Shaquille O’Neal, Ben Affleck, and rapper Ludacris, to name a few.
Glamour and glitz aside, Roadstarr Motorsports projected revenues of about $4 million in 2005, up from $3.8 million the year before. With the two new locations set to open, the company expects to reap as much as $7 million this year.
Diversity City Media Inc.
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Marketing and Public Relations. CEO/PRESIDENT: Dante Lee. LOCATION: Columbus, OH
If a press release about your company’s new development gets picked up by a media channel, the coverage can turn into a public relations bonanza. When black-owned businesses and organizations want to get noticed by black media, Dante Lee provides them the news outlet they need.
Lee is the 25-year-old CEO and president of Diversity City Media Inc., a multicultural marketing and public relations firm that operates Black PR.com, an extensive press release distribution service, and BlackNews.com, the online portal for African American news and issues.
Lee launched BlackPR.com in 2001 as a response to a growing demand from celebrity authors, black organizations, and other companies that were seeking press coverage. Now, BlackPR.com, which distributes to 221 black newspapers and 83 magazines, sends out daily press releases to more than 40,000 contacts.
With clients such as Black Entertainment Television, McDonald’s, and Marriott, Diversity City generated revenues of $450,000 in 2005. This year, the company expects to generate $1 million. In addition to running Diversity Media, Lee found the time to write a book. In September 2005, he released How To Think Big … When You’re Small ($12.95; LIGATT Publishing), which offers a comprehensive set of 24 keys to success in life and business.
AllHipHop.com
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Entertainment & Lifestyle Website. FOUNDERS: Chuck Creekmur and Greg Watkins. LOCATION: New York City
For millions of hip-hop fans looking for the inside scoop on the hottest rappers in the industry, AllHipHop.com is your source. Proclaiming itself the “world’s most dangerous site,” AllHipHop.com has become one of the most widely read Internet sources for hip-hop news, reviews, and industry insight.
The driving forces behind AllHipHop.com are founders Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur and “Grouchy” Greg Watkins, who have emerged as credible experts, speaking on all facets of hip-hop culture. By maintaining the journalistic integrity of AllHipHop.com, Creekmur, 34, and Watkins, 32, are changing how the culture is covered. These aspiring media moguls have combined their musical knowledge with an aggressive style of journalism to offer a balanced and thorough view of hip-hop.
AllHipHop.com, which delivers over 27 million page views per month, is regularly tapped for social and cultural commentary by major national and international media outlets, including CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, and Reuters. Since its launch in 1998, the company has shown signs of steady growth throughout the years. Sales reached in excess of $550,000 in 2005 and 2006 sales are expected to surpass the $1 million mark.
Teenpreneur Award NOMINEES
This award recognizes entrepreneurs age 18 and under who serve as role models and are committed