Guiding Hundredth Investment Club
Motivation
Many people know of W.E.B. Du Bois’s theory about the “Talented Tenth.” Not many people are aware that he revised this theory later on in life because he realized that knowledge alone (via education and formal training) would not produce the kind of leaders the Black community needed.
I assumed that with knowledge, sacrifice would automatically follow. In my youth and idealism, I did not realize that selfishness is even more natural than sacrifice. I made the assumption of its wide availability because of the spirit of sacrifice learned in my mission school training.
In short, he was wrong. An ivy-league education or economic status does not qualify anyone for a leadership position. In fact, where you receive your education and how much money you have is irrelevant. Du Bois realized that the attainment of knowledge was less important than the character and integrity of the person that attained it. Social and economic status do not necessarily determine the quality of a person and her ability to lead the masses of the Black community out of this perennial economic underclass we find ourselves in as a group, despite a few token success stories here and there.
Therefore, the first requirement is the will to actually lead for the sake of the people and not social status or acclaim. Thus, out of the Talented Tenth, maybe only a tenth of that population would be worthy of leadership. It would then be incumbent upon this group to create opportunities for the larger community to advance socially, politically, economically, and culturally. And this, good people, takes resources...human and economic resources.
The Guiding Hundredth Investment Club (GHIC) is being established to start the process of organizing our collective resources to pursue investment opportunities that will create wealth for its members and the broader community, guided by the strategies outlined in In The Black 2050.
Investment Strategy
The Club Will initially focus on a diversified basket alternative assets that are traditionally difficult and uncommon to include in most individuals’ investment portfolios. These investments typically generate significantly higher returns over the long run, but have varying risk profiles. However, if we are to truly make an impact, we believe this strategy is the best. We will look for a mix of long, mid, and short term investments, with short term cash flow generating investments receiving priority as we build up our capital base.
Specifically, we will initially look at the following assets:
- Real estate debt and equity
- Micro private equity
- Angel/startup investing
- Cryptocurrencies
- Options and forex
- Managed Futures
Current Portfolio
| Bitcoin Liquidity Fund | OTC bitcoin market making that performs well in up, down, and sideways markets |
| Groundfloor | Crowdfunded real estate debt |
| DiversyFund | Commercial real estate portfolio |
| Temple I | smart-tech student housing development next to Temple University |
| Wefunder | Equity crowdfunding platform |
| StartEngine | Equity crowdfunding platform |
| Republic | Equity crowdfunding platform |
| Sunjoined | Vertically integrated hemp collective |
| Cornbread Hemp | Hemp CBD oil producer |
| Backyard Soda Co. | CBD simple syrups and soda |
| Sea Moss Alliance | Sea moss buying cooperative |
| Tradefox | Business intelligence and trading tools for recycling industry professionals |
| SunState Labs | Eco-friendly cleaning products manufacturer |
| Quorum X Diagnostics | The first at-home COVID antigen test with results in 9 minutes |
| Growing Talent | Minority business incubator and software for cannabis businesses |
| Fleeting | Connecting commercial drivers with on-demand trucking jobs |
| Upshift | Redefining car ownership for urban living |
| Genobank | Giving you control of your DNA |
| Reset IV | Mobile IV treatments |
| Solectrac | Electric tractors |
| YouSolar | Solar+battery system for home and business |
| Rumble Motors | Electric motorcycles and bikes |
| Airgility | Autonomous drones |
| Better Family | Making parenting easier |
| Tapville | A tech-forward food and beverage franchising concept that makes it easy to integrate self-pour technology |
| Manta Biofuel | Renewable algae to bio-crude |
| Janover Ventures |
Technology enhanced, frictionless, non recourse, multifamily & commercial real estate lending. |
| The Hub | Changing the way brands hire photographers |
| AKUA | Kelp-based meat substitutes |
| COI Energy | Energy efficiency software |
Join
GHIC is currently accepting applications for membership by invite only. What we're looking for:
- Experienced professionals in Atlanta, Nashville/Memphis, Chicago, DC, Houston, LA/Bay Area, the Caribbean, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.
- Skills sets and experience that can translate into value for the club (e.g. law, finance, entreprenuership, software development, human resources, real estate, construction, engineering, etc.)
- The ability to make an initial contribution of at least $1,000, ongoing contributions of $250/month, and investment horizon of at least 5 to 10 years.