Sep 13, 2018

BREAUX Capital is Leading Black Men to Financial Wellness

BREAUX Capital (pronounced “bro”) was created with lack of connect, lack of trust, and lack of organization in mind. The founders realized a space needed to be filled and they had the brains, tenacity, and grind to do it. They thought of an important way to help our black community not only financially, but intellectually, culturally, and socially. If you were to search organizations specifically for black men, almost nothing would come up, so a change was necessary and this brand is timely.

Ras Asan and Derrius Quarles initially went full speed ahead, fresh out of undergrad building a company that would lower the cost of college education for the masses. Later, they hooked up with Brian Williams and launched this masterwork. The Quintessential Gentleman linked up with one of the founders to discuss the purpose and the impact.

Ras describes the business as, “The world’s first cooperatively owned operated financial technology and services company specifically designed with black Millennials in mind.” In this day and age, it’s even more important to be educated and always be on top of your finances and opportunities surrounding your success and advancement. The founders of BREAUX Capital had that very aspect already configured from the beginning. The fellas knew almost five years ago, now in Kentucky, that this network would be essential to gaining capital. This group of HBCU grads is bridging the gap for our black lives. The slogan, “Build Yourself a Better Financial Future. Today.” are the first words you see when you enter the well-orchestrated website, or shall we say resource to your next chapter.

First thing’s first, Ras makes it clear, “We are not a money manager, we are not an asset manager, we are not a bank by any means and that’s why the cooperatively-owned and operated piece is really important.” With BREAUX Capital you can count on automated savings, an accountability partner, collective investment opportunities, a like-minded community, equity ownership opportunity, and the biggest part, it’s black-owned. All these incentives come with BREAUX Capital versus everybody else. Choose, but choose wisely. Your money is important to you, and the people you care for, but also important to BREAUX Capital. It’s up to you.

The bottom line is your financial health effects you, but also your family too. Ras says, “Specifically for black men, it’s a thing where we want to be a better support for our women, we want to be better husbands, we want to be better brothers, we want to be better fathers, we want to be better sons; and in order to do that, being frank, we gotta get our shit together.” If we want our children to have better lives, it starts today. This was founded for the purpose of creating wealth.

Believe it or not, BREAUX Capital was inspired by black women and the platforms that empower those women to build that same wealth and culture creation. These three prestigious men of color pride themselves on being the only place for black males to invest their money, build their community, and create opportunities as one. They effortlessly combine software and community, which you can call social banking.

You ask, what is financial wellness or how can black millennials become educated; Ras gives those four components, “Being able to take care of your basic needs, being able to handle an emergency, being able to take advantage of financial opportunities as they arise, and being able to take care of your closest friends’ needs and emergencies while investing at will.” He used the appropriate example, “If you’re around sick people, you won’t be well for long and so that’s why our model gets those people together.” That’s why it’s important to share the wealth and information. Share ideas and build energy off of them, and realize it’s crucial to be transparent with one another or when holding one accountable. That’s what BREAUX Capital is about.

Coming from a Hip Hop generation, Jay Z and Master P, Ras told the story, “You build it up and sell it out the trunk and then after a while you’ll have that fan base; and then go to that label or to that investor with leverage in that deal to get a distribution deal or just a deal so that you can scale what you’ve already been doing, not to actually put you on it, and make you a star.” They move in that same approach. They started with $500 and look at them now.

It’s like Arthur Ashe said, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” The entrepreneurs studied Sociology at Morehouse College, same place and degree as Martin Luther King Jr. As Ras said, “So we have a different perspective when it comes to business. We’re actually out here applying our social theories with sustainable business models.” BREAUX Capital is based on a science that was developed at the University of Pennsylvania by co-founder Derrius Quarles (and it works).

There are some resources you can use to get yours too. Ras advises, “You can certainly check out the TED talk that officially dropped recently by co-founder Darius Quarles which details how banks are currently failing. You can look for is some written content through Inc magazine and inc.com. You can check out my column Think & BREAUX Rich and you can also be on the lookout for some major announcements in terms of who we are.” Ras explains how they came into the game as not just a company. They’re an institution. The goal is to build a lasting monument. He asked the question, “How do we do that? The financial service industry is going to have to deal with us.” They aren’t going anywhere. It’s time to shift the financial narrative for Millennial black men.