Meet Brandon Z. Hoff: Entrepreneur, AI Educator, and Innovator

@hoffdigital

Hi. I’m Brandon! From traveling the country as a professional gamer 🎮 to scaling a seven-figure e-commerce business and now advocating for... See more

My Journey into Gaming and Early Lessons in Equity

I used to be a professional gamer back in the days of Madden 03, 04, and 05—long before esports was even a thing. I traveled for the Madden Challenges, hitting over 20 cities across the United States to compete. That journey taught me my first lesson about equity and entrepreneurship.

The Lesson of Ownership

During that time, I was part of a subscription-based Madden tips company called Madden Authority, which later got acquired by Sports Gamer. But I didn’t get a dime from that acquisition because I didn’t have equity. That experience taught me how much ownership matters in entrepreneurship. It opened my eyes to the fact that you can actually start a company and work for yourself. I decided I was going to do just that.

I started hustling on eBay and Amazon, diving into something called Amazon-eBay arbitrage. Hoverboards were the hot item, and I sold tons of them. Eventually, someone paid me $5,000 for my eBay account. Looking back, they probably got a steal, but for me, that was my first pseudo-exit. That’s when I thought: I want to be the person who buys and sells companies.

To get there, I thought investment banking was the path. I started in retail banking, working my way up from a teller to a bank manager. But retail banking wasn’t it for me. I quit, studied for the GMAT, and decided to pursue an MBA to become an entrepreneur, a consultant, and “the money man.”

From Banking to an MBA in France

I ended up going to a top-50 MBA program in France. It was life-changing. Studying in Europe gave me the chance to work with an international group of students on all kinds of projects. I traveled to South Africa for a sustainability project, worked in Tanzania, and even pitched a startup idea in Silicon Valley. We didn’t raise money, but I learned a lot about product-market fit and overcoming a scarcity mindset.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Growing up around poverty, I struggled with imposter syndrome—especially when it came to feeling worthy of asking for and receiving large sums of money. But that experience taught me confidence.

After returning to the U.S., I wasn’t ready to jump back into a 9-to-5. Instead, I started an agency. I’d picked up photography, design, and front-end development in Europe. Travel vlogging was just starting to become a thing, and I wanted to carve out a space as a Black travel vlogger. While that never really took off, the skills I gained—like mastering Adobe Suite, video editing, and coding—are invaluable today. I know just enough about coding to be dangerous, which makes generative AI so exciting.

Eventually, I returned to banking and dove into corporate finance. I taught myself SQL and R, constantly building skills. Then I got laid off. With a severance in hand, I knew it was my moment to shine.

Building a Business for HBCUs

I started a company in my basement, making T-shirts. My dream was to create a supply chain for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

We got licensed with 30 schools, which was a major challenge. For those who don’t know, licensing with colleges involves working through organizations like the CLC—it’s a process. My question was: When you buy a T-shirt from a school, who gets the money? That question fueled our mission.

From 2019 to 2021, the business exploded. During the pandemic and the rise of Black Lives Matter, our Black Power apparel took off. We moved into an 8,000-square-foot warehouse, did seven figures in revenue, and had a team of nearly 20. We were featured in GQ, Essence, and NPR. But then Facebook changed its ad algorithm post-Cambridge Analytica. We used to target schools like Howard University directly, but that targeting option disappeared. Our customer acquisition costs doubled, and eventually, we ran out of money.

Entrepreneurship is so hard. Starting is tough, but scaling is even harder. I learned that scaling too fast can lead to your downfall.

The Game-Changer: ChatGPT

Then ChatGPT dropped—and it completely changed my life. As someone with ADHD, ChatGPT helps me organize my thoughts and slow down. I wish I’d had it back when I was building companies. It’s a game-changer, especially for underrepresented communities in STEM and tech.

Now, I’d probably call myself an AI researcher. I’m not trying to get a PhD, but I believe in the power of this technology to change the world—if we use it responsibly. My mission is to help people learn how to use AI effectively. I love sharing what I learn, and if you’ve consumed any of my content, this is where I’m coming from.

I’m passionate about entrepreneurship and cooperative economics. In fact, the company I founded eventually became a co-op. While it didn’t work out, it laid the foundation for what’s next. I’m excited about the future and what we can create together.

If you’re here, I just wanted to give you a little intro about who I am and what I do. I appreciate you watching, and I hope this becomes a budding community. Thanks for being here. Have a great day!

hoff