Meet Freeman Fields I (the first): Entrepreneur & Serial Innovator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Freeman Fields I (the first) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Freeman, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I was born as entrepreneur. As early as I could remember, despite living in the projects of Chicago SouthSide, i’ve always said i was going to be rich when the other kids were saying they wanted to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc… At the age of 6, my mother thought it was hiliourious to have her friends to ask me “what do you want to be Freeman when you grow up? Without ever skipping a beat from whatever i was doing, my response would always be, “i want to be rich”. I cut my teeth on entrepreneurship at a very early age when my mother became the neighborhood candy lady. What better way to spend your weekend than taking money from all the neighborhood kids. I was 13 yrs old and selling at my family’s snowcone stand when i first heard the word entrepreneur. An older gentleman we called Frenchy (not sure if that’s his real name) walked by and said, “look at my lil entrepreneurs”. I asked him, “what is an entrepreneur”. He said a person that owns a business. It was from that day forward that i realized how i was going to become rich. But more importantly, it was from that day forward that i knew what to call myself. So, to answer your question, whether it was becoming a real estate investor, owning a car dealership at the age of 23, selling clothes, furniture, patents, inventions or developing apps, the thought of being an entrepreneur is the only thought i’ve ever known.

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 a disabled veteran injured during Desert Storm, it has always been my desire to protect this country and Americans. When i saw a growing problem threatening the livelihood of so many families in the U.S., i felt a strong urge to do something to stop it. I’m speaking of the growing number of burglaries and home invasions taking place throughout the country. It is estimated that a home is broken into every 2 mins in the U.S., leaving many families feeling violated and some seriously harmed or killed. The number of burglaries in the country continues to increase despite the growing number of homeowners installing home alarms and cameras. Because the average burglary only takes 4-5 mins and a lifetime for help to arrive (approx 20 – 30 mins), many criminals are no longer deterred by alarms and cameras. Why do you think we see so many of them “Caught On Tape”. Burglars don’t mind being “Caught On Tape” if they’re not going to be actually caught for the crime. It was after watching a news segment about a family’s home that had been broken into a few years ago that caused me to leap into action. The burglars had kicked in the door, shot the husband and began shooting at the mother as she fled the house with their child in arms. Having been in construction for over 25 years and knowing how vulnerable doors are due to their flowed design, i decided to create a way to prevent the average door from being kicked in by burglars. This lead to the creation of my company iVault Home Protection. iVault stands for “invisible vault” because our patented system essentially turns your home into an invisible vault against burglars. Since creation, my wife and i pride our self on the fact we are keeping families safe. The road to success has not been easy, as we continue to travel it. However, we could not imagine doing anything else. I mentioned God’s guidance in my previous segment. It was His divine guidance that inspired this innovation to protect His people from burglars and give them a sense of security in their homes. However, like most businesses, we had to overcome the challenges. One of our greatest challenges is overcoming the false sense of security many people have in their home alarms and cameras. In order to do so, we had to be creative in our marketing and advertising. Once that was solved, we have enjoyed a steady trend of success ever since. From selling clothes on the streets of Chicago as a teenager, real estate throughout the midwest, owning a car dealership at 23 yrs old, securing multiple patents and bringing several inventions to market, this is my most rewarding endeavor yet. I guess it’s because i know each unit sold means a family protected.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is an easy one. ATLANTIC STATION! I recall when i moved here from Chicago in Dec 09 how i was completely fascinated by the winter wonderland atmosphere at Atlantic Station. Let’s just say that fascination never left. My favorite restaurant, Fish Head, is no longer there. However, there are quite a few other awesome restaurants there like Cali Pizza, and Cheese Cakes Bistro.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give credit to those who are responsible for my personal, spiritual, and entrepreneurial development. I can’t proceed without first giving God all the honor and glory for changing my course and leading me on a righteous path from hustling on the streets of Chicago, to becoming an entrepreneur with multiple businesses and patents. He blessed me with a phenomenal mother whose heart was as large as the city itself, which was only matched by her stern hand. LOL. Before we feared God, it was the fear of mom that kept my siblings and me out of prison and allowed me to go into the Navy to reinforce the discipline and dedication needed to become a successful entrepreneur.

Website: www.VeteransProtectionHome.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivault_home_protection/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freemanfields/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iVaultUSA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iVaultUSA
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ivault-home-protection-atlanta-2
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJeYSTPRJKyOyAxZEU8mjcA?view_as=subscriber