Jeff Lindor, 37, is a burgeoning entrepreneur and founder of the Gentlemen’s Factory Innovation Lab. He runs out-of-the-box community and membership spaces for professional Black and brown men looking to gather, network, and build creatively together.
“Black men are just so isolated,” said Lindor. “Where do they go to share new ideas, or invest in each other’s companies, or to navigate life? And I was looking for that.”
Lindor’s social club, speakeasy, and entrepreneurial hub has proven to be quite popular over the past six years. Members have access to workspaces, professional development training, workshops, coaching, and conference rooms. The “gentleman” mission statement encourages a strong culture of collaboration, unity, sophistication, and accountability. The factory has attracted all ages and people of diverse backgrounds, from titans of industry to local electeds.
Lindor was born in Haiti. His parents relocated him and his siblings to Coney Island in Brooklyn in 1989 because of the political unrest in their home country. Coming to America was a culture shock to him. His father was a cab driver and his mother was a caretaker in nursing homes.
“Coney Island was definitely a community that opened up my eyes to seeing so much talent in my neighbors—brilliant minds [and] super-talented, but just didn’t have the resources to facilitate the dreams that they had,” said Lindor.
Lindor said he didn’t have a huge plan for his future after high school and ended up “bouncing around” a few City University of New York (CUNY) schools. He eventually graduated from Kingsborough, got a bachelor’s degree from York College, and then earned his master’s in urban policy from the New School. He went on to be a policy advisor to the executive staff at the city Department of Correction (DOC), which runs Rikers Island.
He held his first real community event back in 2012 and the idea snowballed into the creation of an “institution” for Black and brown men. Lindor also launched a podcast that gave members a platform to share their experiences, products, ideas, and stories, and feel heard. The lab was opened up to the public in 2018. Lindor started GroomedSuccess, a M/WBE-certified firm that contracts with government agencies to provide mentoring, training, and career development coaching for at-risk youth.
Lindor has received myriad awards and proclamations, the latest from the New York City Council Haitian Delegation in celebration of Haiti’s 220th year of independence.
The main brick-and-mortar location of the lab is 81 Willoughby Street. Lindor plans to open another location in Bed-Stuy with a community space and barbershop soon.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.