Born and raised in San Francisco CA, my family owned and operated Marcus Bookstore, the oldest independent black owned bookstore in the country. Founded by my great grand parents, Dr.’s Raye & Julian Richardson in 1960, the bookstore was a platform for the advancement of black authorship, black entrepreneurship and black communities. What we lacked in traditional business and financial acumen, we made up for in hustle and grind. I used that same hustle and grind to study mathematics at UC Riverside and accounting and finance at UC Berkeley.

Six years ago, I was hired to support operations at a black owned, Oakland based coffee company, Red Bay Coffee. As the fourth employee hired, I co-founded the operation, growing sales from ~$45K LLC to a $3M per year corporation, taking on millions more in funding. In working with Keba and Rachel Konte, the founders and owners, I was able to see black entrepreneurship at it’s finest, as we pivoted the business model multiple times, growing a dynamic brand in the process. Through Red Bay Coffee, I was introduced to the nexus of Oakland black folks, combining resources to help each other grow. It was inspiring.

Now, I aim to keep with the legacy of preserving the local economy (community), providing an exceptional product (service), and fostering the methods by which resources are created (entrepreneurship). By growing the local economy, we are generating equity in our community. With more equity, comes more resources. With proportional distribution of resources, comes equality.