“Black Girl Magic” is a not only a term used to describe the magic black women posses but it is a term that can be used to describe the rise of black women in this day and age. Angel Rich is not only a example of Black Girl Magic but she is a prime example that black women are on the rise as entrepreneurs and creatives. Not only is Angel Rich the CEO of The Wealth Factory Inc. but, she has now been named the next Steve Jobs which is a huge deal being that she is an African American Woman. When asked about advice she would give to aspiring entrepreneurs one of her messages was …. “I don’t allow myself to do things that I want to do, this is all about the mission i have for God, you have to be willing to die for it, not that i want to advertise it or want it to happen but I’d be willing to be a prison of war for this, you have to be that dedicated to it you have believe in that much otherwise don’t become an entrepreneur go work for somebody else that have that vision”. Black Soulutions had the opportunity to chat with Angel and discuss everything from being named as the next Steve Jobs, her company, inspiration growing up and more. Check out her spotlight below.
Tell us a little about yourself. How was your upbringing?
I was born in DC in Kingman Park. Growing up, I was an inquisitive person. I was caring. I used to teach other people how to read and how to start businesses. If I saw them creating something, I always used to try and figure out: “how are you going to make money off of that?” That was always my motive: trying to help people make some money. I grew up with a family of entrepreneurs and I still have a family of entrepreneurs. We had a history of that dating back to my great grandfather. It was sort of expected of me to be an entrepreneur. I would not know any other lifestyle and I’m so thankful I was born into the family I have. It was like we lived in a different world growing up because all my other friends’ parents had jobs. My mother was able to be at home when other parents could not. My mother was able to go to other things while other parents could not. Most families lived off the 1st and the 15th, we did not have that in our family. My sister and I really didn’t understand that concept. It was such a foreign concept to me because I was raised by entrepreneurs. When something would come up and it cost a certain amount of money my mom would have it. Or if she did not have it, she had the ability to go make it. The number one thing I associate with my childhood was the flexibility of our lifestyle because my mother was an entrepreneur.
Who were your inspirations growing up?
Each woman in my life provided a different perspective. My mother she was a straight up business woman. She was an entrepreneur. My grandmother, she was a diva, a queen, she was a fashionista and she was very serious about education. That is where I get that portion from. She spoke different languages. My great grandmother was a pioneer warrior. She was one of 13 children and the first to move to Washington D.C. Then five years later, one of her sisters came to join her. None of my family would be in D.C or outside of South Carolina if it were not for my great grandmother. She was one of the first black home owners in the country. She never complained, she was very humble, which is where I get my humility from. She had that humble strength.
Tell us about Wealthy Life and where did the idea come from to create such an amazing company?
It came as a mixture throughout my life, starting with my childhood. Growing up amongst entrepreneurs I knew I had to have some type of company. What my mother did and her dealing with life insurance really exposed me to the lack of financial understanding that people had. It embedded a passion for financial literacy within me. Then I was forced to come up with an algorithm for the stock market in a pretty short time and pretty much master the stock market. I just wondered how would people figure this out. I felt like there needed to be a game that would allow people to live out their financial life. Then after working at Prudential, making the company several billions and being able to hone my financial research aspect of the behavior implications behind it to influence the content, I then decided to put it all together. It’s an evolving learning process. I still spend every year focusing on something different alternating between finance, education, gaming and policy. I believe those core four are where I have to constantly stay updated with information as well as innovating in each of those industries; because each one of them are moving rapidly right now.
Explain to the people what credit stacker is and how successful has it been?
It’s basically similar to candy crush. People are able to pay off their debt and achieve a higher credit score and learn from the multiple choice questions. It’s a Top 10 app in the world by Google, number one 14 countries and top five in 40. What I loved most about it is that when I first started creating it the ultimate goal was to financially educate people but to actually be increasing peoples credit score is truly amazing. For you to play a game just as engaging as candy crush and through almost osmosis playing this game while you’re having fun learning how to improve your credit and in 30 days have a higher credit score I think that’s world changing.
When Forbes named you the next Steve Jobs how was that? Did it catch you by surprise?
I definitely did not know Forbes was going to name me the next Steve Jobs but I felt as though they were accurate. I try not to let myself get caught up in it. I do not want to not be reflective on my success but I try to balance it between a healthy dose of appreciating it, living in the moment but staying focused on what’s next and not just rest on my laurels.
As a successful business woman as yourself, what advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs out there?
I would say just do it. Let’s go with Colin Kaepernick and Nike. You have to find your purpose. If you have all the money in the world, what would you be doing for free and why. Whatever that something is, you need to figure out how you’re going to make money off of it. Figure out what the end goal is for that; what is the purpose for it. You need to figure out if you really want to be an entrepreneur. It’s trendy right now. It’s a buzz word. Everybody wants to hop into it. People make it seem easy and it’s not. It can be glamorous and glamorized. You have to find something and be willing to die for it. If you’re not willing to die for the purpose of the company you started, then I personally don’t feel as though that’s a good company to start. I dedicated my life to this cause since I was six years old when God blessed me with the vision for it. I really don’t talk about that a lot. I don’t know how to put that into words and I’m not concerned whether people don’t believe me or not either. I received a vision when I was 6 years old so I had no choice but to be successful. I had no choice but to execute this mission and this vision.
God never gave me the opportunity to ask myself what I wanted to be when I grow up or what else I wanted to do. He implanted me with this vision and so everything I have done has been in alignment with that vision and in that is why I’ve been fortunate to kind of know completely what I have to do. I don’t allow myself to do things that I want to do. This is all about the mission I have for God. You have to be willing to die for it, not that I want to advertise it or want it to happen but I’d be willing to be a prisoner of war for this. You have to be that dedicated to it, you have believe in it that much. Otherwise, don’t become an entrepreneur. Go work for somebody else that has that vision.
After reading this interview we hope you see how much Angel Rich is not only making moves to show African American women that we can be equal to men but, as an African American woman when you have a vision go after it. Entrepreneurship is not easy, especially when you’re a women of color but Angel Rich is breaking barriers to show us that it is possible. If you didn’t know her name before this interview now you do, and know this won’t be the last time you’re hearing it. Black SOLutions is eager to see what’s next for Angel in her journey and we know it’s nothing short of amazing.
Black SOULutions 