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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...
Mike Tyson has filed a lawsuit against his former cannabis business partners. Tyson owns a venture-backed cannabis brand called Tyson 2.0, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. Tyson also acquired Ric Flair Drip, Inc. in 2022 to commercialize pro wrestler Ric Flair’s intellectual property, leading to the launch of cannabis products featuring Flair’s likeness. Front Office Sports reports Carma HoldCo Inc. and LGNDS partnered to distribute products from Tyson 2.0 and Ric Flair Drip. Tyson also assumed the role of Carma’s chief executive officer in April, according to a press release. “Carma HoldCo was built on the belief that powerful stories and even more powerful products can change how people connect with wellness, entertainment, and culture,” said Tyson in the release. “This isn’t just a title — it’s a responsibility I take seriously. I’ve wanted to be more involved for a long time, and now is the right time to take that step. I’m fully committed to making sure everything we create...
Emma Grede always wants to operate from a place of authenticity and intention. During a panel held on Saturday, Dec. 6, for Saint & Citizen’s Saint Week at the Rubell Museum in Miami, FL, which brings together artists, designers, musicians, and thinkers who are innovating within the fashion industry today and for its future, she reflected on her identity and its role in shaping who she is today. Grede comes from Trinidadian and Jamaican roots and was raised by her Jamaican stepdad’s family. “So much of my identity was forged by the stories and the things that I’ve heard. And then of course, as a human being, you evolve. You evolve into a new identity. And I’d be lying if I said that so much a part of who I am today has come from me really spotting who I wanted to be, and being at conflict with that at times. When you grow up in a place like I did, you don’t always want to be that,” she shared on the panel. “I think that I had a really big vision and idea of what I wanted to be in...
Kimora Lee Simmons’ business empire is not to be played with. Modeling Simmons today wears many hats in the industry, but one of her earliest was as a supermodel. She began modeling at 13 when she signed with the house of Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld, according to WWD. Chanel was her first casting, and she moved to Paris at the time. However, she had to make the move alone because her mother wasn’t able to go with her, She was working for the government in social security at the time. “I was homesick. I was running up $5,000 a month phone bills,” Lee recalled on “The Skinny Confidential” podcast. Simmons remained under contract with Chanel. She acknowledges that times were hard, but she wasn’t happy with her life in St. Louis. She ultimately chose a lifestyle of being surrounded by supermodels at 31 Rue Cambon, Chanel’s headquarters. She has also walked the runway for Armani, Fendi, Valentino, Tracy Reese, Isaac Mizrahi, and Marc Jacobs, WWD reports. Simmons did want a game plan to...
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...
Shiloh Luckey is under federal investigation for allegedly mismanaging millions of dollars in venture capital funds. Luckey, who formerly went by Shiloh Johnson, is the founder and CEO of ComplYant, a Los Angeles-based tax management platform for small business owners. She claims she launched the company after observing the pain points that small businesses can experience while she was working as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). “I saw firsthand how small business owners struggle with managing their tax deadlines. Running a small business is hard enough already, and on top of everything entrepreneurs have to manage, late fees and fines are the last things they need,” Luckey said in a news release. “ Tax compliance is fragmented and complex, so it’s no wonder small business owners find it difficult to navigate. It’s time we make it much easier to do the hard stuff better.” The statement was shared in a news release announcing a $5.5 million seed round that closed in 2022, led by...
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...
Rayna Reid Rayford is aware that her maternal health experience was far from an anomaly. Rayford, a lawyer and strategic communicator, had a challenging start to parenthood. Early on, when she met her now husband, they had conversations about children and agreed they wanted just one. When they embarked on that journey, it was hard for Rayford to conceive, and she experienced two consecutive miscarriages within a couple of months. The second miscarriage was so painful that she went to the emergency room. “We started to meet with fertility doctors and I started to think, ‘Is something wrong with me?’ You really start to internalize a lot. And then it was at that juncture that we actually found out we were pregnant for the third time in the calendar year,” Rayford told AFROTECH™. This was in December 2023. She is grateful to have “survived” pregnancy. She worked with a doula after the first trimester because it was important to her to have a comprehensive 360-degree support system,...
Michael Johnson’s track and field league, Grand Slam Track, has filed for bankruptcy, according to AP News. Grand Slam Track Promises As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Johnson’s love for the sport, which is reflected in his records in the 200- and 400-meter races, also led him into ownership. He secured “the single largest investment in track and field history,” per Sportico, to launch Grand Slam Track in 2024. Johnson intended to ensure athletes could commercialize their rights and promised never-before-seen payouts of $100,000 for the top winners of four meets. A total of $3 million in funding was allocated as prize money for each meet. What Went Wrong In the end, Johnson was unable to keep his word. The league reportedly fell short in compensating athletes and vendors. “Due to our strong desire to make this right as quickly as possible, we offered dated payment timelines and have been unable to meet them,” Johnson confessed in an August 2025 Instagram post. View this post on...
Bun B always saw the full potential of what has become a beloved burger spot in Houston. The UGK rapper is co-founder of Trill Burgers, which offers smash burgers, lemonade, and fries, and on Tuesdays, smash tacos. Andy Nguyen (creative director) and Nick Scurfield (chief marketing officer), as well as chefs Mike Pham (chief operating officer) and Fernando Valladares (executive chef) are also co-founders in the business. Trill Burgers’ first storefront opened in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston in 2023 and had already secured the accolade of making the best burger in America by “Good Morning America” a year earlier, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. The business has been a fixture at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo since 2023 and also earned its Gold Buckle Foodie Award for Best Classic Fair Food. Additionally, Trill Burgers is a vendor at Texas Dow Employees Credit Union Stadium for University of Houston football games, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. “I’ve...
Deidre Mathis caught the travel bug, and it led her to become an entrepreneur in the hospitality industry. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in graphic communication and broadcast journalism at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University , she studied abroad in the Dominican Republic during her sophomore year, she told AFROTECH™. After graduation, she wasn’t fulfilled in her profession, which prompted her to return to school to earn a master’s degree in corporate communications. Then she moved to Australia, staying in a range of hostels and boutique hotels. “I was living there, and I was just traveling around by myself, and I was staying in a bunch of hostels and a bunch of boutique hotels because those were places that were easy for me to meet people because I was by myself,” she told AFROTECH™. “I always tell people I had my ‘Oprah aha moment’ one day when I was staying in this beautiful hotel, and it was this small, cute hotel. It had 12 rooms, and I said, ‘You know what? I...
Isaiah Chavous isn’t anti-AI, but he is on a mission to protect what makes art human. Chavous’s stance is reflected in his footprint as a founder, which marries his passion for music. His mother, a single parent, introduced him to soulful music as a child, but he would take it to new heights by becoming a musician, something uncommon in his family. At age 13, he was making and recording his own music. He described himself as becoming a “bit of a geek” in the band from sixth grade through high school, when he solidified his passion for music, leading him to create a brand called Wifi Kids. “I used it as a vessel to be creative, not only to make music and put out music, but to host events and make merchandise and get into fashion,” Chavous told AFROTECH™. He continued, “It also correlated to my first introduction to technical products — building websites, designing things, becoming efficient in Adobe Photoshop and Premiere. And I remember having a cracked version of all of the...
Beyoncé has another blooming partnership under her belt. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Houston-born singer inked a partnership with Levi’s following the release of her single featuring Post Malone titled “Levii’s Jeans.” The partnership has led to $65 million in media value for the company and a 12% increase in its women’s denim business. “What I can tell you is our partnership has exceeded expectations, both in terms of what it has done to be part of the equation to drive our top-line sales, you know, year to date — our sales are up in the high single digits. And our profit margins are expanding,” Levi Strauss CEO Michelle Gass shared with CBS News. What’s more, Beyoncé has also been making waves with her partnership with Ulta Beauty, which carries her award-winning, science-backed haircare brand Cécred. This brought the self-funded venture to customers across 1,400 Ulta Beauty locations beginning in April 2025, according to a press release. “Launching Cécred exclusively at...
Avante Price and Eli Taylor-Lemire are finding great success with their live events platform, POSH. The pair were students at New York University (NYU) and met while working at events. Price was a DJ, and Taylor-Lemire was a photographer. During an interview with Forbes, Price shared that the pair initially worked with other event brands geared towards college students, who he claims were missing the mark. POSH The founders believed they could create a solution that would provide a better overall event experience for students and organizers, which led to the formation of the live events platform POSH. Though the platform was initially built in 2019 as a software product to benefit the pair directly, it launched to the public in 2023 along with a mobile app. “POSH at the onset was just an IRL events company for NYU and Columbia kids to have a posh upscale experience,” Price told Forbes. “We got a lot of different experience with Eventbrite or these other products that existed at the...
