Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Post

Transcript

Atlanta was a city built for black entrepreneurs to thrive in. Hey family is Jay Bailey, President and CEO of the HJ Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs. Thing that inspired this place was the great legacy of HJ Russell, one of the most prolific entrepreneurs this city ever produced. This brother had the audacity to dream of a headquarter building that's a full city block wide and 50,000 square feet. Four years and with fierce intentionality, the groundwork was laid to ensure that black entrepreneurship, black representation. Black ingenuity could meet the marketplace and meet the needs of the times. Atlanta was a city built for Black entrepreneurs to thrive it. So we're just continuing the legacy of what was going on in this building 80 years ago by creating pathways and being that Nexus of access, opportunity and exposure for Black entrepreneurs. We could talk about success stories, and they happen every day. You know, we built this space for entrepreneurs not just to come here to be taught, but so that it's a tool for the entrepreneur and they're better. Every time they walk through the door. So rooms like we're sitting in with our content studio where they can create real content, podcast, video cast, a production room where they can work on branding and strategy and new product shots from workspaces, work class. But at the heart of it, how can we ensure that entrepreneurs could have dignified spaces that they could grow their businesses with? And just over five years, we transform Rice from a gutted out facility to an economic mobility powerhouse. Today, we support over 641 entrepreneurs full-time touch about 10,000 annually in our network. These entrepreneurs generate and sustain over 4200 jobs. These entrepreneurs generate over $180 million in annual revenues and contribute over a half a billion dollars of new economic energy into the city of Atlanta. And we're just getting started.