Today we’d like to introduce you to Fuquan Brown.
Fuquan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Newark, NJ. Because of the drugs and crime surrounding the area, my parents decided to move to West Palm Beach, FL where my grandmother was located. In highschool, I played football and received a football scholarship to Florida A&M University (FAMU). I majored in Economics but always had a fascination with numbers and business. During my time at FAMU, a group of friends and I started a marketing and promotions company in Tallahassee in which we rented out venues and threw events. We were fortunate enough to work with a few local celebrities such as T- Pain and DJ Demp. After finishing, I moved, and unfortunately, the company dissolved.
After FAMU, I played professional Arena Football for five years in which I was able to live in various places such as Charlotte, NC, Florence, SC, and San Jose, CA. After finishing with football, I went back to school and got my Master’s in Accounting. I sat for the CPA exam but did not complete it because going through the process didn’t see where I really needed it in my career path.
After living in the bay area of California for five years, I decided to relocate to Atlanta in 2018 because of the cost of living and to give my son more of a family feel growing up. Fast forward to where DABOC comes into play.
Daboc was launched in July of 2018. It is an acronym that stands for Dope Ass Black Owned Company with the purpose of Developing and Building Our Communities. It was started in part to show the youth the importance of ownership and ultimately to have a company to one day pass down to my son. Daboc focuses on three fundamentals: fashion, finance, and fitness. The three areas that I believe our culture uses but can use guidance with. On top of the Daboc brand, I also write poetry, and I have self-published two books that can be found at fuquanthepoet.com.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It was definitely not a smooth road. I have come to terms with being comfortable being uncomfortable. I tend to do self evaluations and will occasionally have friends and family give me constructive criticism on pros and cons and although most spoke highly of me an interesting con a friend mentioned is “you don’t work well with others” ha. I actually had to ponder on it for a minute but I get where he was coming from and he was actually a business partner at one point in time so I definitely respected his perspective. It can be a pro or a con because I am a “doer” so I don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to getting things done. I’m also sarcastic and a realist, so that can sometimes rub people the wrong way when I don’t sugarcoat what I am feeling.
All that to say, the struggle has been real with finding a team that thinks and moves as I do. It becomes frustrating because you feel like its a million things to do, and even if you are good at prioritizing, it still takes a team to run a company, and you will run yourself crazy trying to do everything yourself.
Please tell us about your work.
Right now, Daboc is focused on the fashion part as a way to reach the masses with a message. The tag line for the company is “its a statement plus fashion”. But the company encourages building in the black community and becoming more producers and not just consumers. One of the collections is the “40 acres” collection, which states “I Need My 40 Acres” on the back of a shirt. I play off of the history of 40 acres and a mule respectfully but also to encourage others to go after their 40 acres whatever it may be, whether its a job, a house, a new car, etc. I’m proud I was able to come up with a creative concept that others are seeming to appreciate and understand.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My family plays a huge role in keeping me motivated and letting me know that they believe in my crazy ideas, and they also keep me level headed. Also would like to give credit to my friend/business partner Will Smith who played a big role in helping me start Daboc.
Contact Info:
- Website: dabocshop.com and fuquanthepoet.com
- Email: dabocshop@gmail.com
- Instagram: fuquanthepoet_ and dabocshop
- Twitter: @dabocshop
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