Book: History of the Black Dollar

Photos Courtesy of Angel Rich

Author: Angel Rich

Author Bio:

 

1)  Who were some of your business role models growing up and who are some current ones you admire?

Master P, Ellen DeGeneres, and Steve Harvey were my role models growing up.

Currently, I admire Nipsey Hussle, Charlamagne Tha God, Cardi B, Diddy, Jeff Hoffman, and Richard Branson.

 

2)  What are some expectations and goals that have changed for you since being dubbed, "The Next Steve Jobs" by Forbes?

Increasing the stem pipeline for the Black Community. Having women's equality in tech across the entire spectrum. Proving that you can be beautiful and a tech genius. Traditionally women are forced to choose between their brain and their beauty. It was really important for me to focus on dispelling that myth, while also doing it in braids.

 

3)  When did you realize that coding and smartphone apps were the wave of the future? 

Before the iPhone, there was the iPod. When people started sacrificing their lives to walk in NYC crosswalks with their heads down listening to their iPods that's when I knew that tech was the future. 

I realized coding was the wave when D.C. government decided to give Howard University money towards building an incubator to teach students how to code.

 

4)  How often do you read? And what is the best book you've read in 2018?

I read every day. The best book I read in 2018  was “Black Privilege” by Charlamagne Tha God.

  

5)  What are some of the best books you've read on financial literacy?

• The Greatest Salesman in the World 
• The Spellbinders Gift
• The Richest Man in Babylon
• The Millionaire Next Door
• Rich Dad Poor Dad
• What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
• How to Win Friends and Influence People
• History of the Black Dollar 
• Mental Wealth coming soon! By Angel Rich

 

6)  How much of a role do you think the "Black Wall Street Massacre" played in the fiscal history of African-Americans in the 20th Century? 

In my upcoming book Mental Wealth, we discuss the mindset that one must have in order to achieve wealth. I personally don’t believe that the vast majority of the Black community at that point in time maintained mental wealth. 

So while Black Wall Street does represent a pivotal point in black wealth history, I do not believe it is representative of the entire Black America at that time. Therefore, while it has had an impact, I do not believe it has been as much of a severe infliction when compared to the lack of generational mental wealth in Black culture.

 

7)  Your app 'Creditstackers' had over 200,000 downloads in 2 weeks! What strategies did you use to market it or was it largely word of mouth?

We created an internal algorithm that we named Rich CPI where we reverse-engineered the advertising algorithm of Google, Facebook, and Instagram to create our own advertising for user acquisition that performs 7xs better than Google.

We have received admission from Google that our algorithm performs better than theirs for user acquisition.

 

8)  What inspired you to write this book and what do you hope readers get from it?

Allow me to share a story. Two years ago, I had the honor of speaking at the School of Education at Harvard University. With an audience of at least 100 people, I asked if they had read the Diary of Anne Frank. Naturally, every hand went up.

Then I asked if anyone read a book about a child going through slavery or the Jim Crow era and only 4 hands were raised. Following that I asked how many people knew that the Civil War was a result of slavery, only 3 hands went up.

Then I stood before the crowd and said, “I stand before you at the #1 institution of the world in the School of Education and if you all do not know the accurate history of America and the role that Blacks played who does?” Awe and shame was the response received. 

 

9)  What was your writing process like for this book?

First, I outlined the chapters, identified key people and events within the chapters as a guide.

Then, I stayed up every night for 30 days straight, between the hours of 12 am and 5 am.

  

10)  What is the best advice you have for getting through writer's block?

My writing mentor Shaka Senghor, author of “Writing My Wrongs” helped me get out of writer’s block when I first started writing the book. He taught me to write whatever I want, whenever I want, and to stop when I felt like I was finished.

 

11)  Do you plan on writing more books in the future? 

Yes. I am going to release “Mental Wealth” on Martin Luther King’s birthday where we take readers through 27 laws of Rich, describing mentally healthy principles for building wealth.

 

Places To Find More From This Author:

Facebook: Angel Rich

Twitter: @wealthylifers

Instagram: @angelrich27

Website: www.getwealthylife.com

 

Get Your Copy of History of the Black Dollar Today!

 

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