We Don't Need Permission: How black business can change our world

Description

A powerful guide to successful, transformative entrepreneurship for the under-represented. At a time when half of Black households in the UK live in persistent poverty - over twice as many as their white counterparts - We Don't Need Permission argues that investing in under-represented entrepreneurs in order to create successful businesses is the surest socio-economic game-changer. Durable empowerment - from education to health outcomes - is key to solving the multiple problems resulting from systemic racism and sexism. It is the best way to close the inequality gaps that continue to hinder Black people and all women too. Addressing this problem head on, Eric Collins co-founded venture capital firm Impact X Capital to invest in under-represented entrepreneurs in the UK and Europe. In We Don't Need Permission, Collins identifies ten key principles of successful entrepreneurship, and reveals how it's possible to change a system that helps some, while holding others back. The book not only aims to inspire and motivate under-represented people to take their future and economic destiny into their own hands, but demands of current business leaders and organizations that they do business better. Stop waiting for someone else to give permission, Collins tells us, and start boldly making the world we want to see.

Eric Collins is the co-founder and CEO of Impact X Capital Partners, a venture capital firm investing in under-represented entrepreneurs in the UK and Europe. Eric is also a serial entrepreneur and technology executive who has worked with numerous innovative companies and invests in fast-growth businesses helping Black and female entrepreneurs get the jump start they need. In 2011, shortly before making London his home, Eric was appointed by President Obama to the Small Business Administration's Council on Underserved Communities. Since then, the FT has placed Eric among the UK's top 100 BAME leaders in technology and he has been included in The Power List as one of the most influential Black people in Britain. Eric has also appeared on Radio 4 and Sky News and in the FT, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg, Guardian, The Times and Sunday Times and hosts Channel 4's award-winning business reality series, The Money Maker.

Eric's advice will help change all our futures for good. * Sir Lenny Henry * Do business better. It is incumbent on business leaders to use our advantage and our power for positive impact and Eric explains brilliantly the difference that we can make. It turns out it is easy to do - so the choice of whether to make that difference is ours. * Alex Mahon, Chief Executive, Channel 4 * Whether you're already working in the world of business or a beginner starting out with a good idea, We Don't Need Permission is invaluable. It's a disruptive, solution-driven path toward a level playing field and Black empowerment. The book removes the first obstacle with its title. An important read. * Adrian Lester * With one in two Black British families living below the poverty line today, Eric's book is the generational game-changer we need. * David Harewood, author of Maybe I Don't Belong Here * This book is a manifesto for much needed radical and overdue change. It provides timely and necessary perspectives from one of today's most important voices in the ongoing fight for social justice. Collins's book is a must-read for all those inside and outside our community wishing to understand a Black British perspective as well as the imperative for change. * Ric Lewis, founder and Chairman of Tristan Capital Partners *