In the United States today, the top 10% of the population holds 76% of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 50% holds just 1%. A major reason for that disparity is the transfer of wealth from generation to generation. Creating generational wealth is a focal point in lessening the racial wealth gap and increasing the concentration of wealth in the United States.
Join Venture Connectors on Wednesday, April 6, to hear from Dave Christopher Sr., executive director of AMPED and founder of the Russell Technology Business Incubator (RTBI), who will share about his local efforts to bridge the wealth gap. RTBI the first and only business incubator focused on supporting Black and LatinX businesses in Louisville’s West End.
The Russell Neighborhood was once known as “Louisville’s Harlem” for its strong African American business presence, but the area took a major decline after World War II. Household poverty rates in the neighborhood are 3.5 times higher than the general Louisville population, and 60% of the households live below the poverty threshold. The mission RTBI is to create a space for economic growth, mobility, entrepreneurship and independence.
RTBI is designed as a state-of-the-art, Black business incubator and technology service center offering business development training, business services, assessments, referrals and wraparound services to incubating businesses. RTBI provides the support small businesses need to launch in West Louisville communities. By providing these services, small businesses and entrepreneurs can maximize their potential for success, lift themselves and their families out of poverty, change the trajectory of their lives for the better and create generational wealth — the ability to pass assets from one generation to another including family businesses.
Dave founded AMPED in 2014, which uses music and technology as a catalyst to empower youth and their families to work as a team, learn how to express themselves effectively, and develop into healthy, productive members of the community. Programs include career readiness/business development, workshops, mentoring and family support.
Dave is also founder of of Tekni Solutions and Level Seven Recording Studios. A graduate of the University of Louisville, he holds two nonprofit leadership certifications from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Politics and another from Spalding University. A military veteran, Dave served in the U.S. Air Force from 1981 to 1992.
His many awards and recognitions include: KET American Graduate Hero, Kentucky Blacks in Media, Metro United Way Black Male Achievement Innovation, Mary Sullivan Community Service Award, Black Male Excellence Fellowship, Alden Fellowship, Humana Foundation Fellowship, and Kosair Charities Leadership Development Institute.
Venture Connectors is pleased to return to the Muhammad Ali Center in 2022! Doors open at 11:45 a.m., with the program from noon to 1 p.m. and networking afterward. Members attend free, and guests are $40. For questions, email us at contact@ventureconnectors.org.