Brand Building: Discusses how the Morehouse Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center works to scale Black- and Brown-owned businesses.

In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, host Rashawn McDonald interviews Dr. Tiffany Bussey, Director of the Morehouse Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (MIEC), about how the center is actively working to scale Black- and Brown-owned businesses through a strategic three-pronged approach: capital, connections, and contracts. Dr. Bussey emphasizes that while access to funding is critical, equally important are opportunities to secure contracts and build relationships with large corporations—what she calls 'opportunity partners.' The MIEC partners with major firms and organizations like JPMorgan Chase and Goodwill Industries to create a pipeline for minority-owned businesses to access new revenue, jobs, and workforce training. A key focus is on emerging sectors like sustainability, electric vehicles, green building, and renewable energy—industries projected to reach hundreds of billions in value. The program offers free, high-impact training for both entrepreneurs and job seekers, with Goodwill providing paid retraining and stipends. Dr. Bussey also addresses cultural barriers to entrepreneurship, such as fear of failure and the weight of historical mistrust, urging communities to embrace calculated risk and redefine success beyond traditional models. The episode concludes with a powerful call to action: seize opportunity, build relationships, and step through the door that’s already open.