Meet 10 of the top entrepreneurs under 35

Tweet from @blackenterprise: Watch out now! Meet 10 of the top entrepreneurs under 35: http://su.pr/2p8YLv

Entrepreneurship is no longer a term solely reserved for former business execs and seasoned employees. Gone are the days where young adults stick close to the traditional career path. Instead, today's trailblazers are creating their own opportunities.  Check out the entire article:  http://www.blackenterprise.com/2011/04/18/10-young-entrepreneurs-to-watch-out-for/

Here are just a few recognized on the list:

Arielle Patrice Scott

Young entrepreneur who's been working on creative startup ideas targeting young adults since 18. She came up with the idea for GenJuice out of her thesis connected with the current GenJuice team, and it's been a crazy ride ever since for Arielle.  GenJuice is becoming the MTV for today's young adults. MTV is where young adults watch celebrities and trendsetters, but GenJuice is where young adults are the trendsetters and influencers of today. GenJuice strives to be the content source and spokesperson for today's motivated young adults.

http://www.genjuice.com

http://thearielle.com

Amos Winbush III

The 27-year-old musician didn’t let a smartphone glitch leave him down and out. Instead, Winbush turned it into a lesson learned—a profitable venture, at that.   The CEO of CyberSynchs, a company that allows consumers to sync data between their mobile device and computer.  CyberSynchs, LLC is the developer of the first patented Universal Data Synchronization System. Winbush won Innovator of the Year Award at the 2010 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, as well as other recognitions, such as Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30” and Entrepreneur Magazine's "100 Brilliant Ideas" lists. In 2009, CyberSynchs posted revenues of $2 million; 2010 revenues were expected to double the previous year's because of partnerships with Sun Microsystems, Samsung, and Microsoft BizSpark.  

https://www.cybersynchs.com

http://www.inc.com/30under30/2010/profile-amos-winbush-cybersynchs.html

Monique Péan 

Sustainable fine jewelry designer Monique Péan started her company in 2006, but caught national attention when First Lady Michelle Obama donned her regal pieces. The Washington, DC native is the winner of prestigious fashion awards such as the 2009 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award and Ecco Domani 2009 Fashion Foundation Award for accessory design.

http://www.moniquepean.com/

Farrah Gray

The entrepreneurial spirit burns bright in Farrah Gray. Since the age of 6, the CEO of Farrah Gray Publishinghas been a salesman and by the age of 16, he launched close to a dozen small businesses and social enterprises. This entrepreneur has received many awards and accolades for his noteworthy accomplishments, including the Young Entrepreneur Trumpet Award, an honorary doctorate degree of humane letters from Allen University, The National Urban League Whitney M. Young Jr. Entrepreneurship Award and The Urban Business Roundtable's Top 40 Game Changers of Chicago.

http://www.drfarrahgray.com/index.html

North Carolina Senate Pardons Governor Posthumously

"Today we correct a 140-year-old wrong by officially pardoning Gov. Holden for his actions which were both legally and morally correct."

Sen. Neal Hunt, R-Wake, one of the primary sponsors of the bipartisan resolution

The North Carolina State Senate, meeting in the old Capitol building where it hasn't met regularly in 48 years, voted 48-0 in favor of pardoning Holden, who was impeached in 1870 by the House and convicted by the Senate at the close of a seven-week trial a few months later. The vote was delayed three weeks ago in part because some questioned whether Governor William Woods Holden was worthy of a pardon.  

"This Legislature created a grave injustice by impeaching a man, not because of some high crimes, but solely because he was doing the job that lived up to the oath that he took to be governor, to protect all the citizens of this state," said Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, another sponsor.

Holden was the first governor removed from office in the United States, the result, according to contemporary historians, of a Democratic-led Legislature bent on harming the Republican for calling out a militia to quell an insurrection in two Piedmont counties that resulted in the killings of white and black citizens.

Speakers on Tuesday said it was a proud moment for North Carolina citizens — black and white, Democrats and Republicans — to unify behind absolving a governor who acted to protect newly freed slaves.

"We have the sons and daughters of former slave owners and the sons and daughters of former slaves coming together to chart a course for North Carolina," said Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Senate-agrees-to-posthumous-pardon-for-NC-governor-1332977.php#ixzz1JPIu3Cis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Woods_Holden

Black Enterprise's Trailblazers: Eight Women Who Changed American Business Forever

Tweet from @blackenterprise: Trailblazers: These 8 women changed American business forever: http://ow.ly/4sX6n

“I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations….I have built my own factory on my own ground.”
Madam Walker, National Negro Business League Convention, July 1912
 Born Sarah Breedlove, Madam C.J. Walker was an African-American businesswoman, hair care entrepreneur and philanthropist. She made her fortune by developing and marketing a hugely successful line of beauty and hair products for black women under the company she founded, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company  http://www.madamcjwalker.com/  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker

“If a solution isn't enduring, it's not really a solution. In process automation, we need enduring systems and solutions that become standards in their own right.”  
Maggie Lena Walker      
Maggie Lena Walker was an African Americanteacher and businesswoman. Walker was the first African American female bank president and the first woman to charter a bank in the United States.  As a leader, she achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for African Americans and women. Disabled by paralysis and limited to a wheelchair later in life, Walker also became an example for people with disabilities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_L._Walker

"When I got to Harvard, I saw that although the law could be used as an agent of change, it could also be used to preserve the status quo." 

Deborah C. Wright

Deborah C. Wright is President and CEO of Carver Bancorp, the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank. This is the U.S.'slargest publicly traded African-American operated bank, with locations in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Wright was named to this position in 1999 and was honored as "Community Banker of the Year" in 2003 by The American Banker, the financial industry's dailynewspaper. She is also a member of the board of directors of Time Warner and Kraft Foods.  Wright earned her bachelor's, MBA and law degrees from Harvard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Wright

To view the full slideshow featuring the other five women, visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/2011/03/31/8-trailblazing-women-then-and-now/?show=5

National Poetry Month

In honor of National Poetry Month, we'll highlight poets throughout the month of April.  To kick us off, we'll start with one of my favorites in college:

Phenomenal Woman

by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

the palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Maya Angelou