Our 2035 speaker is Means Cameron, owner, founder, and creator of BlaCkOWned™️ Outerwear  and blaCk Coffee Lounge. He’ll be in conversation with his friend and fellow entrepreneur Rico Grant.

The 2035 Signature Lecture looks at the future of business, design, technologies, and entrepreneurialism and the ways those will shape the global economy. 

Expect to hear Grant explore Cameron's story in four quarters and you'll get to join the conversation in overtime. Each quarter will be an in-depth look at crucial stages of his life and how each of those quarters, and all the failures, setbacks, successes, and wins have shaped him today. 

Native Cincinnatian Means Cameron is the owner and founder of BlaCkOWned™ Outerwear and blaCk Coffee Lounge. BlaCk OWned Outerwear was created by Means Cameron in Cincinnati, OH, 2011. The Brand is a creation inspired by both Cameron’s Upbringing in “The Hood” of Cincinnati, and his collegiate experience at a predominantly White University. Their mission is to promote BlaCk Ownership, while challenging societal inequities through garments and storytelling. Means and his team have created a brand that transcends race, generation and location. 

BlaCkOWned™ has with collaborated on exclusive lines with FC Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Bengals and continues to innovate and expand their offerings.

Join us to hear the story of BlaCkOWned™️, and what’s next for one of the most exciting and creative entrepreneurs working today. 

Rico Grant is the founder of Paloozanoire; creator of Gallery At Gumbo, the inclusive barbershop art gallery collaboration in the heart of Over the Rhine,  which hosts the regional focused podcast Gumbo Talks. Rico also serves as Executive Director of SoCap Accelerate based out of Northern Kentucky University; is the architect behind the Emmy award winning Black & Brown Faces art exhibition (previously on exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum returning in 2023); and the new regionally focused youth awards program 17 Under Seventeen in partnership with and The University of Cincinnati, FC Cincinnati, CVG, and Duke Energy. Known as a connector throughout the city, Rico serves on several non profit boards and advises for several startups and foundations around the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region.

In 2022 Rico launched Cinema, a premier bar & lounge dedicated to 90’s R&B and Classic Black Filmmakers, as well as Fundnoire, a $1.5M fund dedicated to launching 24 new black owned small businesses throughout the city. In 2023 Rico is dedicated to launching his second bar and lounge Love, which will be located on Fourth street in Cincinnati’s central business district.

2035: Means Cameron in Conversation with Rico Grant