Yesterday, the "Let's get the Taharka Brothers' ice cream truck on the road!" campaign to raise funds through Kickstarter was a big crowd-sourcing success: they asked for $28,000 but raised $34,557 in a thirty-day period. Why present the entrepreneurial success of a small ice cream company in a MentorCloud blog post? On 16 July 2013, Taharka Brothers' CEO Devon Brown gave an interview on the radio show here & Now.
Brown is an entrepreneur who invests in improving the futures of other young African American men in Baltimore. He and a group of friends started Taharka Brothers Ice Cream. The company’s training program uses profits from the ice cream business to teach young men about entrepreneurship and business.
The radio interviewer asked what Devon Brown thought to set him apart from his less-successful peers. He talked about how he would see friends taking business cards but not following up, not taking advantage of their opportunities. Brown said he followed up on every contact and made sure to thank those who helped him. He asked for mentoring and took advantage of the advice and support his mentors shared. He ended with a moving tribute to his mentors. Devon Brown's success is a great example of what the combination of hard work, some luck, making the best of opportunities, and good mentoring can do. We celebrate the Taharka Brothers team and wish them continued luck and prosperity.