From the Trenches
Perspectives from building, not observing.
Most companies don't fail — they stall.
Clarity, speed and execution determine outcomes early.
- Capital doesn't fix broken models.It amplifies what already exists.
- Execution wins.Speed is strategy.
- Timing isn't luck.Focus beats noise.
- Markets matter more than ideas.Great execution in the wrong market still fails.
Articles
Pattern recognition from real company building.
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Stop Begging, Start Building: Why Dependency on Gatekeepers Will Keep You Broke
Why founders should stop waiting on grants and gatekeepers and start building leverage of their own.
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Breaking Barriers: Strategies for Entering High-Growth Industries as Minority and Women Entrepreneurs
Practical paths into high-growth sectors for minority and women entrepreneurs.
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Blueprint for Creating Mini Conglomerates in Traditional Black-Owned Businesses
How established businesses can consolidate, diversify and build lasting enterprise value.
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Breaking Barriers: Strategies for Entering High-Growth Industries as Black Entrepreneurs
Strategies for Black entrepreneurs to break into technology, clean energy, healthcare and advanced manufacturing despite barriers to capital and networks.
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Why Aren’t Black-Owned Businesses Creating Wealth? And How Do We Fix It?
Why Black entrepreneurship is growing but wealth isn’t, the five biggest barriers holding founders back, and what it takes to fix them.
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Here are 7 of the well-known companies that went bankrupt in 2023
CNN looks at the well-known companies that filed for bankruptcy in 2023, from WeWork to Rite Aid, and why bankruptcy isn’t always the end.
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Why do organizations have COOs? McKinsey & Company
McKinsey explains what chief operating officers do, why fewer companies had one for two decades, and why the role is making a comeback.
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10 Tips for ‘Mom and Pop’ businesses to scale to profitable enterprises
Herbert’s Black Wall Street Times piece on ten steps for growing a mom-and-pop business into a profitable enterprise.
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How To Change The Venture Capitalist Culture
OrangeWip profiles Herbert’s path from three decades of building businesses to founding HI Mark Capital to change venture capital culture.