Initial Public Offering

At the bottom of education, at the bottom of politics, even at the bottom of religion, there must be for our race economic independence. — Booker T. Washington

We’ve come to the end of this journey. Trying to sum up this trip has made starting this piece difficult. I will do my best to avoid any cliches, empty platitudes, sappy descriptions or bad metaphors. I couldn’t do that to my experience here.

This is also the final installment of Cook on Monday Morning. I had an urge to write and share stories. You made this experiment a success. You shared the impact these stories had on you. You encouraged me to keep going and told me to start writing books. You purchased some of the books I recommended and shared how those works improved your career, relationships, finances or spirituality.

I started a small consulting practice focused on building winning partnerships between government, business and the communities I’ve given my life to serving. I will be focused on helping nonprofits and small businesses grow their brands, solve difficult challenges and communicate their value to the people that need it most.

The past four years, I’ve learned a lot about the cost of running a successful business, building teams, keeping good records and maintaining cash reserves. I will be using what I’ve learned to start making equity investments in a small portfolio of businesses. To start, the primary focus of those investments will be in real estate and education technology companies.

If you’d like to talk more about anything I’ve mentioned my door is open.

What does any of this have to do with my time in Africa?

I have been visualizing what I want the next ten years to look like: starting a family, my future in politics, creating opportunity, building companies, achieving financial freedom, writing, traveling and legacy.

This trip gave me the time and space to think through those topics. It made me appreciate the gift of being from a place like San Francisco and grateful that the people of our community have given me such a unique experience to work and lead at such a young age.

I have taken care not to take these opportunities lightly, but there is still a lot I’ve left on the table in terms of executing on my current responsibilities. My energy has been renewed. I’m hungry.

Book Recommendations: Moby Dick, The 80/20 Principle

Film Recommendation: Do The Right Thing