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The founders of whiskey brand Uncle Nearest have filed an emergency motion challenging the ongoing receivership of the company. The motion, filed Tuesday, Jan. 20, by Grant Sidney Inc. and married couple Fawn and Keith Weaver with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, requests an expedited evidentiary hearing over several days to determine if the receivership is still needed, according to the Moore County Observer. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Uncle Nearest was placed under receivership in August 2025 after reportedly defaulting on more than $108 million in loans from Farm Credit Mid-America. The Weavers have attributed the default to former Chief Financial Officer Mike Senzaki, who allegedly inflated barrel inventory, leading to a $24 million credit increase, per the outlet. U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. appointed Tennessee attorney Phillip G. Young Jr. as receiver of the company. Young currently manages the Shelbyville, TN, distillery, as...
Derrick Rose has launched a new business in his hometown alongside his family. The Chicago native was the NBA “Rookie of the Year” when he splashed on the scene in 2008, and was later named the league’s MVP for the 2010-11 season, according to a press release. In 2024, Rose retired from the NBA. Now, he will be honored by the Chicago Bulls during a postgame ceremony to retire his jersey on Jan. 24, 2026. Reflecting on his career, he told ABC7 Chicago, “I feel like I practiced my butt off. I feel like, only if people knew how much I sacrificed before every game. I wasn’t just trying to be good. I wanted to be great. Once I got done, I felt that pressure off my shoulders of trying to be perfect.” Rose’s Flower Shop After finishing his NBA career with $166.1 million in earnings, per Spotrac, Rose has become the owner of Rose’s Flower Shop. The company’s website shares the journey started on Sept. 26, 2024, when Rose retired and sent roses to loved ones who were instrumental in the...
Atlanta Dream star Brittney Griner has launched a company that is inspired by her time in Russian custody. In February 2022, Griner was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport outside of Moscow, USA Today reports. She was preparing to play for the Russian club team UMMC Ekaterinburg, a team she had joined for several seasons during the offseason of the WNBA. It’s not uncommon for players to go overseas, as players can earn up to four times their base salary for the league, according to NBC News. Griner, who is an Olympian and had played for the Phoenix Mercury at the time, had 0.7 grams of medically prescribed cannabis oil that was found in vape cartridges. She was sentenced to 10 years for possessing it in Russia but was released in a prisoner exchange with the U.S. after pleading guilty and serving 293 days. She admitted she was “never going overseas to play again” in 2023 unless it was for Team USA in the Olympics. Zennjet Since then, Griner has addressed the pain points...
NFL player Ja’Marr Chase is stepping into ownership. Flerish Hydration Flerish Hydration is a beverage company launched in the fourth quarter of 2024 that provides watermelon-based products supporting performance and recovery. Beverages are packed with electrolytes, real ingredients, and vitamins E, B6, and B12, as well as L-Theanine, Zinc, and Magnesium, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. The company was co-founded by former Division I athlete Avery Johnson Jr. and Nick Nevins, son of Bruce Nevins, who launched Perrier Water in North America. Flerish Hydration can be purchased on Amazon and TikTok Shop, and has more recently expanded to Kroger. “What started as a vision to create a better hydration solution for Gen Z and Alpha has quickly turned into a movement,” Johnson said in a post shared on LinkedIn. “ When Nicholas N. and I founded Flerish, we wanted to create a hydration product that not only delivered on functionality but also offered incredible taste. We began with familiar...
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson plans to make Shreveport, LA, the flagship city for his film and television production company, G-Unit Film & Television. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, in 2024, the company secured a 30-year lease in the former Millennium Studios, which was subsequently renamed the G-Unit Studio. Now, G-Unit Film & Television plans to invest more than $124 million in three entertainment venues in Northwest Louisiana, KSLA News 12 reports. This will include renovating the former Stageworks facility, upgrading Millennium Studios, and constructing G-Dome in downtown Shreveport. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) will work alongside G-Unit to support the project through $50 million in performance-based funding, which can be applied to infrastructure revitalization and improvements across the multi-phase project, notes the outlet. The Shreveport Film & Entertainment Economic Development Corporation will manage LED for accountability. “This project is the realization of the...
Black woman-led skincare brand Topicals has closed another round of funding, per an exclusive report from The Business of Fashion. Topicals Founded in 2020 by Olamide Ayomikun Olowe, Topicals was born out of her search for a solution for those with hyperpigmentation, eczema, and dark spots. CNBC reports Olowe also struggled with hyperpigmentation and Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB). Per its website, the Topicals product lineup features its faded under eye masks, serum, brightening cleansing bar, and more. She teamed up with Claudia Teng, who previously worked as a dermatology clinical research assistant, to launch the science-backed brand, with both women ultimately ditching their plans to attend medical school. Topicals later secured $14.8 million in funding before Olowe was 26 years old — as AFROTECH™ previously reported — making history as the youngest Black woman to raise $10 million in funding in 2022. Funding Now, WNBA player Angel Reese, which Forbes lists as one of the...
Following a successful social media campaign, CurlMix is now on track to become self-sustaining once more. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the clean, natural haircare line was founded by Kim and Tim Lewis, who first appeared on “Shark Tank” with their idea in 2019 but went on to raise funds on their own. Kim announced on Nov. 1, 2025, that the company was on the brink of closing if they did not receive 20,000 orders within 60 days. It wouldn’t be the first time the brand has sought community support. They previously raised $3.6 million in a 2021 crowdfunding campaign, and three years later, an additional $5.7 million was raised in a separate campaign. In a follow-up post on the business’s health, Kim admitted the funding campaign was not enough to keep the company in operation. She described 2025 as “the most difficult year in business” in a post shared on Instagram, citing challenges such as taxes, increased tariffs, and ingredient costs, as well as shipping delays. A decrease in...
Uncle Nearest’s founders have filed a civil lawsuit against the company’s former chief financial officer, according to The Lynchburg Times. The whiskey brand has been under a receivership as a result of a July 2025 lawsuit filed by Uncle Nearest’s lender, Farm Credit Mid-America, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. The lender claims the company had defaulted on loans of more than $108 million. U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. appointed Tennessee attorney Phillip G. Young Jr. as receiver, so Young now manages assets such as Uncle Nearest’s distillery in Shelbyville, TN, and “real estate holdings, intellectual property, affiliated ventures, and related entities,” according to Moore County Observer. Uncle Nearest, which was the fastest-growing in America, according to Forbes’ 2024 estimates, was launched in 2017 by Fawn Weaver and her husband, Keith, and upholds the legacy of Nathan “Nearest” Green, a formerly enslaved man credited with teaching Jack Daniel how to make whiskey....
Actor Mike Colter, known for portraying Luke Cage in Marvel shows like “Luke Cage” and “Jessica Jones,” has launched a haircare venture inspired by his children. While traveling in Europe with his wife, Iva, they were scouring the area for products for their daughters who have mixed-textured hair. After running into the issue time and again with no luck, one of their daughters suggested they create their own products. For Colter, the idea didn’t feel far-fetched, especially considering the expertise of his wife, whom he describes as having “business acumen” in a conversation with Forbes’ senior writer Jabari Young. Iva previously served as Netflix’s vice president of talent acquisition and is now chief people officer for the Wonder Project, according to information on her LinkedIn. “She thought, ‘Let’s try it. Let’s see first can we engineer and find the right products that we can actually stand behind that are sustainable, that are paraben-free, that are vegan , that don’t have any...
After more than a decade as an entrepreneur, resilience defines Pinky Cole Hayes’ testimony. In 2014, she launched a restaurant in Harlem, NY, called Pinky’s Jamaican and American Restaurant at a time when she didn’t know “the first thing about business,” she admitted on “Sway’s Universe.” The venture attracted lines of customers down the block. However, a grease fire caused her to lose her entire restaurant. Slutty Vegan But, it didn’t diminish her spirit. Her next foray was Slutty Vegan, a plant-based fast-food chain founded in 2018 that currently has about six locations, including in her hometown of Baltimore. In 2022, the company was valued at nearly $100 million following a $25 million Series A funding round. The venture led to locations on the campuses of Georgia Institute of Technology and Spelman College, as well as in Texas — all of which have since closed. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Cole Hayes was tested to the limit by several challenges, including accruing $20...
The founders of Black Paper Party are in a state of gratitude for surviving 2025. Founders Madia Willis, J’Aaron (Jae) Merchant, and Jasmine Hudson launched Black Paper Party in 2020 out of Arkansas as a holiday brand that designs, licenses, and manufactures inclusive products for Black families. By 2024, the brand hit $1.4 million in revenue, according to Inc, and had been shelved in retailers such as Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Dollar General, and Family Dollar. Regarding support from customers, Merchant told AFROTECH™, “They’ve stuck with us, tried and true, made us a part of their holiday traditions. Even with everything that’s going on, they’re still looking to us for their little pockets of joy. So we couldn’t be more grateful.” 2025 Challenges This September marked five years for Black Paper Party. As the business expanded, the founder trio had to consider factors such as rising tariffs. Fortunately, they had infrastructure in place, which lowered the tariff burden, said Willis,...
Uncle Nearest’s founders are requesting the receivership to be terminated, according to The Lynchburg Times. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Uncle Nearest — a whiskey brand that reportedly surpassed a $1 billion valuation — was placed under receivership in August 2025 following claims by its lender, Farm Credit Mid-America, that the company defaulted on more than $108 million in loans . The Weavers allege that Uncle Nearest’s former chief financial officer, Mike Senzaki, exaggerated barrel inventory, which led to a $24 million credit increase from Farm Credit, per AFROTECH™. U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. appointed Tennessee attorney Phillip G. Young Jr. as receiver. Young now oversees Uncle Nearest’s Shelbyville, TN, distillery and its “real estate holdings, intellectual property, affiliated ventures, and related entities,” according to the Moore County Observer. On Nov. 24, the Weavers filed an emergency motion to prevent the receiver from taking any further actions...
Beauty trend setter Pat McGrath is exploring an asset sale of her beauty company. Pat McGrath Labs was founded in 2015 and launched its first product, Gold 001, a gold-pigmented mixing liquid used on eyes, lips, limbs, or lashes. It “sold out in record-breaking time” following its launch on social media, according to the brand’s website. One thousand units sold on the site in six minutes, Modaes reported. The brand is sold at retailers including Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, Bluemercury, Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods, Revolve, and Selfridges, notes the brand’s website. At Selfridges, it became the retailer’s best-selling beauty brand after launching in stores in April 2019. McGrath’s makeup looks have also appeared on runways for Dior, Prada, Gucci, and Balenciaga, per Pat McGrath Labs. McGrath has served as British Vogue’s beauty editor-at-large since 2017, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. In 2018, Pat McGrath Labs reached a $1 billion valuation, supported by a $60 million investment from...
Tyra Banks is reportedly being sued for her ice cream venture. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the supermodel and her mother always shared a love for ice cream, which inspired Banks to open an ice cream truck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that also shipped pre-packaged pints to the U.S. SMiZE & DREAM From there, Banks expanded the business. In June, Banks opened up an ice cream shop called SMiZE & DREAM in Sydney, Australia, which was a sweet surprise for her mother, Carolyn London. “The woman who gave me everything, even when she had nothing left to give. And here we are, in front of the wildest dream I’ve ever built: An ice cream paradise come to life. Her strength. Our long journey. One massive dream, scooped into reality,” Banks wrote on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tyra Banks (@tyrabanks) A month later, it was announced that Banks was bringing SMiZe & DREAM to Washington, D.C. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the ice cream shop was set to carry...
Darrell Spencer is shattering various glass ceilings. The Chicago native credits his hustling nature to his parents. His mother works as a postmaster for the United States Postal Service. His father worked for the Chicago Police Department and rose through the ranks to become a commander before retiring. His father also has a real estate portfolio, which was an additional stream of revenue for the family and was an early sign for Spencer that there are other financial paths to follow outside the confines of corporate America. Working In Big Tech After completing a bachelor’s in economics at Connecticut College on a full-tuition national scholarship, Spencer got a job in finance but later pivoted into big tech. He has worked at Facebook, Google, Pinterest, and LinkedIn within their customer sales department in advertising, he told AFROTECH™. Still, he felt called to entrepreneurship. “I helped them generate millions of dollars in revenue through a strategy across each different...