Hope To Happiness

Hope To Happiness

Sign in Subscribe

Why I’m Not 6’6” (Blame My Dad)

Why I’m Not 6’6” (Blame My Dad)

It all started with basketball. As a kid, basketball wasn’t just a game—it was an obsession. I dribbled everywhere I went. The ball was like an extension of me, whether I was at the park, walking to school, or in our living room (which, I quickly learned, was

Yvonne's Final Act of Civic Duty

Yvonne's Final Act of Civic Duty

The last thing my mother did before she died was to vote. We knew Yvonne was going to die in early 2021. I remember sitting in the doctor’s office as she told us that, while there were treatments left to try, the cancer had spread—reaching her lungs and

25 Investments for 2025: A Follow-Up to the 2020 Series (Part 3)

25 Investments for 2025: A Follow-Up to the 2020 Series (Part 3)

Companies The final public post in this series (Part 1, Part 2) lists 9 of the 30 companies I believe in for 2025. The rest of the companies are available to members subscribed to this blog upon request. 1. Sugarwork – sugarwork.com Lots of knowledge gets lost when great employees

25 Investments for 2025: A Follow-Up to the 2020 Series (Part 2)

25 Investments for 2025: A Follow-Up to the 2020 Series (Part 2)

TLDR: My syndicate is here. In part 1 we talked about my investment criteria generally. Now we delve into the people who I would invest in (wether to start a company or of my time and energy to support) because they have an elite skill or perspective in some area.

25 Investments for 2025: A Follow-Up to the 2020 Series (Part 1)

25 Investments for 2025: A Follow-Up to the 2020 Series (Part 1)

(TLDR: Join my syndicate) Back in 2020, I published a list of 20 startups I would invest in, something I have done in 2018 , 2014, and 2013. I’ve had the pleasure of watching many of them grow and evolve. In addition I did some personal investments (now pushing via

Coding Is Thinking

Coding Is Thinking

Programming, to me, has always been more about thinking than writing code. It’s not the hours spent writing lines of code that define the work—it’s the deep dive into problem-solving, the relentless questioning of assumptions, and the stripping away of unnecessary complexity until clarity emerges. If I’

Statement Of Purpose

Statement Of Purpose

Overview As I reflect on my journey in technology and entrepreneurship, one thing is clear: the next frontier for entrepreneurs lies in innovation at the intersection of interfaces and human connection through technology. This belief drove me to apply for the prestigious Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) master’s program at Carnegie

Buying Your Way To The Top

Buying Your Way To The Top

The shortcut of using money to skip the hard stuff has been a strategy used for centuries. It manifests often in venture capitalists and private equity folks spending insane amounts of money to buy up smaller companies in order to roll them up into a bigger entity, finding accounting tricks

Pole Pole: The Steady March To The Peak

Pole Pole: The Steady March To The Peak

I took two steps forward and could not fathom making the next one. Staring straight down at the leg gaiters of the person in front of me, I bent over to alleviate the throbbing back pain, clutching my trekking poles for dear life. "No sleeping!" one of the

Why Culture Is Eating The World

Why Culture Is Eating The World

"The reason that Apple is able to create products like the iPad is because we've always tried to be at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts," - Steve Jobs In August of 2011, Marc Andreesen made a post (https://a16z.com/2011/08/20/

If I Ran It: 20 Startups for 2020

If I Ran It: 20 Startups for 2020

Ran through a bunch of companies that I think are interesting and building great businesses. 20 2020 Startups I Like: (ping me if you’d like an intro to any of these) 1/ @MSCHFXYZ: creators of the jesus shoe (https://pagesix.com/2019/11/08/drake-splashes-out-on-nike-jesus-shoes-filled-with-holy-water/ …) ecommerce startup for fun

Chasing Dollars: Three Failed Attempts To Get Outside Capital

Chasing Dollars: Three Failed Attempts To Get Outside Capital

This first appeared on the INFLECTION Blog On three occasions I chased outside funding when I should have just buckled down and focused on getting consistent predictable revenue. Here are 3 of those occasions: THE FAST LOAN After getting a bunch of investor rejections (as mentioned in the prior blog)

If Your Dreams Don't Serve You, Let Them Go

If Your Dreams Don't Serve You, Let Them Go

This first appeared on the INFLECTION Blog with full images. If your dreams don’t serve you, let them go. One dream I had was to be a Y-Combinator (a.k.a YC) founder. I can already read the hacker news comments: it’s just an accelerator, why does their

If I Ran It: Profit Driven Fund (Part 2)

If I Ran It: Profit Driven Fund (Part 2)

If I Ran It is a thought experiment series on my blog where I think about how I would run a company/fund if I was in control. Its hypothetical (for now). Previous entries in this series can be found Here and Here In the prior post I talked about

If I Ran It: Profit-Driven Fund (Part 1)

If I Ran It: Profit-Driven Fund (Part 1)

If I Ran It is a thought experiment series on my blog where I think about how I would run a company/fund if I was in control. Its hypothetical (for now). Previous entries in this series can be found Here(2013) and Here(2014) (Part 2 of this post

Interview: Nasdaq Spotlight With Mario Armstrong

Interview: Nasdaq Spotlight With Mario Armstrong

The New Black History: Opportunity and Inspiration in Computer Science

The New Black History: Opportunity and Inspiration in Computer Science

(this post originally appears on the CSForAll medium https://medium.com/@CSforALL/the-new-black-history-opportunity-and-inspiration-in-computer-science-c82e696b0ab3) The new black history that I’d like to see in the world is one where young people of color are inspired by technology and given the opportunity to pursue that curiosity in depth. My earliest memories

Why Networking Is Not Overrated

Why Networking Is Not Overrated

(if you like this, give a like on medium) How an introvert networked their way to a few million in revenue Theme Song: Rise and Shine — J. Cole I caught a conversation last week started by Naval Ravikant of Angelist (hi Naval, lets talk sometime :) that caught my attention: https:

When Great Trees Fall: Eulogy and Tribute to Dr Enid Denbow

When Great Trees Fall: Eulogy and Tribute to Dr Enid Denbow

Tribute by Frank Denbow III There is no greater influence on my life and perspective than my Grandma Enid. As has been said already, she was accomplished in her work in medicine and her contributions to the field in Guyana. Her success was a source of inspiration for myself and

Alternative Funding Sources for Startups

Alternative Funding Sources for Startups

(If you like this, give us a heart on Medium https://medium.com/@frankdenbow/alternative-funding-sources-for-startups-9bc962820398#.xpky98994) Less than 1% of startups raise venture capital funding. Here are some opportunities for the rest. Feel free to comment with other resources and I’ll update the list. Revenue One option if you

If I Ran It: Angel Investing (Part 2)

If I Ran It: Angel Investing (Part 2)

Updating my list of companies that I find interesting and would invest in with my imaginary angel fund. This is a continuation from the first post. UPDATES How is the portfolio doing? Namo Media - Bought by Twitter for 50M Tailwind - One of 7 companies using Pinterest's

If I Ran It: Angel Investing

If I Ran It: Angel Investing

I’ve been reading a lot recently about angel investing (highly recommend Brian Cohen’s new book: What Every Angel Investor Wants You To Know) and I thought I would play armchair angel and talk about companies that I think are interesting that I would probably invest in if I

BASE High School Mentors

BASE High School Mentors

This year, the Bronx Academy for Software Engineering (BASE - http://bronxsoftware.org) opened up its 4 year high school. It is a sister school to the Academy For Software Engineering (http://afsenyc.org). BASE is looking for 30 male mentors to connect with the students. It is done through

Without Their Permission Review + Giveaway

Without Their Permission Review + Giveaway

Without Their Permission is a new book by Alexis Ohanian that explores what its like to start a company or movement, and the power of the internet to fuel these ventures. The central theme is of doing things without permission, finding a way when there seems to be no natural

/var/null: Don't Fly During Ramadan

/var/null: Don't Fly During Ramadan

/var/null: Don't Fly During Ramadan chimeracoder: A couple of weeks ago, I was scheduled to take a trip from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles on JetBlue. Every year, my family goes on a one-week pilgrimage, where we put our work on hold and spend time visiting