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FEATURED ENTREPRENEURS
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By
Bolaji Oyejide
B
ack in '84, Mike and his family lived right next to a golf course. Mike
would often watch in amusement as the grown folks would go to the
course in
their sharp looking outfits and equipment, only to hit golf ball after golf ball into a 3-foot deep ditch.
Eventually, he decided to do something about it. So he borrowed a long metal rake, went right up to the ditch, and proceeded to fish out HUNDREDS of golf balls!
Why was Mike at the 15th hole the very next day, selling golf balls for 25 cents each? Kids will be kids, right?
Perhaps. But how many kids do you know that would hire a group of their friends into their business? There was the kid who fished out the golf balls. And there was the kid who washed off the golf balls. Don't forget the kid who sold the golf balls. Mike was at the helm of it all, observing his Golf Ball Recycling Company operate with amazing efficiency.
He was 11 years old.
Michael Lee
always wanted to be a pilot as a kid, just like his father
before him. He also wanted to play a musical instrument. Being an Air
Force brat though, he was never in one place long enough to take one up.
By his senior year of high school, he was determined to achieve his goal
of playing an instrument. So he practiced regularly for 3 hours. Every day. All year. By the end of his senior year, he was recruited into the Alabama A & M "Maroon And White Marching Band". Not bad for a musical first-timer. Especially when you consider the fact that by his junior year, he was leading the band onto the field every weekend as the Drum Major!
By this time though, his eyesight was no longer perfect, and so he had to give up the dream of being a pilot. Undaunted, his roving interests honed in on something else. Computers.
"I started out in Mathematics Education, but in my sophomore year, I got bitten by the computer science bug. I knew that's where I wanted to be.",
said Mike. Hooked indeed. It's no wonder then that coming out of Alabama
A & M five years later, with 3 years of Drum Major experience
and a computer science degree under his belt, Mike launched THE 5th
QUARTER.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
What is "The 5th Quarter"? Where did that name come from?
MICHAEL LEE:
The 5th Quarter is an
organization dedicated to showing the world one of the best-kept secrets,
HBCU Marching Bands. The 5th Quarter offers its visitors audio, video,
photos, and much more of their favorite HBCU Marching Bands. We seek to
unite black college bands worldwide. We strive to provide them with a
better way to recruit and showcase information about their respective
programs. Anyone who has ever witnessed an HBCU marching band will
never forget that experience. That's what we want to get across.
There's nothing like watching an HBCU marching band. Nothing. The 5th
Quarter wants to share this gift with the World. We also want to give the
band students a place to go to express their love for marching bands.
It is not easy for a school to do that off their own servers. We want to
be able to host their web sites, audio and video footage.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
Technology guru, or savvy businessman? Which do you see yourself as? I get the sense that you wear both hats.
MICHAEL LEE:
At this point in my life, I would see myself more as a technical person. I have a very good grasp of internet technologies. However, I guess growing up, I've always had a business sense. And I do intend to go to graduate school to get my MBA. Right now I'm starting to explore my business and management skills.
If you have a technical background, you will make a great manager, because
you will understand what your people are going through. I think I have a natural leadership about me, but I focus on the technical work.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
Who are the other managers in the company?
MICHAEL LEE:
My partner, Christy marched in the band all her life! Her parents were
both in the North Carolina A & T band, so there's a sort of history there. Big time. She's a people person. She's able to rally the troops and get them in order. She's a great moderator, and an excellent leader.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
Do you have any plans to spread your reach beyond the internet?
MICHAEL LEE:
We've actually been pretty good about off-line activities. Our most popular one is called "Night Of The Living Band Heads".
This happens in different cities, mostly in the South East and Washington DC area. It is a periodic get-together where current and former marching band members get together and watch band tapes all night long. They critique each other's bands; talk trash about each other's bands, laugh, talk and fellowship. It has grown to be a very popular event. We offer a buffet; sell band footage on video tape, water bottles, t-shirts, and other paraphernalia.
Night Of The Living Band Heads was initiated in the fall of 99. It has been going strong for two marching band seasons! And it's coming soon to a city near you.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
Describe a day in the life of "The 5th Quarter".
MICHAEL LEE:
Here's a typical "Night Of the Living Band Heads" (NLBH) Weekend :
Usually we take late Friday night flights after work. Christy and I meet
up and finalize the itinerary for the weekend.
If there are other staff members in the city or attending the NLBH, we
contact them, meet for dinner and discuss future plans. Our work really starts on
Saturday next morning.
On one particular weekend we had three games to attend!
We had to leave the games after halftime to make the other halftime shows.
We took pictures and video footage of each game.
We eventually ended up in the Georgia dome watching TSU and FAMU battle it out.
We usually make it a point to have short meetings with each band director
to make sure it is okay to video tape the game. After the game, we head
back to the hotel to
prepare for the "Night of Living Band Heads"!
We get dressed in something casual and head down to the room early to make
sure all the equipment and for-sale items are in order.
The room usually fills up within 30 minutes of the start and we mingle
within the crowd fielding questions about the site, and future plans, as well as other personal questions.
We watch the tapes, and talk trash like everyone else. At the end of the
night we pack up and go over the financial details for the night.
On Sunday morning, we all head back to our respective home bases.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
Do you envision "marching bands" as the continued focus of your company?
MICHAEL LEE:
I see marching bands being the focus of our company from here out. It will not only be limited to HBCU marching bands though.
We have a site coming out this year called "The High School 5th Quarter". This site will be dedicated to every single high school marching band in America. It will provide information about their schools, and give them a place to get information about college marching bands. Most of the high school students on The5thQuarter.com right now ask a lot of questions about the College Marching Band experience. "What's it like?" "What should I bring to band camp?" Questions like that. I want them to have access to college marching band members, college band directors, and the schools themselves. I want them to be able to choose from our site - "I want to go to Alabama A & M because I really like the people, I like the band director, I like what they're doing".
We plan to establish a site for all college marching bands as well.
So our focus is marching bands, whether they are white, black, high school, or college.
NINE ZERO Communications, Inc. will be the holding company for all of these web sites.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
Dot-com companies have been suffering of late - 2000 was not a good year for them. How were you able to survive the "falling from grace" of dot-com companies?
MICHAEL LEE:
We make most of our income from advertising and sponsorships. We are lucky thus far in that we continue to be a profitable company. We are a privately owned, and intend to stay that way in the near-term. So the market fluctuation has not affected us that much. We intend to work closely with band directors from major universities, and other influential individuals in this sector. They know more about marching bands than anyone else; they know what they need in terms of recruiting. Their guidance will help in keeping us going in the right direction.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
What do you foresee as potential barriers to the success of "The 5th Quarter"?
MICHAEL LEE:
Our biggest barrier has been and probably will be the ability to get our name out. There are currently 42 HBCUs with marching bands. Of these 42, we have good representation from 22 of these schools. We've had difficulty getting our name out to the remaining schools. Some of the schools we don't have audio for, others we don't have video for. Once we get those going, I feel that more people from these schools will start coming on. So branding is a challenge for us.
In addition, in a few years when the "High School 5th Quarter" has been up, we will have high school students entering college and taking their familiarity with our brand along. So getting a foothold in the high school arena is a key strategy for The 5th Quarter.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
How do you intend to build your brand further? Are there any Super Bowl ads in the works? :)
MICHAEL LEE:
Well, I wouldn't say Super Bowl - It wouldn't make sense for us to do a million dollar commercial, because our target audience is not everyone who watches the Super Bowl. At least not now, while our focus is Black College bands.
All of our sites are going to work around "The 5th Quarter" logo - that will be the center of our brand. We plan to come out with a Marching Gear clothing line, which will further help us to strengthen our brand.
THE HBCU NETWORK:
Where can people expect to see "The 5th Quarter" next?
MICHAEL LEE:
Look for us at all the Black College Football Classics in 2001.
Aggie Eagle Classic
Riverfront Classic
Southern Heritage Classic
Atlanta Football Classic
Eddie McGirt Classic
Circle City Classic
Midway Classic
Magic City Classic
Florida Classic
Turkey Day Classic
Bayou Classic
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