Page 88 - Forbes - USA (December 2019)

F O R B E S B R A N D V O I C E W I T H I W C S C H A F F H A U S E N | PA I D P R O G R A M

Handley always knew he’d launch his own business But the company’s success only fully hit Handley
one day. And when he did, it was, appropriately, when he and Tyler were able to thank their parents

a family affair. In 2014, his brother, Tyler, shared for teaching them to be entrepreneurs in a big way—
that he’d been researching how to test out tattoo by gifting them a percentage of the company. His
designs and learned that a special skin-dying fruit— parents motivated the brothers to persevere when the
the jagua—was recently available for import to business took hard hits, and for Handley, being able
86
their native Canada. “I immediately knew this was to give away a piece of what he’d built reinforced how
something we could start,” says Handley, then a social v>À
L Ý >` V i à Vi Ì i LÀ Ì iÀà wÀÃÌ Ì>
i`
T media strategist. “My brother is a natural leader, and about their vision. Now, he says, “My dad is always
N
E I’m a boots-on-the-ground, get-stuff-done [type].” checking our website to learn the names of new
M i « ÞiiÃ] Ã Ü i i V iÃ Ì Ì i vwVi] i
ÜÃ
O
M [how to greet them].” As Inkbox continues growing,

E Ì >Ì >Þ LiV i ` vwVÕ Ì] LÕÌ À>`i > ` /Þ iÀ
H
T are committed to running the upstart like a family
company, the efforts of two brothers. That part, he
says, isn’t temporary.

BRANDON BRYANT

THE MOMENT OF CHALLENGE IS CHANGING THE

/ i wÀÃÌ ÃÌi«¶ iÌÌ } à > `à ` ÀÌÞ° º ÃÌ>ÀÌi` (VERY WHITE) FACE
mixing this ink by hand in my 500-square-foot

apartment,” Handley recalls. He imported crates of
the fruit from Panama to test and improve the ink. “I OF VENTURE CAPITAL
Ài i LiÀ ` } Ì i wÀÃÌ i > ` Ì i } }] ¼ Þ
... this actually works!’ Why has no one done this
Þi̶» / i LÀ Ì iÀà >` > «À `ÕVÌ Ì iÞ Li iÛi` °
Unfortunately, they were the only ones. Rounds of
fter landing a job in investment banking post-
fundraising were painful. After a major backer pulled
college, it didn’t take long for Brandon Bryant,
out at the last moment, “We were around two weeks
Athe 29-year-old cofounder of Harlem Capital
away from being completely bankrupt.”
Partners, to observe that he and his colleagues had
THE MOMENT OF SUCCESS little in common. “As a person of color, you sit next
to the kid who played lacrosse, whose father and
The brothers had a feeling the idea would land better mother is somebody, and you get to understand how
> } Ì i ºÌ>ÌÌ VÕÀ Õð»
L Ý >`i ÌÃ wÀÃÌ they move in the world,” he recalls of the old boys’
online sale within minutes of launching in 2015 and club that seemed to dominate his majority-white
ran a Kickstarter campaign that raised $80,000 in one workplace. “My big takeaway from my experience is
day, proving to new investors the real desire for this to be on the offense now, and be excited to make my
product. The company now has over 120 employees, own opportunities.” He’s done that by launching a

in Toronto and Japan. Ûi ÌÕÀi V>« Ì> wÀ V ÌÌi` Ì ÛiÃÌ }

D E C E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 9 F O R B E S . C O M