‘Factory’ retools dreams
Incubator helps men of color get in biz
If a place called the Gentlemen’s Factory sounds like a machine shop where refined men are under construction, well, that’s about right.
The Brooklyn community organization provides a space for men of color to be productive and creative, “the epicenter,” its website says, “for today’s forwardthinking multicultural man.”
Gentlemen’s Factory founder Jeff Lindor said men of color, particularly black men, often grow up in isolation, and the two-floor workplace loft, which hosts seminars, workshops and professional mixers, was designed to deliver a simple message: “You’re not in this alone.”
“People of color really do need safe spaces where the content speaks specifically to them,” said Lindor, who worked in city government before launching his entrepreneurial venture.
“There aren’t spaces, like physical spaces, that speak to the black experience. That’s why spaces like the Gentlemen’s Factory are really important, because people of color have been neglected in a variety of spaces like corporate America.”
The Gentlemen’s Factory started in 2014 with seven of Lindor’s closest friends, and currently has more than 70 members. They pay $150 per month or $1,500 per year to use the space, which is open 24 hours for members 21 years and older.
On one wall, a photo of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston hangs. On another exposed brick wall, there is a collage of Malcolm X. There’s a wellworn barbershop chair in one corner, a suit rack in another and a minibasketball hoop on the front door.
The communal area has 30 work spaces. Members bring their own laptops and headsets.
Lindor, 33, used to work as the strategic adviser to the executive staff at the Department of Correction and said he helped shape the reform agenda on Rikers Island before he opened the Gentlemen’s Factory.
Lindor said 15 companies have started out of the Gentlemen’s Factory.
“Members have started a real estate company, and now they’re selling homes,” Lindor said. “They’ve started online stores, e-commerce stores. We also have a member that started a drone technology company. Now he actually makes drones.”
But equally important, Lindor said, is that some members have started seeing therapists after important mental health conversations they’ve had in the space.
Lindor said the group also works with women’s organizations.
“Although the membership is geared toward men, we’re always partnering with different women’s organizations so they can join the conversation,” Lindor said.
Membership, he added, is open to everyone.