Posted Under: Entrepreneurship, Our Heroes

Glenton Davis is our next guest under the “Our Heroes” series. Glenton earned a spot in Fortune Magazine’s “Faces of the Future” while he was working on Wall Street as an analyst for J.P. Morgan Global Asset and Wealth Management BUT Glenton decided to seek entrepreneurial opportunities and take a leap of faith while he’s still young and thus, Soul Pop U was born. Let’s dig deeper into Glenton’s success story…

DD: Who are you and what kind of corporate job were you at?

GD: My name is Glenton Davis, and I am 25 years old. Prior to establishing Soul Pop U, I worked on Wall Street as an analyst in Global Investment Strategy for the Chief Investment Officer of J.P. Morgan Global Asset & Wealth Management, responsible for over $600 billion in discretionary assets. My work at the firm even earned me a place in Fortune Magazine’s “Faces of the Future” in May 2008.

DD: What made you leave the job? When did you realize that you wanted to be an entrepreneur & why?

GD. After 2.5 years on Wall Street, I decided to leave for two reasons. First, I realized that I have been given so many opportunities so early in my life. Why not take them and leverage them into a venture about which I was wholly passionate? I am 25 years old. Now is my time to step out on faith, to take big risks to contribute, to give back, and to make my career and my life fully my own. Second, I also am a recording artist, and my single “Go Get on the Floor” broke through the Top 400 pop songs in Canada, lighting a fire beneath me to give all of these passions a go. I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, to run my own businesses, to grow them and watch them develop into brands, into ways of life that give back to the communities around them. My work up until now has all been a series of stepping stones towards this goal.

DD: What did you do to break the corporate jail? How did you prepare for the employee to entrepreneur transition?

GD: I made the decision to leave, firmly, around 6 months before I gave notice. I worked very hard at my job, worked very hard to live resourcefully in New York City (very tough!), to save my money to give me the biggest leg up with Soul Pop U. The venture is entirely self-funded, no loans and just now working with private donors, so having the capital in the bank was very important to me. I moved into an apartment where I could have a separate office from my living space, and signed a contract with myself to abide by an intense work schedule (often 18+ hours a day) in order to bring to fruition what has been burning in my mind.

DD: What are your suggestions for aspiring entrepreneurs?

GD: For aspiring entrepreneurs, I can offer the following advice. If you’re waiting until you’re ready, until you have enough money saved, until this, that, or the other – embrace the fear and step off the cliff. You will never be ready. Trust yourself to build wings on the way down.

Another lesson that I continue to learn – and one that I think is crucial to achieving success as an entrepreneur – is to define your vision, see that vision in front of you, and commit to turning your thoughts into something tangible. No matter what. There will undoubtedly be roadblocks along the way. Some will feel larger than life, as though they cannot be moved and you cannot find a way around them. With time, learn to be strong like steel, to keep your higher purpose for change, for action, burning bright in the forefront of your mind. It will not always be easy, and it will not always feel good. Trust that with committed persistence, you will manifest tomorrow for others what you see today.

DD: How are you doing and how do you feel now?

GD: I am doing great, and I feel strong and empowered. Since the start of our organization six months ago, we have implemented programs and worked with students across NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC – and recently began working with officials in France to bring our program to their schools. In total we have worked with over 2,000 students, empowering them to leverage their passions into careers and lives that are truly their own. Cleary Gottlieb represents the organization pro bono. We also were awarded fiscal sponsorship and partnership with The New York Foundation for the Arts – a truly impressive and humbling honor from the Gold Standard of arts advocacy foundations. We are working with schools and corporations now to increase our scale and impact in the community this Fall and beyond.

DD: That’s Glenton Davis, Founder of Soul Pop University who took a leap of faith and dove right into his own business.  His story showcases a great lesson for all spiring entrepreneurs out there and he put it in words very precisely – “If you’re waiting until you’re ready, until you have enough money saved, until this, that, or the other, then it’s not going to happen – embrace the fear and step off the cliff. You will never be ready. Trust yourself to build wings on the way down.”