VENTURE CAPITAL

FOR

HIP HOP Entrepreneurs

The HBCUHipHop.com

Story & Journey

Creating Self-Empowerment and

Third World Community Development Globally

Via

Free Enterprise, Financial Markets, HBCU’s, and Hip Hop Kulture

http://hbcuhiphop.com

&

http://hbcuentrepreneurs.com

“The official E-commerce

community resources

for venture capitalists in the HBCU/

(Historically Black Colleges & Universities)

Hip Hop Market!

WE ARE HBCU HIP HOP COMMUNITY DEVELOPERS

&

VENTURE CAPITALISTS

IN WEB 2.0 & Urban 2.0 SOCIAL NEOMEDIA!!

            Subscribe to HBCUHipHop.com and receive the real-time information from credible past entrepreneurs and investors who lived the struggle and current university student entrepreneurs that every CEO & investor wants in their current or future billion dollar organization from the HBCU Hip Hop Market!

“Hip Hop industry insiders say this is the

realest financial media publication to ever come out of Hip Hop.”

-Keith Clinkscales

Former founding CEO Vibe Magazine

and former CEO & Founder Vanguarde Media

 ——————————————————-

To learn more about our investment syndicate Google Search, Zabasearch.com, and Zoominfo.com search:

Rachel Melson - President HBCUEntrepreneurs.com & SyntegralConsulting.com

Marck Dorvil - CEO GrassRoots Investment Group LLC

Tamara Lazier - CEO HBCUNetwork.com

Saadiq Mance - CEO EmergingMinds.org

Keith Clinkscales - CEO KTC Ventures Corp.;Former founding CEO Vibe & Vanguarde Media

Please submit all business plans and proposals via email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Consulting and Advisory Services we offer:

     PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equities) Advisory/Consulting

     Mergers & Acquisitions Consultancy

     Private Investment Syndicate Fund-Raising

     Convertible Debenture & Standby Equity Distribution Agreement Fund-Raising Consultancy

     Small Cap International OTC Exchange(Over The Counter)Corporate Listings, International Private Capital Fund-Raising

     Small Cap Structured and Bride Financing Consultancy

     Reverse Merger Consultancy

     Business Syndication Consultancy

     Fortune 1000 U.S. Corporate Brand Licensing Consultancy

     HBCU (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) Alumni Fund-Raising System Consultancy

To Engage our HBCU Hip Hop Investment Syndicate to grow your organization please download the Strategic Alliance document below titled

“Finance your Business with a Strategic Alliance”

FAX ALL STRATEGIC ALLIANCE DOCS TO:

(305) 704 - 3813

Thank you for supporting the growth and expansion of

our HBCU Hip Hop Investment Syndicate!

            The story began in 1995, as Florida A &M University (http://www.famu.edu ) freshmen from Miami Carol City Senior High School Law & Public Affairs Magnet Program-Miami, Florida; Willingboro High School-Willingboro New Jersey; Whitney Young High School-Chicago, Illinois. Later in Florida A &M University (FAMU) Dorm Gibbs Hall on National Merit DSA scholarships, a dream turned into a vision to create a Microsoft, Dell, EBay, or amazon.com out of the dorm. Daytrading internet stocks via online brokerage firm datek (now Ameritrade) as college freshman (17 yrs old) in 1995 in our college dorm during the beginning of the Dot Com stock market boom inspired us to pursue careers in Venture Capital. We realized to accomplish such a goal we had to target specific industries (technology/finance/media) that the market would allow the production of billionaires in the information age- technology/finance/media. We also knew that venture capital did not exist in our communities for us, so we had to create a FAMU on-campus organization to gain access to investment banks on wall street- CFO or Chief Financiers Organization. We then created a FAMU on-campus organization to educate student entrepreneurs called Student Business Bureau- now called FAMU Entrepreneurs. To attract the sharpest minds we created the FAMU Chess Club. We also knew that knowledge of self & political power had to be the foundation, so we joined SACD or Student Alliance for Cultural Development.

            During his 1998 speech as a guest speaker at SBI forum, Keith Clinkscales (FAMU sbi c/o 1985 & former founding CEO Vibe Magazine and former CEO & Founder Vanguarde Media) spoke about his vision of Hip-Hop, and we knew we could come together as FAMU rattlers & make a change in the world. We started Kamodo Corporation in an Opa Locka warehouse February of 1999 at 21 years old which sold a patented custom auto security system for old-skool tricked out Cadillacs, Chevys, and classic collectible rides ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BBmfydI74E | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWr6mFJ9hDE | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpp9Ao6yS04 ) in the miami hip hop community under the Kamodo Steering Columns Brand with African American business partner and inventor “Steel Will” Willie Carter. The start-up company instantly created an underground buzz in the streets that was tremendous and we quickly grew a reputation that our business skills from FAMU were not just in the corporate board rooms but in the streets.

            The buzz was created in Spring 1998 at Daytona Beach, FL Black College Reunion (BCR) Weekend ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bPJaout3K0 )where we started networking with rappers to promote the product. BG of Cash Money Records and Trick Daddy of SlipNSlide Records were approached on the main strip in Dayonta BCR with product placement opportunities in videos and lyrics for our product. The mere fact that they were open to the idea and were celebrities- we knew we had support in the Hip Hop community. We quickly struck alliances with underground media with the late DJ Uncle Al r.i.p (Born and Raised in the County of Dade Video DJ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTBbAMGenn0 ) and the strategic alliance became a business partnership and together Kamodo and Uncle Al threw PAC JAM 2000 w/ 5 local miami rap groups featuring Piccalo ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3svliQdrEug ) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Uncle_Al )on FAMU’s campus for FAMU homecoming in October 2000. The Uncle Al live performance pre-homecoming party in the back of Gibbs Hall on FAMU’s campus was legendary and made history for Miami & HBCU Hip Hop. The ensuing street gang wars between John Doe & Boobie Boys in Miami ( http://www.myspace.com/miyayothemovie ), along with graduation requirements caused for our stake in the Kamodo partnership to be sold to “Steel Will” Willie Carter. That experience and success of Kamodo and PacJam 2000 gave us the reputation and the track record to map out our strategic plan and vision for the entire Hip Hop, HBCU, and global investments industry.

            The success of Kamodo led to an opportunity to joint venture with African American author (US copyright TX-3-269-201: Stopping-Preventing creditor harassment. & TX-3-358-986: Mortgage reinstatement–process & procedures.) and Miami real estate investor/developer Dudley E. Kinlock. Creating a joint venture with a proven entrepreneur in the investments industry gave us the platform to create an opportunity to niche a product and build track record in the marketplace. This group is of Florida A&M University National Merit Distinguished Scholar Recipients & FAMU SBI Alumni entrepreneurs (Famu c/o 2001) who innovated their own companies http://emergingminds.org (founded 2003), http://grig.com , (founded 1997) http://syntegralconsulting.com (founded Jan2002). After the formation of these companies we quickly got the attention of Wall Street. Willie Logan CEO & Founder (former US senate candidate and mayor/FL-house rep from Opa Locka) [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Logan | http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/people/040201pe.htm | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Teele ] of Opa Locka Community Development Corp and his college alumni/frat brother Owen May CEO & Founder (former Black Enterprise Top five African American Global Investment Bankers) [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_11_33/ai_102453232 | http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=138023685 ]of May Davis Group made the strategic alliance offer to base our syndicate in the Willie Logan Executive Center in Miami-Opa Locka, Florida in 2003 and gave us access to a brand to play in the league on Wall Street at 24 years old. We began operations in opa-locka for the second time and quickly built a reputation as talented & creative entrepreneur investors in the real estate investments, mortgage banking, and investment banking boutique industry in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale markets.

            Our database and track record amongst investors and venture capitalists grew enormously and we were invited to many exclusive private clubs and associations. To properly manage the new market demand, we began to invest in developing proprietary web portal technology software to manage internal operations. This allowed our Investment group to outsource the processing of transactions of the company to employees in Pakistan, India, Philippines, and Indonesia over DSL VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and the internal company internet portal. With our full back-office processing overseas; our sales force in the U.S. this strategic vision/plan gave us the flexibility-adaptability to accommodate our investors more efficiently and ultimately increase profitability. Investors began to invite us to frequent VIP parties at the Forge http://www.theforge.com, the Biltmore http://www.biltmorehotel.com, the Versace House http://www.miamibeach411.com/ocean_drive/versace_house.html…We started to receive private memberships and began to entertain investors in the Miami- Bankers Club http://www.thebankersclub.com, Miami- Fisher Island Club http://www.fisherisland.com/club, West Palm Beach, Florida- Boca Raton Country Club http://www.bocaresort.com , and http://www.clubcorp.com Club Corp member private clubs. After two years on the wholesale side of the investment business, we were ready to go international with the venture capital turnaround project ChampionLyte, a publicly traded beverage company (former ticker symbol “CPLY”) that our HBCU Hip Hop syndicate approached via our investor network. For one year we dealt with the company’s shareholders, CEO, Board of Directors, suppliers, vendors, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to effectively create a strategic plan and vision to take the company to a $5 a stock company. Our HBCU Hip Hop syndicate reached out to our alumni networks and brought Keith Clinkscales former CEO of Vibe Magazine ( http://www.newyorkbusiness-risingstars.com/profile.php?pageNum_profile_detail=9&year=16 ) and Vanguarde Media ( http://www.greatertalent.com/biography.php?id=151 ), along with Brett Wright CEO of NuAmerica Agency ( http://www.nuamericaagency.com ) to provide consulting duties with marketing and promotion.

            Controversy and industry “BEEF” began between the May Davis Group /Opa Locka Community Development Corp camps and our HBCU Hip Hop Syndicate regarding compensation and media rights of which camp performed the historic turnaround. Also the beef became magnetized when Cornell Capital ( http://www.cornellcapital.com )( http://www.dealflowmedia.com ) former May Davis fund managers now turned competitors issued a 20 million dollar equity line of credit and a $400,000 tranche was executed on behalf of ChampionLyte once the deal from our HBCU Hip Hop syndicate was on the table. Numerous attempts were made to negotiate with May Davis Group and Opa locka Community Development Corp. some sort of contractual relationship that ensured all parties that we brought to the table were fairly compensated for work performed- we had already executed our own consulting agreement with ChampionLyte before we introduced the deal to MayDavis, hence we were legally bound to create value for their shareholders. Our reputation was on the line. We were continuously denied any sort of documented record or contractual obligation for our involvement in the project. HBCUEntrepreneurs.com contracts are on our hbcuhhiphop.com blog for anyone to download and do business with us. We welcome businesses that want to syndicate with our network. The HBCU Hip Hop community believes in free trade merged with a free market for investment and intellectual capital to build our brand. Our HBCU Hip Hop syndicate being proponents in free market capitalism integrated with social Darwinism decided to allow the CEO, the board, and shareholders of ChampionLyte decide which camp created the most value. ChampionLyte decided our HBCU Hip Hop syndicate was younger-had more energy-, were alumni from HBCUs, and had track record in the Hip Hop industry versus May Davis Group and Opa Locka Community Development that had neither and lacked community and street credibility- and ultimately investor confidence.

            We closed on the deal on January 2005 after the initial meeting April 1, 2004. However given the global political and economic ramifications we decided at 26 years old to chill for a minute and let the market adjust- myspace, facebook, youtube, blogger, and web2.0 technologies were unproven in 2004- there was no way investors could see in real-time if you were a hot entrepreneur or not in the market. Our experience mirrored the G-Unit, Black Wall Street fallout in the timing and the story. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bpprm0fBtg | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqadyMWtgIs | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjn-V_MNoZQ ) Many Hip Hop industry insiders watched the deal unfold in the winter of 2004-2005. Our syndicate moved out from Miami-Opa-Locka and to our alma-mater Florida A&M University in Tallahasse, Florida. For two years we took a hiatus to let the industry fall-out in the African American community blow over and prepare ourselves for a transition of power and human evolution in the African American venture capital community. The ChampionLyte deal marked a fundamental shift in the PIPEs (Public Investment in Public Equities) ( http://www.tradersnation.com | http://www.americanventuremagazine.com | http://www.dealflowmedia.com | http://www.otcbb.com | http://www.pinksheets.com/index.jsp | http://www.macreport.net ) and private money mortgage industry ( http://www.nationalreia.com ) as a HBCU Hip Hop syndicate could effectively enter the private capital markets and participate in the public financial markets. At this time the decision was made to expand the Miami success nationally and internationally via the HBCUs and Hip Hop and replicate and syndicate our products/services via small African American companies for economic development domestically and internationally. We innovated the technology / media / finance industries over the Internet, & wanted to give back to our alma mater FAMU for making it possible. We knew we had to give back because we were students years before on full paid academic scholarships, & understood the importance of funding African American gifted education.

            While giving back financially we realized the opportunity to create a vision for an ALUMNI SPONSORED STUDENT VENTURE CAPITAL FUND not just for FAMU- but for all HBCU communities. We decided to incorporate it with the one movement that created more millionaire & billionaire entrepreneurs in the African American community than any other- Hip Hop. After our Wall Street experience we realized it was time to transition our Investment group from being organizational to being institutional. Hence, we had to position the Investment group to create positive social change to effect policy at an institution. We chose our alma mater Florida A&M University to be the institution to become involved in to accomplish this goal. The FAMU National Alumni Association (FAMU NAA) 2006 Winter Meeting was the venue. This was the first time we had became involved with the University after we graduated in five years. The intense focus and drive to build our organic Investment Group & companies after we graduated and create market track record superseded our desire to become involved with our alma mater during this five year time span.

            During our Wall Street experience we learned the role of investment groups and corporations play in fundraising & media public relations financing for political campaigns, charity endowments, and university endowments. Given the unique nature of our investment group and corporations from the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) Community and the history of government sponsored slavery of African Americans ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_the_United_States | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maafa ) for over 200 years in the United States of America; we decided to state our case to the leadership of the Florida A&M University National Alumni Association for ( http://www.famunaa.org )the importance of university resources for African American student and alumni entrepreneurs. There was an obvious curiosity and bewilderment to our attendance at the FAMU NAA 2006 Winter Meeting. The first noticeable dynamic in this meeting was the vast age difference between the members. The vast majority of attendees (around 70%) were over 65 years of age with the oldest participant being 92 and from the civil rights segregation era of the United States- [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Rights_Movement | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281896-1954%29

| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws ]. Our ages ranged from 25 to 28. For the most part Hip Hop culture, multiculturalism, diversity, Gifted Education, Odyssey of the Mind competitions, International Chess & Judo competitions, and computers were at the center of our lives in Pre-Kindergarten/Elementary/Middle school in the 80s; Hip Hop culture, Gifted Science & Technology Education, Magnet Law & Public Policy High School Programs, Advance Placement Courses, DSL-T1 Internet, HipHop Billionaires, & Internet Dot.com Billionaires being at the center of our lives in High School/College in the 90s; Hip Hop, Globalization, Outsourcing, Virtual Web Offices, Wi-Fi Internet, GPRS global cel phones (i.e. Palm & blackberry), Ipods, Web 2.0, Social online community media being the center of our lives in our 2000’s millennium professional career. Therefore being young CEOs in the African American target market of 40 Million in the United States we realized the importance of understanding Hip Hop culture and internet in reaching the youth and ultimately the community. Thus our companies and investment group were successful. The first event we attended was a banquet were retired US House rep Carrie Meek was the guest speaker. The theme of the speech was “Without a base you are nothing in the marketplace and FAMU is your base as alumni-support it and it will support you”! With this advice we quickly went into our checkbook and became Life Members of the FAMU Alumni Association, Industry Cluster Members, and contributed to the Million Dollar fundraising campaign for the university.

            We became instant celebrities at the FAMU NAA meeting. Many alumni were bewildered and mentioned- never before had the alumni association seen this kind of energy from young alumni to support the school financially after they graduated. We took this new found celebrity status and began to attend committee meetings within the alumni association and started discussing ideas on how the FAMUNAA can use the power of the internet to solve many of the problems it was facing regarding fundraising and membership. In this we suggested portal technologies and social online communities can be used to create transparency in leadership and a result oriented culture that leads to higher organizational performance. With this to ability to attract investment dollars to the FAMUNAA, the organization would grow organically and evolve into synergistic organization. We pointed to our track record and experience in the investments industry as an example. We were asked “how much would you charge for this”? by leadership. We responded nothing we would do this for Public Relations for the University and our organizations.

            FAMU is a national and global treasure with a 120 year history that instantly gives credibility to its alumni as a testimony of human persistence, courage, and intellectualism that all cultures can identify with for the betterment of world societies. Leaders from the NAACP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP ) , Congressional Black Caucus ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Black_Caucus ), National Baptist Convention ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Baptist_Convention,_USA,_Inc. | Umbrella organization for all Black Churches), National Black Chamber of Commerce ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Black_Chamber_of_Commerce ) NAFEO (Umbrella organization for all Historically Black Colleges & Universities), and the National Pan-Hellenic Council ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Pan-Hellenic_Council |Umbrella organization for all Black Fraternities and Sororities -1.5 African American members) all began to inquiry about our investment group’s political/social stances and philosophies. Our answer was simple… “Our philosophy is: Client-first, You-second, The Firm-third”! We shared our professional experience on Wall Street as it related to fundraising in political campaigns, university endowments, and charity endowments and what contributors/investors look for in institutional and organizational leadership.

            The leaders from these organizations realized with out a “Wall Street” and “Internet Technology” component to their organizations would not be operating to their full potential, thus diluting their brand value in the global marketplace. In our case we are an investment group, therefore the clients are the investors, the intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs creating deal flow-comes second, and the firm’s profitability comes third. If we created the systems by investing profits in publicly traded companies, serving on their corporate boards; that are vital to our industry and invest in the technology with the profits that take care of the customers and the people that take care of clients, organizational profitability is a byproduct of this business philosophy. This business model creates economic resources that in turn could finance growth at the University and ultimately their institutions (i.e. Microsoft for Harvard; Google, Nike, Yahoo for Stanford; Dell for University of Texas Austin; Gatorade for University of Florida). Our group explained to them the importance of systems that produce the incentive for organically grown leaders to emerge. In this the marketplace determines leadership versus internal organizational politics that could lead to overall group dissension.

            We pointed to the National Merit Scholars program where FAMU financed full-paid four and five year academic scholarships to the nation’s top African American students where many members of our investment group were on these scholarships. We stressed the fact to these organizational leaders that FAMU invested in our careers. In turn this “leadership pipeline investment”; current and future leadership should be open for a return on such an investment for the institution. As an institution of higher learning in the marketplace competing for national merit scholars just like top student athletes- the University has to offer unique opportunities that differ from other institutions with Billions of Endowment dollars at its disposal. We mentioned that alumni giving rates at Historically Black College & Universities range from 5% to 20% which is low compared to other non-HBCUs and this signals a need for a paradigm shift in how the institution develops organic business leaders to grow the for-profit alumni organizations to become the future fundraisers and university leaders that can attract endowment investment capital.

             It’s the same business model that some of the America’s best For-profit corporations use to create economic resources for the global marketplace. We were then invited to the FAMU presidential search committee (FAMU was in transition in selecting a new President) and all attendees were given the opportunity to suggest which professional qualities and experience should the new president of the university possess to be effective. We quickly asserted ourselves to take the microphone and address the hundreds of members in attendance. Our suggestions for the next FAMU President regarding professional experience should exemplify a knowledge revolving around these issues; Investment Capital & Credit Markets, Globalization & Outsourcing, Internet Media Markets, Global Technology Markets, University Fundraising, National Merit Scholar recruitment, National Alumni Association as business incubator for alumni companies, entrepreneurs, and investors to fund University Endowment. FAMU National Alumni Association as African American Local and Diaspora community development organization. FAMU National Alumni Association involved in Hip Hop community to increase enrollment and address global issues via Hip Hop regarding poverty, health care, education, internet commerce, and access to investment & credit markets, paradigm shift of university worldview of educating African American children (school view) to alumni resource for creating generational wealth (corporation view).

            In this professional experience paradigm shift alumni financial support will increase because of clear & articulated vision of what the university can provide as resources for life for its alumni & the world- not just what it can provide for four years. We were then invited to the FAMU NAA & Board of Trustees committee meeting where we saw a complete communication breakdown between the Board of Trustees and the FAMU National Alumni Association. This struck us as a perfect opportunity for us to demonstrate our business leadership acumen and bring both sides together. The fundamental philosophical difference was: should the FAMU National Alumni Association affect University policy at the Board of Trustees level? Given the history of the State of Florida, the 200 plus year legacy of government sponsored slavery of African Americans in the United States, and the 120 year history of Florida A&M University as an institution chartered by the State of Florida for higher learning to educate, empower, and advance the issues of former African Slaves turned soldiers for the Union army freed by the American Civil War ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_black_colleges_and_universities ) as remedy and partial restitution for forced slavery, forced labor, and ill-gotten gains by Corporations and Investment Groups engaged in these historical activities- the paradigm becomes very different than the other universities in the State of Florida education system. The argument was made by the leaders of the 13 member FAMU Board of Trustees (which Trustee members are appointed by the democratically elected Governor of State of Florida and approved by democratically elected State Senators of the State of Florida) that university policy is solely determined by their board and that the FAMU National Alumni Association is an entity that is a “Direct Support Organization” of the University and therefore uses the FAMU brand to collect funds that support the University’s ability to grow.

            Thus this organization is under the direct control of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Trustees determines the policies and overall vision of the University. The leaders of the FAMU National Alumni Association argued that the Board of Trustees which are proxy representatives for the State of Florida whose purpose is to appropriate and manage a budget that is funded with private, state and federal funds paid for by taxpayers for the education of African Americans- which the amount of state funds allocated towards FAMU is disproportionately unequal to amount of tax revenue generated by African Americans for the State of Florida should represent the African American community interest first before that of the Board of Trustees because the appointers are democratically elected officials that have African American as a constituency base. The crux of the argument revolved around the estimated 60,000 African American alumni in leadership roles as professional, business, media, technology, investments, banking, publicly traded corporate boards, law, medicine, social, economic, political, and civic in society have more of a “pulse” on the needs of the community versus a 13 state appointed Board of Trustee Members where a history of government sponsored past discrimination ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Rights_Movement | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281896-1954%29

| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws ) ; and the partisan politics dynamic of a predominately democrat voting African American base and majority republican state of Florida senate and house of representatives can effect university policy as it relates to the charter given by the State of Florida for Florida A&M University for higher learning to educate, empower, and advance the issues of former African Slaves as remedy and partial restitution for forced slavery, forced labor, and ill-gotten gains by Corporations and Investment Groups.

            As an investment group needing community support from the nation’s largest Historically Black College & University- FAMU’s strategic location of Tallahassee as the state capitol where the Governor, State Senate, State House of Representatives, Supreme Court, and understanding how Florida effects national elections. We quickly realized how FAMU becomes a tremendous asset as it relates to African American election votes, social agendas, political agendas, African American community policies, and the direction of African American leadership in elected government positions (i.e. Governors, Senators, House of Representatives, City Commissioners, Mayors, Judges at the local, state, and federal level and ultimately the President of the United States) in the financial, consumer, and labor markets of the 40 million African American target market with 1 trillion in GDP- we sided with the philosophical argument of the leadership of the FAMU National Alumni Association leadership at this committee meeting. We were honored at a recap lunch banquet and at that time we spoke to the alumni association thanking them for their support and in our address we mentioned “FAMU politics is the politics of all African Americans in the United States and ultimately in the world.”

            With our new found political capital we quickly devised a strategy in the Investment Group to integrate our alma mater’s alumni association into our operations and use the resources provided by the University to grow the economic resources in underserved communities not just in the United States but throughout the world. We reached out to the alumni association and we quickly found out there were elections being held for the alumni president. We reviewed the candidates and decided that FAMU NAA incumbent president Dr. Alvin Bryant as a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees Norfolk State University, a former 2 star general for the US Army, a former Vice President of the Republican party of Hampton, Virginia was a solid representative of GrassRoots Investment Group.

We were then featured in Black Enterprise in May 2006 as one of the top organically developed community investment groups for African Americans. We created a Web 2.0 (Blogs, Email Blasts, Message Board activity, Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, Yahoo & Google groups, E-Press Releases , Natural Search & Viral Marketing) campaign platform for Dr. Bryant called “GRIG 5 ICR (Initiatives, Criteria’s, Results) to compliment Dr. Bryant’s original 3M/2P (Money, Management, Membership, Political, Public Relations) campaign platform.

            We were an independent alumni group bringing awareness to the issues of both candidates and without officially endorsing Dr. Alvin Bryant- but the issues he stood for we kept non-partisan in the FAMU Alumni politics. The Web 2.0 political campaign was a stunning success by GrassRoots Investment Group LLC for Dr. Alvin Bryant elected Jan 2007; even though initial polls had an unfavorable opinion about his political style. Running against four candidates, Board of Trustees and Interim-University president that overwhelmingly were against his campaign we were able to gain enough alumni support to secure the victory overwhelmingly via the power of the internet and HBCU alumni GrassRoots Investment Group LLC brand and concept.

            With this new found political power we quickly created HBCUEntrepreneurs.com and HBCUHipHop.com to develop the market for venture capitalists, HBCU student & alumni entrepreneurs in November of 2006. This victory by the alumni via Web 2.0 technologies gave the political inertia to push forward the FAMU Presidential Search process to narrow down the candidates to two potential presidents- Dr. James Ammons (President of North Carolina Central University) and Thelma Thompson (President of University of Maryland Eastern Shore) for the 10^th President of Florida A&M University. GrassRoots Investment Group LLC endorsed the platform, vision, and track record by Dr. James Ammons at North Carolina Central University. Rattler Nation The Blog ( http://rattlernation.blogspot.com ) created the viral marketing buzz along with HBCUEntrepreneurs.com and HBCUHipHop.com to generated the FAMU alumni constituency to support his campaign. The FAMU Board of Trustees had to decide which candidate to select. This was another opportunity to galvanize the alumni and this time the students via Student Government Association and Faculty via the Faculty Senate to gain endorsements and back Dr. James Ammons for the President of the University. With the Alumni victory in hand the FAMU SGA and Faculty Senate were locks for Presidential support of our candidate. Another web 2.0 campaign ensued and all 13 Board Members where inundated with Web 2.0 media content supporting Dr. James Ammons and subsequently Dr. James Ammons was selected by a 7-6 Vote by the Board of Trustees vote in February 2007.

            This marked the fundamental shift of the African American venture capital industry effecting policy at the largest African American educational institution of higher learning in the United States- which was named by Black Enterprise the #1 University for African Americans.

HBCUEntrepreneurs.com, HBCUHipHop.com, and GrassRoots Investment Group LLC became institutional at this time in African American history. The vision became institutional via http://hbcuentrepreneurs.com & http://hbcuhiphop.com which is comprised of Professionals, Corporations, and Syndicates that are HBCU students, HBCU faculty, HBCU supporters, and HBCU alumni.