‘Stickin with It’ There I was, squeezin a small bit of my wife’s belly fat about to insert a needle full of hormones wondering what in the world I was going to do if this doesn’t work… 1987 It all started when I was about 10 years old. Someone asked me if I was gonna...
Maurice Bettahmungah (aka Mo’ Bettah)
After spending 17 years making C’s and fighting 3 older brothers to stay relevant in sports, academics, and life in my hometown of Casselberry, Florida, I loaded up my mediocrity into the back of my buddy’s girlfriend’s Saturn and moved west to Arizona, jumping head first into the incredibly stressful job of restaurant host at the north rim lodge of the Grand Canyon. After overcoming the difficult and challenging transition from Icehouse to Keystone Light and being promoted to head veranda cocktailer, I finally settled in to and eventually grew to love the canyons and trails around me and those that agreed to fill their backpacks full of Makers Mark to join me on weekly journeys to the bottom of the canyon. Newer journeys on paved paths eventually took me back out of the park, to south Oahu, Hawaii and Eugene, Oregon, then landing back in Dunedin, Florida to revisit what it’s like to live in a sweat lodge. After 4 years of commercial moving and playing landlord in my first investment property, I decided that the crowded highways and tourists playing AC/DC on the beaches was enough and moved back to Arizona, Flagstaff this time, to help run a brewery and bar. Some Nobodys and I ended up purchasing the bar, transforming the brewery into a music venue, which kicked off both my entrepreneurial and music promotions careers. Along the way we invested in and lost Arizona’s first legal distillery, I produced hundreds of concerts and fundraisers and co-founded 3 festivals. After one painful exit from the bar that carried a ton of debt, and one successful exit from the festivals that offset most of that debt, I co founded and now operate a digital marketing agency that helps locally owned businesses develop brand strategies, build websites, design logos, and all the other fun stuff like SEO and PPC. Over the past 20 years of traveling and nomading, I was married and divorced, learned the trades wearing multiple belts, some filled with tools, some holding up slacks. I’ve poorly operated businesses, I’ve struggled to start a family, but there is a balance, as I’ve had beautiful and meaningful relationships, successful business ventures, and my fair share of extremely rewarding community organizing. Although I still grind on the daily to accomplish a laundry list of goals, I am enamored with the littlest things and have learned to slow down enough to smell the cigars. I like dogs more than people, the earth more than business, and my mama just a little bit more than Obama. When I’m not studying up on entrepreneurship, business culture and start ups, most days you’ll find me in the den trying to convince the world that Tampa Bay is a real hockey town or drawing up another business plan that will change the world. Although I enjoy my beer, pizza, and ice tea cold, I like my weather like I like my women, super hot! I’m currently headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona with a fiery half French, half Irish bombshell and an opinionated, strong-willed and big hearted eight-year-old.
Likes/Loves: entrepreneurship, trail running, hiking, non profits, small businesses, the service industry, festival production, the environment, animals (except for hyenas), artists, business culture/finance/operations, basically handlin your bidness, guerilla/digital marketing, meditation, purpose driven business, philanthropy, career path, business development, beach volleyball, internet businesses, ambers, porters, and most any domestic beer in a can, billiards, darts, shuffleboard (table or court), Riojas, Macanudos, Dogs, and live music
Favorite albums: Jimmy Cliff harder they come, Simon and Garfunkel bridge over troubled water, Tom Petty Wildflowers, Phosphorescent, Paul Simon Graceland, Bob Marley (Anything), Baroque, The Jungle Book soundtrack, Pantera,
Favorite authors: can’t read
Favorite teams: Bucs, Bolts, Magic, Gators, D Rays, Yotes, Cardinals, Lumberjacks, Liverpool
Favorite color: Waiks sunset orange
Dislikes: most white dudes with long hair, most chicks with straight bangs, people who don’t like dogs, hedge fund anyone, people who don’t use turn signals, people who don’t leave one side of the sink open, asparagus, stinky cheese, the 2 party political system, skinny jeans, mumble rap, IPA’s, fartin on snare drums, stop n go traffic, people who say ‘just go around’