Jersey City Board of Education and partner at Quintrix, where he serves as the director of talent management. Quintrix is a startup that focuses on information technology training for entry-level candidates fresh out of college and helps them complete “last mile training.” This unique approach ensures all candidates obtain cost-free training, IT industry certification and a guaranteed job interview with an interested client of Quintrix.
