Investing in Minorities, Venture Capital Strategy, and How to Profit From Your Brand – With John Henry of Cofound Harlem, and Harlem Capital Partners
What I learned is that there’s riches in niches… I was in my own lane… and when I was in there, there was nobody else in that space. John Henry is a Dominican-American entrepreneur, founder of the non-profit incubator Cofound Harlem, and a Venture Partner at Harlem Capital Partners. He sold a $1 million dollar business when he was just 21.
In this podcast, he shares his story about starting his first business at 18, an on-demand dry cleaning service for the film and TV industry in New York City, with clients such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Boardwalk Empire, Power, and more.
It began with his philosophy that, “The way you do anything is the way you do everything.” He noticed hardly visible wrinkles in a customer’s blazer and was determined to set a precedent for quality service.
He also discovered the advantage of “riches in niches.” when his dry cleaning service got him client leads in the film industry, and he found a niche market.
He sold his first business when he was just 21. On the heels of his first win, John launched Cofound Harlem — a non-profit incubator that aims to foster a robust tech ecosystem North
of 96th street in New York City.
Cofound Harlem has launched numerous high- growth companies in Harlem, gaining recognition from Fast Company, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and more.
With all these successes, he has a lot of wisdom to share about the 24/7 business life, venture capital investing with Harlem Capital, and personal branding. He also offers us a glimpse into his upcoming show, Hustle. He continues to work with early stage companies to teach
entrepreneurs the building blocks of a growing company.
