Rod Johnson - BLK & Bold Founders Unfound podcast

Rod Johson is Co-Founder of BLK & Bold, the preeminent black-owned coffee company in America. Black & Bold was founded with the desire to unite coffee and tea lovers worldwide through a common interest of investing in community.

Rod grew up in the working-class city of Gary Indiana and eventually went on to Indiana University and a career in development and giving. But he soon developed a restlessness that only business ownership could fix. Along with lifelong friend Pernell, Rod set out to find their entrepreneurial calling, one that could match purpose with profit.

And so BLK & Bold was born in 2018. Since then, Rod and Pernell have grown BLK & Bold into a national brand carried by the likes of Target and Whole Foods. They have a rare licensing deal with the NBA and have been celebrated by Dwanye Wade on the Ellen show. All this, completely bootstrapped from their headquarters in Des Moines Iowa.

Rod has a great story. You’ll want to listen in.

In this episode Rod and Dan discussed:

Growing up in Gary and the Midwest
How a basketball hoop brought Rod and his Co-Founder together
Why starting a business built on giving back is so important
How the fire department was a part their early product development
Tradeoffs when doing a start up with a 'day job'

OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS EPISODE:

AfriBlocks

The global pan-African freelance marketplace and collaboration platform.

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