Motor City Match winner starts second business of cigar and hookah lounge with own money
DETROIT (FOX 2) - For entrepreneur Lance McGhee, his business venture started with a competitive E-Sports Lounge called Playa vs Playa on Wyoming in Detroit.
He was able to start it thanks to a Motor City Match grant he won in 2018.
"I'm trying to bring new and innovative businesses to inner-city," he said.
Fast forward two years later and McGhee is launching his second business - Storm Cigar and Hookah Lounge but this time he is opening it with his own funding.
"This has been all through my own equity," he said. "I pulled money out of my own pocket to invest in this neighborhood.
The cigar and hookah lounge opens in October and is right next door to his E-Sports lounge.
"You can come and smoke hookah and cigars you can play board games listen to music," McGhee said.
But as some businesses falter during the COVID-19 crisis, how is an entrepreneur able to sustain one company and start another one?
"It's tenacity, passion, and support from the people who love me," he said.
McGhee said what he learned from MCM and Hatch Detroit helped him launch his second business.
"Great network to be a part of a lot of useful information," he said.
This business owner wants to encourage other entrepreneurs to not just dream about success, he said.
"I wish we had these things in the neighborhood," McGhee said. "So I'm trying to be the change that I want to see in this Fitzgerald neighborhood."