Growing up in a housing project in Terre Haute and seeing his mother faced with a $400 gas bill she could not pay left a lasting impression on AJ Patton. Today, he is blending entrepreneurship, clean energy, neighborhood revitalization, new jobs and more through 548 Capital in hard-hit communities in Chicago. A Black man, he was on the receiving end of hundreds of “No’s” when it came to raising money. It took a stint as an Uber driver to turn things around. Terre Haute is still home for family members, and he is looking to bring the important work he is doing there and to several other Indiana locations. From someone who “did not know a person who looked like me who wore a tie to work until I was 18 years old” to leading a single project that included 14 minority- and women-owned contractors, Patton is determined to build more bridges. “I’m part of those people you just can’t write of,” he says. And you should not.

Learn more:

·        548 Capital (https://548capital.com)

·        AJ Patton (www.linkedin.com/in/aj-patton-34077914)

·        Energy News Network profile (https://energynews.us/2019/08/22/entrepreneurs-launch-clean-energy-powered-affordable-housing-startup-in-chicago)