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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...
Veteran media executive Michele Ghee is stepping into a new leadership role. Ghee has worn various hats in the media industry and has managed more than $1 billion in revenue throughout her career, according to Deadline. Her resume includes roles at CNN (director of multicultural sales); BET (vice president of national ad sales and later senior vice president); Ebony & Jet (CEO); and TheGrio (president), per her LinkedIn. Most recently, she served as chief content officer at Essence Communications and is founder of the tech and content agency Expectant Media. Ghee has now officially left her post at Essence as Expectant Media has been acquired by PlayersTV, the first athlete-owned media network and content provider, per Deadline. PlayersTV is backed by more than 70 athlete investors, including Chris Paul, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Ghee will also assume the role of president of PlayersTV, effective immediately, Deadline reports. She had been serving on the PlayersTV board for...
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...
Caine Ardayfio is betting on superintelligence. The founder began coding in eighth grade after his father introduced him to it. This led him down a rabbit hole of creating various websites and apps, and even learning about ethical hacking. When he was a high school senior, he launched his first startup focused on mental health , inspired by his sister. He even raised $100,000 and hired a small team, he told AFROTECH™ in an interview . Mira Today, Ardayfio is focusing on his next move in technology. He has paused his education at Harvard University for Mira, a startup disrupting the wearable technology space with AI glasses that “just sit in on your conversations to help make you smarter throughout the day,” according to Ardayfio. The company was co-founded with AnhPhu Nguyen, whom Ardayfio met at Harvard’s makerspace. Together, they built projects including flamethrowers, robotic tentacles, and smart glasses, which garnered 80 million views and helped build the foundation for Mira,...
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...
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...
An investor group has come forward with an offer to buy out Uncle Nearest’s $108 million in loans. Uncle Nearest is a whiskey brand founded by married couple Fawn and Keith Weaver. It launched with the support of Victoria Eady Butler — the great-great-granddaughter of Nearest Green — the company’s namesake, a press release notes. The brand surpassed a self-reported $1 billion valuation in 2024, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Receivership Explained Uncle Nearest was placed under a receivership in August 2025 following a lawsuit claiming it defaulted on $108 million in loans, according to The New York Times. Days later, the Weavers filed a separate lawsuit against former Chief Financial Officer Mike Senzaki, alleging various acts of financial misconduct, including inflating the whiskey barrel inventory, which led to a $24 million credit increase from lender Farm Credit Mid-America, per the Lynchburg Times. Uncle Nearest receiver Phillip G. Young Jr. now oversees assets including...
Uncle Nearest receiver Phillip G. Young Jr. wants to seal a report on the company’s quarterly performance, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the award-winning whiskey brand owned by married couple Fawn and Keith Weaver went under receivership in August 2025 as a result of claims from lender Farm Credit Mid-America that the venture had defaulted on more than $108 million in loans. The Weavers have pointed to Uncle Nearest’s former chief financial officer, Mike Senzaki, claiming he inflated the company’s whiskey barrel inventory, among other claims of mishandling funds, according to a another article from AFROTECH™. Young now oversees Uncle Nearest’s assets as its receiver, including a distillery in Shelbyville, TN, as well as real estate holdings, intellectual property, affiliated ventures, and related entities. In November 2025, Uncle Nearest was “moving toward a potential permanent disposition of the defendant’s assets,” per a separate...
Kevin Durant has a lot of love for Austin, TX. The NBA superstar previously played one year at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) in 2006. It was one of the best seasons of the program’s history, according to KXAN Austin. Durant was named Collegiate National Player of the Year, ranking fourth nationally in scoring and rebounding, and led the team to the second round of the NCAA tournament, per the Texas Longhorns. He went pro in 2007 and was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics. Throughout Durant’s climb in the league and in business, he has continued to pour into Austin. He donated $3 million to UT Austin in 2018, which went to Texas Basketball and the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation, and paved the way for the men’s basketball facilities to be renamed the Kevin Durant Basketball Facility for Men. The main entrance to Denton A. Cooley Pavilion was also named The Kevin Durant Texas Basketball Center. Speaking of the university he said, “This was kind of the...
During a CES 2026 panel titled “Getting to the First Million,” Lockie Andrews, angel investor and founder of Catalyst Consulting, offered advice for how to succeed as a startup. Be Intentional With Your Customers Andrews noted that through her various roles, she has interacted with 12 companies each month. She believes one of the biggest problems for startups as they strive to hit that first $100,000 mark is a sense of desperation for their first check, which may lead them to select customers who are less likely to stay committed to the product and offer feedback as the company grows. “They end up panicking and feeling like ‘Oh wow, I completely left the zone that I was supposed to be playing in, but I need to appease these customers because investors will be looking at that performance,'” she mentioned. “So, make sure you take your time with those customers, interview them to make sure they understand where you are, to hopefully push you through all the difficulties that you’ll...
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....
Shaquille O’Neal is making more money with his fast-food chicken chain than he did while in the NBA. NBA Career The center was drafted to the league in the first round as the first overall pick in 1992. He started out playing for the Orlando Magic and spent the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, leading to three consecutive national championship rings. In total, he won four, per StatMuse. He retired in 2011 with $286.3 million in career earnings, with $30 million earned annually at his peak, according to Entrepreneur. Business Moves After The League O’Neal’s earnings have only soared after his exit from the league through a slew of strategic decisions that have paid off, including serving as the second-largest shareholder of Authentic Brand Group; having his own investment portfolio, which includes Google; accumulating endorsement deals such as with The General and The Hershey Co.; and a business empire with an affordable shoe line that has sold more than 470...
Michael Jordan is co-owner of a Florida-based dining establishment that could soon expand. The Chicago Bulls legend and billionaire is listed as one of the founding members of 1000 NORTH, a Jupiter, FL-based waterfront private club and fine-dining restaurant that offers a panoramic view of landmarks Jupiter Inlet and Jupiter Lighthouse, Miami New Times reports. The venture is the brainchild of real estate developer Ira Fenton and Tucker Frederickson, a former athlete who played in the NFL. The location offers several separate dining experiences for guests including The Tavern, which offers modern American regional cuisine. The full-service dining room, 1000 North, also offers steaks and fresh seafood. “We wanted to give guests something they can’t find in our area – an experience many people travel to Miami or New York to get,” Fenton said on the company’s website. “We’re bringing that to Jupiter, and topping it off with a beautiful waterfront view of the Jupiter Lighthouse. Those...
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...