Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Kanye's Cousin Wants You to Play Piano with John Legend

Kanye West's cousin, Devo Harris (who also goes by the name "Devo Springfield"), recently launched an interactive video company called "Adventr" (pronounced like the word "Adventure").  The site has a demo in which John Legend gives the user a simple, interactive piano lesson, which is pretty cool.

Harris has an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Read about the business venture here:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/13/adventr-launch/

To play along with John Legend and see how Adventr's interactive video works, click here:

https://play.adventr.tv/all-of-me-final-45449272

Will Beyonce, Inc. Ever Run the World?

The New York Times is out with a tribute to Beyonce.  There is no doubt that her talent and style are immense.  It will be interesting to see whether Beyonce is able to take the money she is making from her various ventures and turn it into a business like Oprah did with Harpo Productions and the OWN Network joint venture with Discovery Communications, and like Jay-Z is doing with Roc Nation.  While Beyonce can continue to be fabulously wealthy merely by generating creative work product in music, acting, and endorsements, it would be nice to see Beyonce, Inc. take things to another level with an enterprise that can endure even when her peak performing years are behind her.

Click here to read the piece in the New York Times:

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/beyonce-the-woman-on-top-of-the-world/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hp&_r=0

Sunday, June 1, 2014

How A 26-Year-Old Black Female CEO Might Just Change the World

Jessica Matthews is the co-founder and CEO of Uncharted Play, Inc., which is describes itself as a company that intends to "connect the world through playful social invention."  So far, Uncharted Play makes a soccer ball that, after 30 minutes of play, can power a reading lamp for three hours, and also makes a jump rope that, after 15 minutes of use, can provide a 50 percent recharge of a smartphone.  Thus, in one fell swoop, Uncharted Play promotes increased physical activity and renewable energy.

Matthews is only 26 and has an undergraduate degree and an MBA from Harvard.  The child of Nigerian immigrants, Matthews is part of a new generation of minority entrepreneurs who are tech savvy, creative marketers, and socially conscious.  It should be fun to watch her attempt to build her business and change the world.

Click here to see more about Matthews:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/05/27/change-agents-jessica-matthews-soccket-ball/9013529/