Ashiki Taylor, Co-Founder
Ashiki Taylor (a.k.a MATAH Man, ICE Supreme Man) has been a proponent of Black empowerment for over 45 years. His lifelong pursuit has been to honor the culture and ancestry of African-Americans. His mission is to educate and inspire people to invest in African-American businesses.
Ashiki was the founder of Ashiki’s All Natural, Incorporated and the inventor of ALMOND-licious! ICE Supreme, the first nut-based, gluten-free frozen treat – sold in Whole Foods Market Southeast and Midwest regions. He is also the co-founder of Black American Made (BAM!), a directory of Black American Made manufacturers (BAM!).
In the past, Ashiki Taylor worked as a celebrity photographer, shooting famous artists like the Jackson 5, Natalie Cole, Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire and Marvin Gaye. He attended Wayne State University where he earned a bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) in adverting design with a minor in photography.
Ashiki was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He was a close, personal friend of slain business leader, Ken Bridges, for 20 years. Ken, who was a great inspiration to Ashiki, was assassinated October 11, 2002 during the Washington, D.C. sniper attacks.
Franklin Mayfield, Co-Founder
Franklin Mayfield is an entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in design, IT development and management. As technology evolves at a rapid pace, Franklin keeps his customers relevant today and in the future by continuously developing cutting edge strategies that connect with their target market.
His specialties include:
Business Development – Marketing, advertising, graphic design, illustration, package design and web development.
Computer Programming – Virtual machines, cloud computing, cluster computing, systems architecture, systems security and network management, Windows, Macintosh and Linux server management.
Media Technology – Multi-lingual internet systems, closed-captioning systems and mobile technology.
In addition to his professional knowledge, skills and achievements, Franklin Mayfield is a poet, activist, philanthropist, artist, writer, teacher and preacher.
He is the current or past webmaster of MATAH, NBAN, Cincinnati Black United Front, ComproTax, Dzert Club, TheMATAHmovement, The One Million Conscious Black Voters & Contributors, Blackonimics, African American Chamber of Commerce – Cincinnati, African Genesis, BlackCollegeWorld, SuccessGuide, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, BlackChatWorld, KenBridges.org, Dr. Edward Robinson, BringBackBlack, BlackTrust, Black American Made and many others.