My name is Dez McDaniel and I am ETC’s new Marketing and Community Coordinator. It’s been a long journey getting to this point; let me tell you a little bit about my story.

I was born and raised in a small, rural town in North Carolina and even went to college at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where I majored in communication studies and minored in entrepreneurship. Frankly, I wouldn’t say I’ve experienced many things outside of NC. With that being said, you’re probably wondering, “how did he end up here in Baltimore at the ETC?” Well, it was the entrepreneurial ecosystem that attracted me. After college, I participated in the Venture for America program, which is a two-year fellowship program committed to stimulating the economy by way of entrepreneurship, and Baltimore is one of the cities served by the program. It was the experience of growing up in a low-income neighborhood where resources were in less abundance that made me want to learn more about entrepreneurship, and it was my Aunt Nenee that inspired me to dedicate myself to helping aspiring entrepreneurs.

When I was younger, my aunt opened up a store in our hometown, which was the only store within the area for miles and provided a much needed marketplace for local residents. I was able to see her jump through hoops just to get this business open and operating but, it didn’t perform so well after some time. Within half a year or so, she had to shut the store down.While I was not able to understand the nature of business at such a young age, I presume it was due to lack of resources. It was hard for her to coordinate with vendors based on the store location, her customer base was low-income so she had started a credit system that was ultimately to the business’s detriment, and she only had one full-time employee. Lack of human capital, low economic prosperity, and rurality of location were all factors that helped lead to the closing of her store.

This particular anecdote is always in the back of my mind as I pursue my own career choice. It is a big reason I am in Baltimore and at the ETC. Baltimore has an incredible community of people who are committed to creating and innovating, and also special groups who are tailored to connecting them with resources, ETC being one of them. That is the exact reason I came to ETC through Venture for America. I want to connect entrepreneurs to resources and help them build their businesses so that they don’t have to suffer as my Aunt Nenee did. If there was an organization like ETC where I’m from, then maybe my Aunt Nenee could have had a sustainable business and been the representation of a successful entrepreneur that I needed. I am looking forward to the work that we do here, namely because of this personal connection I feel to it. Everyone thus far in the ETC community has welcomed me with open arms and I love it! So, I plan to return that love to the community through the work that I do here.