Humble Entrepreneur

The son to an absent father and a drug-addicted mother who passed away early on in his childhood only to be adopted at 10-years-old, Jason Humble has hustled his way through life and has become extremely successful and knowledgeable in his own realm.

Jason Humble is a self-made entrepreneur and Chairman and Founder and the founder of multiple business ventures, but has focused on his two ventures, Humble│Carlton Family Office. But Humble’s story is less about the ventures and more on how he has been able to bridge the gap in the business world and throughout the community.

Grit Daily spoke with Humble on why bridging that gap can help make you a better entrepreneur (and person).

Grit Daily: Your personal background and up-bringing has shaped you into the person, entrepreneur, and philanthropist you are today. Do you feel comfortable sharing your story with our readers?

Jason Humble: I grew up before the age of 10 in over 200 homes. My mother was on drugs, and she would just abandon me and my 2 sisters in different apartments. I lived in every borough in NYC, unwillingly, abused on every level.

When my mom finally started getting her life turned around when I was 9, we upgraded to the projects in Spanish Harlem, New York City on Pleasant Avenue. By then it was too late, she passed. My 2 sisters and I were fortunate.

In the last few months of my mother’s life, there were Christian missionaries that would knock on people’s doors; they knocked on ours. They did not know us. We did not know them. When my mom was dying in her hospital bed, she asked a family who had three kids of their own to take us in. They did. I never believed there was a God prior to that. That changed my perspective.

GD: Your story sent chills up and down our spine. Having said that, how does the value of family and business play in your life coming into 2020?

JH: I grew up broken and poor, with very few positive memories before the age of 11. Today, I’m simply thankful I can give back. I don’t care about being rich. I ‘m happily married, two children, and have peace in my heart. I am non-negotiable about my belief in God, due to how God intervened in my life. Every day I wake up grateful and look at each day as a gift.

GD: What would you consider to be the most asset in your life?

JH: Personally, and as an entrepreneur, my goal is to be more attentive to people’s needs. I aim to be integral and aim to build a relationship with all my clients, while keeping my faith in God in the forefront.

As a philanthropist, I think the most important thing I can offer is my time and my personal finances in the foster care community. I am on the board of directors for an amazing charity called Precious Dreams Foundation. We provide comfort items for children in the foster care system to provide them with a comfortable night’s sleep.

GD: You indicated that you wanted to develop a more personal relationship with each of your clients. How has your background in marketing and sales helped shape your path as a business consultant?

JH: My experience in sales and marketing goes back to my time with the New York Knicks and its PR department. Due to the nature of the beast, I’ve grown accustomed to being around a lot of top wealthy one-percenters. This led me to meeting a good friend of mine at that time, whose name was Adam, who owned a company called Global Resource Broker.
Separate from that, Adam had his own company, where he was matching private investors with different proprietary projects—intellectual properties of course. I worked with him for a few years, connecting him with my clients, because I had a really good, strong relationship with them. Adam was an intricate part of my growth.

GD: But you now have your own consulting company, correct?

JH: Yes. After a few years learning from and working with Adam, I moved on started my own company, Humble Family Office Consulting, which is now Humble│Carlton Family Office.

GD: How did your experience and time with the New York Knicks help shape the internal and external infrastructures of your company?

JH: From a public relations perspective, I learned a lot from working with the Knicks. I am extremely grateful for that opportunity. Most importantly, I learned how to understand people on a deeper level, and I can tell you understanding how emotional intelligence plays into customer satisfaction is a big factor when being selfless to other individual’s needs. Inevitably, my time with the Knicks organization helped me grow as a person tremendously. Today, I am a part of some of the most amazing disruptive technology companies in the world.

The Power of Networking

GD: If you could attribute one strength, what would it be with respect to your maturity as an entrepreneur?

JH: I’m extremely grateful for your patience. It’s not every day you get to work with individuals that help run billion-dollar tech companies.

Throughout Humble’s career, networking has been the key to his success. “When you’re meeting people, it’s kind of like going through a deck of cards,” Humble explained.

“You have 52 cards in a deck. In that deck, vetting will weed out the extra jokers. As you turn over each card, you will come across different numbers, alongside some Queens, Kings and Aces. Each deck has 4 aces, some people come across their Ace to soon in life and are unable to attract them because they are not ready for success, nor do they have the business acronym. Others run into their Ace a little later. Life is such. We come across people with different backgrounds in different cultures every day. You may find your Ace at the beginning of your deck, or at the end. Ultimately In business, it’s our job to go through the deck to find the appropriate match for intellectual property and keep turning those cards over. Some people spend too much time looking for “just” their Ace. My view is every card is valuable to someone. Although the Ace may be the sharpest, you can still specifically pick and choose the right match for each card in your book of business. Each card is of value to someone as there are a number of games you can play with the 1 deck you are handed. The biggest question is how you can shuffle and hand out your deck appropriately.”

The difference between then and now is the ability to grow in certain areas of my life with personal development over the years. It helped me tremendously. So, when that “Ace” did come in front of me from that “deck of cards,” I was ready, and I was prepared.

I say this to you because a lot of times, individuals are not ready to take that jump due to whatever personal reasons or events they have going on in their life. I think it’s important for individuals to understand that they have to be ready, willing, and able to handle the next step in their personal development, as much as it’s great meeting other people in our society.

It’s ten times more important to be working on yourself each day and building yourself as a person to be able to attract that kind of networking power.

Injecting Tech into Less-Fortunate Communities

Humble in name and humble he is, especially to those less fortunate. And why? Remember his up-bringing.

Near and dear to Humble’s heart is his involvement with the Precious Dreams Foundation, which supports the well-being of foster and homeless children by using a special technique focused on using bedtime necessities and positive reinforcement to empower children to recognize and focus on their dreams.

Humble sits on the Board of Directors for the 501(c)(3), which was founded back in 2012 by Nicole Russell and Angie Medina.

“If I can continue to do something without getting paid for it, it would be the time and effort I put into Precious Dreams Foundation because I’m one of those kids,” Humble shared. “You know, I went through that, and I went through a very tough time at a younger age in my childhood. So, I know what they’re going through, and it’s a difficult situation.”

GD: And finally, what do you want readers to take away from your story and our conversation today?

JH: We already have victory when we put God first in our lives. I never made excuses for not being successful, as easy as that could have been with my background. Instead, I encourage everyone to embrace their adversities and set out to accomplish something bigger than yourself. The first one to hit adversity wins. Period. Perseverance in every situation with the right emotional intelligence will take you places you have never imagined. Source: https://gritdaily.com/

Jason Humble: “Here Are 5 Things I Need To See Before Making A VC Investment”

It’s all about the jockeys riding the horse. You can have a phenomenal company but without the right management team in place, you can really struggle. I look for experience in the particular vertical in which they are requesting funds. What’s their track record? How many multinational exits have they had?

As part of my series about “5 Things I Need To See Before Making A VC Investment” I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Humble.

After accomplishing many feats in the corporate world and reaching a ceiling, Mr. Humble took on the challenge in the next role of his career as Chairman and Founder for Humble│Carlton Family Office; where he consults in raising capital for Pre-IPO Intellectual Properties in different facets and sectors. In addition to his role at Humble Consulting, Mr. Humble helps manage risks and capitalizes on currency across major markets worldwide as a trader. He is experienced in the capital markets. Mr. Humble takes pride in being a Revenue generator, talent developer, problem solver, and a cultivator of winning atmospheres. Today, more than ever, Mr. Humble is extremely driven to succeed and focused on results.

Jason has extensive experience in Sales and Marketing for numerous Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Humble previously held an executive Vice President position for one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world. Throughout his career he was consistently honored as a top performer and MVP for each sales role he tackled in Corporate America.

Jason’s challenging background and family history has also given him the opportunity for numerous speaking engagements across the country for different companies breeding success. He believes the first one to experience adversity will be better suited and equipped for success. The blueprint to success is having a strong emotional intelligence and an inviting spirit towards adversity. He also encourages the youth to embrace obstacles, challenges, and to accept their testimonies. Mr. Humble also serves on the board for Precious Dreams Foundation. PDF supports the well-being of foster and homeless children by using a special technique focused on using bedtime necessities and positive reinforcement to empower children to recognize and focus on their dreams. For more information on how to donate or aid please visit www.preciousdreamsfoundation.org

Academically, as a three-sport standout high school athlete in the great state of New York, he attended Florida Southern College, in turn, transferring to Nyack Christian College as a College Basketball Athlete. He graduated with honors, acquiring a degree in Communications and furthered his education with an MBA in Business Entrepreneurship.

His favorite bible verse is Matt 23:12

Thank you so much for joining us Jason! What is your ‘Backstory’?

I am originally from New York, NY. At the young age of 10, I lost mom and I never knew my dad.

Fortunately, I was taken in by an amazing family from New Paltz, NY. I graduated from New Paltz High School and attended Nyack College as a college basketball athlete, where I got a degree in Bachelor of Science in Communications. I then went on to work with the New York Knicks in their Public Relations department, followed by working in the pharma and medical device sales industry.

I then started my own company, Humble│Carlton Family Office, Humble│Carlton Family Office. I reached a point in my career where I was building tremendous relationships with many of the top 1% wealthy individuals across the world. I began to consult for pre-IPO proprietary tech companies specifically, as tech became a passion of mine.

Can you share a story of an Angel or VC funding failure of yours? What was its lesson?

Yes, I will not mention the company or investor due to confidentiality, but I will say this… make sure you vet every opportunity correctly. I have had my time wasted time and time again when I first started with individuals who will lead you down a long path to nowhere only to not have funding.

Proof of funds and vetting someone’s background is critical in maintaining the integrity of the deal.

Is there a company that you turned down, but now regret? Can you share the story? What lesson did you learn from that story?

There is not one company that I turned down that I regret. There are investors, however, that I turned down, which I regret because I prejudged their ability to fund at the beginning of my career due to not vetting properly. In this industry, the people you think have money don’t. The people who you may think do not have money will. Everyone should be given the same opportunity. I once disregarded an email from a wealthy investor, and I later discovered that he went on to fund some significant projects. It was a learning lesson for me because not only did I procrastinate, I also did not do the full due diligence. I was lazy in the process and it resulted in missing some good opportunities.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Yes. As a foster child, I love giving back.

I am on the board of directors for the Precious Dream Foundation. www.preciousdreamsfoundation.org They provide comfort items for foster children who are in need of a good night’s rest. What makes Precious Dreams Foundation special in the world of philanthropy is they ensure 100% of the proceeds go to these comfort items. I am honored to be a part of this charity.

What are your “5 things I need to see before making a VC investment” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1) Proof of funds: As I stated earlier, I have had my time wasted in the past and tried to fast forward the process only to find out there are individuals that are not who they say they are.

2) CIS: I must see the background and experience of each specific investor and CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER of the individual representing the company.

3) The Team: It’s all about the jockeys riding the horse. You can have a phenomenal company but without the right management team in place, you can really struggle. I look for experience in the particular vertical in which they are requesting funds. What’s their track record? How many multinational exits have they had?

4) Timing of execution: Are they focused on the task at hand or are they wearing multiple hats. I prefer the company to be someone’s baby. I also want to make sure the individual company looking for funding has its own money as well. If you’re not invested in your own company that tells me, you don’t believe in what you are doing.

5) The X-Factor: The X-Factor is something you simply cannot teach. It is interpersonal relationship skills alongside the right emotional intelligence. You have to be a chameleon in this industry and understand people and your specific audience for your go-to-market strategy to succeed.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Starting a thinktank based on helping others build their dreams. A community of sharp, caring individuals that are completely selfless in sharing ideas and educating from a young age. The biggest thieves in communities today are dream stealers. I want to create a culture and a community of like-minded individuals that have the sole purpose of helping one another grow in their respective verticals.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂

I would have to say there are two people I would love to connect with, John C. Maxwell and Warren Buffett. I respect John’s story writing and goal setting. I love his books and his personal development.

To chat with Warren from a business standpoint would be phenomenal. I respect his business acumen and how far he’s come. I can’t imagine the amount of rejection they both faced while accomplishing so many milestones. I would love to dig deeper into that pain. I would happily pay for both individuals’ meals if they would allow me thirty minutes to an hour of their time.

This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time. Humble│Carlton Family Office