Rod Johnson - BLK & Bold

Rod Johson is Co-Founder of BLK & Bold, the preeminent black-owned coffee company in America. Black & Bold was founded with the desire to unite coffee and tea lovers worldwide through a common interest of investing in community. Rod grew up in the working-class city of Gary Indiana and eventually went on to Indiana University and a career in development and giving. But he soon developed a restlessness that only business ownership could fix. Along with lifelong friend Pernell, Rod set out to find their entrepreneurial calling, one that could match purpose with profit. And so BLK & Bold was born in 2018. Since then, Rod and Pernell have grown BLK & Bold into a national brand carried by the likes of Target and Whole Foods. They have a rare licensing deal with the NBA and have been celebrated by Dwanye Wade on the Ellen show. All this, completely bootstrapped from their headquarters in Des Moines Iowa. Rod has a great story. You’ll want to listen in. In this episode Rod and Dan discussed: Growing up in Gary and the Midwest How a basketball hoop brought Rod and his Co-Founder together Why starting a business built on giving back is so important How the fire department was a part their early product development Tradeoffs when doing a start up with a 'day job' OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS EPISODE: AfriBlocks The global pan-African freelance marketplace and collaboration platform. Tell them "Dan sent you" for 10% off your first order. More at afriblocks.com MORE on ROD and BLK & BOLD Rod: linkedin.com/in/johnsonrod2342/ BLK & Bold: blkandbold.com instagram.com/blkandbold linkedin.com/company/blkandbold twitter.com/BlkandBold Follow Founders Unfound: Like and share - help us grow! PODCAST TRANSCRIPT #blackfounders #founderstories #foundersafricandescent #blackowned #coffee