Ed Mitzen, the founder of Business For Good Foundation, joins Jabari Young on The Enterprise Zone at the Nasdaq MarketSite for a Black Business Month discussion. In the interview, Mitzen provides updates about the nonprofit organization, which aims to support Black entrepreneurs in upstate New York. Mitzen also shares his experience launching and later selling a pharmaceutical marketing company.
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0:00 – Introduction & My Soundtrack for 2025
1:44 – My Mission & The Entrepreneur I Admire Most
3:06 – Inside ‘Business for Good’: Our Mission in Albany
4:47 – Where Our $30 Million Investment Went
8:13 – Our Business Model: Proving It Works Before Asking for Donations
10:24 – What’s Working, What Isn’t, and What I’ve Learned
13:00 – What I Learned About Myself While Writing My Book
16:21 – Why We’re Doubling Down on Our Mission, Despite the DEI Backlash
18:23 – My Upbringing & How Losing My Dad at 18 Shaped Me
22:20 – The Moment I Decided to Quit My Job & Become an Entrepreneur
25:05 – What It’s REALLY Like to Run a Pharmaceutical Marketing Firm
28:06 – Why Most Businesses Fail & Our Model to Help Them Succeed
31:45 – My Biggest Positive & Negative Surprises
34:10 – The Tech Boom in Albany & My Plan for an AI Teaching Center
37:22 – How I Made My First Million & The Best Money Advice I Ever Got
38:53 – Where I Invest Outside the US
41:20 – The 2 Books That Inspire Me Most
43:24 – Good vs. Great: What I Look For in a Business & an Entrepreneur
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