Podcast Summary: Black Entrepreneur Experience

Episode: 502 — Ashley M. Fox, Founder of Empify & Former Wall Street Executive
Host: Dr. Frances Richards
Release Date: February 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features Ashley M. Fox, founder of the fintech startup Empify and a former Wall Street executive. Ashley shares her journey from managing the wealth of multimillionaires to empowering millions to build wealth, specifically focusing on financial literacy for underserved communities. Her candid conversation explores her path through adversity, entrepreneurship, mindset shifts, and her mission to close the wealth gap for Black communities and beyond.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Ashley’s Background & The Origin of Empify

• Introduction to Empify:
  Ashley explains that Empify merges "empower" and "modify," reflecting the company’s mission to revolutionize how both adults and children learn to build wealth.
  • "We are a fintech startup that is revolutionizing how adults and children learn how to build wealth." (01:11, Ashley)
• Wall Street Experience:
  Ashley describes starting her career at Howard University, then working at a Wall Street firm managing the assets of extremely wealthy individuals.
  • She gained insight into the "game" the 1% play with money, which fueled her desire to share that knowledge with the 99%.
  • "When you’re around millionaires and billionaires all day, it either will intimidate you or motivate you.” (03:45, Ashley)
• Purpose and Aha Moment:
  Realizing she felt "trapped" on Wall Street unless she was the owner, Ashley knew she was meant for more—empowering others, not just preserving wealth for the elite.
  • “I felt on top of the world…that’s when I realized I was different.” (03:18, Ashley)

Entrepreneurship & Personal Transformation

• Early Struggles:
  • After leaving Wall Street, Ashley struggled financially, moving back in with her parents after being evicted.
  • Despite these challenges, her feature on Jim Cramer’s The Street was a turning point (“I had no website, no money. I had no idea what I was doing…” (05:52, Ashley)).
• Finding Her Voice:
  • Subsequent media appearances inspired confidence.
  • A mentor challenged her—"It’s selfish of me to hide who I am from the world, knowing what I know.” (06:36, Ashley)
• Superpower & Zone of Genius:
  • Ashley identifies her “inner power to pull out greatness in people,” especially those with fear and doubt.
  • “I just so happen to teach finance.” (07:41, Ashley)

Advice for Uncertain Times

• Mindset and Self-Reliance:
  • “You are undefeated at life.” (08:22, Ashley)
  • Emphasizes the importance of self-love and mindset over relying on systems or external validation.
  • “Wealth doesn’t have a color. Therefore, it looks like you. It looks like me.” (08:40, Ashley)
  • “You are the only person with the pen, nobody can take it from you.” (09:23, Ashley)

Personal Influences & The Power of Legacy

• Father’s Influence:
  • Ashley’s late father modeled work ethic, organization, and generational wealth—even though he worked in law enforcement, not finance.
  • “He was a generational wealth creator. And he passed it down—making me a generational wealth receiver.” (10:39, Ashley)
  • Realized Empify’s roots weren’t just Wall Street, but family and a deeper legacy.
• Therapy & Self-Development:
  • Wishes she’d started therapy sooner; huge advocate for mental wellness as foundational for success.
  • “I would have started therapy as a young child, maybe even ten years old.” (12:54, Ashley)
• Mental Health & Entrepreneurship:
  • “There is no way you can run a business, make money, lead a team...without mental support. Nobody is self-made, everybody needs help.” (14:09, Ashley)
  • She maintains support systems: therapy, coaches, spiritual advisors, and self-awareness practices.

Leadership, Risk, and Growth

• Hardest Moment:
  • During a transitional period in 2021, Ashley struggled with her identity as CEO and the pressure to be more than just a founder.
  • Solo trip to Paris provided space to shed her old self and embrace a new identity.
  • "Your business grows at the direct correlation that you grow, so does your money." (20:36, Ashley)
• Client Impact Stories:
  • Taught children from disadvantaged backgrounds to buy stock; highlighted a woman in her 70s who became “smarter than the financial advisors she was paying.” (24:25, Ashley)
  • “It’s not that Empify made me a bunch of money, but Empify helped me become who I am today.” (25:26, Ashley)

Vision & Philosophy on Wealth-Building

• Eradicating the Wealth Gap:
  • Sees the gap largely as mindset—shifting from lack to abundance.
  • Importance of understanding our own "buying power" and how even as consumers, we are part of the wealth matrix.
  • “There is a belief system that they [wealthy people] deserve to be wealthy… But there is no wealthy person without your buying power.” (17:34, Ashley)
  • Encourages not just building businesses, but also investing in ideas—others’ or your own.

Brand Admiration & Personal Habits

• Brands Admired:
  • Deep respect for business owners with 25+ employees, seeing the “mental fortitude” required.
  • Admires Big Apple and Amazon for their visionary scale.
  • Shares pride in owning stock as a customer—“It gives me hope to know that I can build my $1 billion business.” (26:48, Ashley)
• Success Habits:
  • “Every single day, I come first…Every single day, I am my biggest cheerleader.” (28:26, Ashley)
  • Daily and weekly self-care and emotional check-ins are non-negotiable.

Gratitude & Achievements

• Thank Fest:
  • Gives thanks to family, team, coaches, Wall Street, “my 2008 Hyundai Elantra,” difficult relationships, and challenges—everything that shaped her journey. (29:14, Ashley)
• Biggest Achievement:
  • Empify’s ranking #652 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list.
  • “It gave me hope that the ability for me to constantly keep going...was possible. Because that award wasn’t an Ashley Fox thing. It was an Empify thing.” (30:14, Ashley)

Personal Joy & Aspirations

• Joys:
  • Paris (the city), tennis, her 7-year-old niece Journey, and “playing tennis and traveling to Grand Slam tournaments.” (33:57, Ashley)
• Not Yet Achieved:
  • Dreams of attending every Grand Slam tennis tournament globally.
• Current Struggle & Solution:
  • Balancing personal growth, business leadership, and life.
  • Solution: Reading, coaching, restructuring, “actively looking for answers.” (36:30, Ashley)
• Book Recommendations:
  • Secrets of a Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Ecker (finance/mindset)
  • Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav ("that was one of those books that when I read it, I could never look back or think about life in my mere existence the same." (37:32, Ashley))

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Mindset:

  • “You are undefeated at life. Up until this point, there has been no trial or tribulation that you have not won.” (08:21, Ashley)
  • “You are the only person with the pen and nobody can take it from you.” (09:23, Ashley)

• On Generational Wealth:

  • “He was a generational wealth creator. And he passed it down…making me a generational wealth receiver.” (10:39, Ashley)

• On Business Growth:

  • “Your business grows at the direct correlation that you grow, so does your money.” (20:36, Ashley)

• On Impact:

  • “Empify has helped me become the person that I am today. Empify is the reason there is hope.” (25:26, Ashley)

Important Timestamps

• Ashley’s Background and Empify Origin: [01:08-02:22]
• Aha Moment on Wall Street: [02:28-05:30]
• Struggles After Leaving Wall Street: [05:37-07:36]
• Zone of Genius/Advice for Uncertain Times: [07:38-10:11]
• Personal Influence – Her Father: [10:21-12:24]
• Advice on Therapy and Mental Health: [12:28-16:02]
• On the Wealth Gap & Mindset: [17:20-20:12]
• Paris & Transformation Story: [20:27-24:07]
• Client Impact Story: [24:25-25:56]
• Brands Admired: [26:05-27:58]
• Personal Habits: [28:10-28:59]
• Gratitude: [29:14-30:04]
• Biggest Achievement – Inc 5000: [30:14-32:25]
• Current Joys / Dreams: [33:57-35:25]
• Book Recommendations: [37:32-38:13]
• Rapid Round of Fun (Quick Q&A): [38:29-39:31]
• Contact Info & Ways to Support: [39:43-40:04]

How to Support Ashley & Empify

• Visit: empify.com

• Follow Ashley:

  • Instagram: @_ashleymfox
  • TikTok: theashleymfox
  • LinkedIn & YouTube: Ashley M. Fox

• Spread the Word:

  • Share Empify’s mission, resources, and app with your community.
  • Normalize wealth-building and financial education conversations at home and in your networks.

Summary prepared for listeners who seek actionable inspiration and insights into financial empowerment, self-discovery, and scaling impact—rooted in bold, transparent entrepreneurship.