Successful Rule Breakers: Lashon Byrd On How To Succeed By Doing Things Differently

An Interview With Chad Silverstein

Take as many risks as possible: Life is precarious and full of uncertainty, take as many risks as possible and don’t play it safe. When you don’t play it safe, and tread in unexplored waters, you’ll find something no one else has found.

In the world of business and within every industry, there are forward-thinking leaders who go against the status quo and find success. Their courage to take risks, embrace innovation, and inspire collaboration separates them from the competition. Until 2002, Apple’s famous slogan was “Think Different”. This attitude likely helped them become one of the most successful organizations in history. This interview series aims to showcase visionary leaders and their “status quo-breaking” approach to doing business. As part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lashon Byrd.

Lashon Byrd, who’s full name is Lashon Alexander Byrd III is a critically acclaimed polymath. Equipped with voracious ambition and tenacity, Lashon aims to truly advance humanity. In his youth, he’s already making a significant mark.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Ah my origin story, it’s quite the intriguing one. I was born in poverty, to teen parents. Yes, they were both teenagers. Growing up I constantly stayed with my great grandmother while my mom steadily got things together. And we formed a really close bond, I mean, she was my best friend. We were so close in fact, people would tell us we’re like husband and wife, in the familial sense of course. As for my father, me and my sister weren’t his first priority really. He wasn’t very involved in our lives, but when he was there, we were also really close. He was like my best friend, and dad. As I grew up, spending most of my time with my great grandmother, she gave me a really good carefree adventurous childhood by the way. I slowly developed a passion for writing and entrepreneurship. At the age of 10, I discovered the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, and it changed my life. He greatly influenced my passion for writing and entrepreneurship, the teachers would record me reading the book because it was so unorthodox for a literal child to read that fluently and intently. I made it my goal to become an entrepreneur, and a very financially successful person at the age of 10, I mean it gets no more unorthodox than that. By the time I turned 11, I started writing my now notable book “Dy-nami” on Wattpad. It became popular on the platform, and I decided to publish it, print, two years later. At the age of 12, I started building businesses, my first was a print-on-demand store named “Vortex.” It failed subsequently because as an entrepreneur, if you’re not passionate about what you’re building, your business won’t be the best let alone succeed. As time went on, I developed more genuine passions for multiple things, such as acting, philosophy, philanthropy, and it all stems from early childhood. At the age of 4, I wanted to become a scientist, I grew up in a magnet performing arts school, so I grew up performing on stages doing theater. As I matured and realized how genuinely passionate and skilled, I am in multiple fields, I made it my single life’s purpose to advance humanity as a whole utilizing each and every one of them. And with that extreme ambition, I acted, literally, and look at me now.

Can you give us a glimpse into your journey into this industry and share a story about one of the most significant challenges you faced when you first started out? How did you end up resolving that challenge?

As a man of many wonders, in the field of entrepreneurship, I am a partner and investor in the acclaimed real estate platform Landa. Which I then used to start my very own global recognition award winning real estate investment company Byrd Estates. I have about four failed companies, “Vortex 1.0” “Vortex 2.0” “Number one media” & “Raspberry 1” One of the single handedly most significant challenges I faced starting out in entrepreneurship was starting the right business. I tried multiple industries, multiple models, and I wasn’t really excited about any of them because my sights were set on money rather than providing genuine value. I resolved this challenge by firstly getting to know myself better, what I’m really into. And then finding a problem to solve, in accordance with my passions, skills, and the fundamentals of capitalism. Fundamentals of capitalism you say? Well, when you start a business, you can’t just start any business. Its product or solution must be in demand and profitable, I wrote an article about this on Medium that goes in depth.

Who has been the most significant influence in your business journey, and what is the most significant lesson or insight you have learned from them?

I’d honestly say Robert Kiyosaki, I mean he taught me almost everything I know about capitalism and how to beat it fundamentally. The most significant lesson I’ve learned from that brilliant man is to “not invest with emotions” at first it seems simple, but it’s so incredibly useful only investors who implement the tactic can truly see what is meant by this.

Can you share a story about something specific that happened early on that you would consider a failure but ended up being a blessing in disguise or ended up being one of the most valuable lessons you had to learn on your own?

When my first print on demand store failed, I thought I just sucked as an entrepreneur. That was until I learned more, networked more, and reminded myself of my vision. It was a blessing in disguise because it truly taught me how to learn from failure hands on. How to not give up hope and keep persevering. How to use it as a steppingstone, catalyst; to take those bricks thrown at me and build a house. The importance of marketing and a good team, which I lacked. I was so young and naïve, a lesson like that essentially transcended me as an entrepreneur. A very valuable lesson that would pay me dividends, literally, in the now future.

Leading anything is hard, especially when grappling with a difficult situation where it seems that no matter what you decide, it will have a negative impact on those around you. Can you share a story about a situation you faced that required making a “hard call” or a tough decision between two paths?

When Number one media failed, I was back at square one. Bare, vulnerable, no stream of income. I could either continue pushing until the company succeeded which would put my mental health, and overall happiness in jeopardy. Or I could start a new business, something I’m passionate about, something that could become way more successful than Number one media ever would. I was struck with basically tunnel vision though, the easiest and safest option was to continue Number one media. But to live, is to risk it all. Therefore, I made the incredibly tough decision to start anew. Make new connections, attract new investors, and learn from my previous failure to make this new business I’m passionate about a success. That ended being the right choice.

Let’s shift our focus to the core of this interview about ‘Successful Rule Breakers’. Why did you decide to “break the rules”? Early on, did you identify a particular problem or issue in how businesses in your industry generally operated? What specifically compelled you to address this and want to do things differently? Please share how you went about implementing those changes and the impact they had.

Businesses in my niche generally own properties one hundred percent themselves. The only problem with this is that it’s extremely costly and equates to many expenses. By using a proprietary software platform, as investors in properties under joint ownership, this allows for that issue to be solved, and expansion easily implementable. While also increasing the ease of scalability. This is of course far from the traditional real estate model, but that’s what makes us different and successful. The impact this has is vast, as it introduces an entirely new model to real estate investing, which separates us diligently from competitors.

In the ever-changing business landscape, how exactly do you decide when to adhere to industry norms versus “breaking the rules” and forging your own way? Can you share an example?

Ahh put simply, we don’t. We disregard almost every industry norm to lead the example of disruptors, revolutionizers. We simply follow industry norms that operate within legality, otherwise we break them and create new ones. Innovators are called innovators for a reason. For example, due to this, we had explosive revenue growth. I’m talking 500% and that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what we’re capable of.

What guidance or insight can you offer to new entrepreneurs trying to follow existing and accepted industry norms while at the same time trying to differentiate themselves in the marketplace?

This is going to be very straightforward and deviant from the norm. But, dear new entrepreneurs, break every single rule as long as it’s not illegal. Norms are for normies, but you’re an innovator so don’t be afraid to innovate everything, and I mean everything within your organization, industry, and its practices ha-ha.

To make an impact, you have to champion change, get creative, and take risks. Please think back about the decisions you’ve made that have helped your business get to where it is today, and share your top 5 strategies or decisions that helped you succeed by doing things differently.

1 . Deviate from the norm: Innovators are going to innovate, haters going to hate.

2 . Take as many risks as possible: Life is precarious and full of uncertainty, take as many risks as possible and don’t play it safe. When you don’t play it safe, and tread in unexplored waters, you’ll find something no one else has found.

3 . Break absolutely all the rules: Live outside of social propriety, this will set you free, and alleviate all fears whether irrational or unnecessary. For example, I got my first credit card just as I was turning 15, and it only benefitted my business, and overall life. Only those willing to break the rules, will be remembered fruitfully.

4 . Hate is great: The more successful, the more haters, it’s good to have haters this is the tax you must pay on being or doing something spectacular. Take that hate and be proud of yourself for it, use it to continue making the mediocre mad, and crown it. For example, when I announced my nomination for a Turing Prize, I got so much hate. Then subsequently my business become notably successful, and we won a 2023 global recognition award. Shows them! P.S thank you whoever nominated me for a Turing Prize.

5 . Challenge the status quo: The mediocre are very intimidated by those who get out of their comfort zones and challenge the status quo. Show them you’re not afraid, and you refuse to seethe into mediocrity with the crowd. For example, when I announced I would be starting a business to family and friends initially, they doubted me and told me how risky such a venture was.

As a leader, how do you rally others to align with your vision? Also, how do you identify those who may not be fully committed or even silently sabotaging or undermining your efforts? What steps do you take to address these situations?

As a leader, I rally others to align with my vision by inspiring them. I take immense pride and effort into using my platform for good, advocating for innovation and out of the box thinking. Because ultimately our civilization needs independent, critical thinkers who will take us beyond our solar system and create a peaceful better society, and colonies. I identify such imposers and covert haters by testing their tenacity and their acumen. Most don’t possess the true spirit of an innovator. I address these situations through articles and upfront interactions to dig deeper into their true thoughts and feelings. Though ultimately, through maturity and wisdom, my outlet for that is writing.

Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?

Approximately over at least 1 million in recurring revenue, along with a broader societal impact. I’d be pretty happy with my company’s progress along those lines ha-ha.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Become an Artemis, which is what the theater principle highlights. This contrast with Nietzsche’s superman, which is a person that transcends societal constructs that holds them back along with challenging the status quo and living a free-spirited life. An Artemis though, also becomes what the theater principle calls a friend of fate. Which implies breaking free from fates’ four strings that puppets most people: adversity, societal constructs, people’s approval & validation, and material possessions. This contrasts with a stoic perspective, with the theater principle’s unique spin. If you are unaware, the theater principle is a philosophy that personifies the universe as a live performance theater. I am the founder.

How can our readers continue to follow you or your company online?

On Medium, LinkedIn, and Vero:

LinkedIn: (4) Lashon Byrd | LinkedIn

Medium: Lashon Byrd — Medium

Vero: https://vero.co/lashon

Thank you so much for sharing all of these insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com