My Entrepreneurial Startup History
My entrepreneurial journey began before I had resources, before I had recognition, and before I had certainty. What I had instead was conviction—a deep belief that I could build something meaningful if I was willing to learn, work, and take responsibility for my vision.
While studying Accounting as an undergraduate at Morgan State University, I stepped into entrepreneurship not as an experiment, but as a commitment. I didn’t wait for permission. I didn’t wait until graduation. I started building where I was, with what I had.
KEYS Financial Group — The Tax Man
My first startup was KEYS Financial Group, a tax preparation and financial services company I created while still in college. During the 2002 tax season, I worked as a tax preparer with Jackson Hewitt, gaining hands-on exposure to how individuals and businesses interact with the financial system. One year later, I felt the conviction and confidence to begin my own private practice.
On January 23rd, 2004, I officially filed the Articles of Organization for KEYS Financial Group LLC with the State of Maryland. I operated the business out of the computer lab at the Earl G. Graves School of Business and from a small office in the basement of my cousin’s home, where I lived at the time. I didn’t wait for perfect conditions—I built anyway. For the next 12 years, I continued preparing taxes and serving clients, learning firsthand how financial clarity empowers people to move forward.
KEYS Development — Building for Impact
Even before my for-profit journey began, my heart was already anchored in community. On August 23rd, 2002, just six months after launching my first mentoring initiative, Brother 2 Brother, I officially registered my first nonprofit organization, KEYS Development, with the State of Maryland.
In 2003, I filed my first IRS Form 1023 and was successfully approved for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. That moment reshaped my understanding of entrepreneurship. I realized that structure wasn’t restrictive—it was liberating. Structure created legitimacy, and legitimacy created opportunity.
In 2007, we rebranded the organization as COR, expanding our mission to integrate fitness and health-based training into our mentoring programs. What began as an idea became an institution rooted in discipline, wellness, and long-term impact.
New Business Services — Serving the Builders
By 2008, I recognized a growing pattern: aspiring entrepreneurs were passionate, but they lacked guidance at the very beginning. To meet that need, I created New Business Services LLC, officially registered on January 1st, 2008.
I launched my first professional website, newbusinessservices.net, and began working directly with founders who were ready to make their ideas real. Over time, this work grew into a calling. To date, I have helped register over 300 companies, approximately one-third of which are nonprofit organizations, and I have successfully secured IRS tax-exempt approvals for 100 nonprofit entities.
Raise It Up — Understanding the Power of Story
In 2009, I entered the digital media space with the creation of Raise It Up, a YouTube brand launched during a period when Baltimore’s dirt bike culture was capturing national attention. Recognizing the power of documentation and storytelling, we began capturing and sharing the movement online.
The channel quickly gained a global audience. In November 2009, we released a full-length DVD, Raise It Up: The New Generation. By 2010, the platform had amassed millions of views and more than 8,500 subscribers.
​
On October 20th. 2011, I formally registered Raise It Up Entertainment LLC. This experience taught me that visibility, when paired with intention, can transform culture into movement.
COR Construction — Building What You Can Visualize
In 2013, after completing the development of our second COR community center in South Baltimore—converting a 100-year-old, city-owned bathhouse into a functional community space—I decided to formalize my work in real estate development.
On June 11th, 2013, I filed the Articles of Organization for COR Construction LLC. The following year, I successfully obtained my residential construction license. Under COR Construction, I’ve completed numerous commercial and residential projects throughout Baltimore City, including the COR Health Institute, RICH Juice Bar, Charmed Restaurant, Safe Streets Cherry Hill Office, and dozens of residential developments.
The 300 Men March Movement — Leadership in Action
Also in 2013, at a time when gun violence was devastating urban communities across the country, I launched the 300 Men March Movement. Inspired by the idea that a committed few can spark collective action, the movement mobilized men to take a public stand against gun violence and reclaim responsibility for community safety.
​
The annual march on North Avenue became a powerful symbol of unity and accountability, drawing national and international attention. The movement was selected by the World Trade Center Institute as a recognized community intervention organization and was featured in dozens of national media outlets. This chapter reinforced a defining truth: leadership is not positional—it is behavioral.
COR Health Institute — Expanding the Vision
In 2015, we developed a comprehensive strategic plan to expand COR’s impact, leading to the creation of the COR Health Institute. After filing the trade name, we acquired four rowhomes on Collington Avenue. By the summer of 2017, we completed construction of a state-of-the-art community fitness and martial arts center—the first COR Health Institute—and immediately launched programming for children in the surrounding East Baltimore community.
This was vision meeting execution at full scale.
COR Consulting — Adapting Through Change
In early 2020, I returned to the business startup consulting space with the formation of COR Consulting LLC, officially registered on February 4th, 2020. To launch the company, I partnered with Meridian Management Group and successfully secured a $100,000 business loan.
Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the world. Instead of retreating, I adapted—creating virtual pathways and digital systems to continue serving entrepreneurs during a period of uncertainty. This moment reaffirmed a lifelong lesson: builders adjust, but they never stop building.
EntreBuild AI — The Future of Building Entrepreneurs
This journey brings me to the present and the future with EntreBuild AI.
EntreBuild AI represents more than a company. It is the culmination of two decades of learning, execution, strategy, and wisdom, now unified into a modern platform built for today’s entrepreneurs. Officially registered in the State of Maryland on November 17th, 2025, EntreBuild AI LLC exists to build entrepreneurs—not just businesses.
​
It is the system I wish every founder had at the beginning: clear, connected, and intentional. EntreBuild AI is where belief meets structure, and vision becomes something that can actually be built.
