So much happened this week, it will take me the next two weeks to write it. Here are a few highlights:

1. A major PR veteran signed on as an Advisor to build the strategy around our launch, content, and events. You will meet her soon.
2. A well-known advertising agency made a commitment to help move this vision forward. Keep following this story, more to come.
3. Strategic Vision, a San Diego based research company came to LA to meet with us for the first time. They have been working to assist us in defining our audience. They are so unique in their approach. It was surreal to be sitting at the table with 5 clinicians. Dr., Dr., Dr., Dr.: This is pretty much how you address them. They were so deep, it really made me emotional. Their job is to tell us how many people in the world subscribe to values and good. How they do that is a secret. I can’t tell that just yet, but maybe soon.
4. After my meeting with Kenna, I sat in his car to listen to songs from his new album. Fourth dimension is all I can say. It’s out of here. He is like a Bono-type dude. If you don’t know who he is follow him.
5. We are so lucky to confirm this week that two artists have joined the Urbintra music roster. We will introduce them very soon. Stay Tuned!

This week was also full of lessons. The greatest lesson that I can share with you is how important it is to stay relevant. A lot of times we want to disconnect because we are living in our own world. If you want people to listen to you and follow your words, you have to be at least familiar with the ideas that concern them. Hope that helps.

CEO, Urbintra Media & Entertainment

So if you read the last blog, I told you that we are going to live out the “making of” this vision right in front of you. So keep coming back to get complete updates on everything. Don’t forget to invite your friends. We will need all of you to help us fine-tune this lifestyles movement: It’s “good” and “cool” at the same time.

So before I let you in behind the scenes, I want to introduce you to some more of our team. You already met Josh Levine, our Marketing General, and Art Tarsha, our IT and Security Chief. Now, I want you to meet J.L. Novasad, our Creative Director and Pierre Redding, Chief Everything. J.L. doesn’t talk much. Matter a fact, I think he hates to talk. I am not even sure he likes me. I know he loves Urbintra though. And Pierre, when he starts talking it’s like an unprecedented amount of words just hit you upside your head. At some point, maybe they will blog and tell you what they are working on.

It’s Grammy week in Los Angeles, and on top of that, I have the busiest week of my life. I am meeting with investors, Advertising Agencies, engineers, the accountant, and attending at least seven Grammy events.

I am sure you want to hear some details. So here they are.

First, I have to flashback for you. At the end of June, I was sitting at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles getting ready for a breakfast meeting with some financial guys from New York. While I was waiting for them to come down the strangest thing happened. This gentleman sitting behind me called my name. I turned around because I thought he was talking to me. He then motioned that he was talking to someone on the phone named Tyrone.

After he got off the phone, I found out that Mr. McKnight worked for an investment company in the D.C. area. My eyes lit up when he told me the name of the company. Here is a man over 3,000 miles away, sitting behind me that happens to invest in media companies; the same company and the same guy “someone” tried to introduce me to six months ago. Nevertheless, we are meeting with Mr. McKnight this Friday, in hopes to secure more green jellybeans (money).

Also, we are meeting with “the planet’s most interesting agency. They do work with Lexus, Burger King and have worked with tons of athletes and entertainers. The President of the company told me that Urbintra blew him away. I hope he is blown back in his seat when I get there.

Look, I have a conference call with Kenna in a moment. He just climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to bring awareness to the water crisis, so he is pumped up. Something exciting is happening.

We will not compromise (who) we are to be accepted by the crowd

We want substance in the place of popularity

We want to think our own thoughts

We want love not lies

We want knowledge, understanding, and peace

We will not lose, because we are not losers

We are lasers

Words from the Great Lupe Fiasco

Let me catch you up really fast. This vision, a Company named Urbintra. Our focus is to build values-driven entertainment brands, starting with an online platform for the positive urban lifestyle. It’s more than an online network it’s a place for you, whether you consider yourself urban or not. For us, The New Urban is a mindset- with more than a desire, but a rush to be connected, a heart for humanity, a hunger for meaning, and just a straight love for all things good and cool.

If you can relate to that and the Lupe Fiasco poem written above, then this will be the place for you.

We haven taken a snapshot of today’s urban culture, and we believe there are over one hundred million people around the world who feel the same way that we do. There is a Generation that is ready to hear it’s own voice, purely, just perhaps, for the very first time.  So we are building a community for the world, urban influenced-urban inspired.

It’s who and what we aspire, what we listen to, what we watch, how we learn, and what we like to talk about all wrapped up and delivered within the urban sensibilities and swag. (Yes, I said swag)

My friends, world-renowned authors and brand experts, Raymond Nadeau and Lisa Johnson would say that we are creating, “A Living Brand” and  “A Consumer Playground”. Their books have definitely helped us throughout this journey. Urbintra is about business as unusual. So we decided that we are going to live out this vision right in front of you until the day we launch. We actually want to include you as we are preparing to launch our first community brand.

There is one promise that I can make you. If you follow us, it is going to change your life. We don’t know everything, but collectively we bring a lot to the table.

We have assembled some of the most courageous and creative people in Social Media and entertainment. You will meet people like Josh Levine, one of the world’s most talented grassroots marketers. Oh yeah, and there is Art Tarsha, I.T. and Security genius. Besides Urbintra, they both have something in common; BRAND NEW BABIES.

Very soon, you will be introduced to the entire Urbintra team; people all around the world that has a daily commitment to make sure that this vision comes to pass.

But there is something that you should know about us first.

We will not work hard to make things look easy. There is nothing easy about this; and matter a fact, it is downright complicated. So be prepared to see our flaws and get yourself ready to ride on the bumpy path to a vision that is unprecedented .We are going to be asking you a lot of questions and asking for your input. If you are one of the lucky one’s you will be chosen for the early and exclusive BETA Tour. (And don’t ask me for no hook-ups either. LOL) Seriously, we really want to know what you are thinking.

I know it’s bold and daring, but we feel the most confident with this approach. Just watch! It will start to make sense to you after a while. Please just give us a chance. It’s not the normal way of building a brand, but we are intentional, and desire to be straight up.

When I started this company, it was friends like George P, Michael M, and Nicolas C. that stepped up to the plate to send me off on a voyage to bring this vision to pass. I have a responsibility to build something that is going to stand the test of time. That is my personal conviction.

We will shed some tears together, learn a thing or two, laugh at ourselves, but ultimately, exhale at the finish line on launch day. If you ever wanted to know the ins and outs of branding, marketing, social media, and everything it takes to build a company like this, just keep checking in everyday, and you will find something to take with you. We might even invite you into some of our live meetings. What do you think about that? It will be like our sound check for launch.

Do any of you have a vision that is kicking at you everyday? We want to know what keeps you up at night and stirs your heart. This is what we have cooked up. Tell us what you are cooking. Who knows we might be able to help each other.