The Lonely Entrepreneur

The Foundation was established to support financial empowerment, entrepreneurial development and success for underserved entrepreneurs. 

Our mission is to empower 1 million entrepreneurs of all races, creeds, and geographies (especially underserved communities) with the knowledge, skills and support they need to start or grow a business and realize their potential.

The Black Entrepreneur Initiative (BEI)

The goal of BEI is to empower 100,000 Black entrepreneurs with access to the knowledge, tools and support they need.  We do this by providing our platform-called The Learning Community-free to Black entrepreneurs through support of corporate and philanthropic partners.

The Learning Community is a one-stop shop for the knowledge, tools and support a Black entrepreneur needs to start or grow a business. It provides multiple ways for entrepreneurs to get answers:

•       Knowledge: 350 learning modules covering business and personal issues entrepreneurs face–including issues faced by Black entrepreneurs (e.g., capital)

•       Tools: 100s of templates (e.g., business plans) and reviews of vendors (e.g., accounting)

•       Ongoing Support via Two Channels: group coaching and a community to get questions answered

•       Funding Sources: various funding sources

•       Vendors: reviews, discounts and “vetted vendors” 

Your funding supports BEI for 2,000 Black entrepreneurs for one year. 

Michael didn't just found a company – he invented an industry – the industry to reward people for being healthy.  And his wild journey through that adventure led to the creation of The Lonely Entrepreneur and its mission to help entrepreneurs turn their passion into success. 

The Lonely Entrepreneur was born from Michael's harrowing experience of living through the "perfect storm" – watching the company he built from scratch to over 500 people over 10 years – the first to reward people for being healthy – nearly get destroyed overnight by the 2008 financial crisis. Not only did they survive, they sold the company to a health innovator and today are considered the pioneer of the health rewards industry.  No one knows more about the journey from struggle to success than Michael.

Here is a video of that journey.

Today, Michael leads TLE through both its for-profit and non-profit 501c3 organizations to serve the mission to help entrepreneurs turn their passion into success.  His mission is to empower 1 million entrepreneurs worldwide.

Most recently, to serve this mission, we launched the Black Entrepreneur Initiative, with the goal of empowering 100,000 Black entrepreneurs. Here is a video about BEI.

While we undertake the essential task of reworking our justice system, we can unlock the talents of every black man and woman and impact their economic justice. Entrepreneurial skills are no longer a “nice to have,” they are now key skills to help individuals realize their potential.  As Professor Darrick Hamilton, founding director of the Institute for the Study of Race at The New School, said in a national town hall on equality in America:

“We need to stop exploiting, extracting and managing economically vulnerable people, but rather give them the resources so they can be self-determining and achieve the goals they define for themselves and be empowered.”

More than ever, Black businesses need our help as nearly 50 percent are destined to close as a result of COVID-19 and many Black Americans are becoming entrepreneurs as a matter of necessity.  We can’t change social justice overnight, but we can have an impact on Black economic justice by empowering current and aspiring Black entrepreneurs today.

TLE – through its Black Entrepreneur Initiative - enables our funding partners to empower current and aspiring black entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools and support they need to start or grow a business.

Ask 100 Black entrepreneurs where they go for answers and you might get 100 answers.  And while there is no shortage of information for entrepreneurs, it is disjointed and hard to sift through. 

Many of the solutions that exist to empower Black entrepreneurs - including workspaces, incubators, accelerators, community groups and even Black venture capital firms - do great work but only serve a very small percentage of current or aspiring entrepreneurs.  A Black incubator, for example, might accept applications from 150 Black businesses and accept 10 into their program. But what about the 140 that are denied. And more importantly, what about the thousands that would not even apply.

The Black Entrepreneur Initiative enables us to empower current and aspiring Black entrepreneurs at scale and to provide them with one place to go at every step of their journey. 

Ask 100 Black entrepreneurs where they go for answers and you might get 100 different answers.  With our platform delivery model, we can serve Black entrepreneurs at every step of their journey. 

See this page to hear from Black entrepreneurs who have participated and this page to hear from a nationwide group of Black leaders who have endorsed BEI.

Our program has been implemented throughout the world and has empowered thousands of entrepreneurs.  

Corporate, philanthropic and government partners have been supporting the program including the Milwaukee Bucks, AARP, UPS, Lakewood Church, Charlotte Hornets, American University, NFL Players’ Association, National Entrepreneur Center, NAACP,  Urban Upbound, Wells Fargo, Winston & Strawn, Dell, Oracle, Staples, World Woman Foundation, City Current, Cambridge Innovation Center, NYU, Future Founders, Paul Weiss, Future Business Leaders of America, World Chicago, Bucknell University and many others.  See Program Highlights for our programs in action.

 The program has led to unprecedented cooperation among corporations, philanthropies and governments including a partnership with the Milwaukee Bucks launched on Martin Luther King Day and with the iconic Richard Petty Motorsports where the Black Entrepreneur Initiative will appear on the iconic #43 race car throughout the NASCAR season.

We measure three areas to ensure entrepreneurs are moving toward the achievement of business results: 

•       Engagement: engage with the Learning Community elements and fellow entrepreneurs

•       Achieve Key Business Activities: achieve activities that are necessary stepping stones to achieving results (e.g., form a company, prepare financials)

•       Achieve Business Results: achieve business results (e.g., revenue)

Visit here for some reactions from Black entrepreneurs.