Meet Maurice & Ashanty Zereoue | Serial entrepreneurs & Investors

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maurice & Ashanty Zereoue and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maurice & Ashanty, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
One piece of conventional advice that we disagree with is “you have to work extremely hard to be successful”. We hear this saying all the time but when we dive into the matter of it, it isn’t sound advice. We have several examples in our lives where our family, friends, neighbors; all have worked extremely hard, having multiple jobs, but are completely worn down and not where they would like to be. And when it comes down to it, it really isn’t a matter of working hard, but working smart. We’ve grown to realize that the ones that get ahead are the ones who devise a plan and put the right people and things in place to execute. The ones that try to do everything themselves and not focus on their strong points tend to work harder than they have to and delay their success to the point where they may give up or burn out. There are points in all of our careers where we’ve had to do a bit more than we would have liked, but in our eyes, that’s more about the pros and the cons that come with anything. . .not necessarily about working hard.. We believe in being efficient and to be efficient, the goal should always be to figure out how one can accomplish more while minimizing energy output. We aren’t much different than a machine when it comes to working. If anything or anyone is working too hard, that means that something within the system is not working right and should be adjusted; a better plan should be in place so that success can be attainable.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As serial entrepreneurs, we have our hands in so many developing things! The main business that we have that pretty much encompasses all other things we do is Black Cellar. As a social club for black professionals, Black Cellar is all about providing the tools, locations, and resources to develop Black professionals / entrepreneurs within any field of interest. We have a location in Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY that we have used to host several events and get our feet wet with owning and managing a location. From that, we have made plans to expand and minimize the wealth gap that exists today. The main things that set us a part from others is our intent. We didn’t get into this with a focus on money. We started this with truly making a difference being the core of of our Why. We have shown not to only educate, but prove our dedication to the development of Black Professionals by spending our dollars within the community; going to black owned businesses and speaking with them about their needs and their goals; and also making sure that at least 80% of all of our spending goes to black businesses. We are very proud of what we are doing and the people that we have gotten to meet so far in this process and it wasn’t always the easiest. Plenty of sacrifices were made and many sleepless nights occurred. These instances led us to some of the biggest lessons we’ve learned on this journey. One being to get everything in writing, and another is to always do good business, no matter what. In the past, not having a contract in place, or at least some form of paper trail, has lead us to be responsible for things we financially should not have been responsible for. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s friends, or family, always get things in writing and have things in place to protect yourself/ business. We have always practiced good business but it still was a lesson because a lot of referrals and people we have gotten to meet was because of simply doing good business and treating everyone we work with with respect. This reiterated for us the importance of doing good business and leaving a good impression. We want the world to know that everything we’ve done and continue to do starts with having faith and believing in ourselves. Helping our people is our Why. Building generational wealth is our Why. Improving the quality of the lives of our black sisters and brothers is our Why. And when you are serious about your Why, it will be what keeps you going anytime you have a slither of hopelessness or frustration.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Here in NYC, there are so many eateries, activities, sites, and entertainment that one can do here! As vegans, our go-to spots for food are Veggies on Utica, Veggie Castle in Queens, and Urban Vegan Kitchen in Manhattan (all of which are black-owned!). We love going bowling at Bowl 360 locations (the owners are a Guyanese husband and wife and they are very cool; we even got engaged at their Brooklyn location!) During our “turn up” days a good Friday or Saturday night we would go to Schimanski in Wlliamsburg (where we first met). If you ever just want to walk around outside and site see, the Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, Randall’s Island, Statue of Liberty, Times Square and Coney Island are all some popular locations for people to tour and explore here in NYC. But there are always so much more to discover!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost, the biggest shout out goes out to God. He is number one when it comes to all that we are and all that we have accomplished. Through Him, we found each other and have been able to collaborate on every level of our lives to build the empire we have been building for the generations to follow. It is God who has allowed the right family, friends, and business associates to connect with us along our path and support us whenever necessary. With that being said, it is only right to dedicate our story to God as he is the only one who has made all of what we are and continue to do, possible today.

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Website: Theblackcellar.com

Instagram: @theblackcellar_

Other: Email: Support@theblackcellar.com