| You don't get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate.
Over the course of his career, Ghetto Gastro CEO Jon Gray has been about advancing and negotiating the value of what he, his culinary company and even Black culture has to offer. For too long, he posits, many have accepted the Western, white, male perspective as the validating force for determining what's valuable and not. That goes for food, art, business, and more. For Gray, challenging those attitudes has meant being his unapologetically Black self, upholding his prices and even sticking with the word "ghetto," despite early concerns from others about its negative connotation.
The approach has paid dividends. Gray took his Bronx-headquartered company—whose offerings include food-based experiences—from hosting underground parties to eventually collaborating with The Oscars, Williams Sonoma, the late designer Virgil Abloh, and other big-name organizations and people. Forging those partnerships and charging six figures for events wasn't exactly what Gray had in mind in 2006 when he decided to turn his life around following a drug charge, he said, but he knew his value to the world was far more than sitting in the penitentiary. Gray spoke recently in a Black Culture and Capital interview about his journey and his views on value. Read more here.
Speaking of value, please read this incredible story by on the two African immigrants behind fintech startup Chipper, which has $2.2 billion valuation and 5 million users. One of the co-founders, Ham Serunjogi, was making a pitch to investors in 2018 when one asked: "Why don't you go look for donations and grants to fund this?" Because, Serunjogi replied, this will be a profit-making business. The clueless partner persisted: "Why don't you talk to Unicef or an impact investing firm?" Serunjogi discreetly declines to name the firm, but said he was later told by a VC that "regardless of what the metrics are, I have to apply a discount to this business because it's in Africa." Staff writer Jeff Kauflin has more.
We'd be remiss if we didn't highlight the news that LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, now has a net worth of $1 billion, by Forbes' official count. The designation made him the first active NBA player to make the billionaires list. He has commanded more than $385 million in salary from NBA clubs, as well as upwards of $900 million in income from endorsements and other business ventures. James has long negotiated deals to give him equity in brands he partners with (Blaze Pizza, Tonal, Lyft), giving him a cut of the upside instead of a quick paycheck. Forbes' Chase Peterson-Withorn has the story.
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