Still Young and Hungry

My father ran a small community health clinic and asked for help. That’s when I left my job on Wall Street to run the business. Soon, I wanted to expand the clinic to provide mental health care for people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds, and within 18 months, we grew from six to 60 employees. In 2010, my father had a serious heart condition that forced him to retire immediately, and I became CEO.

I was 24.

When I joined Vistage, I was an absolute sponge. I wanted to be a better leader and make some untraditional moves, and Vistage helped with all of this. Everyone had a nugget of wisdom to share, and I listened for it.

I started to see the impact poor mental health has on someone’s overall health. So, we added primary medical care to our model. I changed the name to Bayless Integrated Healthcare and grew it to become the largest provider of mental health services in Arizona and one of the nation’s first to be URAC telehealth accredited.

We landed on the Inc. 5000 list for the fastest-growing private companies in America three years in a row before selling 70% to a Fortune 500 company. In 2022, I sold the remainder of the business and successfully acquired back the rights to the Bayless trademark and brand.

That first year was lonely. You have this whole routine, and the music just stops. I thought about how I could give back. I started with the Boys and Girls Club — creating an entrepreneurship curriculum for teens. I donated to my high school and my alma mater, Morehouse College, and created initiatives that aligned with my values, purpose and skills. I began advising health care entrepreneurs and funding early-stage startups.

A big passion project of mine became the Journey Venture Studio, named for my 7-year-old daughter. It helps fund underrepresented entrepreneurs — a population that traditionally only receives 2% of all venture capital funding. And as someone who has always felt like an outsider, I was driven to write a book for other “dark horse entrepreneurs” called “The Journey to Ten Figures” about turning adversity into your greatest asset.

I have three young children, so, of course, there’s more family time, travel and golf.

I’m still young and hungry. I have a lot to figure out, and there’s a lot left to be done. There are still disparities in health care and entrepreneurship, and I want to use my platform to help others succeed.