Successful Black Entrepreneurs

Acknowledgments

ONE OF THE most enjoyable experiences that I had as a professor at Harvard Business School (HBS) was my relationship with Professor Henry McGee. I referred to him as my good brother from the G.I. (Gary, Indiana)! Our strong bond emanated from the fact that we were both African American faculty members who were former businessmen and loyal alums. We were also committed to making our alma mater the best business school in the country for Black students.

As the volunteer faculty sponsors of the African American Student Union (AASU), at the beginning of every school year, Henry and I gave welcoming speeches at the first AASU meeting. The objectives of our speeches were to inform students that they belonged at HBS, they could excel, and there were Black faculty members who cared about their happiness and success.

It was this same spirit of caring by Henry that led to the publication of this book. After I wrote several case studies for my new course “Black Business Leaders and Entrepreneurship,” he repeatedly encouraged me to write a book on the topic, comprised primarily of my case studies. Additionally, he gave me the names of other HBS professors who had successfully done the same. It is for these reasons that I give a heartfelt statement of acknowledgment and gratitude to Professor Henry McGee.

I would also like to recognize and thank the following people from HBS, including Professor Paul Gompers, who shared his experiences with me about publishing his book made ...