An Interview With Rachel Kline
Find a work/life balance. Anything audacious requires enormous energy, often tapping your reserves and stressing your personal relationships along the way. So, make regular time for self. Honor those who often endure the sacrifice of your absence. And, tune out, loosen the grip and be kind to yourself along the arduous journey of building something worthwhile.
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In an era where social and environmental challenges are increasingly pressing, certain organizations stand out for their bold and innovative approaches to creating meaningful impact. These trailblazing organizations are not just meeting the status quo but are setting new standards for what can be achieved through dedicated, impact-focused programs. What does it take to pioneer such transformative initiatives, and what can others learn from their successes? I had the pleasure of interviewing Henry Rock.
Prior to starting City Startup Labs, Rock had well over two decades of experience in media sales, advertising and marketing, working on national brands in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia for Johnson Publishing, the National Black Network, Black Media Inc. and other Black Media companies. Prior to that, he worked in television production for several TV station in New York City and New Jersey. He has also worked in business development and strategic planning for small black-owned and operated businesses, including his own ventures. He was featured at a TEDx Talk in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2013, where he discussed re-imagining young black men as a new class of entrepreneurs. He studied economics at Rutgers University and marketing at the Keller Graduate School of Business Management. He served two terms on the Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. He is a 2015 Purpose Prize Fellow, the Charlotte Business Inclusion 2017 Crowns of Enterprise Awards — Diversity Advocate of the Year and one of Conscious Company Magazine’s 2019Business Leaders of the Year, Leadership Charlotte — Class 41, American Leadership Forum (Charlotte ALF) Class XIX and SEED20 Class of 2020.
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Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share a bit about your background and what has led you to your current role?
Working in what I call the golden era of Black media (1970’s — 90’s) allowed me to see up close and personal, to work for and be mentored by a series of amazing entrepreneurs who owned media companies, ad agencies and other businesses (which were advertisers). These entrepreneurs were able to hire scores of folks, who otherwise would not have had an opportunity to work in these fields. So, it was being present to this that some years later led me to want to bring this experience forward as City Startup Labs.
What inspired you to start your organization, and what is its core mission?
Fundamentally, what I’ve wanted City Startup Labs (CSL) to address is the issue of socio-economic mobility, here in Charlotte, NC. And, we have tried to do so through the development of three asset classes: Human, Social and Economic capital, as an organization that builds a new class of entrepreneurial talent and/or value-added employees. Initially, we were focused on Black male millennials, then went co-ed and since 2019 and have solely worked with justice-impacted people (formerly incarcerated).
Could you tell us about your journey in the industry and any significant experiences that have shaped your approach to impact-focused programs?
The idea for CSL took years to germinate, starting with an idea in the mid-2000’s, following attending an entrepreneurs boot-camp hosted by Guy Kawaski in NYC. I presented the idea of a similar type of program, exclusively for formerly incarcerated people and former gang members, to the then incoming Corey Booker administration (as Mayor of Newark, NJ). It got no traction. A couple of years later, I presented the revised idea to NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg’s Young Men’s Initiative (along with George Soros). That too got no traction. I then brought the concept to the National Urban League, with the idea of piloting it in Charlotte (where I was moving to) and then introduce it to other Urban League affiliates. I finally got traction, when the CEO of the Charlotte Urban League said yes to being our fiscal sponsor.
Frankly, a TEDx talk that I did in 2013, was the wind in our sails. At the time, there was plenty of attention given to the need to support women entrepreneurs, however, young Black men were not really being considered as a resource, given the emphasis being placed on entrepreneurship as an economic driver. With the help of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and Wells Fargo, we were off to the races and launched our first cohort in 2014.
The most significant experiences, that left a lasting imprint, were following my selection as a 2015 Purpose Prize Fellow. When attending a couple of conferences hosted by Encore.org (now CoGenerate) — the sponsoring organization of the Purpose Prize, I got a chance to see and interact with some amazing people who were leading social impact orgs and were in their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Their work ranged from being hyper-local to international. And as someone, who was then in his 60’s, I was even more inspired by all of these folks, who were up to something in the ”encore” of their lives, as I was.
Can you describe your company’s mission? Does your organization solve societal problems? If so, tell us how. What customer problems are you solving?
The challenge of working with and behalf of justice-impacted people is right up there with selling the value of the Black consumer market to a nearly exclusively White advertising industry (maybe I’m just that hard-headed!). However, the challenges that I face pale in comparison to those faced by the folks that we are honored to service, day in and day out. In the reentry space, most programs typically focus on meeting the immediate needs of the formerly incarcerated, including employment. Yet for this population, access to any work, much less livable wage-paying jobs can be especially difficult.
The goal of our ReEntry Entrepreneurship Program (REEP) is to demonstrate that entrepreneurship makes for a viable option to standard employment and a possible anecdote to recidivism. Since at our core, we are an entrepreneurial organization, we function in a manner that emphasizes ideation, experimentation, and iteration. This means that we are constantly probing for different ways to be impactful, as we attempt to unleash the pent-up entrepreneurial capabilities of this population and improve their socio-economic outcomes.
One other thing is, while most restorative justice efforts are interpersonal, CSL believes in a community-oriented approach to restorative justice that includes developing entrepreneurial capacity and sparking innovation from within this population as a dynamic way of bridging gaps between those who need trust restored and communities that have experienced harm and need reconciliation.
Do you have a big hairy audacious goal for your organization and its impact on the planet?
As I referenced earlier, unleashing the innovative power of formerly incarcerated people in ways that stimulate economic activity and growth through targeted social ventures within communities that they return to.
Can you describe one of the most audacious impact-focused programs your organization has pioneered? What was the inspiration behind it?
On Juneteenth of this year, we launched a digital device repair social venture as a worker’s cooperative (phones, tablets, laptops, computers, etc.). ReConnex (Reentry Connections) is an example of direction that CSL is looking to continue to foster, where we train a new class of entrepreneurial talent and have them co-own and operate, along with us, businesses that meet market demand within “underserved” communities.
What were the biggest challenges you faced while developing and implementing this program, and how did you overcome them?
Perhaps the biggest challenge was getting funders to see the vision enough to help us kick-start this venture. I originally conceptualized this in 2019. We were fortunate enough to partner with an outfit out of Omaha, iFixAmerica, and also become affiliated with the mobile industry association, CTIA. $400K in funding finally came through from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, in the form of a Digital Champions grant.
Tell us how your program has been received by customers. What struggles have you had generating customer interest? Please share what successes you’ve had with customers.
First of all, our constituents of City Startup Labs, either through REEP or our workplace readiness initiative, Restorative Pathways, have spoken fondly of our programmatic efforts, level of accountability and the impact that our organization and training have had on their lives.
ReConnex, while new, is gaining traction and has been lauded for stellar customer service — a primary point of emphasis. For this venture, we are not only ready to service consumers, but businesses as well, which is where we aim to get a footing.
How do you measure the customer success, business success and impact of your programs? Can you share any specific metrics or outcomes?
We have been clear that we are not running a programming conveyor belt or assembly line, churning out the numbers rather than dealing with people. Instead, we take a high-touch approach that requires an deeper understanding of the needs of our constituents and how best to support them.
That said, we measure success in many of the same ways that others do — the number of participants who start, complete/graduate, are placed in employment, new business starts, etc. However, we also look at the people that are now housing secure, have transportation, have healthcare, etc. — these are also social determinates of health, not just personal, but for families as well.
Probably the best evidence that our programs are working is the fact that we have a 7–8% recidivism rate vs. the state at 44–49%.
How do you ensure that your programs are sustainable and scalable over the long term?
This is an important question that we have to contend with in what appears to be a “new normal”. Generating earned income through social ventures is a way that we believe will provide sustainability and scalability over time. We are becoming increasingly aware that programming for programs-sake doesn’t have longevity. As an entrepreneurial organization, our emphasis needs to be on building and/or buying businesses that meet market demands.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Bring An Audacious Idea to Fruition”? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1 . Know how to sell — that applies to any business-owner. You must be able to convince and negotiate with others the value of your vision.
2 . Have BIG ideas than have room grow into. In other words, ideas don’t come into fruition fully baked and formed. They need space to be cultivated, nurtured and allow them to morph over time.
3 . Speaking of space — create the space for Spirit to show up. We often think that business and Spirit are not compatible, yet without Spirit operating within this realm, nothing can occur. So why not invoke Spirit in your work and to help in the resolution of those things that at times seem unresolvable.
4 . Work with very smart people, who are willing to challenge your thinking and put your vision to the test.
5 . Find a work/life balance. Anything audacious requires enormous energy, often tapping your reserves and stressing your personal relationships along the way. So, make regular time for self. Honor those who often endure the sacrifice of your absence. And, tune out, loosen the grip and be kind to yourself along the arduous journey of building something worthwhile.
What piece of advice would you give to other organizations looking to pioneer their own impact-focused programs?
Have a long view, an expansive vision and look for patient capital.
Can you share a story of someone who has inspired you in your journey?
As I mentioned earlier, I had a number of Black media entrepreneurs who have been inspirations to me. However, one somewhat obscure one, is Ragan Henry. He was a pioneer owner of radio and tv stations around the country. I had the pleasure of working with him, as Ad Director and then Publisher of the first national Black newspaper — The National Leader, albeit for a short period before it closed.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?
Please go to our website — www.citystartuplabs.com
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
