Breaux Capital
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
Type of site | Financial technology |
| Founded | Brooklyn, New York (2016) |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia USA Brooklyn, New York USA |
| Area served | United States |
| Founder(s) | Derrius Quarles, Ras Asan Olugbenga, Brian Williams |
| Key people | Derrius Quarles (CEO) Ras Asan Olugbenga (CMO)..[1] |
| Industry | Internet, Financial Technology, Financial Services |
| Website | https://breauxcapital.com |
| Launched | October 2016 |
| Current status | Active |
BREAUX Capital is a financial technology and services company offering software in combination with a membership community specifically designed to increase the financial health of Black males with a focus on millennials.[2][3]
History[edit]
In 2015, BREAUX Capital founders Derrius Quarles, Ras Asan Olugbenga, and Brian Williams became fascinated by a 2009 report published by the United States Department of the Treasury which illustrated that "over 54% of Black Americans are either unbanked or underbanked due to intergenerational mistrust and negative experiences with banks".[4] After further review of mainstream behavioral economics studies and primary research, BREAUX Capital was founded to offer Black male millennials a specialized solution for financial wellness.[5][6]
BREAUX Capital merges research-based methods, curated cultural tribes, and modern technologies to enhance financial knowledge, automate asset accumulation, and facilitate wealth generation[7]. In 2017, Derrius Quarles received 1 of 14 spots in the Fall 2017 cohort of the TED (conference) Residency for his work with BREAUX Capital[8]. At the end of the Residency, he delivered a talk titled "How Banks Are Failing African-Americans" at TED headquarters in New York City that discussed the history of racist practices in the United States banking industry and the current state of financial health for Black American communities.[9] In 2018, BREAUX Capital was named to the Inc. Magazine list of 30 Under 30 companies.[10]
Background Research and Product[edit]
The BREAUX Capital founders received a grant from the National Science Foundation[11], to explore behavioral economics research related to minority participation in and perception of mainstream financial services[12][13]. Founder, Derrius Quarles conducted the underlying research while completing his Master’s coursework at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. According to the historiographic research of Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard[14], African-Americans have long used cooperative economic organizations to combat endemic poverty and tumultuous financial markets. Using these collective insights, BREAUX Capital’s technology and surrounding processes were built from the ground up to create value for Black families. [15][16]
The Founders[edit]
BREAUX Capital was founded in 2016 by Derrius Quarles and Ras Asan who previously founded the award-winning education company Million Dollar Scholar,[17] Derrius and Ras met while studying abroad in Ghana and receiving their Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Morehouse College. After both graduating from Morehouse in 2013, they completed the Velocity Indiana startup accelerator where they received an equity investment in Million Dollar Scholar and three months of workspace & business advisory services. They went on to become semifinalist in the Miller Lite Tap The Future Business Competition, winning $20,000 for Million Dollar Scholar at a live pitch competition judged by Shark Tank investor Daymond John.
They also completed the Techstars Rising Stars program in New Orleans, which facilitated an early stage investment from the New Orleans Startup Fund via the PowerMoves NOLA Fellowship led by business magnate, education advocate, and investor, Leslie Jacobs who also advised them during the fellowship.[18][19] For their work via Million Dollar Scholar and BREAUX Capital, both Ras and Derrius were named to the 2017 List of Black Enterprise 100 Modern Men.[20][21]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Breaux Capital F6S Profile". "F6S". Retrieved Dec 10, 2016.
- ↑ Malone, Hasani (December 14, 2017). "Morehouse Grads Create Financial Service Start-Up with Black Millennial Men in Mind". https://atlantablackstar.com/2017/12/14/morehouse-grads-create-financial-service-start-black-millennial-men-mind/
- ↑ "Founder of the Week: Derrius Quarles". University of Pennsylvania Weiss Tech House. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Treasury (2011). "Banking On Opportunity: A Scan of the Evolving Field of Bank On Initiatives". https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financial-education/documents/banking%20on%20opportunity%20nov%2011.pdf
- ↑ Wisniewski, Mary (June 25, 2018) "Are black millennials a blind spot for fintech firms?". https://www.americanbanker.com/news/are-black-millennials-a-blind-spot-for-fintech-firms
- ↑ Bates, Ericka (September 13, 2018) "BREAUX Capital Is Leading Black Men To Financial Wellness". https://theqgentleman.com/2018/09/breaux-capital-financial-wellness/
- ↑ Henry, Zoë. "This Startup Wants to Help Black Millennials Invest in Themselves, With a Unique Spin on Banking". https://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/30-under-30-2018-breaux-capital.html
- ↑ TED Blog (September 22, 2017). "Meet the Fall 2017 class of TED Residents". https://blog.ted.com/meet-the-fall-2017-class-of-ted-residents/
- ↑ Quarles, Derrius (November 30, 2017). "How Banks Are Failing African-Americans". Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsgxD7nn2Y8&feature=youtu.be
- ↑ Inc. Magazine. "Profile - BREAUX Capital". https://www.inc.com/profile/breaux-capital.
- ↑ "Penn I-Corps Summer 2016 Cohort". University of Pennsylvania Center For Innovation. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ↑ "Understanding Minority Households as Consumers of Financial Services" (PDF). HEB School of Business and Administration. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ↑ "The Role of Information and Social Interactions in Retirement Plan Decisions: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ↑ "Black Cooperatives in the United States:" (PDF). Jessica Gordon Nembhard, PhD. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
- ↑ "Penn I-Corps Summer 2016 Cohort". University of Pennsylvania Center For Innovation. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
- ↑ "Learn About Alumni Founder Derrius Quarles". University of Pennsylvania Weiss Tech House. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ↑ Carpenter, John (July 28, 2014) "Chicago native makes scholarship his business". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/chi-derrius-quarles-million-dollar-scholar-bsi-ngux-story.html
- ↑ "PowerMoves.NOLA chooses its initial fellows". The New Orleans Advocate. December 10, 2014. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ↑ "Announcing PowerMoves.NOLA Risingstars Boot Camp, presented by Techstars". TechStars. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ↑ Townsend, Tyrus (August 20, 2017) "BE Modern Man: Meet ‘The BREAUX’ Ras Asan Olugbenga". https://www.blackenterprise.com/social-entrepreneur-ras-asan-olugbenga/
- ↑ Townsend, Tyrus (July 26, 2017) "BE Modern Man: Meet ‘Mr. Millennial’ Derrius Quarles?". https://www.blackenterprise.com/millennial-derrius-quarles/
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