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Black Entrepreneur Experience
BEE 532 He Left a 6-Figure Gov Job to Help Black-Owned Businesses Win" featuring Malcolm Ali of ProcureForce
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- [00:05]
Dr. Francis Ince
Welcome to the Black Entrepreneur Experience podcast. Inside the business buzz and brilliance of black entrepreneurs. Here is your host, Dr. Frances Arlene. What happens in Vegas goes all over the world on Black Entrepreneur experience, episode number 532. Thank you for joining us as we elevate the Black Entrepreneur experience by interviewing CEOs, thought leaders, innovative thinkers and black entrepreneurs across the globe. I'm your host, Dr. Francis Ince, formerly Richards, and I want to share with you today. Are you ready for steady revenue and clear steps, not theory into government contracts? You want to lean in and listen to Malcolm Ali, aka Mr. Purchase Order, founder of Procureforce. Welcome.
- [01:00]
Malcolm Ali
Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you having me.
- [01:03]
Dr. Francis Ince
I've given our audience such a brief bio. Why don't you fill in the gaps, Share with our audience what you'd like them to know about you and your business.
- [01:13]
Malcolm Ali
I've been in the industry for roughly about 20 years, working on the procurement side as a government procurement officer, procurement manager, logistics coordinator. So I was essentially the guy who would evaluate the solic, the proposals when they came in. And ultimately I was the guy that was responsible for awarding contracts. And in my career, I've awarded over half a billion dollars in contract dollars to businesses. Ultimately, over the course of that time, very, very small percentage of the businesses that I've awarded monies to look like you and I, I'd probably say less than 10%. And it wasn't a situation where I can reach out to the business and say, hey, you forgot to sign this form or you didn't include this. That would have been unethical with me being in the industry. So I made the decision to walk away from a six figure career and decide to help people that look like you and I to go after these government contracts and actually be able to win them. The thought is often I'm too small, I'm not good enough, I don't have enough experience. But that's farthest from the truth.
- [02:35]
Dr. Francis Ince
Let's step back a moment. When you talk about individuals that look just like you and I, and we're in a different climate right now and someone saying, I don't know, Mr. Purchase Order, should I jump in to government contracting now?
- [02:53]
Malcolm Ali
Yes. What we're seeing now is a little bit of sleight of hand misdirection. On the news, you're generally hearing federal, federal, federal, federal. And in that, we're ignoring state and local dollars. As an example, the state of Georgia, just last year in 2024, between the state and its seven largest cities, spent almost $100 billion. So federal isn't everything. The Trump administration or the administration, they control federal laws, and we have something in place called federalism that does not allow them to come in and make decisions on the state and local level. While they're canceling contracts and getting rid of programs and DEI initiatives on the federal side, they still exist on the state and local side, and they're crying for the taking. So don't be misdirected. You know, with what you're seeing on the news, it's plenty of money and opportunity still in the government contract space.
- [04:01]
Dr. Francis Ince
You've had many success stories, right? Share and only share what you can share. Share with us a success story most recently that you're proud of or that comes to mind.
- [04:15]
Malcolm Ali
I generally have a class of about 10 small businesses that I work with, and one of those businesses was on the brink of shutting down. The young lady was Ubering, actually to sustain her household. And she called me crying. Now, I'm a big guy, right? So she almost had me cry, but she called me crying, and I thought something was wrong. And, you know, I'm like, hey, what's going on? How can I help? And she said, well, you're the second person that I called after my family. I wanted to thank you. She said, just to let you know, I'm on somebody's ring camera right now. She was in the middle of a delivery when she got the email saying that she had been awarded a $2.6 million contract. Right. She was a student, and when we had initially talked about it, she wasn't going to bid on it. We talked through it for about an hour or so, and, you know, she finally said, hey, I'm gonna throw caution to the wind. I'm gonna bid on this contract. I know I have the experience to do it. I know it looks a little intimidating, but I'm gonna do it anyway. And she did it. And actually, tomorrow's 17th. I think it gets confirmed tomorrow by the board of commissioners for that $2.6 million contract.
- [05:36]
Dr. Francis Ince
That's awesome. That's awesome. Let's talk about you starting your business. How long have you been doing it? Independently of walking away from the six figures?
- [05:49]
Malcolm Ali
Walking away from my job. I've been at it for about a year. The business has been in existence for two years. You know, funny story. I didn't plan on getting into this business. You know, we kind of fall into things. And I was helping out with the project with the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, and my daughter has a business, and I had gone to them and said, hey, my daughter has a business. You know, here's the idea. And I was talking to one of the business coaches over there, and I was talking to him about my experience, and he's like, no, you don't need to do that. You need to be doing this. We have people who you can help. Would you mind teaching a lunch and learn? And I taught a lunch and learn. And from there, it was still turning back.
- [06:34]
Dr. Francis Ince
Absolutely. Talk about that opportunity. There's a lot of risk in business, and there's a lot of risk and rewards. Talk about that moment. That was extremely risky for you and what was your takeaway?
- [06:51]
Malcolm Ali
So for me, I work in a heavily regulated industry, so the risk for me was working in the industry and still trying to help business owners get into the industry. It's a matter of ethics. You know, you can't really have a personal relationship with the person that you're helping bid on contract that may be within your organization or maybe with a sister organization where, you know, the purchasing officer. So for me, it was a balance. Either stay in my 9 to 5, my day job and don't help as many people and limit where they can bid and what they can bid on, or walk away from that day job, walk away from that. That false sense of security and step away from that ethical conundrum and be able to help more people on a broader scale. So for me, it was a matter of either going full force into my business or leaving the business and actually staying employed. And for me, it really wasn't an option.
- [08:01]
Dr. Francis Ince
And talk about that moment when you did the day quit when you talk about that false sense of security. Talk about walking away.
- [08:10]
Malcolm Ali
I think I learned early on that people get into positions where they believe that if I'm punching the clock and I'm getting a paycheck that they're secure, their bills are going to be paid. But the reality of it is you're putting the responsibility of feeding you and your family in the hands of someone else. They can just as easily come into your office Monday morning and say, hey, you know, we're laying everyone off and that paycheck is gone. So for me, the decision was very, very simple. Have this person in charge of my destiny or walk away and help some other businesses that look like you and I fulfill theirs. And it was a simple decision.
- [08:58]
Dr. Francis Ince
Awesome. And what do you feel, Malcolm, is your zone of genius, being able to.
- [09:06]
Malcolm Ali
Translate government speak into a language that we can understand? We don't all speak legal speak. We don't all speak as if we graduated from an Ivy League college with an mba. So I translate that into something that they can understand. One of the biggest complaints about the government space is they pull up a 50, 60 page solicitation and don't understand anything that's on it.
- [09:39]
Dr. Francis Ince
Who is your ideal client?
- [09:40]
Malcolm Ali
My ideal client is the small business owner with not a ton of resources that is underestimated, that is underrepresented, that wants to go after something bigger but don't know how.
- [10:00]
Dr. Francis Ince
I want you to have a monologue. I want you to name this person, living or not. Malcolm, they've inspired you so much. Who is that person? Name them. And what are you saying to that person?
- [10:16]
Malcolm Ali
John Hope Bryant. He basically gave me a clear understanding that it's not about people in politics, it's about numbers. Right. For me, I looked at it politically, you know, the man is keeping us down. But it's, it's more about numbers. If we're not people bidding on the contracts, if we're not going after the larger contracts, we're simply not going to get them. And those numbers can't count toward our bottom line. A lot of what he says is basically built in numbers. It's rooted in numbers. And numbers don't lie. So that's kind of where I live. I live in the numbers. There's disparities in the minority community as it relates to government contracting. I'm attacking those numbers head on.
- [11:07]
Dr. Francis Ince
Absolutely. Who are your top two influencers and what lessons did they teach you?
- [11:15]
Malcolm Ali
So I would have to say, well, John o' Brien is one and the two brothers from Earn your leisure. I think watching that opened up a world that I wasn't previously privy to. There's guys that look like you and I who's out there doing it. There's women that look like you and I that's just out there doing it. And they're, they're, they're sharing the wealth, they're sharing the information. And it showed that we're not living in a world of gatekeepers. There's people that's out there that sharing information. So you know, those two platforms I watch pretty regularly.
- [11:56]
Dr. Francis Ince
Okay. I like to really focus on attitude of gratitude. And I call this a think fest. And I want you to have at it. Thank those individuals and people who have impacted your life.
- [12:13]
Malcolm Ali
Well, first and foremost, I always got to give honor to God because without him, I wouldn't be where I am. You know, my, my mother is, is, is my, is my shero. You know, she passed when I was 19 and my mother had a fifth grade education, but she was the smartest woman I ever met before I left home. I left home when I was 15. She said to me, you need to know three people in your life and have them close to you. She said, you need to know a doctor, a lawyer and a politician. And I never really understood it when I was younger, but my three close friends are doctors, lawyers and politicians and I'm surrounded by them. But in doing that, I was invited to rooms that I other otherwise would never have been in. I'm thankful to her, I'm thankful to my mentors. The 181st legislative of the state of Pennsylvania, W. Curtis Thomas, was a mentor for me, was a quasi father for me, you know, and there was people like that in my life who shaped and molded who I am.
- [13:18]
Dr. Francis Ince
Malcolm, what is something that we don't know about the purchasing order or government contracts as business owners that we should know?
- [13:30]
Malcolm Ali
You are your experience. We generally will look at a solicitation and it'll say that the business needs to have 10 years experience or 15 years experience. And many of us go into an industry that we've been working in all of our lives. So your business may have been around for two years, but you might have 25 years experience in the industry. So when you're drafting that proposal, it should be crafted so that it reflects that 25 years of experience. Because experience is experiences experience, whether it's you running that business or you working for someone else, it's all about completing a particular service task or providing a product. If you have experience in that, doesn't matter whether or not it was with your own business. All they care about is the length of time that you've been doing up there. So don't be deterred when you see something that says, hey, you know, you need to have 10 years experience, they're not asking you to be in business for 10 years. They're asking for you to have 10 years experience.
- [14:34]
Dr. Francis Ince
That's good. That's a great nugget. What problem exists in the world today, Malcolm, that you would like to solve?
- [14:42]
Malcolm Ali
I'd like to solve the wealth gap. You know, it's. The wealth gap is, you know, it is comprised of a lot of different things, you know, homeownership, education and finance. I'd like to solve those things bit by bit and piece by piece. You have people who never really learned finance, budgeting, economics when they, when they were growing up and they didn't get it in school. We kind of have to start working our way I think we have to start working our way backwards, teach the adults so they can teach the children, and then that way they're coming up in a household where they're familiar with finance and economics and things of that nature. But I definitely like to address the wealth gap.
- [15:30]
Dr. Francis Ince
Advice you wish you had followed.
- [15:34]
Malcolm Ali
Certifications hold as much weight in certain industries as a degree and learn a trade. Wasn't really big on college as a kid. You know, one of my mentors basically said, hey, if colleges are for you, it's cool. Don't learn a trade, right? You don't want to learn a trade. Load up on certifications. Those certifications are going to carry you far in the future. And at the time, I was living during a day where a degree was pretty much everything. You could walk in with no experience with a degree and get a job over someone that had 20 years experience. But now the tide has turned a bit. And if you are certified up, if you have a bunch of certifications, if you learn to trade, you're in good shape. Had I done that 20 years ago, I'd be a multimillionaire.
- [16:29]
Dr. Francis Ince
And speaking of certifications, we see a lot of initials and after your name. Share with our audience your certifications.
- [16:39]
Malcolm Ali
I am a certified Georgia Purchasing Manager. I am a certified professional public buyer, and I am certified by the nigp, which is the National Institute for Government Procurement, as a certified Professional Purchaser.
- [16:55]
Dr. Francis Ince
Thank you for that. Let's take a snapshot of the last 30 days. What was your biggest win and how.
- [17:04]
Malcolm Ali
Did you celebrate just last week? Well, week before last, I had a client win that $2.6 million contract. Just yesterday I spoke with a client who I hadn't talked to in a while. I just decided to reach out to her. She had won a $400,000 contract and she's actually just coming back from New York. She was selected as a Goldman Sachs fellow. So in the last 30 days, those are my two biggest wins as it relates to my client base.
- [17:37]
Dr. Francis Ince
And how did you celebrate?
- [17:39]
Malcolm Ali
I went harder. You know, my celebration is going for more, more wins. I want the landscape of business to look different today than it will 20 years from now when my daughter is in business. So when I get those wins, it just pushes me to go harder. So each instance I went online and started looking at the procurement boards and finding other stuff that I can pitch to other clients to get them wins that are equal to or greater than what we've already accomplished.
- [18:16]
Dr. Francis Ince
What is your long term goal? What do you want to accomplish?
- [18:20]
Malcolm Ali
I want and I know it's ambitious. I want to change what the Fortune 100 looks like. I want to change what the ownership of the businesses on the Fortune 100 looks like. I'm a realist, I believe in sociology. So I believe that people flock towards people who look like them. So if we have more CEOs on a Fortune 100 that looks like us, there'll be more VPs that look like us, there'll be more CEOs or CFOs that look like us who will eventually go and start other companies. So I want to build some multimillion dollar companies and change the landscape.
- [19:07]
Dr. Francis Ince
How do you define success, Malcolm?
- [19:10]
Malcolm Ali
I define success by changing lives. I want to rewrite the stories of minority business owners, the business owners that look like you and I. So I've been successful when I can tell stories like the one that I told earlier, where someone is on the brink of collapse and they wake up one morning and they have a million dollar or multimillion dollar cash cow to keep their business running, to support their.
- [19:41]
Dr. Francis Ince
Family and talk about that aha moment when you knew you were going to be successful.
- [19:49]
Malcolm Ali
My first. So I, I'd never really taught a procurement workshop before, you know, shout out to John Pasco at the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, who kind of strong arm me into doing it. I never taught a procurement accelerator before and I did a four week lunch and learn and the young lady called me, she got on my calendar after the lunch and learned and she said, hey, you know, I kind of understand what the contracting landscape looks like, but I don't know how to approach negotiating contracts. I can use some pointers on brushing up these proposals that I'm writing. We went through maybe a two hour session and a few months later Mr. Pascal called and reached out to her for an update and he said, hey, have you wanted any contracts? And she said yeah. And he says, well, how much? She said, which one? So that for me was the point where I realized, hey man, you got something here.
- [20:52]
Dr. Francis Ince
Now at that point, Malcolm, when that happened, were you actually still employed or were you doing hybrid?
- [21:01]
Malcolm Ali
I was hybrid. So I was doing this business at night and I was kind of burning the candle on both ends because I was working a job from 8 to 5 and then from 6 to nearly 10 at night. I was taking client meetings and going over procurement strategies and reviewing solicitations.
- [21:20]
Dr. Francis Ince
Say you lost everything you had to rebuild in 30 days. What industry would you rebuild and why?
- [21:29]
Malcolm Ali
And I know I have a bias here, but I would definitely go to the Government space. The reason for that is there are contracts that require no experience. It requires networking. So if you're in a position where you can sit down, make some calls, talk to some people, influence some folk, if you have good sales acumen, then those solicitations that are product based, you can build the relationships to be able to provide those products and never have to put your hands on them. If I was in a position where my credit was fair and I lost everything, that I would get a net 30 account with a supplier and I would get a wholesale net 30 account and I would find a government entity that's buying what that particular supplier is selling and I would have those items drop shipped to the government agency and no money would ever have to exchange hands until a check is being sent to me.
- [22:31]
Dr. Francis Ince
What is one valuable lesson you wish you knew before starting your business?
- [22:37]
Malcolm Ali
I've been in this game for a very, very long time and you know, I can't count the amount of days I've gone home and I've said things like, hey, this guy lost out on $1 million contract because he forgot to get a document notarized. Right. Had I decided to do what I'm doing 10 years ago, you know, a lot of minority small businesses would be in a much, much better position.
- [23:06]
Dr. Francis Ince
What is the biggest challenge you would say for yourself personally being an entrepreneur?
- [23:13]
Malcolm Ali
Trust. You know, unfortunately there's a lot of people in social media that runs companies that are relatively similar to mine that doesn't always give good information. And then there's some companies that really don't fulfill their obligations at all. So you run into clients who are very, very skept about giving you their money without getting the results first. So for me, it's a sprint to build a client base that, that I can verify and show. Hey, you can submit an open records and it'll show you that this client of mine got this contract. So my heavy lift is earning client trust up front because frankly, somebody walks over to you, tell you, hey, I'm going to make you a million dollars, is a little hard to believe.
- [24:07]
Dr. Francis Ince
So absolutely. Let's talk about AI artificial intelligence. Tell me your take on it and if and how you're using it currently in your business.
- [24:20]
Malcolm Ali
Love it. I love it. Love it. I use AI on almost a daily basis. Right now I am in the process of building an evaluation engine, solicitations, and what it'll essentially do is I'll be able to upload a solicitation to the AI and I'll be able to upload a company profile and it'll put out as a go or no go score on whether or not they should go after that contract and what the feasibility is of them winning. It will also give them a report on how to increase their score. If you need to partner or team up with someone, it'll actually tell you to do that. Also a part of my workshops, I also teach small business owners to use AI to assist them in writing their proposals. Your proposal should be void of fluff. You know, 60 pages in a proposal where only 20 of them is providing information that's, that's necessary to bid. I teach them to use AI to kind of cut through the fluff and speak directly to the scope of work.
- [25:38]
Dr. Francis Ince
What have you not done in life that you dream about often that you would like to do?
- [25:45]
Malcolm Ali
Building a universal procurement process or policy. In Africa, going across the pond and building a unified procurement system, you hear a lot. And not just in Africa, it's in a lot of countries where, you know, there's payola and backdoor deals and just to be able to build a unified procurement system where everybody gets a fair shake, solicitations are going out, people are bidding fairly and the person who actually wins the bid actually gets the work. Africa is going to be my first stop when I decide to go across the pond.
- [26:32]
Dr. Francis Ince
And you talked about the technology that you're building, when do you plan to have it released or the beta on it?
- [26:41]
Malcolm Ali
I am about 60% of the way through. My partner and I are still writing the code. So we are looking at the top of the year to have a beta GPT out and available for clients to take advantage of.
- [26:59]
Dr. Francis Ince
Malcolm, what, if anything, keeps you up at night?
- [27:04]
Malcolm Ali
Missed opportunities. I work in an industry that is very, very deadline driven. You see a solicitation, it closes at 3, it closes at 3pm at 3:01, that opportunity is gone. And if it's a five year contract, that opportunity is gone for five years. You know, just not. And not just for myself, but for my clients. Not missing opportunities. And the fact that they sometimes do and for very, very small reasons sometimes keeps me up at night.
- [27:40]
Dr. Francis Ince
Someone's listening to this interview and they're saying, yeah, Malcolm, I have tried. And just like you mentioned, there are so many people out there that talk about that they can help you through this government contracting. I like what you said. That it's in reference to, it is a specific recipe. It is a strategy. I remember my own personal experience working with several organizations and they are saying that they can help me through the government contracting, how to get a purchase order. And they are constantly just sending me the information that I can get offline. Someone's listening, frustrated. Talk to them specifically.
- [28:31]
Malcolm Ali
I guess the first thing is when you're thinking about working with someone, what they've done in the past means everything. The difference between the government space and most other industries is you can actually check their credentials via open records. So if they say, hey, I've won my clients $50 million in contracts, okay, give me the names of the clients and tell me where they won the contracts, I can submit an open records myself and confirm that those companies have actually won those contracts. Another thing is 90% of the individuals in my industry are just like my clients. They've worked on the outside, they've written some solicit, they've written some proposals, they've won a few contracts and they've pretty much deemed themselves an expert. I, on the other hand, started on the inside. I'm the purchasing officer, I'm the purchasing manager. I wrote the solicitations, I've approved these solicitations. I went in front of the board and have gotten confirmation for these contract awards. I personally signed off on pos. There's a ton of them out in the industry with my signature on the bottom of the po. Me being in the industry, I understand what I'd be looking for when a proposal comes in. And I understand what's missing when I have to deem one of those proposals non responsive because certain documentation is missing. So I take those 20 years of experience and I roll in all of the missed opportunities and I make sure that those gaps are filled.
- [30:21]
Dr. Francis Ince
How do you make impact daily?
- [30:23]
Malcolm Ali
So that, that's kind of to that, that missed opportunity thing. A lot of clients of mine and small business owners are generally in a position where they're working a day job and trying to get their business off the ground. They don't have time to scour through bid boards and bid houses and things of that nature. So I make an impact by doing that for them. Throughout the day they might check their email and see something that they're interested in that I sent them that they otherwise wouldn't have found because they're punching the clock somewhere else.
- [30:58]
Dr. Francis Ince
Let's talk about legacy. Malcolm. When it's all said and done, how do you want to be remembered as.
- [31:04]
Malcolm Ali
Somebody that changed the landscape of business? Businesses that's been around for hundreds of years has a, has a mix of business to consumer, business to business, and business to government. I want to be the guy that educated our community and let them know that doing business with the government, you know, doing business with large corporations and their procurement teams is possible, and you don't have to be a big multimillion dollar company to do it.
- [31:37]
Dr. Francis Ince
You mentioned your daughter. Talk about fatherhood and managing a business.
- [31:43]
Malcolm Ali
Oh, man. So my daughter sees me grinding on a daily basis, and she just. She just turned 8, and she's a business owner. She owns a apparel company called Somo Apparel. She sees me going after it, so she goes after it. And I love every minute of it. My son, who's 22, is currently in the military, and he actually does procurement in the military. When he comes home and he decides to retire, he'll be right next to me doing what I'm doing, but he'll be on the federal and military side of it. So he's rolling right into that family legacy.
- [32:30]
Dr. Francis Ince
Awesome. And we want to say to your son, thank you for serving and protecting. And we want to say to your daughter, give a shout out, say her name and actually say the name if you feel comfortable. To your son and your daughter's business.
- [32:44]
Malcolm Ali
Absolutely. My daughter's business is so more. So more apparel style of my own. And my daughter's name is Morgan. She basically has a T shirt business that displays characters that look like you and I that are not in positions that are not normally in positions of power. Doctors, lawyers, politicians. And those T shirts feature coloring book, coloring book pages that kids can color in. Parents can wash them out, and they can color them in again next time they go out.
- [33:14]
Dr. Francis Ince
That's brilliant. Talk about mental health, mental wellness, and managing your business.
- [33:23]
Malcolm Ali
Mental health. My wife gets on me all the time. I do not sleep, and I take on the weight of the world because for me, it's not business, it's mission. My business is very, very mission heavy. I always feel like that if a business that I'm working with is failing, I'm failing. I'm often told that I have to do things to de stress. So, you know, I get out of the house. I like to eat. I'm a foodie. I'm a big guy. So I like trying new places and therapy. I sit with a therapist once a month. Nothing's wrong. But for me, it's maintenance. You know, you maintain your car, you go, you get a oil change or the breaks change. As human beings, we need maintenance as well. So I see a therapist once a month.
- [34:20]
Dr. Francis Ince
I like that. And shout out to your wife and say her name in reference to supporting you in that. And I want you to talk about marriage, money, and managing a business.
- [34:35]
Malcolm Ali
My wife name is Sophia, and she has a checkbook because I get a little out of hand sometimes. But ultimately, it's a. It's a balancing act. In every relationship, one person is better at a certain task than others. She's much, much better at organizing and budgeting than I am. So she keeps an eye on the books. You know, she. She looks at the money. My money goes into our family account, and she takes it from there. I don't even have to look at it. You know, it's about being with and finding somebody that you trust and you plan to each other's strengths. You know, when it comes to those stressful things like battling out things legally, she gives that to me. So, you know, it's a. It's a balancing act, and it works well for us.
- [35:26]
Dr. Francis Ince
Malcolm, I want to switch roles here. If you conducted this interview, what is the one question you would have asked yourself? I want you to ask the question and answer it.
- [35:39]
Malcolm Ali
How do I find these opportunities or what does the government buy? I think that's one of the biggest concerns with business owners. They think that they provide a product or service that the government doesn't pay for. The government buys everything. I just saw solicitation the other day for baloney. The government buys everything. My very, very first client was a barber, and he did not want to cut a check for me. And it took me less than five minutes to find a solicitation online for the juvenile justice center where they were putting out a solicitation for a barber to come in and cut the kid's hair. But the government buys everything. Baloney, beef jerky. I've literally seen it all. So key is checking with your local government to see what they have available contractually first, because that's going to be a big deal for you. They thrive on local small businesses. So get registered with your local government, Become a local small business enterprise. Do business with your local government first and then branch out. You know, start looking at the county level, at the state level, look at partner Cisco, look at partner cities. Go after it. You provide a valuable product or service that the government will pay for.
- [37:17]
Dr. Francis Ince
Is there a social cost tied to your company?
- [37:21]
Malcolm Ali
Yes. So we do consulting or run procurement accelerators for the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, and we've done some consulting and some purchasing accelerators for Operation Hope as well, which was a big deal for me because I'm a fan of John Hope Bryant. But those are the two that we've worked with recently. And upcoming in November, we'll be working with the National Minority Small Business Development Corporation, the nmsdc, for their conference in Miami. So I'll be speaking there for that, but my cause is heavily leaning towards the minority owned small business community.
- [38:06]
Dr. Francis Ince
Appreciate that We've come to the part of our interview. It's called the Rapid Round of Fun. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I'd like you to give me very quick answers. If there's something you desire not to answer, feel free to say pass. Are you ready for the Rapid Round of Fun?
- [38:24]
Malcolm Ali
Absolutely.
- [38:25]
Dr. Francis Ince
Your first job?
- [38:26]
Malcolm Ali
Taco Bell.
- [38:28]
Dr. Francis Ince
You relax. Doing what?
- [38:30]
Malcolm Ali
Going to the range.
- [38:33]
Dr. Francis Ince
The last movie you saw?
- [38:35]
Malcolm Ali
Terminator 2.
- [38:39]
Dr. Francis Ince
Your favorite singer or rapper?
- [38:42]
Malcolm Ali
Favorite singer is Donny Hathaway. Rapper is KRS1.
- [38:49]
Dr. Francis Ince
Your favorite dance song?
- [38:52]
Malcolm Ali
Hakuna Matata.
- [38:55]
Dr. Francis Ince
What food you eat every week no matter what Chicken, workout or hit the couch.
- [39:03]
Malcolm Ali
Hit the couch.
- [39:05]
Dr. Francis Ince
Malcolm Ali, thank you for joining us on Black Entrepreneur Experience Podcast. Before we let you go, share with our audience the best way for them to connect with you to do business with you. Feel free to leave all your social.
- [39:18]
Malcolm Ali
Media hands handles so you can reach me online at www.misterpatchorder.com. you can reach me on Instagram @mister Purchase Order. You can reach me on tik tok at Mr. Purchase Order. I'm very very unique and LinkedIn at Malcolm Witchard so I am pretty much the same across all platforms with an exception of LinkedIn.
- [39:44]
Dr. Francis Ince
Thank you Mr. Purchase Order. That is a wrap. Thank you for listening and subscribing to Black Entrepreneur Experience. We would love for you to leave a review and rating on itunes and share with your friends. For show notes and more episodes go to www.beepodcast.com. join us next Wednesday and remember, green is the new Black so keep your bank accounts and your business in the black.