I went to Invest Fest, But should you?

​I’m going going, back to back, to Atlanta, Atlanta. You see that’s not just a song I made up, I actually went to Atlanta for the first time sense my fifth-grade field trip. This time though I’m going as a grown man and even more curious to see how the city they call ATL has changed since my last visit. It was sort of a field trip this time also, just that this time I was there to go to one of the biggest black entrepreneur conferences in the world, Invest Fest 4!

Invest Fest is an entrepreneur conference that is focused around black entrepreneurship that has been held in the city of Atlanta for the pretty much all four festivals. This year it was held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, which is still relatively a new place and also a huge place. Invest Fest was created by the brothers of Earn Your Leisure, Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings, who have created one of the top-rated podcasts in the world that focuses on entrepreneurship. 

I was excited to be in Atlanta because it’s been a minute. Like right during the FreakNik years, but I was too young to see that much. And Atlanta is an expensive city. So to combat the cost a little, I decided to volunteer. The tickets were $250, so volunteering saved a little cash and it would force me to talk to people because if I’m being honest with myself, I’m reserved. There were also VIP tickets that ranged from $1000 to the lifetime VIP cost of $10,000, but my pockets are also reserved. lol. I flew out of Tulsa straight shot to Atlanta which was surprisingly only three hours. And as soon as I landed I played Killer Mike's Live version of "DOWN  BY LAW"

Let’s get to the reason why we’re here. How was it? It was BLACK! It’s how I imagine Wale writes his songs about black women. Black is Beautiful, Black is Gold. As soon as I walked down from my hotel elevator, I saw just how beautiful Black is. Men and women of all skin tones dressed to the nines. I mean dressed. From business suits to business casual, to Nike Tec jogging sets. No matter what people wore they, woorre it! This conference proved that not only Black Americans were there for information and networking, but all ethnicities were represented, and people from different countries flew to Atlanta to be apart one of the biggest Black entrepreneur conferences in the world. 
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The meat and potatoes. That would be the conference sessions themselves. There were so many names that I could write paragraphs, Steve Harvey, 50 Cent, Ian Dunlap (I hate I missed his), Lauren Londen, X. Eyee (she stole the show, her talk on Artificial Intelligence really opened my eyes to it’s possibilities), Shannon Sharpe, T.I., those are just a few of the celebrity and standout people of the conference. But what I also found out is that the big names bring in the people, but it’s the smaller named entrepreneurs that are really in the trenches that really give you the ‘how-to’s’. It’s great to see a big name and see them talking and telling stories about their success, but a common theme that seemed to playout is that these entrepreneurs didn’t give you any game, just stories. But when you go to the small named entrepreneur, everyone had their pens and pads out because they were giving you step-by-step how to guides, they gave the game, they blessed the game, and surprisingly their sessions were packed.

Circulate. That’s the only way I could explain the vendor marketplace. It was over 500 vendors all in this huge expo sized space all circulating money. There were health vendors, there were hair care vendors, there were Artificial Intelligence vendors, there were clothing vendors, every aspect of entrepreneurship needed to support your business was there. I promise you that it would be hard for you to walk through and not buy something. There also was the Earn Your Leisure booth that held their signature “Assets Over Liabilities” shirt. There was also The Marathon booth who actually bought the iconic Brinks truck. I always support The Marathon store, (their Black Friday deals are insane) so it was dope to see their Brinks truck and to be able to take a picture with it. And in All-Money-In fashion, they also gave away $100,000 Grant to a business, the business that won focused on juicing. 

Business in the front and a party in the back. By day the conference was all business and entrepreneurship. But at night that’s when you realized people didn’t come to just work, they were there to play as well. Invest Fest had a VIP Night that included a performance from T.I. and a private dinner. There was also an R&B Karaoke Night where that was cracking. Also, it was Atlanta. The night scene is whatever you want to get into, clubs, lounges, gentleman clubs, and everything in between. Atlanta is a city built on nightlife. 
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My Final thoughts on Invest Fest. When you come, bring comfortable walking shoes. The facility is literally three football fields long, don’t sacrifice looking cool for comfort, you can do both. Don’t be afraid to go by yourself. I went by myself, my first solo trip, and as soon as I got there, I got nothing but inviting personalities all wanting to talk and network. Which brings me to my next point. Talk to people. People are there to network and you never know who will help you build your business or help take your business to that next level. So talk. Go to the small entrepreneur sessions. That’s where you’re gonna get the real cheat codes, the big names might get you to come, but the lesser-known ones are gonna give you the game because they are in the trenches. Have your elevator pitch ready, be able to describe your business because you don’t want to sound like that person who sells snake oil. Know your business and know it well. Spend with the vendors, the vendors have amazing products, I bought shirts, hair care products, took business cards, because it was truly a way to circulate and support entrepreneurs who took a risk and had amazing products and could tell you, and sometimes sell you on their products. Last but not least. See the city. I didn’t venture out to see all of the city but I felt welcomed to Atlanta. 

Should you go to Invest Fest. YESSSS!!!!