Fourth time’s a charm as Invest Fest is set to return to Atlanta: “Education is wealth”

On Friday (March 22) afternoon, there was a press conference at City Hall in Atlanta, GA with Mayor Andre Dickens as well as Earn Your Leisure co-founders Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings and CEO Michael MacDonald. During the event, they announced that Invest Fest is set to return to Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 23 to Sunday, Aug. 25 at the Georgia World Conference Center.

Mayor Dickens stated, “Atlanta is the place where BIG things happen, and a lot of folks come and ‘secure the bag,’ and you can’t do that unless you are financially literate.”

Over 50,000 people attended the festival in 2023, with billionaires and millionaires such as Steve Harvey, Tyler Perry, and more being just some of the figures who came out and supported. Without a doubt, Bilal and Millings have paved the way for small businesses, and the fiscal literacy experts expect to bring in even more attendees in 2024.

Like EYL -- their financial platform featuring a successful podcast, online courses, and more -- Invest Fest is for the people. This will be the fourth year it’s held in Atlanta, a mecca for Black business and therefore, the perfect setting for the event. Invest Fest aims to equip millennials of color with wealth building strategies and tools to make their businesses a success. The festival’s organizers want to continue maximizing the information available to communities of color to provide economic empowerment.

During Friday’s press conference, REVOLT spoke to Bilal about what to expect this year. He stated, "Invest Fest is a unique situation because it combines all of the aspects of music and pop culture festivals but for the business conference. So, we have food vendors, performances, fireside chats, live podcasts, a vendor marketplace and food trucks. All of these things that have excitement but also education is wealth, right? It was birthed four years ago, and we just saw a need for it and to start a new Black Wall Street -- not from a storefront standpoint but from a mental standpoint by getting us to work with each other and embrace each other... getting us to network with each other on as large a scale as possible. That is why we use the word ‘festival’ instead of a ‘conference’ and have been growing every year ever since. The plan for this year is to make it bigger but also add as much impact and value as possible."

Invest Fest will continue to serve as an educational platform for financial empowerment in the Black community. This time around, the team would like to spotlight more everyday people and less celebrities.

During the press conference, there was a contest in which entrepreneurs were tasked with capturing the best 60-second video about their business, and Head’s Plumbing won! They received a $5,000 grant.

Also, The Pink Nookie team expressed their experience with the festival over the years, as the company was not prepared to be chosen as a vendor initially. Not only did the team have just a banner and tablecloth on day one -- a dollar and a dream, if you will -- they tripled their profit, and it turned their small business into a big one. This year will be their third time doing the phenomenal fest that changed their lives!

"Branding and marketing are the two biggest things for any entrepreneur. Since we are in the age of social media, you have to either hire a social media manager or spend hours on learning how to create content yourself as well and network. It is all about relationships at any level. So, network with people in your industry and network with other people who need your services. Branding, marketing and network will be the big three for me,” Bilal shared with REVOLT.

In 2023, EYL faced criticism from attendees due to some scheduling confusion surrounding speakers. The guys listened to the online feedback, and this time around, the company assured the press conference attendees that they plan to thoroughly vet potential guests. Presale tickets are available now starting at $250 for general admission and going up to $10,000 for lifetime VIP access. Additional details regarding headliners and more for the 2024 installment are set to be announced in April. Stay tuned!

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