For Philippe K. Doh, Harlem was the place to start a new business. So in 2009 he launched Harlem Renaissance 2.0, a financial and management consulting CO-OP for the Empowerment of Creatives, Women, and Urban Talent, with partner Janine Green.
"I co-founded HR2.0 (Harlem Renaissance 2.0) with my wife and business partner/supermodel Janine Green, in 2009. We first started working together in 2006 when we created MAKE/Creative Talent Advisers, a Family Office and Talent Management CO-OP for international artists and creative talents. We created MAKE in order to help successful artists and creative talents, regain creative control and secure their finances over the years; regardless of the uncertainty and challenges in their careers or personal lives," explains Doh.
The goals of HR2.0: “To develop a vibrant multicultural business and creative hub between Paris and NYC and to facilitate trans-Atlantic trade and capital formation between the Americas, Europe and Africa," says Doh."HR2.0 is focused on urban economic, social and environmental progress; and sustainable wealth building within Black, Latino, North African and Asian communities (in the Americas, Europe and Africa). We started HR2.0 in 2009, as part of a Pan-African and Harlem centric development effort of our Talent Management activities. After a few years of activity with MAKE, we realized that we needed to also develop a more focused, customized and integrated approach to the needs, concerns and aspirations of women and of talent of African descent in Europe and the Americas."
While Doh was solidly settled on the location for his business, actually getting it up and running was another matter. "The hardest part in getting started was the immensity of the task at hand, where to start," he says. "As a CO-OP, for HR2.0 to function and grow, it depends on collaboration, support and unity of purpose between people that traditionally have conflicting interests, or that are not really used to dealing with each other. For years, most people I discussed this with, agreed that there needs to be more coordination and support between Africans and people of the African Diaspora in the Americas, for the benefit of both communities. But most are also pessimistic...claiming that fear and greed are the only motivators and that Blacks will never unite. Thankfully, I’m an eternal optimist and since 2009 I’ve been trying to convince one member and partner at a time, of the importance and need for all of us to unite, and joining our talent and resources in order to face the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead of us."
HR2.0 provides various consulting services. "HR2.0 is a Consulting CO-OP that focuses on providing equitable opportunities for success; achievement and progression for all; financial guidance and mentoring for promising young urban entrepreneurs & creative minds; family office services, financial protection & relocation support for international artists, freelancers and entrepreneurs in creative industries (expatriation specialists to the U.S., Europe, the Americas and Africa); promoting commercial and cultural exchanges between American, European and African talent; and facilitating trans-Atlantic trade and capital formation between American, European and African entrepreneurs," explains Doh.
The New Year has brought new developments for HR2.0, including the launch of the MTL* Financial Boot Camp in the next few weeks. According to Doh, this year will be a challenging one for his fledgling company. "2012 will be a crucial year for us," he says. "We would like to take the opportunity of the political elections in France and in the U.S. to reinforce our message of unity of purpose and for the need to focus on the development of talent of African descendants in the U.S. and Europe, for the benefit of all. It will be important for us to remind people that the African Diaspora, fueled by the Talent and Creative Age, is one of the main engines of growth of the 21st Century; and that Urban Multiculturalism is at the center of today's Atlantic World and that we are witnessing the second stage of the Harlem Renaissance; a cross-cultural revolution, over 90 years in the making."
