Ex-NBA player Mustafa Shakur, who previously played for the Washington Wizards and Oklahoma City Thunder, launched a sports nutrition startup called Pure Fuel. He joined Forbes senior writer Jabari Young at the Nasdaq MarketSite to discuss the startup's hydration drink.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Always, always dream big.
00:02 That's the core principle of former NBA guard,
00:05 Mustafa Shakur, and he had to pivot his dream
00:07 from basketball to entrepreneur.
00:09 We'll let you know what he's doing right now
00:11 at the NASDAQ MarketSite.
00:12 (upbeat music)
00:15 Hello everyone, it's Jabari Young, senior writer at Forbes,
00:17 and I'm at the NASDAQ MarketSite,
00:19 and I'm joined by Mustafa Shakur.
00:21 He is a former NBA guard, University of Arizona standout,
00:24 played for the Washington Wizards, the OKC Thunder,
00:27 and now the co-founder of a sports hydration,
00:30 sports nutrition, Pure Fuel.
00:32 Mustafa, what's up man?
00:34 - Man, thanks for having me.
00:35 - Hey man, thank you man.
00:36 You know, listen, let's let the audience know right now.
00:38 All right, this is Micah from Philadelphia, right?
00:40 Both from Philly, man, we'll definitely dive into that.
00:43 Is this your first time at the NASDAQ?
00:44 - This is my very first time.
00:45 - Nice, man, what do you think?
00:47 - I love it.
00:47 - Yeah.
00:48 - I look forward to being here much more.
00:49 - Absolutely, man, listen, we're here now,
00:51 so I have to ask you, is there a stock
00:53 or something that you might've owned
00:55 or you want to own one day, right?
00:56 Low key, nothing like Microsoft or Amazon,
00:59 but low key, something that someone could say,
01:01 you know what, I'm gonna get some of that too.
01:03 - I hate to give a tip and not be the best at it.
01:06 I would say, you know, stick to the traditional ones,
01:10 like you said, that have always had a head up side.
01:13 - Yeah, and that's because they're strong, right?
01:15 Have that foundation.
01:16 - Absolutely.
01:17 - Yeah, man.
01:18 Hey man, listen, you right now, it's the NBA playoffs,
01:21 let's just ask one question right fast, right?
01:23 Because let's go back to your old stomping grounds, OKC.
01:25 When you look at Shea Gillis Alexander, right,
01:28 that brother doing some phenomenal things down there,
01:30 but when you look at him, what do you see?
01:31 - I mean, first off, I would say
01:33 it's an amazing organization.
01:35 And I think the way the Thunder put together a team
01:39 and they bring in the right character player to fit in,
01:42 that's a masterclass in itself right there.
01:46 - Yeah, Sam Pressley was there when you was there, right?
01:48 - Sam Pressley was absolutely there.
01:49 I actually had the opportunity to play
01:52 for Coach Degan as well in the G League
01:55 at the time, so I have a relationship there as well.
01:57 - What'd you learn from Sam Pressley?
01:59 I mean, I think he's one of the brightest basketball minds.
02:01 - Absolutely.
02:02 I think he has an eye for talent and leadership.
02:06 So it's a crazy quick story is,
02:08 I got my first call up in 2010, '11,
02:11 and I'm on the sideline, I'm warming up,
02:13 I'm hoping I get a little bit of time and I get in,
02:16 you know, I suit up.
02:17 He comes over to me, he says,
02:19 "Stapha, I think you got something.
02:21 I think you could be a coach one day."
02:23 And inside that kind of burnt me up
02:25 because I wanted to play.
02:27 But it took me years to unpack that
02:29 and understand he was saying I had leadership qualities.
02:32 So I think those things, him being able
02:34 to see different things in different players,
02:37 I think it's vital to build an organization.
02:39 - Why didn't you want to be a coach, man?
02:41 'Cause listen, Mo'Cheeks was down there,
02:42 that's a League of Legends too, man.
02:44 So why didn't you want to be it?
02:45 - Well, I was still maybe, I was 28, 29 years old,
02:48 and my tunnel vision, you know,
02:51 Chris Paul was just here, you know,
02:53 I want to be up here with the guys.
02:54 I want to get out here and compete.
02:55 So I just couldn't wrap my mind around being a coach
02:59 at that very moment, but it was well-received.
03:02 - You think so right now, getting the coach, right?
03:05 Back to Arizona, maybe?
03:05 - This bottle in front of you,
03:07 it's, I feel like I'm doing some of that
03:11 in our organization and the things I learned there, for sure.
03:13 - Absolutely.
03:14 Well, let's dive into this bottle, man.
03:16 Again, you're the co-founder of Pure Fuel, right?
03:18 A sports nutrition drink.
03:19 So listen, why a sports hydration drink, man?
03:21 I mean, this is a tricky sector.
03:23 It can be very profitable.
03:24 Got a couple of companies, right?
03:26 One of your competitors, Ready Nutrition,
03:27 that's a Pennsylvania-based startup.
03:29 I remember covering that team, man.
03:30 Aaron Donald's an investor in that company,
03:32 and they were predicting sales about 100 million
03:35 before the pandemic hit, right?
03:36 And then you have NBA icon, Kobe Bryant, God bless his life,
03:39 who was once an investor in Body Armor,
03:41 which sold for about 5.6 billion in 2021.
03:44 Kobe received about 400 million of that.
03:46 This is an industry that's 41.2 billion industry,
03:50 according to IBIS World,
03:51 and sports nutrition makes up about 6.1 billion of that.
03:55 So why this industry, and what are your demographics?
03:58 How you wanna build this?
03:59 - It's a great question.
04:00 You know, I think me personally,
04:02 I live by a few different things.
04:04 Why not me?
04:05 Why not now?
04:05 Why not us?
04:06 So when I look at those words,
04:09 you go back to playing basketball in Philly,
04:12 being on the basketball court,
04:13 playing for your AAU team,
04:14 you think about how many bottles,
04:16 I won't say the company, right?
04:17 How many bottles of a particular company
04:19 that you drank over and over and over again,
04:21 and you never knew what was in it, right?
04:23 You know, your coach gave it to you,
04:24 you didn't have anything else,
04:25 you just drank it.
04:26 And then as you get older,
04:27 you start to look at the back of the bottle,
04:28 you're like, "Wait a minute,
04:29 "what am I actually really consuming in my body?
04:32 "What have I been drinking since I was 10 years old?"
04:34 And I was fortunate enough to play high level D1,
04:38 play professionally for 12 years,
04:40 and I started to dive into,
04:42 what was I actually putting into my body?
04:45 So now it's more of also taking ownership
04:48 of what we consume as a culture,
04:52 as young athletes,
04:53 and being able to help the next generation
04:55 on that side too.
04:57 So there's an amazing, huge opportunity
05:00 on the business side of things,
05:01 but there's even a larger benefit
05:04 for us doing this the right way,
05:06 making sure we're giving kids, young adults,
05:09 athletes the best product
05:10 we can possibly put in their hands.
05:12 - What's different, what's in this bottle
05:13 that's different that I'm not gonna see?
05:14 'Cause you know, consumers have such a choice.
05:17 You walk into anything, we from Philly, right?
05:19 So you walk into Wawa,
05:21 your cases are full, man.
05:23 It's like people go for what they know,
05:25 but if I see pure, if I see this in the case,
05:27 why am I gonna pick this up?
05:28 What's in it that's gonna make people say,
05:30 "I need more of this."
05:31 - Right, so an amazing taste, right?
05:33 Right off the bat, but it's plant-based, no sugar added.
05:36 You got your B vitamins, electrolytes.
05:39 I think reducing that sugar intake
05:41 for our young athletes, inner city kids,
05:43 is very important and vital.
05:45 And then also having your electrolytes
05:47 and B vitamins and that other sort.
05:49 But I think our brand, what we stand for,
05:53 also enhances the profile of what we do.
05:55 We've always been guys that are in the community
05:59 giving back outside of this brand,
06:02 but we've even tapped in further
06:04 with our partners like Wawa and Gilly
06:06 and some of the other guys
06:07 that are coming on to the brand.
06:08 So I think when you pick up this bottle,
06:10 you understand that it stands for way more
06:13 than just a regular beverage or soft drink company.
06:17 There's a clear messaging behind it
06:20 and you understand you're joining
06:21 a different kind of tribe that is here
06:24 for the community and others.
06:25 - Yeah, dive into that in a minute,
06:27 but just again to make sure,
06:28 Andre is a supporter.
06:29 Gilly, Wawa, Equity Holders,
06:30 as well as partners within Purefield.
06:32 - Absolutely. - Absolutely, cool.
06:33 What do you like about being an entrepreneur, man?
06:35 - I love the flexibility.
06:36 - Flexibility. - The flexibility.
06:39 Playing basketball, it takes you many, many ways
06:44 and sometimes you don't have a control
06:46 or a say-so in that.
06:48 That can be fun, right?
06:49 You end up playing in Spain
06:51 or you end up playing in Italy for a couple years
06:55 and you're eating the best pasta,
06:57 but sometimes, I won't say the country, right?
07:00 I love you guys, right?
07:01 A year or two, I ended up playing in Lithuania or Poland,
07:03 right, but with being an entrepreneur,
07:05 I think you're able to,
07:08 it's unpredictable as well,
07:10 but you're able to have a little bit more control
07:12 of the things you do and what you create.
07:14 - Yeah, let's dive into your background a little bit, man.
07:16 Again, you from Philly just like me.
07:18 I grew up in North, you grew up in West, man.
07:20 What was that like for you?
07:21 - Uptown. - Uptown.
07:22 - 10th and Alney. - 10th and Alney, oh,
07:24 so you didn't grow up in West, you grew up in Uptown.
07:25 - No, no, yeah, yeah, yeah. - I always talk about that
07:27 because you went to West Philly
07:28 and then before you went over to 5th Century.
07:29 - So I went to William Penn. - William Penn, yeah.
07:31 - Yeah, which was, you're born in Girard,
07:34 but it was one of those things
07:36 where I was just trying to find my way to play basketball.
07:39 And my mom knew if I went to my neighborhood school,
07:42 I would probably get into a lot of trouble with my friends,
07:44 so you gotta go somewhere else.
07:46 And that's where it started for me, foundation.
07:48 She always tried to make sure,
07:50 hey, I gotta get my son in a different school
07:52 to kind of take him out of his environment.
07:54 I mean, William Penn was not much better.
07:56 It was a rough school, but that's a part of my foundation,
08:01 being able to go in any building
08:04 and be able to learn how to carry myself.
08:07 - Yeah, William Penn, right?
08:08 That's right across the street from the Blue Horizon
08:10 at one point a long time ago.
08:11 - Yep. - Yeah, that YMCA
08:12 is right down the street.
08:13 All this time, I thought you went to West Philly.
08:15 I don't know why, man. - No, no, no, no.
08:15 - But you was at William Penn.
08:17 So you always wanted to be a basketball player.
08:19 - I always wanted to be an entrepreneur.
08:23 I wanted to be a doctor or a psychologist first, right?
08:26 And that's up until I was 11, 12 years old.
08:28 But my neighborhood was full of sports players.
08:31 And you look at our communities,
08:32 there's not a bunch of doctors, dentists,
08:34 or folks like that that you can really have a mentor.
08:39 And when that didn't happen, naturally,
08:41 I got deeper into sports and that became my love.
08:45 But before that, I didn't wanna play basketball professionally.
08:47 - Yeah, so when you wanted to be a doctor
08:49 and you didn't pivot that way,
08:51 what stops you from going that route?
08:53 - Just not having the resources or access.
08:56 You know, again, when you don't have a mentor,
08:59 someone you can connect with and say,
09:00 "Hey, I'll connect you with my good friend.
09:04 "He's a doctor.
09:04 "He'll give you the background of what you need to do."
09:07 Typically, you tend to gravitate
09:11 to the next thing that's available to you.
09:13 - Yeah, absolutely, man.
09:14 I'm glad to send you a guest.
09:15 Again, me growing up in North, I've seen a lot.
09:17 I wanted to go in certain directions,
09:18 but I'm glad my family obviously pulled me back
09:20 and helped me. - Absolutely.
09:21 - You know what that's all about.
09:22 But still, you end up at the University of Arizona.
09:24 You get to play under the great Luke Olsen.
09:26 What's the biggest thing you learned
09:27 under that legendary head coach?
09:29 - Time management. - Time management.
09:31 - And that's a, I know people will probably expect me
09:34 to talk more of a basketball.
09:36 You know, I learned how to come off a pick and roll.
09:38 I learned how to do this.
09:39 But if you saw how Coach Olsen,
09:41 he really dissected time in a way that you wasted none.
09:45 And now when I look at business, it's very vital for me
09:49 because athletes, all right, we're notorious
09:52 for not really valuing time.
09:54 Outside of we show up and coach has everything set up.
09:57 But then after that, we just, we're kind of all over the place.
09:59 Okay, I wanna go shoot.
10:00 I wanna go do this.
10:02 I'm gonna go to the movies.
10:03 And we don't value time.
10:04 But when you get into being an entrepreneur,
10:08 time is so valuable.
10:09 So I go back to those memories
10:11 of how they had our days just designed
10:14 to make sure we maximized every moment.
10:18 I try to do the same thing.
10:19 You know, I'm not great at it.
10:20 My wife would tell you, like, you gotta get better.
10:22 But it's something that I can tap into from Coach Olsen.
10:27 - Yeah, likewise, man.
10:28 I tell her, I can't, I have a pride.
10:29 I can't tell people no, right?
10:30 And that's just like that mess with your time.
10:32 - Absolutely.
10:33 - And you gotta get better at that, man.
10:34 But still, you were able to end up in the league
10:37 and you flashback in your career.
10:39 You didn't get drafted, right?
10:40 But you get an opportunity with the Wizards in 2010,
10:42 OKC 2013, 25 Pro Games title total in the NBA,
10:47 played some time overseas.
10:48 But shifting back to the NBA, man,
10:50 what's the biggest thing you learned about that NBA business?
10:52 You told me how Sam Presti broke your heart, right?
10:54 What's the biggest thing you learned
10:55 about that business having navigated it?
10:57 - So I learned it was a business really early on.
11:01 And you think that, you know,
11:04 I think players need to learn it much sooner
11:09 than they often do.
11:11 I think it's a blessing with NIL now.
11:15 It kind of puts kids in a position
11:16 where they have to learn business,
11:17 they have to learn about making money.
11:19 And I understand that if Coach's job is on the line,
11:23 he might come to practice pretty angry
11:25 or in a different type of mood
11:27 and what does that look like, right?
11:28 We traditionally come from playing AAU
11:30 where the coaches are almost like an extension of the family,
11:35 the father figures, mothers that are taking care of us.
11:39 So I think I learned that it's a business
11:41 and you have to put business first
11:44 and make sure that you're doing everything you need to do
11:47 to make sure that the organization is doing well as well.
11:51 - Yeah, 2018 was your last time you suited up, right?
11:53 Again, but you talk about your career.
11:56 You just said Chris Paul was up here, right?
11:58 Two sides of the spectrum, right?
11:59 Here you are trying to get in, trying to make it.
12:02 You go through a number of summer league teams,
12:04 very important to do that process with the young guys.
12:07 But what do you tell that player
12:08 that's probably going to,
12:10 most of them are going to end up going that route
12:12 where you went, where it's going to be back and forth,
12:14 unless you're that superstar player
12:15 and there's only been so few of them,
12:17 a lot of it is just a journey.
12:18 What do you tell that young player
12:19 that's navigating that type of space?
12:22 - Yeah, I think the number one thing you always hear
12:24 is control what you can control, right?
12:26 So put in extra work, you get to the gym early,
12:30 you stay late, you pick the coach's brain,
12:33 be a good student of the game
12:35 and try to approach it with a certain passion.
12:39 But outside of that, I think it's maximizing
12:42 the doors you walk into and the relationships you have,
12:45 because many of the relationships that I'm tapping into now
12:48 is sports related, right?
12:51 And I've used that to leverage and segue
12:54 into other sectors.
12:56 So I'm super appreciative of that
12:57 and it's something I didn't realize
12:59 would happen so rapidly,
13:00 but now that I'm understanding it,
13:03 it's been quite, it's been very beneficial for me.
13:06 - Now back into the business,
13:07 co-founder again of Pure Fuel,
13:09 how does one start?
13:10 Do you have to go through a science test?
13:11 Like you have to get this stuff scientifically proven
13:14 and how long does that take?
13:15 Like what does it take to get online?
13:17 - So a lot of folks, they see our brand now
13:19 and they say, wow, this happened in just 14 months,
13:22 but there was at least a year and a half of research,
13:24 R&D, research and development,
13:26 and just making sure the product was
13:28 what we thought it should be.
13:30 It started off with a little bit too much sugar,
13:31 didn't have enough vitamins, electrolytes, things like that.
13:34 And I think, again, having a partner like SunSuite
13:39 that's been in the business for over 100 years
13:42 and they're able to make sure the checks and balances
13:45 are there in terms of having no hiccups.
13:50 That put us ahead of the ball game.
13:53 And once we came to market,
13:54 we were able to take off as we assembled our team.
13:57 - Yeah, well, did you have to test it on other athletes
13:59 or some of your brothers and maybe go back
14:00 to the University of Arizona and say,
14:01 yo, how does this taste?
14:02 - So we tested the product early on
14:04 with a ton of different people
14:06 and they let us know right away, like, this is not it.
14:08 This is not it.
14:09 So we went through three different iterations.
14:11 And once we got to the final ones
14:14 and the response we got, we knew we had something.
14:16 - Yeah, if an investor's looking at this right now, man,
14:18 and says, man, I might wanna go that route, right?
14:20 And they're just coming off of the elevator
14:21 and they're hearing this.
14:22 What do you tell them on that back going to elevate it down?
14:25 Give them that three second pitch
14:26 of why they should invest in Pure.
14:28 - I mean, we have the best tasting product.
14:31 We have the best partner you could possibly have
14:34 in a young company.
14:35 And what we stand for, no other company can do.
14:38 Our partner, Wallo, he likes to say, we control the culture.
14:44 And when you have culture behind you
14:46 with an amazing product, it's nothing you can't do.
14:49 So I would say that to an investor.
14:51 So there's gonna be other really good products
14:54 on the market, but the culture side,
14:56 the authenticity that we bring,
14:58 there's no other company that can do that.
14:59 - Yeah, I love what you said there, man.
15:00 Wallo's certainly a guy who's, you know,
15:02 you've seen come from nothing to something
15:05 and take culture and more.
15:06 And then with Gilly the Kid there, right?
15:08 Two Philadelphia guys, and we both from Philly.
15:10 But when you're looking at those type of partnerships,
15:13 when you're looking at those brand recognition,
15:15 what are you looking for?
15:16 What did you wanna see from these two guys
15:17 to know, hey, we can bring y'all into this
15:19 because we trust y'all gonna do the right thing?
15:20 - Yeah, I think it's the genuine energy they have.
15:24 - And genuine.
15:25 - Right, and I think their energy compliments each other.
15:28 And I think that's why they've done so well.
15:31 And when you come into the marketplace with a new product,
15:33 you wanna do something that's different.
15:35 I think the mode is to always, okay,
15:38 you get an athlete and you give him the bottle,
15:41 you tell him to stand there, drink it,
15:43 and then you take a picture, you post it.
15:44 It's like, nah, that's--
15:46 - You're not getting that with them.
15:47 - Yeah, no, and that's what we love.
15:50 And I think that's been a great part of our story.
15:52 It's attracted others to wanna be a part
15:55 of that kind of industry, something that's not so scripted.
15:58 Life is not scripted at all.
16:01 You try to control the narrative as much as you can,
16:03 but it doesn't work that way.
16:04 And I think that authenticity has shined through
16:08 with us as a company.
16:09 - Definitely wanna be a changing man,
16:11 because again, those two guys are taking up the internet.
16:13 I mean, with the podcast and getting these amazing guests.
16:16 But also a sponsorship deal with the Philadelphia 76ers,
16:18 that had to be something special, right?
16:20 Because here you are coming from Philly, right?
16:22 Again, a William Penn product, right?
16:24 Not West Philly, William Penn.
16:26 I'm so embarrassed, I forgot that.
16:28 William Penn, not West Philly, man.
16:29 But you come home and now you get something
16:32 that you're involved in, an entrepreneur now, right?
16:34 Your true calling, maybe, you know,
16:36 and now you got digital signage,
16:37 you got presence on the bench.
16:39 That must feel good to have that local support.
16:42 - It feels amazing, it feels amazing.
16:44 There has been so much turmoil in the city of Philadelphia,
16:47 when you talk about the youth, the young people,
16:49 and them not having big things
16:52 that they can see outside of themselves,
16:54 outside of sports and entertainment.
16:56 So to now be in the food and beverage industry,
16:59 it feels really good to be able to give our young folks
17:04 something else to aim for and see that it's attainable.
17:07 Like, man, I can do that, I can be in that sector.
17:11 This is not all it is for me.
17:12 So that feels amazing.
17:14 And then I think also just the Sixers organization
17:17 taking time to understand who we are and who our story is,
17:20 and back us and support us,
17:21 because this doesn't often happen so soon.
17:24 - Yeah, did you have to go through a number of meetings
17:26 to land that?
17:27 Like, how did you land it? - Yeah.
17:28 - If you're a young business, right,
17:30 something in the consumer packaged goods space,
17:33 and you're looking for that local team to support you,
17:35 what's the one tip that you can offer an entrepreneur
17:38 about how to sell their product
17:39 to a major franchise like that?
17:42 - So this was over the course of maybe five to six months.
17:46 It may seem like it happened quick
17:48 when folks saw it come to fruition,
17:51 but the one thing I would probably point out
17:54 is remain authentic.
17:57 You may feel swayed to walk into NASDAQ or different rooms
18:03 and you feel the need to be something
18:07 other than what you are,
18:08 but I think teams like the Sixers and other franchises,
18:12 they're looking for unique things
18:14 that they can continue to build their franchise with
18:17 as a partnership.
18:19 So understand that you have an inherent value
18:22 that's different from anyone,
18:25 and tap into that,
18:26 and understand how you can leverage
18:29 that authenticity of yourself.
18:33 - Yeah, now how are you guys making money, right?
18:35 I mean, is shelf space, is it there yet?
18:36 Are you in shelves?
18:37 Are you in stores?
18:38 What's that looking like?
18:39 - Yeah, we're continuing to grow.
18:41 I think the Northeast is our main focus,
18:44 and we're starting to pick up some steam there,
18:46 obviously Philly, Baltimore, DMV area.
18:50 We have some special projects that are coming up
18:52 that folks will see soon,
18:55 and other areas in the Northeast and the Northwest.
18:58 So we're excited there.
18:59 - Yeah, you gotta get in the wild, man.
19:01 - Oh, okay, absolutely.
19:02 - You gotta get in there.
19:03 - Absolutely.
19:04 Hopefully, by the time this airs, that's done,
19:07 but that's perfect you bringing that up.
19:09 - Man, my team turned us around really quick, man.
19:10 I don't know if it's gonna be that fast.
19:12 Hey, man, look ahead, got some macroeconomic stuff
19:14 to get you out of here.
19:15 Stav, thank you so much for the time again, man.
19:17 I'm assuming that you have made a million dollars, right?
19:20 If so, how did you spend it?
19:22 - Investing.
19:28 - Investing.
19:29 - Investing.
19:29 - In what?
19:31 - I've invested in real estate.
19:33 I started early 2009, 10-ish.
19:37 That was my first entry into understanding
19:40 how to be an entrepreneur.
19:42 Tech companies following Andre Goddala around
19:45 and understanding what he's doing.
19:47 I've invested in a few really good companies with Andre.
19:51 Being able to learn from him has been great.
19:54 - Yeah, any major investment that you're proud of,
19:56 that you're involved in, that you would say now?
19:58 - I can't say the name of the company,
20:01 but it's one that everyone knows that's pretty popular.
20:06 I'll ask Andre if we can mention it,
20:08 but it's a really good one.
20:09 - Talk to him about that after you get the investment.
20:12 That question's out.
20:13 Hey, listen, man, look back at college basketball, right?
20:15 Because you had a great career at University of Arizona,
20:18 and now NIL is in the scene, right?
20:20 Money's being made.
20:20 Older generations maybe not happy about that, some of them.
20:24 But what do you see in college basketball,
20:26 in college sports as a whole with NIL?
20:28 And what would you tell that player today
20:30 about how to experience and how to navigate that landscape?
20:33 - I would tell young players to obviously
20:37 take advantage of the opportunity,
20:39 because it's a new marketplace for athletes.
20:41 But I would say keep the main thing, the main thing,
20:44 which is being a college athlete
20:47 and growing into hopefully being a professional.
20:50 You may feel like you're a professional
20:52 because you're now getting paid,
20:53 but there's another level to this.
20:56 So I would say stay locked in on
21:00 perfecting your craft as a player.
21:03 And don't let the money side of it
21:05 that you're coming into so quickly
21:07 overtake what your true passion is,
21:10 and that's playing a sport and learning.
21:12 - You're in business now.
21:13 You're an entrepreneur, right?
21:14 Co-founder of a company.
21:15 I ask this question to everyone who comes up here this year,
21:17 'cause this is where we're at.
21:18 It's the US presidential race, and now.
21:21 What do you wanna see?
21:22 What do you wanna hear from the candidates
21:23 without choosing sides?
21:24 Again, business is very important to how that process goes.
21:27 - I think what I'm looking for
21:29 and what I'd like to hear from any candidate
21:31 is obviously a focus on black and brown,
21:34 black and brown entrepreneurs,
21:36 making sure there are continued opportunities
21:39 created for us and things that extend
21:42 during an actual term.
21:45 There are always conversations prior that happen,
21:49 but I would love to see more representation
21:53 that are part of our cabinets
21:56 with some of our more established folks
21:59 that understand the inner city, our communities,
22:02 and being able to see some of that work
22:06 really just continue on during a term.
22:12 - Absolutely.
22:13 Listen, go back to tell that young Mustafa Shakur, right?
22:15 The one with NBA dreams.
22:16 Go back and talk to that young Mustafa Shakur,
22:18 the one with NBA dreams in Philly.
22:20 What would you tell him now?
22:22 - I would tell him to be proud of himself.
22:25 I would tell the young version of me
22:27 to not be afraid, to take chances, to take risks.
22:32 Don't have anxiety about going into big rooms like this
22:37 and know that you're meant to be here.
22:39 - Yeah, absolutely.
22:40 Good to great time, man.
22:41 Jim Collins wrote a great business book, "Good to Great."
22:43 Did you read that book?
22:44 'Cause you're a good book guy, man.
22:45 You read a lot of books.
22:47 I be watching the Gram like, "He got another one.
22:49 "I lost track," all right?
22:50 And so I'm sure you read that book.
22:52 - Yeah, I love collecting books.
22:54 My dad passed away over a month ago,
22:55 but that was his thing.
22:57 On Sundays, thank you.
22:58 On Sundays, he would take me to a bookstore
23:01 or a library and just grab new books.
23:04 He was a ferocious reader,
23:05 somebody that could read a book in one day,
23:07 500-page books, like I'd never seen it,
23:09 and then be able to regurgitate it back to you
23:11 and tell you what it's about.
23:12 So I got that from him.
23:14 I didn't know at first, but definitely got it from him.
23:15 - Yeah, "Good to Great."
23:16 Did you read "Who Moved My Cheese?"
23:18 Spencer Johnson wrote that.
23:19 - I read that, too.
23:20 - Oh, phenomenal book, man.
23:21 - One of my favorite books that I always go back to
23:23 is called "Zero to One."
23:24 - "Zero to One."
23:25 - Yeah.
23:26 - Yeah, well, I'm glad.
23:26 Forrest BLK, our leadership platform,
23:28 they would love to hear that.
23:29 "Zero to One," make sure I really...
23:30 "Good to Great," right?
23:31 What is the difference between a good point guard
23:33 and a great one?
23:35 - A good point guard is able to be an extension
23:40 of the coach and run plays, run sets.
23:43 I think a great point guard, someone like a Chris Paul,
23:46 he's able to also do that,
23:48 but he's also able to divert when necessary
23:52 and then get back on the track of what the team's doing.
23:56 So you have to be able to improvise at any time
24:00 and run different plays, different sets,
24:02 and then also be able to bring everyone back in
24:05 and motivate everyone and be a leader.
24:08 So I think that's the fine line of a difference,
24:11 of being able to know when to divert
24:14 and then bring it all back together.
24:16 - Absolutely.
24:17 - Well, I'm so proud of you, Chakora, man.
24:17 I appreciate so much of the time.
24:19 My brother, thank you.
24:20 Congratulations, man, on getting this out.
24:23 I mean, listen, we talk about the process behind the scenes
24:25 and testing it.
24:26 It's hard to get it on the shelves, right?
24:27 And then it's also hard to convince an NBA team
24:30 to take a chance on you, man,
24:31 but you're out here doing it, so congratulations to that.
24:33 And I hope to have you back
24:34 when y'all are in that Series A, B phase.
24:36 Let me know, man.
24:37 - We look forward to it.
24:38 Can't wait to come back.
24:39 - Yeah, absolutely.
24:39 And by that point, Andre should be an investor, hopefully.
24:40 - We hope so.
24:42 - Yeah, absolutely.
24:43 I know Gillian Waller will still probably be there, though.
24:45 - They will definitely be there,
24:46 along with others that you'll see pop up, some big names.
24:50 We're looking forward to that.
24:51 - Might as well go get Beanie Sigel.
24:52 Just get all the balls in Philly, man.
24:53 Get everybody in Philly, man.
24:54 - Why not, why not?
24:55 - Why not, man?
24:56 Appreciate the time, man.
24:56 Thank you so much, Mustafa Chakora,
24:58 here at the NASDAQ Market Sightings.
25:00 I'm Jabari Young.
25:01 See you next time.
25:02 (whooshing)
25:04 (whooshing)
25:06 (whooshing)
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