In 2018, Joshua Nowack served three months of a six-month sentence in a Santa Ana, Calif., jail for felony fraud by embezzlement. But when he was released, Nowack learned that, despite his MBA and previous professional experience as a CFO and accountant, no employer wanted to hire him once they found out about his record. […]

Brian Hamilton and Lawrence Carpenter, of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, talk about their new reality show “Free Enterprise” in which they help formerly incarcerated people make money with their business ideas.

Several days ago, I got a call from Scott Jennings, a fellow board member of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, who was fired up after reading the recent Small Business Administration business loan application. Scott, who served time in prison years ago, is now a highly successful entrepreneur. Like many other entrepreneurs, he has worked very hard to start […]

I’ve been writing for Inc. for about 10 years but I began reading the magazine when I was a kid. As I think back on it, there were a couple of reasons. The first was that I wanted to learn how to become a successful entrepreneur. The second was because being an entrepreneur can be a very lonely thing. It […]

Lawrence Carpenter’s journey has taken him from a life behind bars to becoming a transformative business leader and philanthropist. Growing up in one of Durham, North Carolina’s roughest neighborhoods, he had to contend with a father who spent much of his time behind bars and a heroin addict mother as part of his formative years. […]

Too often ‘opportunity’ is exclusively synonymous with privilege. Brian Hamilton is determined to change that. Brian Hamilton doesn’t know what he’s going to do. He’s a man of action, certainly. The 1987 Sacred Heart alum, entrepreneur, philanthropist and former University trustee has been working essentially every day of his adult life, and then some. With […]

There is a lot of discussion about poverty in America. Solutions range from increased taxes on the rich to work requirements on welfare. It seems as if no one is arguing for one solution that’s been top of mind for me lately: entrepreneurship. The many causes of poverty are complicated and the subject of much […]

Entrepreneur Brian Hamilton’s life changed in a prison. He wasn’t incarcerated; he was accompanying his friend, Reverend Robert J. Harris, who frequented local prisons to do ministry work. During the visit, Hamilton started talking to one of the inmates and asked what he was going to do when he got out. “He said he was […]

Meet Point of Light Award honoree Brian Hamilton. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Point of Light. Brian Hamilton, founder of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, leads an in-person training class for incarcerated individuals. An entrepreneur from an early age, Brian Hamilton has worked alongside many creative business owners and understands the power and potential of a […]