So much to say, and so little space.

This is an exciting time for Social Media. Our company is so glad to be birthed during one of the greatest times in history, both for the struggle and the victories. Together, they make us strong. This is our year! How about you? Do things seem to be lining up for you? Maybe you have been working towards something for a long time.

Its Super Bowl Week, and they are getting preparing the grind it up on that field. We have to do the same thing in the office.

To all of the visionaries and dreamers: I want to share some of the lessons that we have learned along the way to realizing this vision.

Prepare to spend some time alone- Great things are often birthed outside of the system. Preparation is key!

Write it down- Stop talking about it, take some time to bring clarity to your vision. It will mature on paper.

Study the market you are entering- Investors are going to drill you on that. How are you different?

Set- up your corporate entity and accounting system wisely- Always get a second opinion.

Remove all negative influences- The last thing you need is people bringing you down.                                                                 

Build a solid team- You cannot do everything. Have the right processes in place to ensure that you choose the right people.

Never compromise who you are for money- Enough said.

We are building this company right in the middle of a paradigm shift in culture, technology, and entertainment. It is exciting, but it is challenging us to push beyond the norm. We want to share this journey with you, in hopes that you will have more that enough information when moving towards your vision. If you missed the previous blogs you have time to catch up. Stay Tuned!

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.

Here are my first thoughts today. Mr. President, what a mess on every level. I envy you, because after you are done dealing with this craziness, you will be one of the wisest men alive. “He who makes no mistakes, usually makes nothing at all.” Oh, and about Whitney Houston being snubbed by the Grammy’s; so what. That women lived her life right in front of us. Her flaws and quality of life, were attacked by drugs, depression, and bad relationships. Whitney was out there, very true. But look at her now. She has truly made an effort to change her life for the better. I can say that because  I have spoken to her personally. Grammy or no Grammy, Whitney you have been given a “Second Chance” at life, and we are glad that you are alive.

Now for Urbintra.

Research, strategy, the right people, the wrong people, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, investors, no money, new car, no car, new car (in that order), and more changes than you have ever seen; yet we are still alive. The vision will be fulfilled through an entertainment media company with a mission towards lifting the human spirit. You keep your “eyes” on this brand. You watch the struggle. Go and bring your friends, and tell them they can be apart of helping to launch a new brand that will truly inspire the world.

This is Grammy week in LA. Everyone is in town. But yesterday I sat with Kenna, and I was blown away. If you don’t know who Kenna is you better find out. This is what he said to me. “When I hear that a kid shot three people in the classroom, I don’t blame the parents or the school, I blame it on music. When I hear that someone overdosed on drugs, I don’t blame it on the drug dealer, I blame it on music. Without Music, just like water, we will die. We have to bring life back into music.”

We know there are hundreds of millions of people who feel the same way that we do. We want to hear from you. Leave your comments and we will reply to every one of them. More to come.

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.